“Don’t try to get rid of the ego-sensation. Take it, so long as it lasts, as a feature or play of the total process — like a cloud or wave, or like feeling warm or cold, or anything else that happens of itself. Getting rid of one’s ego is the last resort of invincible egoism! It simply confirms and strengthens the reality of the feeling. But when this feeling of separateness is approached and accepted like any other sensation, it evaporates like the mirage that it is.” — Alan Watts
Apple Watch. More than a timepiece
Apple is having one of their product unveiling/press events tomorrow. Me and a couple of my Apple Fan Boys are getting together to watch. Everyone’s expecting to learn more about the upcoming Apple Watch. My buddies can’t wait to get one of these strapped to their liver-spotted wrists. I’ve never been a watch guy but then, I wasn’t a phone guy or a table guy, so who knows. I just don’t like jewelry on my hands. Never wore a wedding ring.
But don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about this new product category from my favorite company. And I’ve followed the tech press as it has speculated about features and price. And price is what I want to talk about today.
If the top-of-the-line Apple Edition carries a price tag of ten or twenty-thousand dollars (or more), a bunch of folks are going to lose their shit. Both fans and haters. I can’t imagine spending that kind of dough on a watch but a lot of folks will. And the fancy pants model won’t do anything that the low-end model can do, so why pay more?
I don’t know a lot of rich people so it’s really unfair of me to speculate about what makes them tick (get it?). But the only reason I can imagine wearing a watch that cost $100,000 (or more) is you want folks to know you are rich. I mean, nobody’s trying to sell “This thing keeps great time!”
And a watch has a few advantages in this regard. Yeah, if you saw me get out of my Lamborghini you’d know I was something special. Or if you visited me in my Malibu mansion. But if you want folks to know you’re a little bit special whenever you go out in public, you gotta wear it.
Now I can’t tell a five-thousand dollar suit from a thousand-dollar suit. But a watch is something you never have to take off (if it’s water-proof). It’s right there on your well-tanned wrist. And if it’s a Rolex or one of the other high-end time pieces… Whoa! Who the fuck is this guy with a 100K on his arm?
I’m starting to sound a little mean or envious here and that’s not my intention. I’m just trying to understand the thinking behind a luxury purchase.
Shoot all the guys wearing combat pants first
Interesting interview with William Gibson. I guess it’s about style and fashion although I doubt he’d describe it thus. “Tech Wear and the Limits of Authenticity” is a pretty good description.
My rule is that if Dick Cheney couldn’t wear it without creating a stir, I shouldn’t either. I like clothing that isn’t easily noticed. […] I’m embarrassed if I think anyone knows exactly what I paid for something, or even where I got it. I want what I’m wearing to feel good on, wear well, and to be extremely functional.
There’s an idea called “gray man”, in the security business, that I find interesting. They teach people to dress unobtrusively. Chinos instead of combat pants, and if you really need the extra pockets, a better design conceals them. They assume, actually, that the bad guys will shoot all the guys wearing combat pants first, just to be sure. I don’t have that as a concern, but there’s something appealingly “low-drag” about gray man theory: reduced friction with one’s environment.