Is it time to change the narrative around fashion watches?

When many of us think of the best watches on the market, it's unlikely that a fashion watch brand comes to mind. While they often have looks and recognisable brand names on their side, the horological offering is often significantly lacking.

The cry of many watch enthusiasts suggests that fashion watches use cheap movements and other materials, with a view to creating the biggest profit margin. Others suggest that the designs are derivative, with little first hand design work.

But is all of that true in the modern age? Well, I've been testing a few out to see.

What is a fashion watch?

First up, let's be clear on our definitions. A fashion watch – at least for these purposes – is any watch made by a brand which isn't first and foremost a horological brand.

Think of fashion brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Fossil and Louis Vuitton – all of these produce watches, but you wouldn't necessarily call them watch brands first and foremost.

While there's no one single characteristic which defines these watches, we can draw a few generalisations. As mentioned, the design language is often based on other popular models – you'll see a lot of dive watches, for example, thanks to the popularity of watches like the Rolex Submariner.

Generally speaking, you'll find them using larger case sizes. They're also more commonly associated with quartz watches, though it's not uncommon to see automatic movements on occasion.

Testing some affordable fashion watches

To find out more, I've been testing a couple of different fashion watches in the last few months. Up first, we have the Boss Bossmatic. That's a new release from the Boss brand, designed to showcase the thinking from its dedicated watch design team.

That makes use of a Seiko kinetic movement inside. That's essentially the marriage of a quartz movement with an automatic rotor, which can yield some truly monstrous battery life figures.

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Boss Bossmatic: £349 at Goldsmiths

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I also got hands on with the Emporio Armani Sea Explorer. That's a new dive watch from the brand, which makes use of an automatic mechanical calibre.

That's a much more 'regular' movement than the one found in the Boss watch above, and that familiarity is a theme throughout this piece. You'll find an old school fold-over clasp on the bracelet, and a neat dial array which is reminiscent of old school dive watches.

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Emporio Armani Sea Explorer: was £439 now £305 at Beaverbrooks

This Emporio Armani Sea Explorer is a classic dive watch, with a reassuringly weighty case. It's also over £100 off right now at Beaverbrooks – just £305!

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So, are either of them any good? Well they're certainly better than I'd expected. First impressions are strong, with an overall feeling of quality on both counts. The Bossmatic is lighter than you'd anticipate for a steel watch, but that's actually by design. The side panels are crafted from aluminium to ensure lightness on the wrist.

The Armani piece is much heftier, but it's a reassuring weight. My biggest gripe here is the case size, which feels positively gargantuan. There's no word on the thickness measurement online – and I can't profess to have taken a tape measure to it – but it's certainly a chunky case.

The real question, then, is whether either of these would take the place of a similarly priced, watch-focussed brand. That's a hard one to answer. At the £300-400 mark, there's still competition for both of these. Brands like Seiko and Orient both have strong offerings here, while others like Tissot and Citizen offer a lot to love, too.

There's an argument either way, but one thing is for sure – there's an awful lot of competition for these pieces.

High-end fashion watches

Of course, there are two sides to every story. While many think of fashion watches at the more affordable end of the spectrum, that really doesn't give us the entire picture.

Take a brand like Louis Vuitton, which has taken to crafting some seriously impressive pieces at the LVMH Group's La Fabrique du Temps facility. The brand recently unveiled its Year of the Snake watch, which is possibly the finest example of its prowess thus far.

The dial is a work of art, complete with a stained wood and parchment base, artistically crafted, engraved and enamelled snake and leaf pieces, and an absolutely mesmerising movement. That features a micro-rotor, and uses a wave motif across the entire calibre, which looks flawless.

Do fashion watches deserve their reputation?

All in all, I really can't say I'm convinced entirely by the narrative surrounding fashion watches. Those which occupy the cheaper end of the market certainly face stiff competition from dedicated watch brand offerings, but that really only serves to show the strength of what those brands have on offer.

The approach taken by brands like Louis Vuitton is much more appealing, though. There, a fashion house with significant pedigree, brand name recognition and financial backing has taken it upon itself to produce some seriously impressive timepieces.

With offerings like that, I think chatter about fashion watches is going to change quite quickly.