If you look online or walk down your local high street you will see in almost all the big name jewellery stores a vast collection of fashion or designer watches. You will see watches from the likes of Armani, Michael Kors, Burberry, DKNY and more.  These are presented at a premium price level, often to convey the brand’s value and prestige. This is not so different to the classic prestige watch brands, there is an element of brand value and you do pay for that.  There is a however a striking difference, if we take a Rolex  and Seiko in comparison we can see that they are both watch-making brands that can trace their history back to 1905 and 1881 respectively. Both of these companies develop, design and manufacture watches and movements and have a wealth of experience in doing so.

Now take our original list at the start of this section, I was a little cheeky I picked four watch brands that are actually all made by the same company, Fossil. Now there is nothing wrong with Fossil (I chose Fossil for convenience and am in no way picking on them) they make and have made some very nice pieces, but buyers should be aware that fashion watches are often not made by the brand they are sold under.

As with a lot of fashion accessories, you can end up with a watch whose form outstrips its function. Watches can have sub dials which do not function or complications that are just for show. This occurs (in my view) when fashion and aesthetics are placed above or implemented separately to the watch itself, something I think can detract from a timepiece. There is also a question as to what you are paying for in a fashion watch, simply put, it is often branding. What you choose to pay is a question of personal choice, I just recommend looking into who makes the watch you are purchasing and if you would be better placed spending the same money on a brand who favours form and function.