为什么CEO们喜欢戴便宜的斯沃琪

According to Google auto-fill, one of the most searched terms relating to Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein is, “What watch does Lloyd Blankfein wear?”

谷歌搜索(Google)的自动填充选项显示，对于高盛公司(Goldman Sachs)CEO劳埃德o贝兰克梵，人们最想知道的问题之一是，“劳埃德o贝兰克梵戴什么表？”

We have the answer: It’s a Swatch, a simple Plastic timepiece that retails in the ballpark of $100. In fact, the executive has several of them—including a black one for formal events.

答案是：斯沃琪(Swatch)，一款简单的塑料材质腕表，零售价大约为100美元。实际上，这位高管还拥有多块斯沃琪表——其中包括一块在正式场合佩戴的黑色款。

If you work on Wall Street, you’ve probably seen the look before: good suit, unremarkable shoes, digital watch. Witness Steve Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone. Schwarzman not only owns multiple Swatches, he wears them in funky colors and designs. One particularly bright-colored edition bears the landmarks of his vacation home in St. Tropez.

如果你在华尔街工作，你可能对以下打扮并不陌生：体面的西服、普通的鞋履和电子表。比如，黑石集团（Blackstone）CEO史蒂夫o施瓦茨曼就拥有好几块斯沃琪表，他尤其热衷颜色鲜艳，设计前卫的款式。一款颜色尤为鲜亮的手表上绘制着其度假地圣特鲁佩斯的地标图案。

Public-facing figures like Schwarzman and Blankfein may be expected to dress without excessive bling. And yet, as Google attests, it’s curious to see a plastic bangle on some of American business’s most powerful men. The list of power players who sport Swatches goes on: Tony Blair has one, as does French president Francois Hollande. U.K. hedge fund trader Chris Hohn has had a black one for years. AllianceBernstein CEO Peter Kraus is a fan of the brand. Even the boss of luxury watch maker PatekPhillipe reportedly wears one while skiing.

人们可能认为施瓦茨曼和贝兰克梵这类公众人物的着装打扮肯定不会过分高调，但正如谷歌的搜索结果所示，一些美国商业大腕喜欢佩戴塑料表，这种打扮也让人们感到费解。对斯沃琪青睐有加的权力人物还包括托尼o布莱尔和法国总统弗朗索瓦o奥朗德。英国对冲基金交易员克里斯o赫恩多年前就已经有了一块黑色的斯沃琪。联博基金(AllianceBernstein)CEO皮特o克劳斯也是该品牌的粉丝。据称，即便是奢侈表制造商百达翡丽(PatekPhillipe)的老板在滑雪时也佩戴一块斯沃琪。

In a statement to Fortune, Switzerland’s Swatch Group didn’t have much to say about why politicians and executives might want to wear the budget accessory. The company’s Swiss roots and artistic designs may play a role, a spokeswoman said. When the Swatch was introduced as an alternative to Asian mass production in the 1980s, it was credited with helping to save the Swiss watchmaking industry. Ultimately, though, the watch brand’s patronage among the high and mighty is a bit of a mystery. “We assume that politicians have their reasons for wearing our watches,” the spokeswoman wrote, “but we don’t know what those reasons are.”

在向《财富》杂志《Fortune》提供的声明中，瑞士斯沃琪集团(Swatch Group)并没有详细解释为什么如此多政客和高管青睐这款廉价配饰。一位女发言人表示，该公司的瑞士血统和艺术设计可能是部分原因。上世纪80年代，斯沃琪以亚洲大规模生产的替代品身份出现在人们视野中，随后获得了瑞士制表业拯救者的美名。但权贵们为什么如此钟情于该品牌依然是一个谜。这位女发言人写道，“我们认为政治家戴斯沃琪有他们自己的原因，但我们并不知道这些原因是什么。”

Plastic watches aren’t new in the halls of power. Even before the Great Recession made modesty a must, Timex Ironman watches had become a mainstay for leaders who either lack pretension, or have enough pretense to want to appear that way. Bill Clinton, for example, has worn an Ironman. The previous three Goldman chiefs also wore them. Hank Paulson’s was a gift from Stephen Friedman, says Goldman chronicler William Cohan. Jon Corzine, too, has been known to sport the look—which is on offer for about $40 at Target.

权贵们戴塑料表并不是新鲜事。即使在“大衰退”让低调行事成为一种必然选择之前，天美时铁人系列手表(Timex Ironman)已经成为领导者们的主流选择，这些领导要么没有虚荣心，要么特别自命不凡，想以此彰显其个性。例如，比尔o克林顿曾戴过铁人系列腕表。高盛公司此前三任CEO也戴这种手表。高盛公司历史记录者威廉o科汉说，汉克o保尔森戴的那块铁人系列手表是史蒂芬o弗莱德曼送的。不少人都知道，乔恩o科尔辛也佩戴这款手表——目前这款表在塔吉特百货（Target）打折，40美元一块。

Why plastic? Putting aside the convenience of battery power, there are plenty of reasons not to go digital. The watch is the ultimate male accessory. In a world of subtle variations of dark suits and understated shoes, the wrist may very well be the one area in which is it socially permissible for a man to be sartorially dazzling (okay, yes, perhaps the tie as well). At the Baselworld tradeshow, the horological spectacle that wrapped up earlier this year, the watches on display did much more than tell time. Want to look at 12 different time zones in a single glance? No problem. One that tracks a dozen of your friend’s birthdays? Coming right up. How about a hand-finished model encased in rose gold? Only $510,900.

为什么选择塑料材质？抛开电池的便捷性不谈，人们不选择电子表的原因有很多。手表是男性的终极饰品。在这个几乎千篇一律的深色西服和低调鞋履的世界中，手腕真有可能是社会准许男性炫耀个性的唯一一块小天地（可能还有领带）。在今年早些时候结束的钟表界盛会巴塞尔钟表展中，参展手表的作用可不仅仅只是显示时间。想要一眼就能了解12个不同时区的时间吗？没问题。想要一款能记住十几位朋友生日的手表吗？即将为您奉上。那么手工打造的玫瑰金表壳手表呢？只需花费您51.09万美元。

Increasingly, though, minimalism is in. Even at Baselworld, classic watches were resurgent. Collectors have become less concerned with ostentation than with authenticity. Comfort is also a growing priority. Pick your trend: “soft dressing,” “slobcore,” “athleisure”—today’s buzzwords speak to a fashion landscape that doesn’t have room for flashy Rolexes. The Gap is doubling down on yoga pants as the luxury loungewear category explodes. And more than one designer put sweatpants on the runway at this year’s Fashion Week.

然而，极简主义开始大行其道。即便是在巴塞尔钟表展，那些经典款式也呈现东山再起之势。收藏家也变得更加关注可靠性而不是排场。舒适性也日渐成为一个优先考虑的特质。看看如今的流行服饰：“软着装”、“懒人装”和“运动休闲”。华美的劳力士手表(Rolex)似乎难以在如今时尚领域的时髦术语中找到自己的一席之地。随着奢华家居服饰的爆炸性增长，Gap时装公司在瑜伽裤上的投入又增加了一倍。在今年时装周T台上展演运动裤的设计师还不止一位。

Yet it’s more than the vagaries of style, or even simple reverse-snobbery, that has prodded executives to buy Swatches. At a big bank, a plastic watch is as intimidating in its own way as a diamond-studded PatekPhillipe. It signifies a passion for function and disdain for form. Goldman has long been known for its understatement when it comes to dress. A plastic watch exudes that characteristic aversion to flashiness, commitment to modesty, and, in a way, the maniacal work ethic endemic to finance.

然而，真正能让高管们购买斯沃琪手表的原因并不在于其变化多样的款式，也不是简单的反势利心态。在一家大银行，与一块镶钻的百达翡丽一样，一块塑料表同样令人生畏。它代表的是对功能的追求，对形式的轻视。高盛公司员工向来以着装低调而著称。一块塑料材质手表足以彰显该公司厌恶花哨，行事谦卑的个性，在某种程度上，它也能体现出金融从业者那种极端敬业的职业伦理。

That’s because Swatches—unlike, say, VacheronConstantins—are extremely practical. You can work out in them. You can do an Ironman. (Blankfein is a swimmer, and the plastic Swatch dries easily.) Plus, unlike their mechanical counterparts, most cheap watches keep nearly perfect time.

这是因为，不同于江诗丹顿(VacheronConstantins)之类的奢侈品牌，斯沃琪非常实用。你可以锻炼的时候戴着它。你也可以戴着它参加铁人运动。（贝兰克梵爱好游泳，塑料材质的斯沃琪表很容易晾干。）此外，与其他机械表不同的是，大多数便宜表走时的误差几乎是微不可察的。

The only thing more practical? Maybe a phone. But even Apple, which has played a leading role in the watch’s wardrobe displacement, clearly sees the merits of a wearable clock. The iWatch has been rumored for years, and we can only speculate about the myriad features it will offer. Luckily for Swatch, some people still just want to know the time.

还有没有比手表更为实用的产品呢？可能就是手机了。但即使贵为智能手机行业领头羊的苹果公司(Apple)也显然看到了腕表的优点。关于iWatch的传言已甚嚣尘上多年，但它的种种功能仍不为人所知。让斯沃琪感到欣慰的是，一些人买手表，仍然只是为了看一下时间。