Any decent watch enthusiast would undoubtedly lose their mind if you mentioned “fashion watch.” Arguments and discussions about them abound on the internet, especially on watch communities. Is that justified, though, and if so, how?

In this piece, I’ll define fashion watches and discuss what to expect from them.

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The Typical Circumstance

A watch labeled as “fashion watch” is one made by a firm that does not specialize in watches. This frequently alludes to a fashion house’s name.

Additionally, I’ve heard the term “undie watch.” When some of the boxer shorts peeks out from under the pants, it’s a fashion cue. The firm name is frequently located there.

The unfavorable sentiment makes sense in part. It’s not very appealing when someone wears a watch that matches their underwear, really. Because of this, many people strongly object to seeing timepieces with the names Calvin Klein, Armani, or Boss displayed on the dial.

Previously

Retail chains and outfitters frequently emblazon their brand on watches made by other companies.

Harrods used to purchase Longines and Cyma watches. Abercrombie & Fitch received their supply of watches from Heuer and other companies. Retailers of jewelry with little experience in watchmaking, like Turler and Tiffany, acquired whole watches from producers at a broad price point; in the end, Tiffany bought watches that were signed by Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin.

This was mainly because customers often showed greater loyalty to the retailer than to the manufacturer of the goods.

However, who makes the modern fashion items?

Fashion or apparel firms do not make these clocks. They lack the means and the intention to manufacture their own timepieces. Specialized holdings develop them frequently.

The watches that Hugo Boss and Tommy Hilfiger wear are made by the Movado Group. Movado doesn’t need to be introduced.

Armani? They are made by the Fossil Group, which also owns Zodiac and the STP ebaucherie.

What impression do they give off?

The majority of the time, we work with Miyota quartz movements, which are composed of steel casings housing a mineral crystal. Some also use Seiko ebauches. American clothing company Kenneth Cole is dependent on Sea-Gull’s (Tianjin Watch Factory) Chinese movements. Of course, this is not exclusive to migrations from China and Japan. For example, Calvin Klein manufactures their watches in Switzerland using quartz movements from ETA and Ronda.

If there is any plating on the watch, it is usually IP coating, which is far less durable than PVD. Therefore, anyone buying one with a black, gray, or gold covering is recommended to proceed with care. Of course, if the watch isn’t going to be worn every day, this becomes less significant.

The only feature of these watches that doesn’t exactly scream quality is the band design. A mesh is fine since they are frequently constructed of high-quality materials. But traditional three-link bracelets are something else entirely.

In all fairness, the cotter-pin design isn’t all that bad, and changing it isn’t that tough. Nonetheless, the creator frequently uses inexpensive materials to create the clasps. Some also use twin-trigger release clasps, although the majority still use a friction-fit spring with a friction-fit security latch. These clasps usually feel cheaply finished and lack microregulation. Not even a spring bar with a few adjustable positions. In these sorts of cases, the only way to change a link bracelet is to add or remove links.

The movements of a fashion watch usually limit its utility. Typically, it’s a day-date with a useless 24-hour indicator and a fake chronograph setup. Furthermore, a tachymeter scale—which is useless without a chronograph—is commonly used to season that. Don’t get me wrong, they are not unpleasant moves. Ultimately, Citizen is the one who owns Miyota, and Citizen is trustworthy. Overall, the watch isn’t of low quality; rather, it doesn’t live up to the expectations set by its look.

You won’t be wearing these watches every Christmas season. Their usual WR rating is 30 m. Although these are uncommon, I have seen a few that are rated at 50m.

What precisely are you paying for, then?

the brand name. I wouldn’t, however, declare that to be a general transgression of fashion houses. Many watch companies constantly raise their prices without adding any new features to what they offered before to the price increase.

Furthermore, a lot of people are primarily focused on the design and label of the clothing brand that they favor. There has to be supply in order for there to be demand.

What about those that are more expensive than a few grand?

Currently, brands like Chanel and Hermes have their own watch divisions.

Hermes’s only watches in the past have been personalized ones. Chanel focused more on clothing and fragrances than watches, never really being into watches per se. These companies are fashion houses and outfitters.

Hermes, a significant watch reseller, was the only business that ever dealt with timepieces on a larger scale. Over the past few years, they have made large expenditures to expand their watch departments. Some of them have excellent movement. If they don’t make them from scratch, they at least utilize ebauches from businesses like Vaucher or Technotime.

It would be unjust to put them in the same category as Armani, for example. They surpass the typical connotations of the term “fashion watch,” even if they properly fit the description.

Final thoughts

Compared to WIS, the target market for fashion watches is very different. Even if a fashion watch comes with a GMT function, the target customer is not likely to use it. Put simply, the dial’s design should highlight the designer’s label and be visually striking.

Not bad at all as a watch. Of course, there are certain exceptions. A designer watch that seems like it may shatter at any time doesn’t surprise me. But that’s Invicta’s purview; they’re not the ones that are promoted on TV shopping channels and are notorious for leaking or having parts come free.

Manufacturers of fashion watches provide extremely few, if any, warranties. Since they aren’t meant to be field or dive watches, they don’t need to be extremely robust or water resistant. All they have to do is fit in well with the group and leave an impression.