# Need help choosing a watch : Caravelle vs Michael Kors vs Anythign else



## Phyrex (Jul 31, 2014)

Hello watch enthusiast, here is a new poor sob who needs your expertise in the matter you love so much !
To be more serious, i know nothing of watches and stuff and i need help for my next one (its my birthday soon!).

Here's some context about my dilema
I cant go over 250$ (tax included so a net price of around 200$) but i am aware that for this price, i wont get amazing quality, im just searching for enough quality to last a good few years (as long a spossible of course) of daily life (mostly office life and some physical activity here and there).

I currently own a plain stainless-steel Caravelle (a gift so idk how much it costed if thats any indicator of quality, i sadly dont know its model name/number either if thats important).
I spotted a Michael Kors watch for 220$ instead of 310$ at a shop today. its an oversized, gold-and-black colored with 3 dials chronograph or something and such. It's a big and rather blingy watch but i'd like to clarify that im into watches for both look and quality (i feel the need to clarify that as i know theres 2 sort of "philosophy" in the watch world)

So here's the real questions i need help with :
#1 : Can a watch quality be judged solely by name ?
#2 : If so, given my budget (~200$) will the MK watch equal or surpass my Caravelle one ? (i know for a fact the caravelle one most likely costed less than 100$ if price is indicator of anything)
#3 : Overall, can MK watches offer decent quality for the price i saw it at (220$) and
#4 : Will it be able to survive average daily-life use and potential (not to say inevitable) dings and scratches

For the good of the feedback i will (hopefully) receive, i will clarify that im aware MK watches are classified as "designer's watches" and that many people on this forum probably have a bias against those so if possible, keep it simple and factual for me, poor newbie 

Thanks for the help !


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## Aleric (Feb 10, 2011)

Phyrex said:


> Hello watch enthusiast, here is a new poor sob who needs your expertise in the matter you love so much !
> To be more serious, i know nothing of watches and stuff and i need help for my next one (its my birthday soon!).
> 
> Here's some context about my dilema
> ...


Hello and welcome to forum,

I've read your post over three times trying to understand what you are really asking about. I'm not really sure yet and I also wonder if you are asking the right questions to help you with your decision.

Let's start by giving you my answers to the four main questions you asked at the end of your post.

1) "Can a watch quality be judged solely by name ?"

Answer: Not always, especially at the price point you are talking about (~ $200-$250)

2) "If so, given my budget (~200$) will the MK watch equal or surpass my Caravelle one ? (i know for a fact the caravelle one most likely costed less than 100$ if price is indicator of anything)"

Answer: Without knowing the MK watch you are referring to or it's features/attributes relative to your Caravelle (which I also know nothing about), in general the quality is probably pretty similar, making the Caravelle a better value. Caravelle is the "budget line" produced by Bulova. MKs are produced by Fossil. Fossils and MKs come out the same factory. Most of them are quartz watches, probably using the same movements. MKs cost more than the similar Fossil watch because they put the "MK" label on the dial. The only MK involvement *may have* is that they have somebody review the design, give input, etc. of the watch dials before they finalize before production. I'm just guessing here. So, if that is worth the mark-up in price to you, that is a personal choice. I don't own any MK watches (wife has one), but I do own a couple of Fossils that work and look fine that I paid ~ $50 each for at discounted prices. My Fossils come with eleven year warranties, whereas MKs only come with a one or two year warranties.

3) "Overall, can MK watches offer decent quality for the price i saw it at (220$)"

Answer: It depends on what your definition of "decent quality" is, but in my opinion you can get a much better watch for your $220. Tons of other brands out there that offer better value. (check out the "Affordable Watches" watch forum on this site.) Remember, much of that $220 is just for the MK name.

4) "Will it be able to survive average daily-life use and potential (not to say inevitable) dings and scratches"

Answer: Depends on many things, like how "rough" you are with your watches, whether the watch in question has any kind of plating (i.e. gold or black PVD, etc.) since those tend to wear off or show visible scratches more easily and can't be corrected, whereas with stainless steel case and bracelets you can easily brush out the inevitable scratches that occur over time.

Hope this helps.


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## natnaes (Apr 15, 2012)

1) It depends, there are some designer companies that value quality, Fossil Group should be considered to be one of such, as compared to other fashion brands which use less reliable movements and charge higher premiums.
2) The finish should be slightly better, although this is usually unnoticed unless both of them are compared side to side
3) In terms of quality, yes MK is pretty decent. It features the citizen miyota which is a pretty sturdy workhorse movement. In the industry, we generally have enough confidence to say this quartz movement will never fail. (It does, in negligible quantities, and lasts for very long times)
4) With most people yes. Also depends how rough you are, too, as Aleric pointed out.


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