One of Earth’s finest ever watchmakers proclaims the Apple watch is ‘bland’


The new watch from Apple may well be a smartwatch in essence but they don’t want you to think it’s one. Since the Apple Watch was unveiled in September last year, the company has been saying that its primary purpose is to tell the time, and not, like previous smartwatches to hit the market, cram a host of features from your smartphone into a smaller device worn on ones wrist.

pieces of time antique pocket watches

Image: Jeffrey Smith under creative commons.

Apple is greatly promoting the craftsmanship behind the watchon its website.

Roger W. Smith, a watchmaker who was named asone of the best watchmakers in the worldby The Wall Street Journal, and has been creating high-end mechanical watches for almost 3 decades, thinks the Apple Watch is “bland.”

When talking to Business Insider Smith said:”For me, a watch is very different.”

Smith says he cares about factors such as who made the watch and its style and character.

He adds: “To me, I just find an Apple Watch a bit bland really.”

“People often sort of talk about mechanical watches having a bit of a soul and a life to them,” he says. “You can often relate it to cars. People like the sound of the engine of their cars. It’s the same with watches; people like to hear them tick, people like to see the movements in the back of the watch.”

Mechanical watches like the ones that Smith makes also have a longer lifespan than the Apple Watch likely does. According to Smith, his watches can last at least 100 years.

If you share Smith’s sentiments and would rather see the range of pocket watches for sale in our catalogue of timepieces at Pieces of Time then we wouldn’t blame you!