When I was seven, my father gave me a Timex, my first watch. I loved it, wore it for years, and haven't had another one since it stopped ticking a decade ago. Why? Because I don't need one. I have a mobile phone and I'm always near someone with an iPod or something like that. All these   tell the time -- which is why, if you look around, you'll see lots of empty wrists  ; sales of watches to young adults have been going down since 2007. But while these wise people have realized that they don't need them, others -- including some distinguished ones of our time -- are spending total fortunes on them. Brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breitling command shocking prices, up to PS 250.000 for a piece. This is ridiculous. Expensive cars go faster than cheap cars. Expensive clothes hang better than cheap clothes. But these days, all watches tell the time as well as all other watches. Yes, you may say expensive watches will come with some extra functions -- but who needs them? How often do you dive to 300 metres into the sea to test its function of waterproof, or need to find your direction in the area around the South Pole by using its compass? So why pay that much of five years' school fees for watches that allow you to do these things? If justice were done, the Swiss watch industry should have closed down when the Japanese discovered how to make accurate watches for a five-pound note. Instead, the Swiss re-invented the watch, with the aid of millions of pounds' worth of advertising, as a message about the man ---- usually a famous star, wearing it. Rolexes are for those who spend their weekends climbing icy mountains; a Patek Philippe is for one from a rich or noble family; a Breitling suggests you like to pilot planes across the world. Watches are classified as "investment items"   now. A 1994 Philippe recently sold for nearly PS 350, 000, while 1960s Rolexes have gone from 15, 000 to 30, 000 plus in a year. But, to some wealthy people, a watch is more than an investment. It's a valuable toy for self-satisfaction, a matter of fashion. Prices may keep going up -- they've been rising for fifteen years. But when fashion moves on, the owner of that PS 350, 000 treasured object will suddenly find his pride and joy is no more a good investment than my childhood Times. What can be learnt about Swiss watch industry from the passage?
It targets rich people as its potential customers. It seems hard for the industry to beat its competitors. It wastes a huge amount of money in advertising. It is easy for the industry to re-invent cheap watches.