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> My week and a half wearing an apple watch has taught me one big lesson about watches. A watch is only secondarily used to tell time... Watches are actually so

> My week and a half wearing an apple watch has taught me one big lesson about watches. A watch is only secondarily used to tell time... Watches are actually social signifiers more than time pieces, fitness trackers, or notification screens, they communicate the wealth and status of the wearer. I have Pebble and I disagree with this comment being about all watches or even all smart watches. The Pebble is comparatively inexpensive compared to the Apple Watch and, for me, that is one of the biggest selling features. I'm much happier strapping a $200 smart device to my wrist than a $450 one. The Pebble also has a very hacker-friendly SDK. If it's a social signifier, it basically tells everyone that I'm a big geek. That being said, I don't disagree with this comment as applied to the Apple Watch -- it seems exactly what Apple is going for.

chrisdbaldwin 12y ago
Exactly, it's jewelry.
- danieltillett 12y ago
  It is jewellery that men feel comfortable wearing and showing off.
  - tcdent 12y ago
    Traditionally. Now you mix tech in and everyone has a justification.
    - privong 12y ago
      They may have meant in contrast to other jewerly men could wear, not in contrast to women wearing watches.
      - tcdent 12y ago
        Oh, I was thinking about it from the perspective of a man who wears no 'jewelry'. But now it's tech, so it appeals to them, too.
    - danieltillett 12y ago
      I was commenting that a large percentage of men feel uncomfortable wearing jewellery, but they make an exception for watches. Watches have always been about tech - mechanical tech, but one of the things about wearing a traditional watch is you get to carry around a tiny piece of amazing engineering. That it can also be used to tell the time is just a bonus :)
  - sp332 12y ago
    There was a long thread on Twitter about this a couple of weeks ago. https://twitter.com/mcclure111/status/591769823706681344 https://twitter.com/mcclure111/status/591769823706681344
  - prawn 12y ago
    I always wanted to popularise the term bro'och to add to the small complement of male jewellery options. Had no luck though...
    - danieltillett 12y ago
      I think male jewellery is in a similar situation to male cosmetics. Businesses have been trying to figure out how to get men to wear cosmetics for sometime (generally without much success). If someone works out how to convince men to wear cosmetics they will make a fortune.
- Raphmedia 12y ago
  Depends on who you ask. I'm wearing a $20 watch and I couldn't be happier with it!
soylentcola 12y ago
Yeah, I'm in mixed agreement regarding my Moto360. On one hand, like the author states, sometimes using it is "just OK". It's not something I couldn't live without but it's essentially a fun gadget that has some moderately useful features. Like you, I see any social connotations more along the lines of "hey, that guy likes tech and stuff". I like the fact that I can easily design my own watch faces to look like just about anything (within the dimensions of the screen at least) and that appeals to my "graphics enthusiast" side. With a few minutes in Photoshop and Watchmaker I can make my watch look like a Fallout PipBoy, or something minimalist and artsy, or something classic, or something flashy and animated. You aren't just limited to the background image but can add different hands, different info displays, and several other things. If you don't feel like doing that, you can just download one of the hundreds that other users have shared online. None of that stuff is life changing but it definitely appeals to me. Still, as you also mentioned, cost has a lot to do with it. The author mentions strapping $600 of tech on his wrist and on my budget I agree that this would be awfully extravagant. But my Moto was only $175 on sale which brings it a lot closer to the sort of minor luxury I like to splurge on every now and then. $175 for a watch may be a little redundant in this day of ubiquitous cell phones but having a little customizable info display on my wrist is pretty neat and won't break the bank.

chrisdbaldwin 12y ago

Exactly, it's jewelry.

danieltillett 12y ago
It is jewellery that men feel comfortable wearing and showing off.
- tcdent 12y ago
  Traditionally. Now you mix tech in and everyone has a justification.
  - privong 12y ago
    They may have meant in contrast to other jewerly men could wear, not in contrast to women wearing watches.
    - tcdent 12y ago
      Oh, I was thinking about it from the perspective of a man who wears no 'jewelry'. But now it's tech, so it appeals to them, too.
  - danieltillett 12y ago
    I was commenting that a large percentage of men feel uncomfortable wearing jewellery, but they make an exception for watches. Watches have always been about tech - mechanical tech, but one of the things about wearing a traditional watch is you get to carry around a tiny piece of amazing engineering. That it can also be used to tell the time is just a bonus :)
- sp332 12y ago
  There was a long thread on Twitter about this a couple of weeks ago. https://twitter.com/mcclure111/status/591769823706681344 https://twitter.com/mcclure111/status/591769823706681344
- prawn 12y ago
  I always wanted to popularise the term bro'och to add to the small complement of male jewellery options. Had no luck though...
  - danieltillett 12y ago
    I think male jewellery is in a similar situation to male cosmetics. Businesses have been trying to figure out how to get men to wear cosmetics for sometime (generally without much success). If someone works out how to convince men to wear cosmetics they will make a fortune.
Raphmedia 12y ago
Depends on who you ask. I'm wearing a $20 watch and I couldn't be happier with it!

soylentcola 12y ago

Yeah, I'm in mixed agreement regarding my Moto360. On one hand, like the author states, sometimes using it is "just OK". It's not something I couldn't live without but it's essentially a fun gadget that has some moderately useful features. Like you, I see any social connotations more along the lines of "hey, that guy likes tech and stuff". I like the fact that I can easily design my own watch faces to look like just about anything (within the dimensions of the screen at least) and that appeals to my "graphics enthusiast" side. With a few minutes in Photoshop and Watchmaker I can make my watch look like a Fallout PipBoy, or something minimalist and artsy, or something classic, or something flashy and animated. You aren't just limited to the background image but can add different hands, different info displays, and several other things. If you don't feel like doing that, you can just download one of the hundreds that other users have shared online. None of that stuff is life changing but it definitely appeals to me. Still, as you also mentioned, cost has a lot to do with it. The author mentions strapping $600 of tech on his wrist and on my budget I agree that this would be awfully extravagant. But my Moto was only $175 on sale which brings it a lot closer to the sort of minor luxury I like to splurge on every now and then. $175 for a watch may be a little redundant in this day of ubiquitous cell phones but having a little customizable info display on my wrist is pretty neat and won't break the bank.