[Neopras]

that movement is a Hangzhou 2189 movement, which has that distinct 'finger' over the stem. It's a rock solid movement, hand winding, non-hacking, 21600 bph, skeletonized, so somewhat like having a power reserve because you can see the mainspring. In this price range, you can actually find tons of skeletons using this same exact movement, as hangzhou tends to produce this movement expressly in its skeleton form.

Interesting! Are you talking about the Sea Gull or the Fossil?

 

[ed21x]

the fossil

 

[ed21x]

Here is the skeleton I use to own that had that same movement. Rotary Vintage Skeleton, really eye catching.

 

[Kurokaze - shura no ken]

For about the same price, you can get a forum-vetted Sea-Gull Skeleton watch. It is a Chinese watch company but it is a Chinese watch company that isn't pretending to be Swiss and is actually producing quality pieces.

not my pic

Excellent suggesion! This movement can also be found in many other watch brands, some of which (especially Armitron) have very good QC. It's a reliable and accurate movement, from my experience.

 

[skriefal]

^^^ I usually don't like the look of skeleton watches -- it's often too difficult to see the hands. But that Sea-Gull is nice. The blued hands and hour markers work well.

 

[Rdenney]

I'd vote Sea-Gull or Swatch Body and Soul. You can find the Sea-Gull via the internet.

Though, in Fossil's defense, they have purchased/revived Zodiac and even post links to refurbished vintage Zodiacs on their website, so they are trying to be a little more serious about their watches.

Fossil has owned Zodiac for 15 years, and they are just now getting around to treating it like a watch company label. But better late than never, and I'm glad to see them recreating some of the great Zodiac watches of old, and at a reasonable price. They have competent manufacture movements (which Zodiacs never had) and I think they are fairly priced. I've been tempted by a couple of the remakes.

Fossil is an American company that makes watches all over the world, including in Switzerland, so asking about Fossil is a bit like asking about Swatch. They are also similar to Swatch in that their budget line is their namesake. They hit all the lower price points, and their cheapest watches look that way while their better watches compare favorably with the competition. None of their watches are really junk, and none of them are overpriced by a factor of ten so that they can be sold at a huge discount. If I compare a Michele ladies watch against, say, a heavily discounted Ebel that sells at the same price, the difference in retail price point really glows in the dark. But that doesn't mean the Michelle is bad, or even overpriced.

Yes, Fossil makes a lot of label watches, not all of which are terrible. Movado does the same thing. It must be an American thing, but Movado or Fossil can sell reasonably well-made Asian watches with Hugo Boss or Emporio Armani on them for really not very much money, and they'll work for as long as their owners are interested in owning them. And both Fossil and Movado make much of their money on those brands. Both are profitable and maintain a reasonable turnover, and both are real watch companies, so one shouldn't be too hard on them. Lots of very good Swiss companies have in their history made house-label watches for big jewelry stores. Even Sears had their Tradition label, which was made by various Swiss contractor, and pretty well-made at that.

One could do a lot worse than Fossil. But one could also do as well and have more from which to choose.

Fossil has outlet stores in the U.S. where they sell their cheaper models, by the way. Call around to them if there's one you have in mind, before paying retail for it.

Rick "who does not own a Fossil" Denney

 

[appleb]

Strangely enough I was actually looking to buy the same Fossil Townsman in the first post about a week ago. But I ended up buying this ME3047 discounted to half price $92.50CDN at a Fossil Outlet. It scratches the same itch as owning a skeleton and much easier to read.

 

[Neopras]

Here is the skeleton I use to own that had that same movement. Rotary Vintage Skeleton, really eye catching.

View attachment 5538818

Wow man, thank you a lot!
Thanks to you, i have been looking around the collection of Rotary, and they actually have some pieces that 1. Better fit my style 2. Seem to be robust and 3. Can be ordered on sites like watchshop or Amazon, wich i feel more comfortable to buy from. I'm currently looking at the Rotary GS02519/09, wich seems to be the exact same model as yours, except in gold and brown. I'll let you know what i'll finaly choose, but either way thank you for the excellent suggestion!

 

[Jason9090]

To many people put down skeletons. Remember, not everyone is into watches for the same reason. Some people get into watches for the timeless design of clean and classy mechanical watches. Other people are using them more as tools, and need something easy to read. Skeletons are hard to read, and clutter to them. However, other people get into mechanical watches because in a day and age where everything is a boring circuit board it is very cool to actually see old school mechanical parts spinning away. It's almost hypnotic. The people I know who like skeletons appreciate the beauty of the engineering running it, without seeing that it might as well be a quartz. I know a lot of car guys who prefer open heart because it reminds them they are wearing a high precision engine on their wrist as it quickly moves around. And a million other reasons. Buy a watch that speaks to you, and reflects what you like about mechanical watches. The only wrong choice is the one where you compromised what you like for someone else's opinion.

 

[Solicitor]

I've held Fossils and find them of good quality when compared with other cheap fashion watches. But personally I'll choose a Seiko over Fossil. Hope this helps