====== Fashion watch ======

{{wst>author|[[Foskett, Stephen|Stephen Foskett]] ([[https://grail-watch.com/|Grail Watch]])}}

A **fashion watch** is one focused more on design than construction or history. Most fashion watches have a short production period and are not considered collectibles, and thus many cannot be serviced or repaired.

The concept of the fashion watch was created by [[Richard Loftus]], heir to the English [[Accurist]] watchmaking company. Educated in England and the United States, Loftus saw the ephemeral nature of fashion and sought to apply that to watchmaking. He launched the [[Old England]] brand in [[1967]] and was proven correct when it quickly became the top brand in both the United Kingdom and United States by [[1970]].

This created a fashion watch revolution, with brands such as [[Mortima]], [[Sheffield]], and [[Royce]] creating popular but short-lived watch ranges. These were often sold in department stores and used less-expensive [[Roskopf]] movements, switching to [[quartz]] as soon as the technology became cheaper. Larger companies soon entered the fashion watch fray with more frequent model changes and cheaper ranges, often with alternate brand names.

In [[1983]], the fashion watch trend reached a new high as [[SMH]] introduced the [[Swatch]]. This was named "second watch," a term originally coined by Loftus to describe the ephemeral nature of fashion watches. Other major brands jumped in to compete, notably [[Mondaine]] and [[Fortis]] in Europe, [[Timex]] in the United States, and [[Seiko]], [[Citizen]], and [[Casio]] in Japan. Perhaps the most successful fashion brand was [[Fossil]], which started in Dallas, Texas and grew rapidly to top the American market.

Another major trend in fashion watches was licensing. [[Gucci]] was perhaps the first major licensee, but by the 1990s nearly every brand had a watch range, from [[Champion]] to [[Hershey's]]. Fossil soon produced watches under the [[Emporio Armani]], [[Philippe Starck]], and [[Burberry]] brands. This trend would peak around [[2000]] before declining as cheaper off-brand watches appeared.

Today, the fashion watch segment is divided along the lines of the entire watch industry. High-end brands like [[Coach]], [[Gucci]], [[Hermes]], [[Louis Vuitton]], and [[Ralph Lauren]] have become respected watch [[manufacture]]s, licensed brands like [[Armani]], [[Diesel]], [[Guess]], [[Hugo Boss]], [[Michael Kors]], and [[Tommy Hilfiger]] have gained respect, and Internet brands like [[Christopher Ward]], [[Daniel Wellington]], [[MVMT]], and [[Paul Valentine]] are rising. Yet the majority of watch sales go to cheap, no-name fashion watches.


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