Cartier boss snubs 'useful' smartwatches for classic chic

Luxury jeweller Cartier said Wednesday it doesn't intend to climb on the smartwatch bandwagon, viewing none of the hi-tech gadgets equal to the traditional timepieces the 168 year-old company makes.

"There's usefulness, but no emotion," Cartier chief Stanislas de Quercize told AFP, referring to the Internet-connected smartwatches Apple, Sony, LG and Samsung have been churning out for excited users.

"All of our watches are strongly connected by emotion," he quipped.

Speaking at the re-opening of Cartier's swank Champs Elysees boutique after eight months of renovation, Quercize said there was obviously both space and demand for smartwatches in the tech-happy world, calling them "entirely complementary" to classic watches.

"When you look at the time on a smartphone or connected watch, they don't inform you of the preciousness of passing time."

That snubbing of the rising smartwatch market starkly contrasts the decision in March by Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer to team up with Google and Intel to develop a smartwatch to compete with the new Apple Watch.

Those new watches by LVMH-owned Tag Heuer are expected to hit stores by the end of the year.

Cartier is owned by Richemont, the world's second largest luxury goods group.