IWC Connect is a Smart Solution
While TAG Heuer plans to go all-out and produce a luxury smartwatch this year, other makers of Swiss watches are moving with more caution rather than plunging into the wearable device market. IWC Schaffhausen is combining the best of both worlds with the IWC Connect.
This small circular device can be attached to the strap of an IWC traditional sports watch to provide connectivity with other devices and track the user’s fitness routine. According to IWC CEO Georges Kern, the device was inspired by seeing fans of the brand wearing fitness bands and other wearable devices alongside their IWC mechanical watches.
Kern called the Connect an “aesthetically complementary solution” to having both the looks of a luxury watch and the practical features of a smartwatch without having to strap on a not-so-attractive plastic fitness band. The discreet silver Connect is designed to blend in with the owner’s sophisticated IWC timepiece while unobtrusively doing its job.
Kern makes it clear that IWC will not be putting the brand’s prestigious name on just another smartwatch. “This is essential,” he said. “We do not touch our beautiful watches— an ‘IWC’ stays a mechanical handcrafted timepiece. We’ve engineered an intelligent design solution which perfectly integrates and underlines our product worlds.”
The Connect certainly sounds like a clever compromise for the lover of fine watches who is tempted by all the cool features of the Apple Watch but isn’t crazy about the way it looks, even if you spring for the 18K gold Edition model. Plus the Connect can be replaced every couple of years while the original watch remains untouched. This definitely makes more sense than replacing the whole smartwatch every two or three years as newer and more advanced models are released.
There are no major details yet so we will have to wait for pricing and whether there will be alternative models to coordinate with a variety of IWC timepieces.
