Reply With QuoteApple watch
Homage this, reissue that, inspired by...
If you were picking a watch of the now that you think represents 2018 or even more broadly this decade what would it be and why?
Apple watch
Easy. Ressence e-crown concept.
I think that thankfully there doesn't seem to be a watch of now. We've got an evolution of classic designs and a bunch of reissues from the past but looking at the 1990s in particular I'd say that if a watch can be defined as "now" then it'll look crap in years to come.
That's a good question. A lot of popular stuff are old models or reissues of old stuff. What are the new designs of 2018 that will stand the test of time?
That will probably be down to the younger generation to decide...and not too many of those on here!
Apple Watches? Big brands such as Rolex and Omega for sure. Maybe the Airking 116900 which is unloved new will be a future classic?
Yes true! Good point.Originally Posted by gcleminson
It is indeed a good question. I suspect that what really is ‘now’ is the process of applying the latest technology to classic designs, almost inevitably since the whole idea of a watch is slightly retro, especially a mechanical one. So watches like Omega’s Aqua Terras with antimagnetic movements probably qualify, a gradual evolution of decades old designs that is nonetheless identifiably modern. Or even the Rolex OP39 in black or white, agelessly classic but tuned to modern tastes and using a modern movement. It’s the same story with the Grand Seiko quartz range (or spring drive), the gradually evolving 9F, now quite old itself, in a case that refers to 60s designs. Nomos is another one, clean and modern but born from the Bauhaus modernism of a century ago. To that I’d add micro-brands that are using modern technologies to do what only larger brands could have done before, including 3D printing and computer aided rapid prototyping, but often with classic references again.
It’s hard to find truly modern watches that are not smart watches, or ludicrous and unwearable flights of fancy. Even the G-shock with its LCD display is retro. The wrist watch is essentially obsolescence wrapped in nostalgia.
It’s got to be the Omega Speedy Tuesday Ultraman. Limited to 2012 pieces and based on a fictional character that most people had never heard of; an absolute mad online scramble of people willing to pay nearly £5k for something they hadn’t even seen (without a bracelet!) only for it to become a flipper’s dream (well, at least before Chrono24 and eBay became flooded with them). Beautiful watch but is this the future of watch buying?
BLNR
It made GMT watches great again.
Actually on second thoughts what about the Qlocktwo?
For 2018 - Pepsi GMT
It's just a matter of time...
Surely Pepsi over BLNR
I’m not sure these revivals of ancient watches are really catching the point of the original question, even if they are hot watches of the moment. Might be worth reading the first post again? ;-) I think the point was, are there modern watches that aren’t revivals and homages, but are truly of our time. Though I’d agree that what is very much of our time is revivals and homages!
Last edited by Itsguy; 22nd November 2018 at 08:26.
We might not like it, but I think it is the Apple watch.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
Without a doubt the Apple watch.
FTFY
Yes and no! I feel the act of wearing any (non-smart) watch at all is a slightly retro gesture, a nod to classic style and old movies. This apples as much to most quartz watches I’d wear too, modern movements in classic cases, like the 60s inspired GS. But I’ll grant you it applies most of all to mechanicals.
Graham Brexit watch - timeless
Id say the original Black bay has to be contender. Launched a very successful line for Tudor, basically responsible for resurrecting the brand in the UK, mass appeal meets wis approval. Plus I like it. Alot.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
There is literally no chance of this thread answering the original question is there? ;-)
The Apple watch.
Some of the replies on this thread are akin to asking what design of house is representative of 2018 and people replying 'the Wimpy faux-Victorian box'. Which sadly is very representative of 2018 but still an homage.
I've said it before but for me the most interesting period was from mid-1960s to mid-1970s, with things like the Omega (etc) Beta 21, automatic chronograph (the Monaco is a good example of very unusual design!), very deep sea diver (PloProf and 1000M), quartz and digital coming along. The moon landing had a big effect on design but new technology also encouraged new design, and there are a lot of really interesting and iconic watches from that era.
I was hoping the advent of smart watches would bring some new and interesting designs but it seems not - we either seem to get the miniature phone (iPhone) or the traditional watch with smart screen. And now it seems everyone is raiding their design archives because no one* can think of anything new.
*although I have high hopes for Bamford.
"A man of little significance"
Richard Mille?
Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk
^it's true foxy, it's a shaggy dog question, but then this is a forum after all.... Also hard to tell without the benefit of hindsight... I don't think the Barratt house analogy is quite accurate though. I think with the general interest in watches, especially on here is moving towards the luxury /signifier end of the market and away from the reliable and accurate timepieces in themselves market... The apple watch is an interesting one, I still don't think of it as a watch, but a watch it definitely is. If you want to consider how modern times have impacted watch wearing then this has to be the winner.
Anathema to most on here, but you can't discount the G shock, simply by volume of units sold. Personally I really don't like the direction the brand has taken in the last 10 years, but they also seem to be undergoing a bit of renaissance, simply in terms of volume of units sold. Less popular in the UK though than in Asia.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Absolutely none but I thought we could do with a break from another Rolex thread (I like Rolex but for forum purposes it's a bit boring).
Absolutely none!
You should have called time with "The wrist watch is essentially obsolescence wrapped in nostalgia", which wins my quote of the day.
I’ll have another go with Zenith’s Defy-Lab, a completely different kind of movement encased in a new material. From a stylistic point of view I don’t much like the look of it, and the case shape is pretty classic, but perhaps there are only so many shapes that fit on a wrist in the end. Details here.
Yes, but most things produced (especially watches) these days are invariably based on something that has gone before. Even the Apple Watch is really just an updated version of a 1970’s quartz, albeit with a few additional function!
My "watch of the now" is the one I decided to wear today.
n2
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Smart watches
Maybe a brand such as Linde Werdelin? One of the Oktopus iterations....for me, would fit the bill.
Wow. Great link. Fascinating movement - it's great to see such innovation. I'm craving a new Zenith Defy anyway so this hasn't helped. Ok
Ps. My vote goes for the G-shock. Utterly ubiquitous, well designed and made.
I think the Apple watch is a decent shout. If we confine the question to mechanical, we can go in many directions. Greubel Forsey would be a good choice for this decade IMO.
'A few additional functions' Slight understatement! The technology in a smartwatch could only be dreamed of in the 90's let alone the 70's. The smartwatch is definitely the watch of the now and the future. Apart from a few sad old, mostly, men who will wear a mechanical watch in 20 years time. Personally I wouldn't be seen dead in a smartwatch but then I'm a sad old man😊
Isn't this a bit like asking which is the most modern horse and buggy? Mechanical watches make no technological sense.....they survive purely because we enjoy them. Timekeeping is now simply one of many functions offered by our electronic devices. So perhaps the most 'now' timekeeping device is actually our phone. Or I-pad.
But I'm still wearing a mechanical watch.
I'll let you know what the watch of now is in about 50 years. There's no way I can apply such sight without the benefit of hind.
Gray
Time showing device of 2018, or the decade?
iPhone. On mass most could not careless about wrist watches, never mind what brand / model. It's only us watch nerds who care.
Harsh I know, but true
Not sure i agree that most could not care less. I think any-one that wears a watch cares what they are wearing but to their own degree.
... picking a watch of the now (= I guess you mean a current model) , that you think represents ... this decade. . .(so that is broadly the 2010-present) - what would it be and why:
Let me go out on a limb here and say the Omega X-33 Skywalker 318.90.45.79.01.001. Why - because it was designed and developed for use for a specific function in this decade (released in 2014 Baselworld) in conjunction with ESA and combines analog and digital screen layout that probably reflects the last of such high-end watches that may die off in futures time-frames leaving the anachronistic mechanicals and mostly the wearables (I won't call them 'watches' - anymore than the devices we carry with us are 'phones'). So probably not the most obvious choice for some (or many), But it is mine.
Martyn
It does depend on who is being asked, we've had some of the usual replies you would expect from a watch forum, but what about the non wis ?? I just see almost anything Rolex or Omega et al as being what they have always done, just newer, so hardly a watch of the Now really
My guesses would be
1/ Apple watch
2/ Daniel Wellington
3/ Ulysse Nardin Freak
For myself, Audemars Offshore and Richard Mille would be the two that come to the fore. Both manufacturers which seem to encompass a fresh direction both in materials, design and marketing which other manufacturers have followed. The offshore although released in the mid 2000's, has really developed into one of the watches of this decade both in desirability and aesthetic design, with Richard Millie taking both of these factors to another level.
Yep.Sent from my Pixel 2 using TZ-UK mobile app
^^^
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
Now that I agree with totally.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Watch of the now has to be smart watches doesn't it?
I saw the Samsung on SC and was going to get it for the wife or daughter. I asked them if they would wear it and both said it would be too big. I went and ordered the 46mm one for myself, just to try one out you see!
These things are quite addictive with the amount of customisation, information and novelty (for me). It has everything I could possibly need - time, day, date, weather, my position if I get lost plus more that I have yet to discover - it's not just my Explorer that has taken a back seat since I got this.
Apple Watch
But in mechanical, I struggle, perhaps Hulk, BLNR, Speedy Tuesday, Snoopy.
I think the mainstream brands are running out of ideas, mechanically it cannot get much better, aesthetically we have reached the max size and gone back to a size people could wear and materials such as ceramic that doesn’t age. So where next but further iterations of existing models in different colours and size or heritage/reissue?
Last edited by ac11111; 25th November 2018 at 11:16.
It’s got to be the Apple Watch (unfortunately).
I’m an apple fan and I’ve been resisting the “urge” of buying one for some time; it feels like cheating on my true love
For the masses I’d agree: it’s the smart watch/phone.
But as watch enthusiast I would say something like the Tudor Pelagos. I think it ticks a lot of ‘now’ boxes- Titanium, Ceramic, excellent movement, modern styling all in a 42mm case.
Apple Watch may be the “now” watch, but it won’t be something that would command much interest as a functioning watch in 20, 10 or even 5 years - it just won’t be useable. Think Apple II computer - interesting museum piece only.
In non-smart watch territory, what innovation has there really been in recent decades? Spring-drive? HAQ? How will a snowflake dial age over time?
Is 2019 going to be just another year of LEs at a 4K premium for an orange seconds hand and a nato strap, or could there be something really new on offer? Will anyone buy it if there is?
I’ve been pondering this recently, for a slightly different reason. My eldest son turns 18 soon and I was thinking of a watch to mark the occasion. Trouble is, like a lot of his generation he isn’t remotely interested in watches, although he does wear a very basic ‘old school’ Casio digital, cost about £25. He doesn’t want an Apple Watch (I have one so he knows what they do) and as an 18th it will be defunct in under 5 years so that’s pointless. I won’t spend a fortune on something like a black bay for him as he just thinks they’re ugly and tbh it would end up in a drawer unloved and unworn. He’s handled and tried out most of my collection over the years, but just views them as ‘old man jewellery’. Outside of wis circles I don’t think many people give a damn. I know you’ll have your 20 something city boys who are looking for a status symbol (that’s how I got started if I’m brutally honest) but if they’re seen as ‘an old persons choice’ what’s the future for mechanical watches? Or watches in general?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Posting Permissions
