Designer watches. Any good?

[Erac24]

Somewhat new to collecting watches. I like some have been used to owning Fossil watches and that was the highest value I owned. (which I like fossil for what they are). I've read the thread on mushroom brands and it's great. My question is what about designer brands? ie Kenneth Cole, Coach, Burberry , even a Michael Kors. Are these the same quality as mushroom, or are they actually using a Swiss made movement?
Thanks

[Formerguide]

Welcome to the forums!

Well, the brands you have listed are all in the same proverbial boat, in that none of them are watch companies, and none of them are making their own watches. They are all under the same umbrella, namely that of a watch whose make, movement and composition are secondary at best, and for whom the brand "name" is the one singular selling point. Even if they have "Swiss" movements, they are not watches that have any real, shall we say, chops. Simply outsourced pieces with fashion brand names and insignias stamped on the dial. Now, let me be the first to say, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that per se. If you like the look of a Michael Kors watch, hey, who are we to question that? But as far as watches that people who tend to get into these things desire, they hold little value or interest. For the overpriced cost of a Kenneth Cole watch, one might get a Tissot, or an Orient, or a Citizen or Seiko 5. All of these are honest-to-goodness watch manufacturers, and have history, QC, and can be serviced if need be as well. I can only imagine the hassle of having a damaged Coach watch, in essence I would think of them as throwaway pieces when found defective.

For inexpensive, sub-$300-$400 watches, I think Citizen, Tissot, Orient, Seiko, Hamilton (when heavily discounted) and others are the real "meat" of that price point. Certainly some Bulovas would fit that bill.

So, in a nutshell, the intial query, "Designer watches. Any good?". I say, nah, not in the least, but simply one man's opinion.

$.02

Dan

[Swingline888]

^That is good advice, Dan. If you're looking for something a little cheaper, I'd recommend a Seiko 5 or an Orient. Great quality in their price point.

[Watchbreath]

For the most part, yes. I used to sell Gucci, Michele, Burberry and a few others. The only ones that I considered
total crap were Grimoldi and Paul Baldin.

[Lampmode]

If you can pick up something that you like the look of at TJ Maxx for $50-$75 then why not. I look at it like this, a fashion watch is just that for a fashion statement. To match some outfit your wife got you. I prefer a nice Seiko automatic or Echo Drive over the fashion watch. They are just made better, and you are getting something that was purposely designed, not just stamped with a name. To pay a few hundred bucks for a fashion watch when a Citizen, Seiko, or Tissot can be bought is in my opinion a waste of hard earned money.

[Erac24]

Thanks! That's kinda what I figured. And the designers aren't cheap when some hold a price around $350 in a retail store. I guess my view is with lampmode. Buy a watch from a watch manufacturer and not from someone who designs shirts....unless you can get it for dirt.

[paulopiper]

I'd just like to make one point in favour of fashion watches. Often the design of the watch can be more interesting than from the typically conservative 'proper' watch companies. So sometimes you're paying not just for the name tag but also an appearance to the watch which only really comes with a fashion watch.

[sea0bass]

Don't care if it is a fashion watch if it looks like this I am wearing it.

[Gary123]

Louis Vuitton is putting out some nice looking watches. They have out a very nice orange faced diver with black PVD body that is very sharp looking. I suspect all of their watches are on the pricey side of "designer" watches.

[panamamike]

Don't care if it is a fashion watch if it looks like this I am wearing it.

Well, this watch is a special case. :) LVMH Does own a number of watch companies including TAG and Zenith. They can parley those resources for making a watch like this which is done for the "halo" effect. Products like this are made to give their lower end products or new line of products more respect or validation in the market place.

Most fashion watches look nice enough, many times they take their styling cues from a well known watch design and give you pretty much what you paid for. A nice looking watch to be worn for some time. It's been my experience that these types of watches typically don't last too long mechanically or just finish wise, but then again you can just buy another one.

Mike