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Swiss watches and the Apple Watch
瑞士手表與蘋果手表
It's not about time
這和看時間沒有關(guān)系
Traditional watchmakers are confident they can see off Apple's new bauble
傳統(tǒng)手表制造商有信心看到蘋果華而不實的新玩意兒退出舞臺
WHEN cheap, accurate quartz watches started pouring out ofAsiain the 1970s, many Swiss watchmakers went bust. But the survivors recovered their sangfroid and went on to prosper as crafters of stylish timepieces that proclaim the wearer's taste and status better than any electronic gizmo could.
當19世紀70年代，價廉精準的石英表開始在亞洲普及，許多瑞士手表制造商破產(chǎn)了。但是那些幸存者恢復鎮(zhèn)靜，作為時尚手工鐘表生產(chǎn)商繼續(xù)著繁榮事業(yè)，這些鐘表比任何電子玩意兒都能更好的彰顯佩戴者的品味與地位。
Do Apple's new smartwatch and devices like it portend another quartz catastrophe? Some think they might. Wrists are “prime real estate”, points out Richard Seymour, a design consultant. Many people park expensive watches there—especially men, since that is the main sort of jewellery that convention allows them. So if smartwatches catch on, they could evict the Swiss baubles.
蘋果新款智能手表以及其他類似產(chǎn)品預示著另一個石英手表的大災難嗎？有些人也許這樣認為。設(shè)計顧問Richard Seymour指出：手腕是絕佳的部位。許多人佩戴名貴腕表——特別是男士，因為這是世俗允許他們佩戴的主流飾品。因此如果智能手表流行開來，它們可能將瑞士手表逐出市場。
That seems to be Apple's ambition. It has been poaching talent from fashion houses. Its new watches aim to be more than gadgets: some have 18-carat gold cases. Sir Jonathan Ive, Apple's design chief, has reportedly boasted to colleagues that the Swiss are in trouble.
這似乎就是蘋果公司的野心。其從時裝公司挖走人才。蘋果公司的新款手表旨在“不止是腕表”：有些腕表擁有18K金表殼。據(jù)報道，蘋果的首席設(shè)計師Jonathan Ive先生向同事吹噓說瑞士手表正陷入困境。
They are not trembling yet. Smartwatches are a mere “information tool” that say “nothing special” about the wearer, says Jean-Claude Biver, chairman of Hublot, a Swiss brand owned by LVMH, a big luxury group. They become obsolete as soon as the technology advances. Swiss watchmakers, on the other hand, are selling “eternity in a box.”
他們還未驚慌失措。大型奢侈品集團Hublot是瑞士手表旗下品牌，其主席Jean-Claude Biver表示，智能手表僅僅是一種“信息工具”，并不能彰顯佩戴者的特別。一旦科技進步，它們就將被淘汰。相反，瑞士手表制造商售賣的卻是“盒子里的永恒”。
Cheaper and less eternal Swiss-watch brands, from low-end ones like Swatch to mid-market ones like Tissot and Hamilton, seem most at risk. Swatch has already tried to get into smartwatches, in an ill-fated venture with Microsoft a decade ago, and plans to try again. However, Jon Cox of Kepler Cheuvreux, a stockbroker, points out that watches costing $500 or less provide just 6% of the industry's revenues, so it could survive their loss. Since Swatch also owns several upmarket brands and makes parts for many others, just 5% of its profits are at risk from Apple's watch, Mr Cox reckons.
較為便宜以及不太保值的瑞士手表品牌，從低端品牌如Swatch到中端品牌如Tissot和Hamilton，似乎風險最大。十年前Swatch已攜手微軟試圖進入智能手表領(lǐng)域，但這場冒險因時運不佳以失敗告終，其計劃再試一次。然而，Kepler Cheuvreux的一個股票經(jīng)紀人Jon Cox指出，價格在500美元或500美元以下的手表，僅提供該產(chǎn)業(yè)的總收入的6%，因此Swatch能承受它們的損失。Cox先生認為，由于Swatch還擁有幾個高端品牌，且其為其他品牌手表制造零部件，其利潤中僅5%會因蘋果手表的發(fā)布而存在風險。
Mr Biver thinks it may even boost Swiss watchmakers by getting youngsters used to wearing something pricey on their wrists. Existing customers may wear Apples for everyday use, but slip into something more enviable for social occasions. Mr Seymour is not so sure: he thinks Apple will do its utmost to make people wear its watch all the time.
Biver先生認為這甚至會讓年輕人對在手腕上佩戴一些昂貴的產(chǎn)品習以為常，從而促進瑞士手表制造商的發(fā)展。現(xiàn)有客戶可能會在日常生活中使用蘋果手表，但是在社交場合他們就會戴一些更讓人艷羨的東西。Seymour先生并不如此肯定：他認為蘋果公司將會盡其最大努力使人們無時無刻都戴著蘋果手表。
