Thursday, 3 October 2013

High (Street) Horology- Fossil's Heather



I once spent a summer working in Selfridges Wonder Room for the wonderful Chopard, which is where my interest in watches first bloomed. It is also where I began to question the sanity of the premium side of the industry. Every day, as I stood primly in court shoes and skirt, I would watch men and women (and the occasional B-list celeb- Helen Flannigan, I’m looking at you), spend more on a watch than I would on a house deposit. This is all well and good if you have the cash and the workmanship, care and dedication that goes into producing such fine time pieces is not to be dismissed as excessive.

Luckily, for those who would rather save for the house deposit,  there are a wealth of affordable watches on the High Street that, whilst having to compromise on complications and movement quality, still manage to interpret trends into something affordable and attractive.

A brand that does this particularly well is Fossil. The company offer a huge range of ladies watches and accessories and whilst their ladies watches do tend to take a…pinch of inspiration from upper mid-range fashion brands such as DKNY, Micheal Kors and Marc by Marc Jacobs, (the similarities MAY stem from the fact that the Fossil group hold the licenses for many of these brands, alongside their own brand range), I like the cut of their jib.





Separated at birth....        

A particular jib favourite is the stainless steel Heather watch. With a 42mm case this is particularly large for a ladies watch. I'm a fan of larger watches myself but even my everyday 38mm ceramic quakes beneath the size of this bad boy. This watch has often been admired from the wrist of a very good friend of mine who works as a buyer. It's something about the oversized 42mm case and open, uncluttered dial that catches my eye and the fact that it complements the minimalist, relaxed style of my friend.
                                                                  


                                                                       The 'old' Heather



The Heather has been updated for 2013 with a reposition of the date aperture and all but 4 of the numbers have given way to straight hour indexes that previously left space for the minute track to do the talking. Fossil have also done away with the mother of pearl dial in favor of a sandblast, silver toned look. It's an interesting update, clearly a best seller that has had a reboot in order to reach a new audience.


 Heather here with her mini-me




The Heather is also is terracotta or as the website advises 'rose'....
 


Spec:
Stainless steel case
Mother of pearl dial (old version)
42mm case
12mm, 5 link steel bracelet
Double press deployment clasp
£105 from the Fossil website

It’s no Chopard and certainly doesn’t feature any fancy bells and whistles but I also wouldn’t have to sell my first born in order to afford it. I just need to distract my friend long enough to nab it off her wrist…



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