I’ve never really been a watch person, let alone a smartwatch person. Ever since I got my first mobile from the age of about 17 (shout-out to my fellow old millennials), I’ve used my phone to check the time. And as phones slowly became everything in our lives (camera, news, social life), it seemed weird that I’d want something separate from it. Everything was in one place; it was so convenient. But then a few things happened. First, I started running again and wanted to track my progress without whipping out my phone all the time. Second, staring at my phone all day to check the time wasn’t actually that handy with a toddler. And finally, there was the pandemic.
Honor kindly lent me its smartwatch to trial back in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit. While initially, I wanted to track my steps during fashion week, once everyone ended up being inside most of the time, I found it incredibly useful to see how much exercise I was doing during the day. What I found was that, although I wasn’t actively trying to lose weight, I did lose a bit, and I was able to ensure I moved at least a little bit every day, which isn’t anything when it’s very hard to motivate yourself to get out of the house. Now, over a year later, I can’t imagine not wearing it.Â
Like most smartwatches, the Honor Magic offers up a range of different uses. There’s the time, of course, but there’s also a step tracker, a fitness tracker, a heart rate monitor, weather notifications and a sleep tracker, to name a few. Scroll through the watch, and you’ll see there’s a compass, stopwatch, flashlight, alarm and many more other useful apps—a modern Swiss army knife if you will. Now, a word on styling. I think another reason I’ve often been put off by smartwatches, in particular, is that I think they can appear a little ugly. A modern monochrome sleek aesthetic seems great on paper, but translated to a watch, it can seem bulky and cumbersome and at odds with other pieces. While I maintain that it’s a little tricky, I’ve come to a compromise by stacking my favourite delicate gold jewellery bracelets and enjoying the contrast between the two. Eva Chen also does something similar with her Apple watch. However, the good news is that there are other smartwatches on the market that might blend in better with your style and your jewellery. And if you’re really invested in the idea, you can always purchase the incredibly chic Hermès version. If you’re tempted to make the leap, then I would say that you absolutely should do your research, and there are so many incredible ones on the market, so you’re bound to find one that works for you. When I spoke to personal trainer Richard Hart last summer about the sort of technology to invest in, especially when it comes to wearable tech, he said that “the great thing now is that technology has come on so much you won’t really find a bad one out there.” With that in mind, I’ve hunted down the smartwatches with the best reviews that also look great, so keep scrolling to see more on how to style your smartwatch. Then, shop the best smartwatches for women right now.Â
My smartwatch with a range of gold bracelets.
Eva Chen pictured wearing an Apple watch and gold bracelets.
