What will be the impact of the smartwatch on the traditional timepiece?

As the debate continues over whether the Apple Watch is a success or a failure in terms of expectations, a couple of things have become clear: the first is that despite criticism that it leaves much to be desired in terms of usability, battery life, and other aspects, users seem very pleased with it. The second thing is that, as has been expected for a couple of months, the sales in the traditional watch market have fallen sharply, a fact that some of those affected now admit.

We’re talking here about an 11 percent fall off in economic terms, and 14 percent in units sold, the biggest drop since 2008, and that affects all prices (the biggest fall is in the $100 to $150 range), and that despite finding ourselves still at the beginning of the time series, it could point to a difficult future for the category. That said, this could all be about timing: the launch came when many people who were thinking about buying a watch chose an Apple Watch at a time when it was at the height of its popularity, although as happens with all launches, it will be difficult to sustain initial sales. In any even, despite the lack of transparency in providing figures, we are surely talking about sales of more than two million Apple Watches in the US market alone in the month of June, compared to the more than 900,000 that the traditional watch…