When I was seven, my father gave me a Timex, my first watch. I loved it, wore it for years, and haven't had another one since it stopped ticking a decade ago. Why? Because I don't need one. I have a mobile phone and I'm always near someone with an iPod or something like that. All these devices tell the time - which is why, if you look around, you'll see lots of empty wrists; sales of watches to young adults have been going down since 2007.
我七岁时，父亲给了我一块天美时手表，这是我的第一块手表。我喜欢它，戴了好几年，自从十年前它停止滴答作响以来，我就再也没有戴过手表了。为什么？因为我不需要了。我有一部手机，附近总有人拿着iPod或类似的设备。所有这些设备都可以告知时间，这就是为什么如果你环顾四周，会看到很多空手腕；自2007年以来，面向年轻人的手表销量一直在下降。
But while the wise have realized that they don't need them, others - apparently including some distinguished men of our time - are spending total fortunes on them. Brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breitling command shocking prices, up to ￡250,000 for a piece.
但是，尽管智者已经意识到不需要它们，但其他人（显然包括我们这个时代的一些杰出人士）正在为它们花费全部财富。劳力士、百达翡丽和百年灵等品牌的价格令人震惊，一块手表高达250,000英镑。
This is ridiculous. Expensive cars go faster than cheap cars. Expensive clothes hang better than cheap clothes. But these days all watches tell the time as well as all other watches. Expensive watches come with extra functions - but who needs them? How often do you dive to 300 metres into the sea or need to find your direction in the area around the South Pole? So why pay that much of five years' school fees for watches that allow you to do these things?
这很荒谬。昂贵的汽车比便宜的汽车跑得快，昂贵的衣服比便宜的衣服更耐穿。但是现在所有的手表和其他手表一样都能报时。昂贵的手表有额外的功能，但谁需要它们？你多久潜入300米深的海里，或者需要在南极周围找到方向？那么，为什么要花相当于五年的学费来买手表，让你做这些事情呢？
If justice were done, the Swiss watch industry should have closed down when the Japanese discovered how to make accurate watches for a five-pound note. Instead the Swiss reinvented the watch, with the aid of millions of pounds' worth of advertising, as a message about the man wearing it. Rolexes are for those who spend their weekends climbing icy mountains; a Patek Philippe is for one from a rich or noble family; a Breitling suggests you like to pilot planes across the world.
如果合理的话，当日本人发现如何用五英镑钞票制造精确的手表时，瑞士手表行业就应该已经关闭。但是，瑞士人在价值数百万英镑广告的帮助下，重新发明了手表，将其作为佩戴者的身份。劳力士适合于那些周末攀登冰山的人；百达翡丽适用于富人或贵族家庭；百年灵建议你喜欢在世界各地驾驶飞机。
Watches are now classified as "investments". A 1994 Philippe recently sold for nearly ￡350, 000, while 1960s Rolexes have gone from 15, 000 to 30, 000 plus in a year. But a watch is not an investment. It's a toy for self-satisfaction, a matter of fashion. Prices may keep going up - they've been rising for 15 years. But when fashion moves on, the owner of that? ￡350, 000 beauty will suddenly find his pride and joy is no more a good investment than my childhood Timex.
手表现在被归类为“投资”。1994年的飞利浦最近以近35万英镑卖出，而20世纪60年代的劳力士在一年内的销量从15000增加至30000以上。但手表不是投资。这是一种满足自我的玩具，一种时尚。价格可能会继续上涨——已经上涨了15年。但当时尚继续发展的时候，它的主人呢？价值35万英镑的美女会突然发现，她的骄傲和快乐与我童年时代的天美时相比，并不是什么好投资。
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