London, Oct 27 (IANS) Cell phones are edging out something as basic as wrist watches in telling time. One in seven people say they have "no reason" to wear a watch, according to a survey.

The change has been attributed to the rising tide of time-telling gadgets in our possession - mobile phones, iPods and laptops.

Most of those surveyed by market researchers Mintel said they relied on their mobile or PC, rather than a watch, to tell the time, reports the Daily Mail.

Although 86 percent of people still own a watch, more than nine in 10 own a mobile.

And those aged 25 or younger are twice as likely as those in their 40s or 50s to have stopped wearing a watch, with 28 percent not having one.

Sales of watches have remained flat over the last few years and watchmakers are struggling to convince shoppers that expensive timepieces are worth the money.

Tamara Sender of Mintel said: "Many consumers have grown up with technology and are just as likely to associate the notion of checking the time with a mobile handset as with a watch."

Watch-buyers are now more likely to see them as fashion accessories rather than a time-telling devices, the survey said.