Who will pay €3000 for a smartwatch? Will Rolex make a smartwatch? Vlastimil Nesvadba, who has been selling watches since 1994, answers

We have already talked about watches with Vlastík Nesvadba from Helvetia.cz ( www.helvetia-hodinky.cz ) . This time, however, we changed the topic a bit and talked about, for example, what a customer who pays €3000 for a smartwatch looks like or whether Rolex will ever make a smartwatch. Vlastík has been selling watches for more than 25 years and has sold countless of them in that time. Recently, the market has been changing more and more and sales of smartwatches are growing day by day. So let's talk about it and I believe that if you like not only smartwatches, but also classic watches, then you will find what you are looking for in the following lines.

Hello, Vlastík. I would like to use our conversation today to get a little closer to the current world of smart watches and how you perceive them as a person who started selling watches long before any idea to make a smartwatch was even born. Try to introduce yourself a little to readers who don't know you.

You're right in that when I started, in 1994, there weren't even smart phones, let alone smartwatches. Over time, I added retail to wholesale. We opened a HELVETIA store and today smart watches are an indispensable assortment for us.

Pro For many people, they are synonymous with smart watches. Apple Watch. However, lately I have been increasingly intrigued by the so-called high-end smartwatches, whose prices often exceed €3000. These include, for example, LV, Tag Heuer or Garmin with its Marq collection. You sell two of these models yourself. What does a customer who buys a smartwatch for almost a hundred thousand crowns look like? After all, for that price you can buy a decent smartwatch overall.carA watch you will have for the rest of your life.

I already know from the sale of the TAG Heuer Connected Modular that in this case it is about customers who are used to using smart watches from other – cheaper – brands. On the other hand, they also want to have a "brand". You can hardly sell a Garmin to a customer who will buy a TAG Heuer smartwatch.

So is it a person who has a classic watch at home for tens to hundreds of thousands of crowns and simply wants a smart watch for sports or health monitoring? Or are they also people who would never buy a classic watch, but are not sorry to spend a similar amount on a smartwatch?

In both cases you are right. In the case of TAG Heuer the customer already has a mechanical watch at home.carwatches and wants to buy a smart watch. He often “updates” his collection. He had the second series of TH Conencted , but wants a new one. It's similar to s AppleWatch – you also buy a newer version from time to time. With Garmin, it's a little different. Here, thanks to the specialization of individual models, there is a wide range of activities for the customer. A lover of flying or yachting and so on will choose. There are really a lot of options. With a price of up to €2000, Garmin MARQ goes further towards its customers in terms of functionality. Pro For many people, this investment is acceptable.

However, we are honestly talking more about the materials, the brand and also the feeling. This is what people pay for in these expensive smartwatches. As far as features go, is there something that cheap watches just don't have and you have to go that high to get that feature?

Yes, it's a lot about materials. Garmin MARQ has taken on the fight against seamscarsmart watches, especially in the choice of materials for cases, bracelets and glasses. It adds proven functionalities to this and thus justifies its price. Most of the functions can also be done by Garmin Fenix 6 Pro, but again you don't have premium materials here. With the TAG Heuer Connected it's largely about the brand.

Do you think any brand, with real exceptions, can afford to come out with a smartwatch? Can Rolex, Breitling, Omega and the like do it? I understand that talking about extremes like Patek or Richard Mille is stupid, but what about the aforementioned brands?

I really have no idea what will happen in the future. At this point, few people can imagine Rolex with smartwatches, but could any of us imagine two months ago that the whole world would be paralyzed by a single virus? Montblanc is testing its smartwatchesanc and other manufacturers of more luxurious brands. However, TAG Heuer is again a pioneer in this. JCBiver was consistent in the idea of ​​TAG Heuer Connected and in my opinion it paid off. No other brand from Sweden has gone as far in smartwatches as this brand.carThere are certainly no Russian brands. I think that initially it was more of a marketing move. He probably had no idea that customer interest would turn from mechanical watches to smart watches in such a significant way. That he was going through acarThe fact that the Czech watch industry is facing its biggest crisis since the 1970s is already an open secret.

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garmin marq watch face

garmin marq detail

garmin marq on hand

garmin marq hand in pocket

garmin marq in the shop window

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When you talked about materials, you were talking about technologies, batteries, and displays. nestCan you imagine smartwatches becoming a collector's item or something you can afford to buy under certain circumstances?chat A lifetime? After all, it's a shame to pay for premium materials and then "throw them away" in a year and go buy a new model.

No. I think that in this case there will be no talk of collecting ambitions. I spoke about this topic with the Garmin CZ distributor. They don't give a "lifetime" warranty, but we're certainly not talking about a one-year lifespan here either. The body of the watch itself will definitely be fine. The only problem may be battery life. So far no one has managed to solve this problem, although again Garmin is probably the furthest with its battery life of several days.

So, even in the case of TH or Garmin Marq, the battery cannot be replaced with a new one for service?

I know I'm probably not going to be happy with this answer, but none of these brands offer this option at the moment. If the problem was in the warranty, both manufacturers will certainly solve it - either by replacing the battery or the entire watch. But what will happen in the next 5 years, for example, I don't know. On the other hand, Garmin has been around long enough that people probably know these products - for better or for worse. I have known TAG Heuer from the position of smartwatches since 2018. So until now I have not solved the problems with the battery. I am not saying that mechanical problems did not occur with both brands, but everything was always resolved to the satisfaction of the customer.

Do you find that people who try a smartwatch once don't go back to the classics and keep their collection, but it no longer outgrows them? I know people who have Pateks at home and still go to important meetings with Apple Watch, because it doesn't even occur to take them off.

This is very individual! I know people who simply stopped having fun with smartwatches. For example, they did not enjoy charging their watches in addition to their mobile phones. They were happy to get back to the mechanics and enjoy the feel as they did when they had them on their hands for the first time. But I also know people who are so used to monitoring and living with a smartwatch that they really can't take it off their hands. It surprises me with some, but that's what's beautiful. For example, I really enjoy that choice. When I'm in the mood for a light smartwatch, I have no problem wearing it for a week at a time. But then there comes a time when I yearn for the mechanics, I deliciously adjust them, stretch them and put them on my hand. I know what human work is hidden behind this "toy". I enjoy that.

That sounds great and I think that's how it should be. Okay, so what do you recommend to our readers who have ten thousand mechanics and don't want one for whatever reason Apple Watch? And what about those who have watches worth a hundred thousand?

If he's not a die-hard fan Applu, I definitely recommend Garmin. There is really a lot to choose from with this brand – whether according to your wallet or functionality. If it has mechanics, let's say lower middle class, for example Fenix6 is a great choice. But if you really want something special, there is no reason to hesitate. MARQ is newly on the market for this very reason.

So can they find both at your place? Is it possible to try them directly in the store? If so, I trust you will take the best care of our readers as possible.

Try us out! We are committed to always having everything in stock from premium models and we will be happy to assist you! Just visit helvetia-hodinky.cz or directly in our brick-and-mortar store.