That's probably because Swatch is publicly traded but then again so is Richemont with their Piaget, Vacheron Constantin and Jaeger-LeCoultre brands and, except for some of the Piaget offerings, Richemont is rarely at the forefront of one's thoughts.
First up, via the Thompson Reuters Foundation:
Apple Inc's iPod upended the music industry, and its iPhone knocked Nokia off its smartphone perch, but Swiss watch makers breezily dismissed warnings that the technology giant's new wristwatch gadget could do something similar to them.And from Bloomberg:
"They are essentially transient products rather than items of enduring value," one Swiss watch industry expert sniffed.
Franz Tuerler, owner of a luxury watch store on Zurich's main shopping boulevard, Bahnhofstrasse, said the appeal of Apple watches would be to a different class of customer who prizes technology over prestige and emotional attachment.
"I think the Apple Watch will be successful. But it's not competition for the classic Swiss watch industry," Tuerler said....MORE
Apple Watch Threatens Lower-Priced Swiss Timepiece Brands
Swatch Group AG (UHR)’s Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar watch has a compass, tells the altitude and runs on solar power. It costs $1,250 -- more than three times the smartwatch Apple Inc. (AAPL) unveiled yesterday, putting it squarely in the crosshairs of the tech giant’s latest gizmo.
While the Apple timepiece, which can do everything from opening your hotel room door to paying for a Big Mac, might eventually impact the whole $60 billion Swiss watch industry in the fight for customers, analysts say it’s the lower-end of the market that will feel the pressure first. The threat is biggest for small, independent watch makers and Swatch, which gets about a fifth of all sales from namesake plastic watches and the Tissot brand, they say.Here's one of our posts on Piaget's use of carbon:
“There can be little doubt Apple will quickly sell millions of devices,” Geoff Blaber, a vice president of research for the Americas CCS Insight, said in a note. “In a stroke, Apple has become a leader in smartwatches and massively raised consumer awareness of the wearables segment.”...MORE
What happens when you have a ziggurat of diamonds on a watch? Well this... For 2010 Piaget has successfully crammed in more diamonds into an Emperador style watch. It is like the difference between Wheaties and Total breakfast cereal. Total has twice (or whatever) the fiber, in the same size bowl! How does Piaget fit that much fiber, err, I mean diamonds into a watch?!...Now maybe the "Ziggurat of diamonds" look isn't for everyone but to each his (or her) own.
