Apple recently unveiled its Apple Watch Series 2 along with the company’s other new products. A few new features to the Apple Watch are with the case, operating system and an alternate option.
The case has been upgraded to swimproof and the new operating system is watchOS 3. For a steeper price, consumers can opt for a white ceramic case.
With all these new features and the support of a tech giant has Apple brass thinking it can disrupt the Swiss watch industry. However, opponents cite that the Apple Watch is barely a watch at all, but rather a wearable computer.
Don’t tell that to consumers, though. In terms of revenue, Apple is right behind Rolex, and ahead of brands like Fossil, Omega, Seiko, Patek Philippe, and Casio, in worldwide watch sales. However, even though a luxury brand report rated the Apple Watch the most talked about luxury watch, Rolex was still rated highest on the “passion index,” which measured how favorable that talk was.
Most estimates agree that Apple has sold 10 or 12 million smartwatches which looks like a flop next to quarterly iPhone sales. Not so much next to Swiss watches.
Few would be surprised to see that the largest tech company in the world would do reasonably well with a release in a new product category. But Apple selling a watch is much like McDonald’s deciding it’s going to start selling sushi.
Sure, McDonald’s would likely become the single largest proprietor of sushi in terms of revenue, but it won’t appeal to those who know what real sushi is, nor does it indicate anything with regard to the quality of the product.
Some say it is less about Apple being able to sell a great watch to traditional watch consumers, and more about Apple’s power to produce and sell volume when it comes to their products.
So, is the Apple Watch a really to be considered watch? While there is certainly a degree of functionality offered by the Apple Watch not available in a classic wrist watch, and to that there is some merit worth noting, the watch making world’s biggest problem is not the Apple Watch.
So how does Rolex keep a giant like Apple — which sells such a hyped-up product — at bay?
“Ultimately, [Rolex is] the king of the watch world. In terms of mass produced luxury high-end watches, the only one that even comes close would be Omega,” Ben Clymer, editor of Hodinkee, said. “And they’re really not that close at the end of the day.
To cement its status, Rolex never stopped inventing. They came up with the first waterproof case, the first self-winding watch, the first watch with a date, and (arguably) one of the first driving chronographs, which is used to measure lap times.
On top of these innovations in watchmaking in the first half of the 1900s, Rolex developed a reputation being reliable.
Rolex now touts this history in its advertising, attempting to make customers feel as though they’re buying into a legacy instead of just the hottest new thing.
The future, however, remains to be seen.
23 Comments
Mike Graves
Thanks for the assessment, Mark! This report makes me like and respect my mechanical watches even more!
Harold
A Rolex is reserved for those individuals who can afford to buy one in most cases. When a person wears a Rolex, they are basically saying ” I have arrived”. They want to make a statement. If I could afford to own a Rolex, it would be for several reasons. The primary reason would be for investment purposes. The other reason would be because I would know ahead of time that I would be getting a dependable time piece that would last me for the rest of my life, and it could be left to someone who was dear to my heart after I had passed. With an Apple watch, I just don’t see most if not all of the above reasons I have stated, to own one. I’m still having a hard time getting used to justifiably granting a quartz watch any wrist time.
Joe
Harold, buying a Rolex for investment is a poor choice. You’d be much better off investing in mutual funds or stick. The payout is much greater for the amount of money put down
Clay
Very enjoyable read. Thanks Mark.
David
It’s ironic that the real comparison will be the test of time. In 5 years the Series 2 Apple Watch will probably be obsolete with an outdated operating system, and the Rolex, or any other fine mechanical watch, will be just getting started on a long career of service. The relentless upgrades, improvements, and innovations in computer based technology is fascinating but also exhaustingly transient, leaving some of us Luddites on the sidelines watching the parade go by. The classification of the Apple Watch as a wearable computer as opposed to a watch is most defining, but to these weak eyes and fat fingers those little icons would be a challenge.
Peter
Rolex is an art piece. Apple is just a fruit.
Len. (UK)
In my opinion, we’d have to be ‘bananas’ to think Apple will overtake Rolex!
Bob McCorkle
I bought a stainless steel Rolex Datejust in Zurich in 1977, while serving in the Army in Germany. I have worn it daily since then. It has never let me down. I bought it because I considered it to be the finest watch made and that opinion has not changed. A Rolex can be expected, when properly serviced, to last generations.
I can’t believe that an Apple watch will, or could, give the same service. The only way an Apple watch will still be around forty years from now is as a long-unused device hiding in someone’s sock drawer.
Mark Morgan
I have 3 rolex watches and apple products and have no intentions of putting a apple on my wrist.
Mark
Russ Keller
I’ll gladly trade you two Apple watches, an iPad, my last three iPhones (that still don’t have the same versatility of a Samsung) AND an fairly new yet still obsolete MacBook Pro, for a used Rolex Submariner…
Andy
It’ll be interesting to see the evolving behavior of today’s Apple Generation. When their personal success arrives, while they demonstrate it with pricy Apple upgrades like the white ceramic band or will they move to more durable expressions of success? Time will tell.
Christopher
Will a 5-10 year old Apple watch increase in value?
Jeff Evans
The comparison is Apples to Oranges 😉
LARRY BROOKS
Rolex has remained as popular as it is based partly on its styling. It doesn’t change constantly. Look at how long each of the styles of Rolex has been in production. That makes an old Rolex look like a new model when worn. Classic elegance doesn’t require constant change. However, you can be sure Apple will constantly be changing their watch to try to outpace their competition and to keep the interest of their customers.
Mike Pennington
I love my mechanical watch I think they do have a following and always will. That being said you just can’t stand in the way of progress. I’ve had my Apple Watch since day one. It tells time, has a actual calendar that looks like a paper calendar, mutiple alarms, stop watch,makes phone calls, checks my heart rate. I’m stopping here because the list goes on & on. Never a problem with it. You can’t falt Apple Watch it’s a incredible machine. Again I love my mechanical watch but this type of watch can not be ignored and it won’t be going away. Incorporate it in to your watch world for it is the face of the future.
Rick Lott
I have no intention of incorporating an Apple watch into my life. I don’t need my heart rate monitored, or a calendar, or an alarm, or a stop watch, or to make a phone call on a Dick Tracy gadget. When your Apple watch is junk, my Rolex Explorer II will still be going strong.
Dennis M. Kirschbaum
I love my small collection of mechanical watches. I am also a Apple product nut. I write with a fountain pen, but my iPhone rarely leaves my side. When the Apple Watch came out in April of 2015, my daily wearing watch was a Boliva Accutron Automatic Chronograph. An incredible value for what I paid for it. I rarely wore anything else. But I bought an Apple Watch when it first came out and now I wear it exclusively. It does so much more than tell time. I love the fitness tracking features and the notifications. I love being able to set a timer with a voice command and getting turn by turn directions on my wrist while walking around a strange city. Tonight I will put on my Boliva for the first time in a year and wear it tomorrow. I don’t use technology on Yom Kippur. I will enjoy its beauty and craftsmanship. But at Sundown, I’ll put my Apple Watch back on and put away my mechanical watch for another year.
Edwin Staley
I love Dennis Kirschbaum’s comments… Shows there are two sides to this question. As an old geezer I lean towards the Rolex view. But I suspect there are many young people out there that have bought the Apple watch and that they will be enamored with all the special features available. Apple and many more tech companies will survive in the future and the mechanical watch will not dominate the market. Probably the greatest volume of watches sold today are not mechanical but quartz… So goes the world… things change and seldom go backwards. To bad, I love my Rolex…but it doesn’t keep better time than my Casio or my Apple.
Tony P.
As an avid diver I wore and busted a few “dive” watches, who knows why but they always ended up leaking or stopping, until in 1978 I got a SS Submariner/no date. It was on my wrist in over 4,000 dives all over the world, keeping track of bottom time, decompression times (when needed) and surface interval times. It also kept track of food in the oven, and myriad other tasks that required timekeeping. Superbly reliable, it never missed a beat. I feel it’s like a member of my family, so after its last service a couple of years ago, I retired it. I still wear it daily but no longer take it on dives although it continues on many other outdoor activities with me. I told my oldest son that it will be his someday; I just need another one for my other son and thinking of a Submariner Anniversary (green bezel). Yes- it’s a status symbol; yes- it’s a great investment, and yes- it’s a magnificent tool as well. Apple watch? I leave it to the clueless masses. My iPhone can do all that in my pocket, and I still get the wear one of the very best watches on this planet.
Clint Edwards
I thought Oris created the first automatic watch, am I wrong ?
Tony Belford
to mr. kirschbaum, i know that it is splitting hairs, but a rolex is one of the finest pieces of technology on the planet. it is art that is worn, but it is also a technological masterpiece. l’shana tovah.
Alex W.
Value is a matter of perception. Much of the Rolex (and others) brand identity is built upon celebrity sponsorship and paid endorsements. Such costs add significantly to the price of a Rolex, Omega, TAG Heuer, etc. but add nothing to the intrinsic quality of the product. Rolex in particular spend a disproportionate amount of their revenue in this way. The genius of their marketing is that they are able to promote a lack of technical innovation/development as a “feature” and are therefore able to practically eliminate R&D. I’m not sure that will play well for very much longer. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather own a Rolex (or a pre-TAG Heuer, or Omega) than 10 “smart” watches, but I wouldn’t part with my vintage Patek or 1941 Glashutte Tutima for 10 Rolex either. Apple certainly has the resources to build a better mechanical watch than any conventional watch maker (they could purchase Breuget with pocket change) and to sell them for a fraction of the cost of a Rolex, but they are not perceived as watchmakers by watch aficionados and probably have no interest in being so perceived. The watch industry faces the same challenges as the hifi industry faced. An aging target market, commoditization of core functionality, and a lack of perceived value among younger consumers. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out.
Caleb .I. 7 grade
Thank’s for making the site it helped me on my essay and in my opinion the Rolex is always better it’s art the Apple yea right