They say they're "high end." Who am I to argue?

Seriously though, they seem to be targeted directly at aspirational types who care more about marketing fluff... "Achieve luxurious style!" than quality, original design or horological significance.

 

These are jewelry bracelets shaped like a watch. But they are 99% jewelry and 1% watch with some quartz movement. She wants jewels and gold not mechanical marvels so that’s how I see it. My wife buys MacBooks because they look better to her than PCs do.

 

When you're in a relationship there are times when you have to just put you're foot down and say no...

This is one of those times.

 

I had a few of those with my first wife.

 

To build upon what @Jean1888 said, the people who sell them focus entirely on piecing a bracelet with a watch-- it's all about combining something from Column A with Column B and paying a bunch for it.

My wife was looking at them for a while at Nordstrom's, but settled on an actual timepiece instead.

 

They are reasonable to their costs in the sense that they are well finished enough to match some other brands at the price point. I've never researched into their movements but probably some dirt cheap thing. I suspect 99.99999999999999999999999999% of the cost of the watch is the design, the jewels (if it has them), the 628567847981238 women they employ named Michele in their ads. But they aren't bad. Just not what I would buy for someone.

 

Used to sell them and I though they were a quality watch in their price range.

 

Do tell. Was it the outer construction? Was it appropriate movements for the price?

(I actually want to know because Michele is one of the brands that's easy to get around here)

 

Don't die on this hill. Get her what she wants.

 

It's funny that Americans say "die on a hill". I guess that refers to the desperate stand at Bunker Hill during the Revolutionary War?
We have a similar saying in Australia but it's "die in a ditch".
So example usage - "Look, that's my position on this issue but it's not so important that I'm going to die in a ditch over it."

 

Some people are dumber than others. Sometimes dumb people represent cohesive groups that could be easily identified.
Michele watches and LV plastic bags are social signifiers of those groups as well as indicator of their collective IQ.

 

ok?

 

First off, my wife's name is Michele so you know where this is going.
A few months ago, I took her to a Michele AD to pick out one she had seen on the net. We looked at a few other Michele models but she was always drawn to the one she saw on the net (had lots of diamonds ).
We bought it at a discount and she could not take her eyes off of it as we were driving home.
Did I overpay for the watch considering the sum of its parts? Absolutely.
Was it worth the joy it gave (and still giving) her? Absolutely.
Did I think of all the other watches I could have bought with the $2700? Absolutely.

PS......Michele watches are not junk but are overpriced for what they are. Just my opinion.

 

Women like expensive and fashionable baubles... really?

I've heard some men collect anachronistic old fashioned jewelry that tells the time using an out dated mechanical technology.
How stupid is that ?? ... the time's on your phone.

I'm just playing devils advocate 😏

 

One word solution : Cartier

 

Here here. My wife knew Michelle from working at Saks in retail. Then she saw the light which is Cartier and is now sporting a santos xl galbee in stainless and sits 12 shelves above any Michelle she now encounters. Purchased around 3500. Resale & value retention will also win in this regard so cost of ownership is arguably less

 

They are owned and operated by Fossil Group, so there's that. They claim to have Swiss movements, but they are assembled in China, in the same factory as other Fossil Group watches.

At the price point, there are much better and higher quality options IMO.

 

They look nice and they understand marketing. What more do you need from a purchase? Too many of us here, myself included place far too dear a value on watches, for the OVERWHELMING majority of the world they're not really a big deal at all.

 

Approximately 99.993% of the world population. Watch geeks are rarer than Mensa candidates. That's not even really an exaggeration. lol

 

Fashion watch.

 

So is Gucci and I found them to be a quality watch as well; like the mark of the 'Scarlet F'

 

1. Happy (future) wife. Happy life.
2. Buy it used for a fraction of the price with box/papers in LNIB condition.

 

Best advise!

 

My wife has one, but it's less than $1k on bracelet. I like the oyster pearl dial (every one is unique), the case shape, and they are one of the first that provides quick strap change. As I got her into watches, she definitely had a lot of fun buying new straps and changing them from time to time. Not sure how the $5k ones are but if my wife asked about one of those, I would rather get her a Cartier or other mid-tier brands. So may be take her to an AD to take a look at other brands as well?

 

Looks like this thread has woken the 'snob wannabes'.

 

She must be pretty special if you've already dropped 2 Rolex watches in her lap and now she wants a 5k bauble...and you are going to oblige.

Does she have a sister?

I've never heard of Michele watches so I can't comment.

 

One of the nicest ladies' watch I've seen "in the wild" was a Michele.

 

Spouse has had one of those for a long time - no jewels or precious metals, and before they really went upscale. She also has a Cartier tank and previously wore a Tag for a number of Years. Wore the Cartier and Michele for quite a while…now wears an Apple Watch, doesn’t bother to replace the batteries in the Michele or the Cartier. I should probably pop them open to remove the ancient batteries before they leak and permanently wreck the watches.

Her occasional penchant for nice watches makes my interest in watches (the most I have ever spent on a watch was $1250) understandable and perfectly fine with her. Score.

 

Give her what she wants, and then reminder her to remember your "need" for a Patek........

 

Those watches are a bunch of ... oh, wait... you said with as few insults as possible. Well, in that case, I'm out.

 

Get her what she likes,if you wanted a watch would you let her buy you something else?

You are a brave man if you don’t, they always know best.

 

My wife likes them. To her watches are just jewelry. I once asked her when she was wearing her diamond encrusted Cartier Pasha what time it was. Her response: I don’t know.

 

OP I know nothing about Michele watches but I do know something about marriage, been married to the same woman since 1988. All I can tell you is that a happy wife is a happy life. It seems your wife is not a WIS and believe it or not she is more "normal" than us WIS guys in that she belongs to maybe 90% of the population. If she likes the Michele watch and you can afford it then I say go for it. She has 2 Rolex watches and she still likes a Michele then she must see something in that Michele watch that she does not see in a Rolex. Bought my wife a Rolex but she still likes her inexpensive Coach because it's pink and also her Tag because of the diamonds. At least in my case she is actually warming up to a diamond Rolex but would not let me spend that much for one (luck me I guess). The thing is with women in general they do not look for horological significance, brand status or approval in watches but rather how it looks. In a way you can compare this with us WIS guys when we say a certain watch "speaks" to us or "bonds" with us. My daughter actually wears her watch as a bracelet or fashion accessory, the time is not even right when she wears it! Diamonds or precious stones attract women in watches. Maybe what you can do is look for something similar to what she wants, but you have to know what exactly she wants in that Michele watch. I don't find the 90% non-WIS population to be stupid to be falling for so called "fashion" watches. I'm just glad they actually still wear a watch even for just fashion purposes because they are what props up the economy of this segment. Cheers and good luck with your quest!