Hulk, utter shite now & even more utter shite in 10 years time.
The minimalist style favoured by many fashion watches. Daniel Wellington for example.
Utter crap.
Yes I think while smartwatch would age badly I don't think they, like phones, are made to last but to be sold in a coupe of years for a loss.
Will wearing a wrist watch die out possibly but I think the biggest danger is the masses only own one watch and seldom swap these during the day. While the smart watch sales are not a threat atm the companies selling theses are massive a iwatch behind the first tee at agusta is not unthinkable.
The other day I asked twenty or so folk on town the time almost three quarters looked at their phone with only a couple having a anologue watch.
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I think that dial colours may return to more conservative shades.
That may leave watches with jazzy dials out of fashion.
My own hope to age badly? Watches with green dials: no specific brand or shade of green. I simply do not like green dials, be it khaki or vivid.
______
Jim.
In the same way the old Seiko 5s or Casios, cheap watches will always be transient.
But like them, some will always see an appeal in the better examples.
The thread asked which designs would age badly.
Some will, some won't.
Changing the movement, won't alter that.
Only if the Rolex bubble bursts.
They're still pedalling some horribly dated designs and the faithful praise them as 'classic design'.
For now they could stick their logo on a £50 Chinese 'Tourbillion' (not the real ones) and enough people would rush with their gold credit cards to buy one at 100 times the price.
M
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Last edited by snowman; 18th July 2021 at 11:25.
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
Would agree with the Skyfire post, all those Faux vintage and reissued designs which have dominated the market will at some point become redundant as trends move on. Brands like Tudor which have been riding the nostalgia wave for some time and have become pretty much hostage to that particular trend with its constant releases of Black bay, with nothing much else in the design tank to maintain a market footing when the Faux vintage demand wanes.
Rolex supersize case is another I feel has already aged badly but at least Rolex responded by correcting the faults with the slimming of the lugs etc, which just emphasised the the poor design of the previous Supersize case.
Smart watches won't age, they'll have been thrown away just like your Nokia 3210.
Even the ones saved will probably be bricked by software development.
All of the 'hipster' brands claiming a connection to airplanes or car brands or both. Drop like a stone.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
I think what can be gathered from this thread is that the one consistency for watches of the last 20 years has been rinse repeat, offer little and scoop up as much cash as you possibly can. Watches that came out over the past few decades tended to represent something of the age, the space race, greed, identity, looking to the future. I guess watches today represent nothing but an illusion of the past. Fake patina, a million and one sub lookalikes, snoopy on the moon, snoopy in the shed, snoopy down the pub, speedy tuesday, Heuer not Tag. I think its a rather appropriate style of watches, an illusion of something to go with todays society an illusion of wealth while swimming in debt (Mortgage, credit cards, car finance) an illusion of equality (While black sportspeople are racially abused on a daily basis)........
I disagree, at least as regards Tudor. The Black Bay works because it’s a pretty classic design; yes, inspired by vintage Tudor/Rolex watches of ages past - but, these original watches are themselves still pretty handsome to most contemporary eyes, and the Black Bay works because it modernizes a design that is pretty long established and appealing. I personally don’t like the idea of ‘fauxtina’ - but I do think a bit of patina to a classic watch can add character, in the same way the Black Bay 58 for example works on its own terms - the hint of golden coloring against the black of the bezel and dial adds warmth. It wouldn’t appeal to everyone, but I don’t think it’s particularly faddish, and I would be surprised if it became outdated (unless we reach a point where classic and vintage watches are themselves universally viewed as outdated).
When it comes to the supersize Rolexes, however, I do agree, at least in theory - though at the same time, Rolex has sufficient cache that it wouldn’t surprise me if the general public disagreed. It will be interesting to see where we are in twenty years I suppose!
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This is an interesting question - if modern revivals of beautiful vintage watches will one day themselves seem like beautiful vintage watches. In the same way I wonder if new build houses in rustic styles that stick out like a sore thumb will one day age gracefully and fit in. At this point in time, it’s unclear.
Not being in the watch business, I'm minded to consider only my own choices and I'm certain my hoard will age better than me.
But if I can live with some degree of verve and integrity, then maybe they won't appear entirely ridiculous when I'm gone, whatever the fashion.
None. But the ones that will seem to will be owned/sold by the easily led and impressionable who buy to please others rather than buying for personal interest and pleasure.
F.T.F.A.
While there will always be exceptions to every generalisation, these are on my personal Extinction List -
Huge, overweight, clumsily-massive diver-style watches: They may still exist, but they are already 'over' as watches get smaller and slimmer.
Bronze: that 'unique patina' is just someone else's grot. Used ones will become unsellable.
PVD: we need to stop pretending this crap doesn't wear-off the edges of our watches and look gash in no time. Again, just try selling a used one.
OK, that last one is also a peevish personal preference as well.
You might well be right re the bezels.
Maybe in 30 years time people will be saying ‘ I do like <insert new material> bezels but prefer the look of vintage ceramic bezels.’
Much as I do about aluminium/steel bezels now.
How about bronze watches? Think that’s a trend that will fade?
Indeed, one man's 'gash' is another's 'loved'.
I have a couple of PVD watches.
A Sinn EZM7s, which shows no sign of wear and a Breil Manta from the 80s (so it's hardly 'from today') that does have some gentle wear to the finish on some edges, but I think looks brilliant.
M
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
it’s been mentioned but faux patina and bronze watches for me
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I think watches will still have a place in the next few decades but I suspect that the concept of an all day every day automatic will struggle to justify itself as will dates and complications like an auto chronograph that only increase bulk.
Manual wind occasional wear is the mechanical watch's future , you've ignored Cellini's at your peril.
General way to answer this question is to look at what the footballers are wearing. It works at any given moment pretty much.
Currently that's RM, Royal Oak Offshore and a whole lot of Hublot.
So if Bronze & PVD are going to age badly, I've chosen a right couple of pups in these two...
Hey ho - they'll probably age better than I do ...
z
What makes you think that?
In 2020 the Swiss watch manufacturers exported 5.5 million mechanical watches. Casio has been increasing its sales of quartz G Shocks every year over the last decade or so and sold about twice as many as the total Swiss mechanical exports in 2020.
G Shocks are only a very small proportion of total quartz sales. Heck, even Swiss watch manufacturers sold way more quartz watches than mechanicals in 2020.
Mitch
Surely most watch manufacturers will do every possible to make what’s in fashion today out of fashion in 5, 10, 15 years. That’s how they keep demand high.
There’s always going to be just enough innovation to make what’s in fashion today out of date tomorrow.
So bar some classics, which will never be in, or out of fashion most watches of our time will age badly.
Apart from Lemania based Porsche design of old I would say most car based watches, BMW, Audi, Merc..