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Anti-smartwatch buyer's guide

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  • Cheaper than you think...

    Cheaper than you think...

    If you go out and buy a nice, normal watch, you can keep it for years and you'll get great value for money. Yes, it won't show you your emails or know your position on the planet to within a few centimetres accuracy, but it will tell the time.

    Say you spend $3,000 on a watch. Yes, that's a lot of money, but it's an investment, not a tool. The right sort of watch will hold its value or even appreciate. And it'll last for decades.

    No smartwatch you'll ever buy will last that long. You'll have to keep buying new ones every couple of years. And they won't ever appreciate in value. (OK, so first-gen Apple ones might.)

    More to the point, they won't look good, and have a timeless (no pun) style to them.

    My advice: Don't buy a smartwatch — buy an anti-smartwatch.

    This is what I did eight years ago. I bought a nice watch, and I love it as much today as I did when I bought it. I could keep this watch until I die of (hopefully) old age and leave it to one of my kids. Try doing that with a Pebble smartwatch!

    And it's geek cool, as well. Technology isn't just about how many gigahashes your Bitcoin ASIC supercomputer can crunch in an second. It's about how we as a society got to where we are, technologically speaking. Go back not very far at all in human history, and we couldn't even reliably tell the time! A nice watch with a proper automatic movement can ground technologists to their shared history past in a most pleasing way.

    Here are a few I found at Amazon's "luxury watch store" to whet your appetite.

    You may think Rolexes are expensive, but at $3,200, this classy Rolex Air King is a good way of owning a classy-looking timepiece that'll stay looking classy looking for decades.

    Photo by: Rolex

    Caption by: Matt Baxter-Reynolds

  • For science!

    For science!

    Fancy something with more science? This TAG Heuer Men's CV2A10.FC6235 Carerra will run you $3,500, but it'll make geeks stop and look just as much as they did upon seeing your iPhone v1.

    Photo by: TAG Heuer

    Caption by: Matt Baxter-Reynolds

  • For the Arthur Dents amongst you...

    For the Arthur Dents amongst you...

    Perhaps you think digital watches are a pretty neat idea? This Breitling Aerospace Titanium has you covered on both fronts at $3,200.

    Photo by: Breitling

    Caption by: Matt Baxter-Reynolds

  • One for Jony Ive?

    One for Jony Ive?

    I like the classic, simple look of this one. This Baume and Mercier Men's 8462 Classima looks like something Deiter Rams would be happy to wear on his wrist. And yours for just $1,800.

    Photo by: Baume and Mercier

    Caption by: Matt Baxter-Reynolds

  • Sporty and stylish

    Sporty and stylish

    p>Fancy something a little sporty? Going a bit higher up the pricing scale (although wait until you see the next one!) this $5,100 number from Armand Nicolet (the Armand Nicolet Men's T612A-GR-MT610 S05 Sporty Automatic Titanium) has got you covered if you're not the kind of person to sit around all day playing Xbox.

    Photo by: Armand Nicolet

    Caption by: Matt Baxter-Reynolds

  • How's the Bitcoin mining?

    How's the Bitcoin mining?

    Perhaps your Bitcoin mining operation is doing rather well and you have a spare $82,000?

    To finish, this little number from Zenith. The Zenith Defy Extreme Tourbillion Titanium. It looks like something left behind by an alien civilsation — specifically one that no longer thought digital watches were a pretty neat idea, but still thought that carbon fibre was.

    Photo by: Zenith

    Caption by: Matt Baxter-Reynolds

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My number one prediction about smartwatches? They won't offer good value for money. Buy a nice, expensive, normal watch with an automatic movement and you'll be much happier.

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Cheaper than you think...

If you go out and buy a nice, normal watch, you can keep it for years and you'll get great value for money. Yes, it won't show you your emails or know your position on the planet to within a few centimetres accuracy, but it will tell the time.

Say you spend $3,000 on a watch. Yes, that's a lot of money, but it's an investment, not a tool. The right sort of watch will hold its value or even appreciate. And it'll last for decades.

No smartwatch you'll ever buy will last that long. You'll have to keep buying new ones every couple of years. And they won't ever appreciate in value. (OK, so first-gen Apple ones might.)

More to the point, they won't look good, and have a timeless (no pun) style to them.

My advice: Don't buy a smartwatch — buy an anti-smartwatch.

This is what I did eight years ago. I bought a nice watch, and I love it as much today as I did when I bought it. I could keep this watch until I die of (hopefully) old age and leave it to one of my kids. Try doing that with a Pebble smartwatch!

And it's geek cool, as well. Technology isn't just about how many gigahashes your Bitcoin ASIC supercomputer can crunch in an second. It's about how we as a society got to where we are, technologically speaking. Go back not very far at all in human history, and we couldn't even reliably tell the time! A nice watch with a proper automatic movement can ground technologists to their shared history past in a most pleasing way.

Here are a few I found at Amazon's "luxury watch store" to whet your appetite.

You may think Rolexes are expensive, but at $3,200, this classy Rolex Air King is a good way of owning a classy-looking timepiece that'll stay looking classy looking for decades.

Caption by: Matt Baxter-Reynolds

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