Move over Swiss watches, it’s now Apple’s time

New Delhi: Call it the horologist’s nightmare, but convenience has trumped posh. Millennials are strapping on Apple Watches rather than storied Swiss-made timepieces—the benchmark for luxury—in keeping with these multi-tasking times.

Shipments of Apple Watch, launched in 2015 as a “groundbreaking health and fitness companion”, have crossed those of Swiss watches. Apple shipped 30.7 million units of its ubiquitous watches worldwide in 2019 against the 21 million units moved by the entire Swiss watch industry, market researcher Strategy Analytics reported on Wednesday.

This is seen as the American brand Apple upending the legacy Swiss watch brands such as Rolex, Omega and Longines that have for decades drawn the rich and powerful with their pricey, bejewelled and exquisite products.