November 2019_Esquire 79Analog Lives!
Why Mechanical
Matters
THE FOUNDER OF
THE WATCH WORLD’S
FAVORITE WEBSITE
MAKES THE CASE FOR
MACHINERY
In September of this year, Hodinkee pub-
lished the findings of a report by the NPD
Group, a luxury-industry analyst, revealing
that the list of the top five watch brands
in the United States for the past twelve
months looked a little different than in
years past. Patek Philippe was in fourth
place, and almighty Rolex was there in
second. But in fifth? Samsung. Third? Fit-
bit. In first—you guessed it—Apple. Now,
I suppose this isn’t all that shocking, but it
certainly raised a few eyebrows.
One must remember that both Patek
and Rolex have been selling watches for
more than a century. And they are still
popular; just have a look around any ma-
jor metropolis and you’ll see Submariners
on the wrists of countless urbanites. But
that still doesn’t change the fact that Ap-
ple went from selling zero dollars per
year in watches to surpassing even Rolex
in sales this fall. That took five years. And
that was prior to the Series 5 launch. It’s
a jarring fact for those of us who care
about mechanical matters, but it requires
a bit of context.
Mechanical watches, to put it bluntly,
are doing just fine. Patek Philippe and
Rolex, both privately held companies,
are rumored to have each had a record-
setting year, for the second year in a row.
The traditional top five feel the same way:
Cartier’s Tank remains an icon. Omega
has gone from strength to strength, cou-
pling dynamic limited-edition launches
catering to hardcore #watchnerds and to
astronauts, and TAG Heuer, which is cel-
ebrating forty years of the Monaco, is still
as cool as Steve McQueen’s wrist.
There is no denying the rise of the
smartwatch, but let’s keep some per-
spective. The mechanical watch, with its
everlasting, always assuring tick, is go-
ing nowhere—and while there are some
new players in the space, one can be cer-
tain that in fifty years, a Submariner will
look like a Submariner, and a Speedmas-
ter will look like a Speedmaster. And that
is a wonderful thing. —Ben ClymerWatches of the YearCARTIER CRASH
According to company legend, the
Crash commemorates a fatal automobile
accident in London in the 1960 s. A
melted Baignoire Allongée watch recovered
from the wreckage inspired Jean-Jacques
Cartier, then the head of Cartier’s
London operations, to create a tribute to
the victim. Well, that’s one story. The other
is that it was inspired by Salvador Dalí’s
melting pocket watch in his painting
The Persistence of Memory. Either way, this
new Crash is an enduring peculiarity
among the most collectible timepieces.
Price on request; 800-227-8437