Wednesday, September 9, 2015

What I NEVER Thought I'd Say...

I now want an APPLE WATCH!!!

Courtesy of Hermès
Let me rephrase that - I want an Hermès Apple Watch!  So far in the first wave of "Smart Watch Mania" I have considered myself to be a "conscientious objector" - per the Ubran Dictionary:
The term for a person who refuses to participate in fighting a war due to religious/other beliefs.
An example of conscientious objectors are Quakers, or "Friends" as they are otherwise known, will not fight because of their philosophical beliefs.
And I have said, and have continued to say so up to this point yesterday, that the FC/Alpina/Mondaine interface made the most sense to me out of all of the smart watches.
But that was until I saw the news about the Hermès Apple Watch. Once I clapped my peepers on this sweet little electronic bijoux, common sense departed. The room filled with the harmonies of violins, the air smelled a little bit sweeter, my afternoon coffee tasted that little bit better... and no I am not being sarcastic.  

Because if I am very, very honest - an Apple Watch is not a necessity in the basic sense.  In fact, it is even less of a necessity in the sense that we who obsess over watches feel that to walk life's lonely road without a watch on your wrist would be, well, kinda' lonely!

It is a luxury.  And not in the sense of a gold Patek Philippe being a luxury, but more in line with the -  "I have several pairs of shoes and I can't decide which pair to wear" kind of luxury.  If we are honest, each Apple Watch is going to be obsolete eventually - obviously the hope is that this obsolescence does not kick in for a year or two.  But it is something that will, for better or worse, head to the big e-waste bin in the sky at some point.  You will not "look after" an Apple Watch for the "next generation" - because frankly, Apple's generations will run about 8 - 10 for every human generation.  

And you know what?  That's okay.  Like your laptop, or phone, it is going to have a "shelf-life".

While the Apple Watch did benefit from great industrial design, it lacked that little something.  For me, it was reminiscent of the IKEPOD watches of the 90s.  And as I am lucky enough to count Oliver Ike as a friend, I can tell you what he shared with me - Marc Newsom's insistence on some pretty cheezy, not so well made rubber straps cost IKEPOD A LOT of customers.  And the truth is that Apple's same approach definitely limited it.  Sure, they did offer a gold version which to me would be like buying solid gold condoms, sort of frivolous ; )

And this is what brings us full-circle.  An Apple Watch is a treat.  For most of us, it is not an impulse item.  It is something that certainly does have its uses, but any honest person out there who has bought one will share (perhaps in more private, self-reflective moments) that they bought it because it was cool, it was fun, it made them feel good, etc. And honestly?  that is more than enough reason to buy something.  

Now for me, the "tipping point" was the partnership with Hermès.  It is that extra little "what's it", something I like to call "Hermèsequa".  It is something that you can't really put your finger on, but you can feel it.  It is most certainly there!

My hunch is that I will get a more detailed briefing in tomorrow's "mail pouch" but for now I will leave you with the Hermès Apple Watch version I have my mind on  -

Courtesy of Hermès

And encourage you once again, to enjoy your watches - including the "Smart" ones ; )

I am going to check the piggy bank!





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