Watches That Go To Work For You

Time In

They browse the internet, take photos, play music, connect to the computer, store phone numbers, display your diet chart, show you television programmes...and yes, these new-age watches also tell you the time, says Bhisham Mansukhani

Time has not stood still for watches, that much is certain. Once upon a time, all one expected from the round dial on your wrist was the time, and if you were choosy, maybe even the date. Compare that to what's on offer now - music, television, phones, data banks, internet browsing, altimeter, barometer, thermometer...the list has not even started yet! And all that clubbed onto your wrist watch. In fact, it is debatable whether they can be called watches anymore. This is the world of watches that go to work for you.

Invitingly Digital

One of the main players manufacturing watches that have multiple functions is Casio. Its keen focus on compacting a multitude of utilities and its competitive pricing has brought Casio unparalleled brand recall.

Nikhil Duggal, assistant manager - marketing, Casio, enumerates some of the favourites that they have created, "We have always been focused on more than just time. At the top end, we have a series named Sports Gear which comes with an altimeter, barometer, thermometer, does not require batteries and is reminiscent of the current rage - ecodrive. Then there is the active dial and EDB (Electronic Databank) which are tailor-made for the business traveller. These display 30-city world times, can store 30 passwords and can save 100 names and phone numbers. It is a touch screen watch that also stores important business memos and doubles as perhaps the world's most portable and accessible PDA. The EDB should launch by 2004 end and should cost US$ 120."

One of Casio's competitors in this segment is Timex Watches Limited whose vice president - sales and marketing, V D Wadhwa emphasises that his brand is also strongly associated with functionality. "Our philosophy has always centred around providing more than just the utility of showing the time. We have already launched the MP3, GPS, temperature watch and the Datalink watch that boasts a memory of two megabytes (MB) and can store several phone numbers. In fact, Timex is hard at trying to incorporate digital functions into analog watches. Ours is the only watch that offers alarms for analog watches."

Analog Versus Digital

Watchmakers, it seems, are polarising themselves as either modern or old school subscribers - namely analog and digital. Wadhwa believes that analog finds its biggest market among veteran collectors and impulse buyers while the contemporary generation discerns watches on the basis on what the watch can actually do as a workhorse. Analog watches, according to Jean Francoise Meyer from the Federation Of Swiss Watch Industry, will always have a reliable market though he feels it may be necessary for analog watchmakers to integrate modern technology into production to move towards a partial convergence between analog and digital watches. Finex Distribution managing director Raouff Ansari, who represents renowned watch brands such as Cartier and Bell and Ross, rises to the defence of analog watches which are predominant in his portfolio. "Functionality is still the overriding purpose of buying a watch, whatever the price, and analog watchmakers are aware of this. The basic objective is to tell the time. The stylistic aspect has assumed a greater role but not the central role. Bell and Ross, for instance, makes watches for men of extremes. The deepest point on earth is Challenger Abyss, 11,000 metres below sea level, just off the coast of Argentina. Bell and Ross makes the world's only truly waterproof watch that holds its own at that 11,000 metre bottom. There is no air within the watch. It functions within a liquid, silicon environment so it does not implode or explode coming in and out of extremes. This watch has even functioned out of space. In fact having those functions is a lifestyle statement in itself."

Next Time

While functionality holds considerable priority as opposed to aesthetics, the question is how far will some of the leading digital watch brands push the envelope and will analog watches remain relevant in the misty future. Duggal avers, "The challenge and the demand of the rest of this millennium will be to incorporate wireless technology into watches. Watches are the very definition of portability. An MP3 player watch and a one megapixel camera watch is already on the market. This cutting edge level of innovation is transporting fictional, Bondesque accessories into reality and it does not stop there. Bluetooth connectivity is quintessentially the next frontier and will mark the relevance of watches in the wireless era. The possibilities are unlimited. Bluetooth enabled watches will be able to extract or input data from computers, laptops, phones and PDAs. Users will also be able to take printouts using their watches."

As far as analog watches go, given that Casio itself has recently tapped this segment with a special range of mid-priced watches, Duggal is not willing to write this segment off. "I think the two schools are split down the middle and since this niche is patronised predominantly by the moneyed, people will stretch their preferences to include analog as well as digital."

Timex is currently investing into research and development, for integrating several medical functions into their watches. "The next frontier is to integrate medical utilities into the watches but still keep them within the common man's budget. Our research and development mandate is to find a common interface for watches and medical devices. Soon Timex users may be able to monitor their heart rate, blood pressure level and calories. It may take a little while however," Wadhwa says.

Ansari offers his perspective on the future, saying, "We have come a long way from a round watch with white dial and two long hands. There's no telling what's next."