Fossil is a brand known for its stylish and affordable fashion watches. And since Fossil watches are available at a relatively low price, you may wonder, how long do Fossil watches last?
A Fossil watch lasts upwards of 10 years if taken care of properly. A Fossil watch battery typically lasts between three and five years, after which it needs to be replaced. With proper care and servicing every couple of years, you can keep your Fossil watch around for a long time.
Despite being priced reasonably low, Fossil doesn’t necessarily compromise in quality. Their watches are still sturdy and durable, regardless of the retail price. This article will detail just how long Fossil watches last and what steps you can take to make it last even longer!
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How Long Do Fossil Watches Last?
A Fossil watch can last up to ten years or longer if taken care of properly. Maintaining your watch is the key to giving it a long life. With a service every few years, your Fossil watch can last as long as you want.
Two main components dictate the lifetime of a watch; the materials used to make the watch and the movement used inside the watch.
The Materials
When it comes to how long a watch will last, we need to look at the materials with which the watch is made. Most commonly, you’ll find some sort of stainless steel alloy for the case and bracelet.
Depending on how careful you are with your watch, a stainless steel case and bracelet can easily last 10+ years. Stainless steel isn’t easy to break in any way. At the worst, you’ll start to see some scratch marks, which are unavoidable anyway.
Aside from stainless steel, the strap can also be made of leather, and since Fossil primarily makes fashion watches, the leather used isn’t of the highest quality. After about a year or two of consistent wear, the leather strap will start to show signs of wear.
We’ve all seen it before; that one hole you always use starts to widen, and the leather around it starts to get scuffed and discolored. At that point, it’s best to buy a new strap for your watch.
Lastly for the materials is the face of the watch. There are several sorts of glass (or crystals) used for the face of a watch. The best option out there is a sapphire crystal, which can only be scratched by diamonds. A sapphire crystal is also costly, so it isn’t used for most Fossil watches.
With Fossil watches, you’ll most commonly find a mineral glass face, which isn’t the worst option, but not the best either. Mineral glass can be scratched if you’re not careful, but it won’t scratch as easily as an acrylic watch face.
Fossil is branching out into the ‘Swiss-made’ side of watchmaking, and those models do have a sapphire crystal. You should not be worried about scratches with a sapphire crystal, as a sapphire crystal cannot be scratched by any common material.
The Movement
Aside from the materials, the movement dictates how well a watch works over the years. If any of the fragile inner workings break, your watch will no longer function.
In the case of Fossil watches, most of their watches have a quartz movement, which is the simplest movement that requires the least amount of parts. The other movements are automatic and mechanical, but there aren’t many models that use these movements.
All the inner parts of a watch are extremely fragile. There are tens of tiny, fragile parts inside the typical quartz watch, and if just one of them breaks, it could mess up the entire watch. Since there are fewer parts in quartz watches, the chance of one breaking is lower, but the chance is always there.
To ensure the movement and inner parts stay intact, try not to accidentally drop or smash your watch. If you start hearing a ticking sound whenever you move your wrist, that could indicate that one or more of the inner parts is broken and your watch requires a service.
How Long Do Fossil Watch Batteries Last?
A Fossil watch battery lasts about two years, after which it needs to be replaced. A battery replacement does not fall under the warranty, so this is something you need to pay for yourself. The typical cost is about $10-$20 for a battery replacement.
A battery can be found in every quartz watch, and since quartz watches are the cheapest and easiest to manufacture, most watches, and especially fashion watches, will be quartz watches.
And that’s also the case for Fossil. The vast majority of their watches are quartz watches, meaning they have a battery.
The lifetime of a watch battery can vary widely, but on average, a Fossil watch battery will last about two years. Sometimes it runs a little longer, and sometimes a little shorter, but two years is the average.
After those initial two years, you’ll need to have the battery replaced. Luckily, battery replacements are extremely affordable. For about $10 to $20, you can have your Fossil watch battery replaced, and that includes the cost of the battery itself.
How Long Does A Fossil Watch Warranty Last?
Fossil grants a two-year warranty from the date of original purchase. Under the warranty fall the following; material and manufacturing defects, the movement, hands, and dial.
With proper care, a Fossil watch can last a long time. But sometimes, we find ourselves in a situation where the watch breaks or something is defective. Maybe there’s a malfunction in the watch itself or any of the links of your strap are loose.
In that case, you can fall back on your warranty. Fossil extends a two-year warranty from the date of original purchase. If anything happens to break, you can simply take your watch to your vendor and have it repaired.
Under warranty fall any material and manufacturing defects. I personally had a watch with a metal bracelet, and one of the links kept going loose. This led to my watch dropping multiple times because the link would simply fall off.
Other than any manufacturing or material defects, the warranty also covers any repairs needed for the movement, hands, and dial.
If your watch breaks after the two-year warranty, you’re out of luck. In that case, you’ll need to pay the repair costs.
Should You Service A Fossil Watch?
You should service your Fossil watch every five years or whenever you notice something’s not working correctly. A service every couple of years will keep your watch looking and functioning as new.
In order to keep your Fossil watch working as new, it’s recommended to have it serviced every five years. However, the cost of a Fossil service can be quite high compared to the retail price of a brand new one.
Where a brand new Fossil watch can be bought for around $200, a complete Fossil service can cost up to $150.
With that in mind, you should decide for yourself whether or not a service is worth it. If the watch is an heirloom or has any personal or sentimental value, a service is probably worth it, but if the service is as expensive as a brand new one and you have no deep connection to the watch, it may be worth it just to buy a new one.
Ultimately, the decision is up to you, and since a Fossil watch can easily last multiple years on end, it’s not something you need to worry about straight away!
