Young people 'buy watches as fashion accessories'

First published: 21-10-2011

Young people are often looking to buy watches for fashion purposes rather than having a functioning timepiece, according to one expert.

Silvio Leonardi, vice-president for its Europe, Middle East and Africa operations for Timex, told the Gulf News that the original purpose of a watch - for the wearer to be informed of the time - is no longer the primary reason people choose a timepiece.

He explained that this is being seen "especially the younger generations, [when they] think of purchasing a watch. Watches are more and more seen as accessories".

In order to keep up with the demand, he told the newspaper that there has been a shift in focus towards design by the company which also owns the licences for watch brands such as GC and Guess.

Getting pleasure from wearing a watch was also recently highlighted as being a important reason for owning one of the items by Jean-Christophe Babin, chief executive officer of Tag Heuer watches.