I have a confession to make... I now own an Apple watch. There, I said it.
I didn't join the queues on launch day at locations like Dover Street Market. But despite the hysteria, I must admit, I've not yet noticed anybody else wearing one, and I've been 'wrist watching' for a while. However, sales figures paint a very different picture.
Ordering online, I promptly forgot about it - until the uber (and possibly overly-packaged) sleek, white box, big enough (and heavy enough) to be housing a bottle wine, arrived on my desk this week.
I opted for the larger, 42mm case and the sports model in black/aluminium grey. I'm used to wearing a reasonably large watch (hence the size selected) and I chose the colour/sports variant because I didn't want it to look like a watch.
Since I already own a very fine time-piece, I avoided the bracelet options. And I will never set my Apple watch to display traditional hands or chronograph setting. The Mickey Mouse option? Never!
I wear an IWC Double Chronograph Pilot Watch, which I treasure. Its movement, weight and design are all stunningly beautiful and precise. It was also a gift from a client, so is something that makes me smile, whenever I look at it.
It still brings me joy - and I've had it for 12 years now - but not in a materialistic way; more a fusion of memory, engineering, and design. It has authenticity, and it's become part of my personality.
So why the Apple watch, then? Because I think it's the way forward.
Almost two in three dollars set to be spent globally on internet services will be for mobile access, rather than fixed line. Currently 50% of consumers are holding or using their smart phone while in a retail environment. It's therefore a natural progression to advance to wearable technology - it's still in its infancy, but it's getting there.
In retail terms, we will start communicating with the consumer while they are in-store to give an enhanced experience of the brand and service via their smart phone and wearable technology.
We will, I believe, get over our current hang-up of not giving out personal information over the internet and we will embrace technology that truly helps us - whether that's tailored to our specific lifestyle, likes, needs, or simply makes our life easier. One day, wearable technology will be skin-deep. Like a heart pacemaker, technology will be there to support us.
My new purchase will never replace my IWC. The Apple watch is a beautifully designed piece, but it's simply functional.
And my 'real watch' is more than that, it's emotive. But it will now for me I suspect, be a pattern of choice, deciding which to wear on any given day, subject to what I'm doing or where I'm going.
The many Haute Horlogerie brands based in Switzerland, including IWC, are developing wearable watch/technology combinations or e-straps.
But for the moment, I'm very at ease owning two of the very best, and very different masterpieces - just not at the same time....