Watches have been around for over 500 years and their design keeps on changing with time. Digital and smart watches have been growing ever popular, to the point where some people fear that they are taking value away from the traditional watch design. Despite the fact that smart watches offer a much larger range of features than the classic, they don’t seem to compete with the vintage models as seen on TicWatches, which remain as popular and contemporary as ever.

The Roots of the Vintage Watch

The first ever watch came into being in 15th century Europe. These were made using portable springs which then evolved into the mainspring shortly after. Wristwatches soon followed, commonly known in the 16th century as ‘arm watches’ and were thought to be both precious and valuable. As the legacy of the watch developed, military men in the 19th century would often wear a wristwatch in order to help synchronize manoeuvres during the war with other soldiers. Since then, the classic wristwatch has developed and enhanced further to become a useful fashion piece which is still as popular as ever.

The Competition

Smart watches are perhaps more suited to this ‘digital-age’ but vintage watches will always have a place in our modernised society. The competition is rough with more high-end brands releasing their smart timepieces each year. A few favourites include Motorola’s Andorid watch ‘Moto 360’ which comes with a ton of features and capabilities. Another favourite is the LG G Watch R which has 4GB of internal storage and takes on a more traditional visual approach.

One of the biggest competitors to the traditional watch is Apple’s brand new smart watch which comes with a touch screen. According to www.dailymail.co.uk Apple sold one million of these new smart watches on the first day of release alone, making it a fast-selling product that the people clearly love. However, smart watches come with their own set of disadvantages, one of which is the poor battery life. Most of these digital watches need re-charging overnight which can be a real nuisance. They can also be difficult to set with so many buttons making the process more confusing.

Traditional Design

The traditional watch design remains a favourite and is said to be the most fashionable model when compared to digital and smart watch designs. The classic watch comes with the usual clock face, 12 hours and the minute, hour and second hands. Because of its simple layout, it is much easier to read time from a classic vintage watch.

Despite not having as many features as the modern day smart watches, the traditional timepiece does what a watch was created to do – tell the time without any hassle. It is simple to change the time with a quick turn of the tab and comes with many different straps and designs to choose from. According to the Independent, ‘old watches are in vogue and are increasingly regarded not as collectibles but as fashion accessories’ - emphasizing further that nothing beats a vintage watch.