How to keep track of your offspring

We’ve mentioned GPS watches before her at ZG as we just love their clever design and superb and novel functionality, but it now seems that it is not just us who are enamoured with this type of watch. Parents are really enjoying GPS watches, a particular brand in general (more to follow) as it allows them to keep track of their children!

I had assumed it would be drivers and outdoor sports fanatics that would be the main takers of GPS watches, I hadn’t considered the tracking possibilities and what the implications would be. A new watch designed specifically for this purpose has recently been launched by Lok8u in Las Vegas called the Num8 watch. Parents can strap one on the wrist of their child and know precisely where they are at all times.

The watch is around £150 and works by sending a signal of the child’s precise location via satellite to the Num8’s website for parents to monitor. If the watch is forcibly removed (it is locked on) then an alarm is tripped on the website and an email alert sent to the parent.

This extraordinary design is not only unique but also cleverly constructed and is completely accurate - to within 3 meters. Furthermore, parents can even receive a text message direct from the watch itself providing its exact current location. When the watch is taken inside, mobile phone triangulation is used to provide an accurate indication of location as a satellite signal is likely to grow weak. They really have thought of everything.

The makers of this watch are not intending it to be used as a restrictive method, completely the opposite in fact. Their intention is for anxious parents who worry about the safety of their children to be able to relax a bit more and provide them with a little more freedom.

Contact us here at ZG watches if you would like to know more about GPS watches. Do you think this type of watch is a good idea, or do you think it will inevitably used by parents as a way to control their children? Would it give you peace of mind if your child was sporting one of these watches? Send in your comments below.

Retro Watches

Retro style will always be considered pretty cool, and there is no exception when it comes to watches. There are a few different makers of retro watches, but a particularly funky brand is the Lambretta range. Yes, that’s the scooter company Lambretta! They have a very large selection of retro style watches in their range, and what’s more, you can see the scooter theme embedded throughout the selection. Each watch has been designed in a way that retains the feel of the very famous and popular scooters that the Lambretta name has come to symbolize.

We love them so much here at ZG that we supply pretty much every single one in their range. Possibly having the largest collection of this particular make found anywhere on the web - there’s 45 of them on our site! There are some with the Union Jack displayed on the face, others that are more plain. Some have metal straps although the majority have leather ones.

There can be no denying the traditional scooter theme however that is present in the designs. Are there any Lambretta lovers out there? If so, why not display your fondness for the brand by wearing one of their watches? Prices range from around £40 up to £150 so every budget is catered for. For those considering buying a new watch, a Lambretta is certainly unique and stands out. Am I right in thinking that a Lambretta watch is eye-catching - if anyone has one we’d love to hear what peoples’ reaction are to it. Can they see the scooter inspiration behind the design?

GPS Wrist Watches?

2009 seems to be signaling the arrival of a wrist watch with a built in GPS. A wrist watch with GPS is an excellent idea for hikers, climbers and sailors as it is lightweight and very portable. But this new invention is just a start for future watches.

Watch manufacturers have traditionally had no difficulty selling their models and brands of traditional watches, however with the advent of iPods, laptops, mobile phones and every other piece of gadgetry that is on the market, the wrist watch is finding itself surplus to requirement - why buy a watch to tell the time when you could buy a PDA that does that and allows you surf the web?

Being aware of this, watch makers are looking for new ways to entice consumers to purchase wrist watches, and one way of doing so is to combine state of the art technology with the time pieces. At first, watches were given the additions of thermometers, barometers, stop watches and timers, but now they are moving into a more ‘high-tech’ arena. Global positioning satellites within watches are one move that producers are taking, but there is no reason to think it will stop there. How about watches that you can play music through, or even watch videos? I doubt it will be long before these are common place and available to buy at reasonable prices.

With consumer buying behaviour changing, watch makers are having to change alongside them or risk diminishing sales and loss of profits. If anyone has any good ideas as to what elements should be combined with watches, post your suggestions here.

Welcome...

Greetings! Welcome to the great big ZG blog; a haphazard collection of ramblings associated mainly with the world of wristwatches and timekeeping. Part unabashed self promotion, part gossip, part informative and part nonsense ZG aims to not only tell you all about this wonderfully brilliant world but also to entertain you. A little. At least!

You see, as a retailer of watches ZG has a unique view of the market. We have specialist insider knowledge from the industry. We know what customers want and what information they need. We keep an eye out for trends in an increasingly fashion-conscious market. And we tell jokes. Mainly about wolves.

Clearly, feedback is welcomed and if there are people out there with even more knowledge than us by all means help us out. Questions as well. Lots and lots of questions. However obscure we’ll answer them or at least try to. After all, where would we be without questions?