By the end of the decade, smartwatches from Apple Inc and others might elicit guffaws rather than envy. At least, that is the view of Montblanc International GmbH’s Alexander Schmiedt, who has developed an electronic watchband for Swiss luxury timepieces that tracks steps, reads e-mail and even helps take selfies.
The speed at which gadgets evolve poses a design challenge to the 400-year-old Swiss watchmaking industry, Montblanc managing director for watches Schmiedt said in an interview.
High-end wristwatches are made to last, while electronic devices become disposable within years, as seen in the demise of the 1980s calculator watch, he said.
Photo: Bloomberg
“Our products should have very long life cycles,” Schmiedt said at Montblanc’s watch factory in an Art Nouveau villa in the rural Swiss town of Le Locle. “In modern technologies, the life cycle is exactly the opposite. It may be the hottest thing today, and in one year it is already outdated, and in two years you are made fun of for still using it.”
Montblanc, owned by South African billionaire Johann Rupert’s Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, has created a luxury item with high-tech appeal by putting the electronics in the watchband rather than the timepiece.
Montblanc’s US$390 “e-Strap” is to go on sale next month and accompanies its TimeWalker watches, which cost from US$3,700 to US$5,800.
Richemont is likely to embed technology only in watchbands, Rupert said on a conference call about full-year earnings announced on Friday.
Rupert owns almost every product that Apple has made, and was the first agent selling Apple devices in South Africa decades ago, he said.
“I love Apple, but just when I have gone and set everything up for an iPhone 5, the iPhone 6 is coming out and the cords change,” he said. “That is not to say the Apple Watch is not a great product. I predict it will do very well, but I do not think that customers are going to be ecstatic to throw away watches in one to two years when the technology is obsolete.”
The watchband device is the first luxury Swiss product to directly compete with the Apple Watch, which costs US$349 for the basic version and US$17,000 for an 18-karat gold model.
The e-Strap and compatible timepieces are to appear in Montblanc boutiques and retailers, such as Bloomingdale’s, in the US.
The e-Strap consists of a stainless steel display attached with a leather strap and designed to be on the backside of the wrist when the watch is on the front. A touchscreen displays arriving e-mails.
When connected to a smartphone, Montblanc’s device can navigate playlists. It has an activity tracker that allows users to set targets for calories burned and steps taken. The e-Strap can also trigger a smartphone’s camera, facilitating easier “selfie” shots and group photographs.
The watchband is compatible with devices from Samsung Electronics Co, Apple and others. The e-Strap also has a function to help the wearer find the watch or smartphone, as long as they are within 30m.
It needs a recharge every five days, the company said.
While it does make a Swiss watch “smart,” the e-Strap is not flawless, according to Mario Ortelli, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in London.
“There are also disadvantages: fewer functionalities, smaller screen, less integration with other devices,” he said.
Swiss smartwatches are on the way, with LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE’s US$1,400 TAG Heuer smartwatch slated to reach consumers this year. Swatch is to introduce a New Gent timepiece with mobile payment functions for less than US$100 by August. IWC Schaffhausen — another brand owned by Richemont — also plans an intelligent watchband.
Schmiedt has said he hopes that the Apple Watch will succeed because it boosts consumer interest in timepieces. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.
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