Watches used to be the way to tell time. Ever since the 1880’s, people have been wearing watches on their wrists. Before that, they wore the watches on a chain and in their pocket. These were convenient methods of telling what time it was and it helped to streamline business and social lives. These watches were both functional time keepers and indicators of an individual’s personal wealth.
It used to be that watches were used to denote a person’s wealth. The watch was often made from rich materials and engraved to show who owned that singular watch. As the watches became cheaper to make and more people began to own them, the watch remained both functional and a status symbol. Expensive pieces of watch works were still produced, pieces like the Rolex still demanded attention and respect.
In the age of cell phones, the watch is no longer needed for functional purposes. The cell phone is able to tell a person with more exactness what time it is than any watch would be capable of doing. Now the watch is simply a status symbol, a piece of equipment that is used to denote a person’s ability to afford a beautiful piece of jewelry and eloquence.
It is unfortunate that the cell phone has now become today’s time piece. It is now the cell phone that is considered the status symbol in popular culture. This has greatly hurt the watch companies and they are being forced to drop their prices while increasing their quality and decorative natures. Even the Rolex is being forced to advertise and redesign their pieces to fit in with the new crazes that the populous are displaying.
The watch does have some supporters though. These are the business CEOs and board members. People who realize that a cell phone is simply that, a cell phone and that a watch is a piece of art. It is due to these people that the watch remains a viable piece of a person’s wardrobe. These are the people that keep the art of watch making and watch wearing alive and well in the upper circles of society and will help to keep it alive in the rest of the social and fashion world.
Photo Provided by Free Digitial Photos and Graeme Weatherston