After a glittering start, the Apple Watch’s spotlight seems to have somewhat faded. And reports that sales have slumped by more than 90% since launch isn’t something to brush under the carpet.
The traditional watch industry has belied its talk that smartwatches aren’t a threat by scrambling its own takes in an effort to prevent a rerun of the Quartz Crisis. Then, like now, new technology threatened to turn people off the idea of spending thousands to tell the time. After being decimated through the 80s, the news that Cupertino isn’t muscling in their territory as effectively as they thought must be a relief.
Despite Apple getting their wrist candy on the arms of Beyoncé and David Beckham, it turns out that the smartwatch frontrunner is still struggling.
So, we have taken it upon ourselves to offer you an alternative; watches that ooze class and proudly wear an aesthetic package, so long nerdy computers on your wrists. We are going old school…
Mondaine Helvetica Smart 1957
Though not as well known as its high-end compatriots, Mondaine’s design is as Swiss as a cuckoo clock made of Toblerone. The brand’s classical face is ripped straight from the national railway clocks and its new model celebrates the nation’s most universal export, the font Helvetica, found everywhere from the New York subway signs to the care labels in your gym gear.
But don’t be fooled by its minimalist look. Underneath this is some serious smart tech. The subdial is a step and sleep tracker – not the chronograph most will assume – hosting it’s other functions on it’s own app. The app updates you on how much you’ve moved and uses the motion monitor to rouse you during a light sleep cycle. Which means you wake up as fresh faced as what’s on your wrist.
Pre-order now from £520 from shop.mondaine.com
Frédérique Constant Horological Smartwatch
Despite being a hundred years younger than its competitors, the Swiss brand is no stranger to invention. It produces in-house movements that sell for a third of the price – so it’s no surprise that Frédérique Constant is also leading the charge in alternative smartwatches.
For under a grand you get a sub-dial set up which resembles the Mondaine watch above, again displaying your progress towards sleep and step goals, while the accompanying app coaches your shut-eye and keeps tabs on whether you’re moving enough.
However, this is where the similarity ends. Instead of a chunky mid-century design, Frédérique Constant possesses Roman numerals, pin-thin hands, a choice of luxury leather straps or a stainless steel bracelet, and even a rose gold iteration that lets traditionalists enjoy cutting-edge tech as well.
Beautiful design, innovative tech spec and change from a grand!
Available now from £870, at thewatchgallery.com
Montblanc TimeWalker e-Strap
Loyal to the tech world and believe that none of these smartwatches will be enough? Montblanc begs to differ with their TimeWalker.
This bad boy keeps it’s front face minimal then sneaks the tech in out of sight, thanks to a second screen on the clasp that leaves your traditional timepiece uncluttered.
To start with, the e-Strap is available only on the Montblanc TimeWalker range, although we are expecting this to expand before we know it.
You get everything you’d expect from a smartwatch – activity tracking, notifications and the ability to control your phone’s music and camera functions from your wrist. But you can still smugly Tweet that appreciating traditional horology is the mark of true taste. While keeping tabs on every favourite and retweet from your wrist.
Available from 17 August, from £2,335, at thewatchgallery.com
TAG Heuer Carrera Wearable 01 Smartwatch
A large number of the horological big boys announced their step into smartwatch battle at Baselworld, but TAG Heuer brought the biggest battalion. Though details are still quite under wraps, the fact that the guts come from chip manufacturer Intel, and the accompanying software is Google’s well-tested Android Wear, means this piece is something serious.
TAG Heuer is promising the same longevity that spins a traditional watch purchase, hinting that the smartwatch will in fact be upgradeable to ensure its functionality is just as long-lasting as its looks.
On the latter, TAG Heuer boss Jean-Claude Biver has said that the smartwatch shares more than just a name with the recently announced TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 01 (above). So no one will know that your wrist attire is also packing GPS, health monitoring and fitness tracking under its rather handsome hood.
Available in November from £900
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Final Thought
With these bad boys leading the way in alternatives to the Apple Watch, we can see why Apple are quite worried. Not only do the above watches pack tech in numbers, they also look good enough to appear in any Bond film.
Let us know your thoughts on the Smartwatch battle in the comments below!
