Clearly, men don’t accessorize with the frequency or passion as women. Sure, we have our options, but accessories are considered mandatory rather than optional. However, men’s watches have long been a staple of the wardrobe, ever since the 1500s when the pocket watch was invented. This remained the fashion for rich men until 1915, when Rolex introduced the first wristwatch. They remained a key staple of the male wardrobe for the rest of the century, but then this happened:

Wristwatch search volume

Searches for wristwatches have plummeted since 2004.  Think a little graph on the Internets is meaningless? The New York Times confirms this trend, as high end watchmakers like Rolex, TAG and Patek Philippe have been slaughtered by the recent recession. Apparently with all the extra time, the Swiss have shifted their focus from making fine watches to arresting French directors. But look at the shift from 2004. That’s not just representative of the global recession. Rather, there’s a much clearer reason for the decline in men’s watch-wearing — and watch buying:

The iPhone

Who needs a watch when you have a computer in your pocket? You can get the time in L.A., Switzerland, or Zimbabwe, if you’d like. And it demonstrates your status as a taste maker at best, or a techie geek at worst. Now, I’ve worn a watch ever since growing up as a child in the ’80s. But now? I’ll generally whip out my phone to check the time, and rarely wear one my favorite Bulova or Nixon watches.

So are men’s wristwatches destined to be forgotten like Michael Vick’s criminal record? I sure hope not.  Because while I wasn’t blessed to look like Paul Newman (who was?), sometimes wearing a classy wristwatch can make you believe you were, if just for a minute.

Paul Newman in Rolex

Do you wear a wristwatch any longer, if you ever did?