You might sleep better wearing this
Madonna and Oprah love these watches. Back in the day, Oprah listed one of these Philip Stein watches in her ‘favourite things’ section of the show — YouTube the video for an entertaining replay of a hysterical studio audience screeching with delight at being gifted a free diamond-encrusted watch each. The claim is that the watches help you sleep better. By wearing them, you reportedly wake up refreshed. It may not be everybody’s cup of tea — all ye who have grown weary of stuff popping out of the ‘wellness’ industry. And they cost, naturally, a tidier sum than your regular analogue that only tells the time, but who said natural frequency aligning technology was cheap?
Excerpts from an interview with Will Stein, co-founder of Philip Stein Watches… Who is Philip? When we were searching for a brand name for our watch, my wife Rina, was pregnant with our son. Initially we wanted to call our son Benjamin Philip, but then decided to call our son Benjamin and our other virtual upcoming baby, namely the watch, ‘Philip’. Which are the models that Madonna and Oprah liked/wore? Do you still make those? We became known through our Signature model. This is also the watch that Madonna had in the early days and the one that Oprah presented on her show.
We are still producing it and it is still a very successful collection in some countries. Calvin Trillin wrote a piece in The New York Times about how youngsters on the tube don’t read the paper and don’t seem to wear watches anymore. Do you worry that watches compete with smartphones? It’s a shame that youngsters don’t read anymore and only watch videos on phones and computers.
There is a strong trend, especially amongst millennials, of not wearing watches, or they wear smart watches. Our advantage is that with our unique selling point, the Natural Frequency Technology, we are not limited to the watch market but have in fact, the great opportunity to expand to the wellbeing sector. By virtue of your profession, is what a person has on his/her wrist the first thing you notice? Not really, because times have changed. People wear smartwatches or no watch. However, what will not change is people striving for a healthier life, as well as looking and feeling better. That is where we come in. You have not more than five watches, and you listed three uses: formal, casual, sports. I was wondering, is there a watch material you stay away from? Conversely, which are you most partial to: metal, leather or rubber? Or any other? You will see me most of the time wearing a watch with a leather strap and when I’m out hiking, biking etc, a rubber strap is most comfortable for me.
I rarely wear a watch with a metal bracelet. Your wife pointed out that your headaches had vanished after you started wearing a prototype back in the day of the sleep-enhancing watch. Is that true?
Our watches support an inner balance and harmony. You feel less stressed.
And yes, it’s absolutely true. Interestingly though, I didn’t notice it myself, but my wife said that I hadn’t complained of headaches since I wore the watch.
It’s important to note here that we are not a medical device, Our products don’t cure headaches or any other illnesses. In my case, I guess I was very tense and the watch gave me more ease and relaxation. What about other daily rituals that have (to do with wellness). Do you, for example, drink water out of a copper jug? Not a copper jug — my morning starts with a glass of warm water with lemon and ginger. After that a glass of green juice of kale, celery, cilantro, other healthy greens, and to make it tasty, apple. Then I start my workout. No weights, only body (boot camp). After that I feel great… to start my day. I’ve also been vegetarian for a long time. You’ve got your stores in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. What can we expect next for Philip Stein in the UAE? Since we are today a Wearable Wellbeing Technology Company, we are not limited to watch retail. We are expanding into the wellbeing world. That’s why we were exhibiting at the Professional Beauty Show for the two days in Dubai. Do you have to deal with fewer sceptics of the watches now than you did when you were starting out? Yes — we’ve been in the market for 15 years and are selling in 30 countries. This creates credibility among customers. To get more validation, we work with different laboratories and institutions to conduct studies on the benefits or our technology. Why is it important to align with the natural frequency technology? If the earth’s frequency is 7.83 Hz, do the watches promise to align our bodies on the same frequency? How does one know that we are aligned? Actually 7.83 Hz is the key frequency among natural frequencies, which are all in an extremely low range.
When we are in a state of calm and relaxation, our brains emit frequencies in the range of 7-9 Hz, also called alpha waves or alpha state. The problem is, that we are bombarded my manmade frequencies which causes an interference with our natural balance. Our technology is like an antenna picking up and harnessing only the natural frequencies to bring us back into balance.
People who are sensitive to their own body may feel it immediately while it might take a little longer for others. What is a new feature in the present generation of watches and sleep bracelets that the older ones didn’t possess? As a company, we are constantly researching and looking into other benefits. That was how the sleep bracelet came about. Now we have three product lines that promote different benefits.
Watches and Horizon bracelet: for inner balance, harmony and overall wellbeing. Sleep bracelet for improvement of sleep quality. And Horizon Sport bracelet, for focus, alertness and energy. Do all your closest friends and family now wear the Stein watches? No, not all. What sort of feedback have you got from family, loved ones, kids? My son who is 16 has been wearing a Philip Stein watch since he was 8 years old. For him, it is a routine to put on the watch after the morning shower. He tells me that he feels some kind of a void when he doesn’t wear it. If someone sleeps well, is not stressed, will the watch work on him/ her too? What’s the acid test? I don’t think there are too many people in this world who are like that. However, to answer your question, I believe that you can always improve.
For example, I never had a problem with falling asleep. However, wearing the sleep bracelet since 2012, I feel that I’m more refreshed in the morning. How big a threat is piracy? Are there lots of fake Philip Stein watches out there? Yes, there are fake Philip Steins in the market, but that hasn’t really impacted our business. People want to buy from legitimate shops and websites. Some people who wear watches on both wrists... Honestly, I don’t know so many who wear two watches, but as long it’s two Philip Stein watches, I’m happy. Which world leader would you want to gift one of your sleep-benefiting watches to? Who needs it? The benefit of better sleep comes from our sleep bracelet not the watches.
In today’s tumultuous world, I think every world leader needs a sleep bracelet. When you sleep better you perform better, you are more balanced overall and you make better decisions. I think we need this.