{"id":6376,"date":"2019-01-16T01:28:09","date_gmt":"2019-01-16T01:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/smartwatches-switzerlands-friend-of-foe\/"},"modified":"2019-01-16T01:28:09","modified_gmt":"2019-01-16T01:28:09","slug":"smartwatches-switzerlands-friend-of-foe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/smartwatches-switzerlands-friend-of-foe\/","title":{"rendered":"Smartwatches: Switzerland’s friend of foe?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Former Apple executive Tony Fadell says the Swiss watch industry must adapt to a digital world.
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There are people at Geneva’s annual watch show who would probably prefer to have an arm lopped off than wrap a smartwatch on their wrist.<\/p>\n

The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie is where the fine art of Swiss watchmaking presents itself to the world; where hand-crafted timepieces sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds.<\/p>\n

Not for them the soulless black Apple watch. Yet even in the heart of watch making there are signs that the digital world is encroaching. <\/p>\n

For a start, former Apple engineer Tony Fadell is at the show. He’s credited as being one of the fathers of the iPod, and went on to found Nest Labs, bought by Google in 2014 for $3.5bn.<\/p>\n

“The thing about the digital revolution is that it is touching everything, so to say it won’t touch this [Swiss watch] world doesn’t make sense,” he says.<\/p>\n

Several mechanical watch manufacturers are, in fact, experimenting with smart features in mechanical watches.<\/p>\n

Tag Heuer created an Android hybrid watch, and put about $190,000 worth of diamonds on it. <\/p>\n

Montblanc and Frederique Constant developed e-straps, putting digital functionality on the somewhat chunky buckle of the strap so that the watch itself keeps traditional looks.<\/p>\n

Frederique Constant also has a self-winding watch with bluetooth tech and a rechargeable battery. But at \u00a33,000, it’s still very much a luxury watch rather than a smartwatch. <\/p>\n

Ressence, a Belgium company that manufactures its watches in Switzerland, has developed the E-Crown. A couple of taps on the watch glass and the bluetooth connectivity links with the company’s iPhone app.<\/p>\n

The creation may have been complicated. The watch is powered by tiny solar panels. But the functionality is limited to such basic things as changing the time and timezones. It’s a long way off being able to track fitness or act as a payment platform.<\/p>\n

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Image copyright<\/span>
\n Maarten Slaets<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n Ressence’s solar-powered hybrid watch has smart tech but sells for a luxury price – $40,000-plus
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Still, as Ressence founder Benoit Mintiens is quick to point out: “It’s a first generation model and there will be a further merging of analogue and digital functions.”<\/p>\n

Ressence sells only about 300 watches a year, but it has some high-profile supporters. <\/p>\n

The chief executive of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi is a fan, Mr Mintiens says, as is the designer Philippe Starck. “They are genuine admirers. We are a small company and cannot pay for brand ambassadors,” says Mr Mintiens.<\/p>\n