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Are wrist watches becoming a thing of the past?

Many people view watches a thing of beauty -- the face, or dial of a watch telling us what time it is. As cell phones, however, get ever smarter, whose wearing them?

How much do you rely on your smart phone? For many people, it's how they know the time, date, schedule, and everything else.

It used to be though, that telling time was mainly the role of a wrist-watch.

Many people view watches a thing of beauty -- the face, or dial of a watch telling us what time it is. As cell phones, however, get ever smarter, whose wearing them?

“I feel like if I need to tell the time, I’ll just look at my phone. I always have my phone on me,” said one Woodlands shopper.

"Watches will never go out of style,” counters Philip Markle, of Thomas Markle Jewelers.

He says watches will always serve a purpose.

"A watch is a way to represent yourself, be unique, express. And it’s very much a status thing, now.”

Watch purchases, though, have been falling for years. Consumer research firm Experian Simmons says in 2011, 42 million Americans bought a watch for themselves.

That’s down from 55 million, 7 years before. Exports of Swiss watches also plummeted, recently. Apparently, though, they’re now back on the rise.

The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry says sales to the U.S. have been up by more than 9%, since February. Ironically, cell phones used as time-pieces have some of the same draw-backs that made people abandon pocket-watches, for wrist-watches, a century ago.

It's a lot more convenient and subtle, to check your wrist, then take out a phone.

Another reason for a come-back is that companies are realizing that tech-crazy customers are craving a sense of nostalgia.

“Everyone wants to go back to their childhood, and wants that ease of life, I guess…and so, these watches are really about history. They tell a story,” adds Markle.

For many, watches as both time-teller and accessory have "timeless" appeal.

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