In a recent interview with CNBC, the president of LVMH’s watch division and CEO of Tag Heuer, Jean-Claude Biver, has said that Apple’s luxury Watch versions will soon become obsolete, while revealing that his company will launch an $1,800 Android-powered smartwatch in its attempt to take on the Apple Watch on November 9th, which offers a mid-level range that costs a maximum amount of $1,099.
Apple’s luxury 18-karat gold selection of the Apple Watch “Edition” has prices ranging from $10,000 to $17,000, while recently, the company has also teamed up with luxury designer Hermes to produce “Apple Watch Hermes” featuring finely crafted leather straps. While the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport are definitely a worthy competition to Tag Heuer’s $1,800 watch, Biver argues any connected device selling above $2,000 is a “huge problem.”
Jean-Claude Biver, told CNBC Monday that like any newcomer entering into your field, Apple is “big competition”. “How successful has Apple been? We don’t know. In the beginning, they were speaking about 10 to 20 million pieces, then sometimes we say they only sold 5 million. Nevertheless, to sell 5 million watches when you have not been a watchmaker is genius. It’s phenomenal.”
“Above $2,000, the connected watch has a huge problem. There is no eternity, it means it will become obsolete and who wants to buy a $10,000 – $20,000 watch, that becomes obsolete after five or 10 years?”
In the past, Biver has also argued that the technology behind the Apple Watch would eventually become outdated, so in the long run, a traditional timepiece would outlive evolving technologies.
