As the divide between digital and analogue technology grows, so do the conversations instigated by questions like this one.

Internet and smartphones give a publicly visible voice to all, meaning debates about what thing is better or more successful than the next flood our channels of thought. NITE believe in understanding the value of anything that improves the capacity for humans to be the best they can be. This is the reason, after all, why Roger Green created NITE Watches, back in 2003.

Watches and smartphones are fundamentally different technologies, and function for different purposes. Our belief is that the rise of smartphones, and the visibility of their pitfalls, therefore, has highlighted the irreplaceable virtues of the wristwatch, rather than damaged its industry. In this article we will explore the reasons why watches will never go obsolete, and continue to thrive, particularly in the NITE Watches field of expertise: adventure in the great outdoors.

Wearing a NITE watch is about living boldly and connecting deeply with your surroundings. When you’re outdoors, pushing the limits of the earth’s expanse, you need technology you trust will have your back. Every NITE model is tested in extreme conditions by professionals who live and work on the edge. From Royal Marines to endurance athletes, our brand ambassadors – the Mavericks – are passionate about limitless living, and it’s no coincidence that they choose NITE for their expeditions. As we are about to discuss, there are some situations in which smartphones are not only unhelpful, but a hindrance.

You can’t rely on smartphones in harsh conditions. Picture yourself trekking through wetlands, hiking up mountains, running by the shore, fighting off the elements, rain and wind fighting at your body. Without a NITE Watch, resistant to water and visible at the flick of your wrist, the time is not yours to keep. Unless you’d rather halt your stride and fiddle through a pocket for a phone, of course. What if it falls into the mud, sand or snow, lost in nature without your knowing? Or, more excruciating yet, what if your phone runs out of battery? How will you tell the time? A watch never falls victim to these circumstances. Furthermore, how will you safely, quickly, and easily track the intensity of rainfall without a watch’s hand ticking every individual second? What about timing boiling water, or any other tasks that might require timing certain steps precisely? A watch treats you to vital seconds that a smartphone’s minutely gauge cannot replicate. A watch is for living in the moment – a smartphone, for these and many other reasons we need not here mention, is not.

Night-time invites another divide between how a NITE watch and a smartphone function in extreme weather. Say you’re fishing, the sky is dark and the moon provides just enough light for your eyes to have adjusted to capable functionality. You check the time on your phone, but the stark blue light glare shrinks your pupils to the size of pinheads, the surroundings now dark as black ink. Something in the water starts to pull but you can’t yet see, so the quality of your drag management suffers, and you miss the catch. This would never happen with a NITE watch, nor would any night time time-checking mishaps. This is because we use Tritium illumination. NITE Watches pioneered the use of tritium – the world-renowned illumination technique – in Britain, understanding the great value of tritium’s frequently overlooked reliability and efficiency. Tritium’s luminous, internally-powered glow, renders all NITE Watches effective timepieces in pitch black darkness.

Our use of tritium introduces another comparison between a NITE watch and a smartphone: customisation. We understand that a great triumph of a timepiece is its ability to convey the unique identity of its wearer, a trait not shared by a smartphone. As such, we offer vast options for customisation, enabling a NITE customer to literally wear their heart on their sleeve. It starts with tritium: the colour of the glow is one of numerous customisations available, offering a choice between five colourways. We understand that colour is a hallmark of a watch’s capacity for self-expression, so we provide a wide array of possibilities for colour and theme personalisation on the watch face, too. Hues and shades illustrative of a community or brand are the kind of bespoke details we encourage, our desire being to bring to life a timepiece bursting with distinctive, aesthetic meaning. This can be achieved on the dial, including with a logo, as well as on the crown, the bezel, and the hands.

A watch, particularly in the case of NITE’s custom options, is a means of signalling to the world who you are, what you believe in. In fact, choices like this that concern your physical appearance are the only way of making this statement to people who don’t know you. And in a society that is increasingly marginalised and homogenised by the contents of smartphones, the more the incentive to be boldly yourself intensifies. With NITE, you are one step closer to being who you really are, to celebrating the life lived that makes you, you.

And let us not forget: checking the time on your phone on your days off from escapades – on a date that’s not going so well, at a meeting that’s not ending – a glance at your watch is far more discreet. If it’s time, choose a watch. If it’s a watch, choose NITE.