The Apple Watch will be available to the public on April 24th (which means South Africa should get it in about 2035). Pricing will range from “$349 for entry-level models to $17,000 for the most expensive luxury version” which begs the question: Will you be buying one for yourself?

We reported in September last year after Apple announced their watch that the company wanted to ‘disrupt’ the current watch market, and that the likes of Cartier, Rolex, Tag et al should be worried.

Swiss watchmaker Swatch is worried that too many people will, and that sales of the traditional watch are going to go downhill. Co-founder Elmar Mock personally thinks there is going to be massive change:

Apple will succeed quickly. It will put a lot of pressure on the traditional watch industry and jobs in Switzerland. Anything in the price range of 500 francs to 1 000 francs is really in danger.

He went on to say that “Apple could sell 20 million to 30 million Apple Watch units yearly”. Switzerland exported around 28.6 million watches in 2014, and have an annual average of $20 billion in watch exports.

Is it not going to be the younger generations buying the Apple Watch? I don’t see my mum or dad going out and replacing their Tags anytime soon, and Granny is certainly happy with the Swatch she bought back in 1992. I, on the other hand, have a collection of watches to match my mood or outfit. Surely people will buy their Apple Watch and then continue to collect regular watches?

It’s going to be this

vs. this

And no one that I know is going to give up owning this

[Source: Fortune]