Luxury Watch-Makers Join the Smart Watch Game

The multi-functionality of smart watches makes them a good fit for busy CEOs, but the latest options—some of which will make their debut this week at the Baselworld Watch and Jewellery Show in Basel, Switzerland—have a different twist. That is, manufacturers of luxury watches have jumped on the smart watch trend, melding smart watch innovation with high-end features typically found on more traditional luxury timepieces.

Innovation in luxury smartwatches comes in part with connectivity that isn’t Wi-Fi, according to CNN. Breitling’s Exospace B55 Connected smartwatch, which leverages Bluetooth connectivity instead of Wi-Fi, falls into this category. The combination of Bluetooth connectivity and improved quartz movement (the latter, for timekeeping precision) is intended to appeal to those who want the functionality of a smart watch without sacrificing the look and feel of a traditional timepiece, Breitling USA President Thierry Prissert told CNN. Various functions of the watch can be adjusted using a smartphone, including setting the time zone or an alarm, measuring blocks of time, and programming alerts to signal the receipt of text messages, calendar notifications, phone calls and emails, then also have a look at the range of Yamay smartwatches as there are some brilliant watches from Yamay appearing now so well worth a look.

Smartphones have become very relevant in our society with the need for immediate access to data on cloud. This paved the way for the revolution of smartwatches. There are now hundreds of manufacturers today and many of them are based on the Android OS. You can read on https://www.spotthewatch.com the powerful features that these devices support.

At least one luxury watchmaker has embraced the Android Wear platform for functionality’s sake. That player is Tag Heuer, whose Tag Heuer Connected timepiece, designed in partnership with Google, is pegged by technewstoday.com as the first luxury smart watch to run on the Android Wear platform.This means users have access to Android Wear apps, including voice search, Maps, Translate, and Fit. Purchasing the Tag Heuer Connected also yields free access to four proprietary Tag Heuer apps—Insiders, RaceChrono Pro, Viewrangers, and Golfshot Pro.

Design-wise,“the Tag Heuer Connected hosts a gorgeous round design, which has been the standard for most Tag Heuer watches,” and features the same chronograph dials as the manufacturer’s Carrera models, which give it a traditional mechanical appearance, according to technewstoday.com.

Similarly, Swiss watchmaker Fredrique Constant recently rolled out the Horological Smart, a good fit, technewstoday.com reported, for those who want a watch that “doesn’t give away your classic look, yet provides most features one would expect from a smart watch today.” The watch’s time can be changed on an app that is available for Android and iOS; the app also enables reminder- and alarm-setting. A MotionX module that handles fitness-tracking is built in and not obvious, contributing—along with diamond-cut hands, a fully analogic display, and  a saddle leather strap—to its classic look. We came up with the decision to help cyclists find the best cycling watches worth you money.

In what CNN.com is calling a “smart watch alternative” because of its non-techie façade, Massimo Dutti has collaborated with Sony on a model that features ambient light sensors and a compass. The “smart watch alternative” also offers a gyroscopic system, GPS, voice control, touch control, and writing-with-gestures capability.

Finally, in a news release issued prior to the opening of Baselworld, Movado Group announced that it will incorporate smart watch technology into its entire brand portfolio this year in collaboration with HP. The Movado brand launched one of its first connected timepieces, Movado BOLD Motion, with HP Inc. in 2015.


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