Teenagers in general are surprised by the question.  Some recoil, but most just tilt their heads and wait for an explanation.

“A watch?  Like, on my wrist?” said Renee Brousseau, 18, as she shopped with a friend at the Westfarms Mall in Farmington, Conn.  “Maybe when I was 2, and it was plastic and filled with candy.”

Like many of her peers, Brousseau has found a simpler way to check the time: She uses the device that can also make calls, send texts and play games.  According to a recent survey by Common Sense Media, the No. 1 use of cell phones is to check the time.  As the cell phone-owning demographic expands to cover younger users — a 2010 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 66 percent of all 8- to 18-year-olds own a cell phone, up from 39 percent in 2004 — many kids and teens find themselves without any particular use for a wristwatch.

A new watch by Casio will sync with Bluetooth-enabled smartphones. (Photo courtesy of National Jeweler)

A 2006 study by market research firm Packaged Facts noticed the trend and predicted it would grow stronger: “Nothing is more basic to modern life than having the time ready at hand, on a wristwatch, wall clock, mantelpiece clock, desk clock — and increasingly, on cell phones, cable boxes, laptops, personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), even iPods. Indeed, that is precisely the problem for the timepiece industry; these rival devices provide all the time readouts that one needs.”

The study, “Watches and Clocks in the U.S.,” does not necessarily sound the death knell for the wristwatch industry, though, because in fact there are reasons to be hopeful, it suggests: Watches are goods of a cyclical nature. Because they need to be replaced every so often, once you can hook a wearer, you likely have a repeat customer.

The Rolexes and Tag Heuers of the world have, of course, less to worry about; the demand for status symbols or watches as jewelry does not decrease just because other devices have perhaps eclipsed them in utility.  Richemont, the luxury goods holding company that owns, among others, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, reported a 21 percent increase in watch sales in the third quarter of last year.

Lower-end brands have more reason for concern. Everything they can do, an iPhone or BlackBerry can do better.  There are dozens of Facebook groups with titles like “I don’t need a watch or alarm clock …  My phone has it covered!” and “Got a watch?  No, I have a phone.”  There are even a few dedicated to those in between — “Even though I’m wearing a watch, I still use my phone to check the time,” for example.  The largest of these groups have nearly 250 members.

And anecdotal evidence suggests that these watch-shunning Facebook users are more prevalent than even the site suggests.  “I just use my phone,” said Dominique Stallings and Taylor Miller, both 19, in unison, of their preferred timepiece as they sat outside the Westfarms Starbucks.  Neither has any immediate plans to buy a watch.

Of course, there are some teens who choose to buck the trend.  Quran Esdaile, 12, wears a white G-Shock, but he is more interested in form than function.  “It looks good,” he said, rotating his wrist to look at it as he took a break from shopping.  “I like the way it looks.  It’s fashionable.”

His companion Melvin Daniels, 17, laughed.  He wears a watch too, but “I use mine to tell time,” he said.

As companies like Nike integrate iPod software with sneakers and begin to chip away at the traditionally steady market for sports watch wearers, many companies have chosen to fight the tide and try to beat other electronics makers at their own game.

ThinkGeek sells a Spy Camera Video Watch, which is just what it sounds like.  LG, known more for its cell phones than its wristwatches, has gone the other way, introducing the GD910 3G watch phone with a touch screen and video capabilities.  Then there’s Casio, which is willing to work together.  The company has just unveiled a watch that uses Bluetooth technology to sync with a cell phone; the watch will act as sort of a caller ID service and will also benefit from a phone’s ability to update its time zone automatically.

It’s too soon to say whether these devices will have an impact on the most fickle of consumers, but lower-end watchmakers should take heart: It’s possible that even the elusive teenage market will open up as those customers age.

“Maybe when I’m older,” offered Stallings.  “I won’t use it to look at the time, but it’s part of the older woman’s dress code.”

E-mail: sea2141@columbia.edu