Update: This article has been updated to more accurately explain the cost of the exchange from smartwatch to mechanical watch.
Everyone knows Swiss watches are basically heirlooms due to their build quality and the price tag that follows such an experience. It's the thing that makes spending the money on high-end timepieces worth it, you know they will last forever. This has been one of the big things many folks have had questions about when discussing the $1,500 Tag Heuer Connected, the first truly luxury Android Wear watch. Knowing full well the pace of technology will render the screen, processor, and just about everything but the casing for this watch obsolete in right around two years, what exactly do you get for that price tag?
According to Tag Heuer, the answer to that question is an entirely different watch once the Connected reaches End of Life.
Tucked away in the Tag Heuer Connected presentation was the mention of how timeless and eternal these watches are, and towards the end of the presentation this finally got explained. Since this watch will undoubtedly be less than functional in about two years, especially when compared to whatever is available in the future, Tag Heuer will be exchanging your Connected for a similar classic Carrera watch, also from Tag Heuer for another $1,500. This means you'll be swapping out your smartwatch for a "real" watch, so technically your purchase from Tag Heuer is still timeless and eternal, right?
This is a bold move from Tag Heuer, as not only does it help justify the cost of the watch but it allows the company to transition the younger audience they hope to reach with this Connected to another quality Tag Heuer product when they're maybe not quite as interested in having a computer on their wrist. On the other hand, if these crazy computers turn out to be something that isn't going away anytime soon, Tag Heuer can release an updated version of this smartwatch in two years and continue to call themselves the first luxury smartwatch brand. Everyone in this situation wins no matter what, as long as you're cool with dropping another $1,500 on a watch that would normally retail for closer to $5,000.
