Our latest gadget is like a newborn baby. We don’t want our days old smartphone to lie on jagged table, and we don’t drive our week old red shiny car in tight spaces. We see a delicacy in them. It is always new as long as the looks are preserved.

When we noticed the first scratch, we went berserk. How could that happen? We handled it with tended precaution and yet the scratch appeared, obvious and mocking.

Apple’s Senior Marketing VP Phil Schiller said that scratches in the new iPhone 5 are normal. “Any aluminum product may scratch or chip with use, exposing its natural silver color”, he added.

Making products vulnerable to scratches is a lucrative idea of multinational corporations like Apple. They know that we wanted to keep our purchases pristine and to do it, we release more money. The revenue of mobile phone accessories is a massive $34 billion in 2011.

We may start accepting the deterioration of our gadget’s exterior. Refurbishing the red paint on a car will cost around $250 to $400, and that’s a low-end job. The finest service for a car repaint can have a $4,000 to $8,000 price tag. It is expensive to keep them pretty, but it is needless. Phones became bulky when with cases. Scratches and dents are showcases of continued use. It is a testament of how you use your purchases and it meant that your gadget is worth more than the bucks you paid for it.

But I don’t think that will convince you. You’ll still try to keep them scratchproof because it’s cool to have an appeal of having new stuff.

There are practices to prevent scratches. Always place your phone on any surface head-first. Most screens have scratchproof glass so you’ll need to be protective of the back. And mind the things you put in your pocket with your phone – keys, coins and sands will scratch them. For your car, be wary of the road you pass – tree branches and rocks are sure irritation. Wash it regularly to clear the grits off.

At what count did you stop tallying the scratches on your gadget?