August 26, 2005
Who needs a wristwatch?
Strip your wrist and grab your hip. Times are changing. Or at least the way people keep time. The News & Observer reports.
The cell phone is becoming the modern watch, replacing the bands that have wrapped wrists for generations.
It seems watches might be taking it on the chin," said Neely Tamminga, a senior analyst with Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis who follows Fossil, a U.S. watchmaker that has had sluggish domestic sales.
That's not to say the industry's time has passed. U.S. consumers spent $3.8 billion on watches at fine jewelers last year, 6 percent more than in 2003, according to market researcher LGI Network.
But just because they're spending more doesn't mean they're buying more. The number of watches sold at those upscale retailers declined by 4 percent.
Meanwhile, mobile phones have evolved into the must-have accessory of the age. They snap pictures, shoot video, play games, keep calendars, send e-mail and -- get this -- let people talk.
Cell phones eliminate the fuss of figuring out the time. Because they are connected to networks, most show the exact time, every time. They automatically adjust for daylight-saving time and when taken into new time zones.
And gadget makers have learned not to overlook the simple feature that became standard about seven years ago.
Watchmakers aren't wasting time responding to the cell-phone threat. In February, a group of French watchmakers and jewelers sued a mobile-phone operator for airing a television commercial showing watches and a grandfather clock being trashed."
Related article: - Watchmakers cast nervous eye on mobile phone challenge
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