10 Best Fossil Watches For Men 2024 in the US

Fossil Group was founded in 1984 as retailers of recreational goods, such as fashionable bags and watches. They have a wide selection of men’s and women’s watches--minimalist watches, chronographs, smartwatches, hybrid watches, and more. (Hybrid watches look like a regular watch, but they have the functionality of a smartwatch. They are distance trackers, sleep monitors, and chart your exercise progress.) Fossil puts much effort in creating watches that are functional as well as fashionable.

There are a number of variations among their products: the material of the wristband, the appearance of the watch face, how the watch is powered, and more. They have watches that are appropriate for casual wear, for sport and exercise, as well as elegant watches for formal affairs. Out of the 300 watches that Fossil offers, it’s worthwhile to familiarize with the different options.

We’ve composed this buyer’s guide to help you make the right decision when selecting a men’s Fossil watch. It'll help you:

• Choose the right type of men’s Fossil watch,

• See useful tips about that particular type of men’s Fossil watch,

• Read reviews of different men’s Fossil watches, and what customers are saying,

• Select the right brand of men’s Fossil watch, and

• Compare prices and find the best deals.

• Minimalist: These watches will just have an hour hand and minute hand (some models will also have a second hand). The hour markings may appear in Roman numerals, or with plain markings--the “12” marking will be distinct from the others.

• Chronograph: Some Fossil watches have a chronograph function, to allow you to time events. The chronograph will consist of three small dials that appear on the watch face: one for timing seconds, one for minutes, and one for hours.  On the bezel (the circumference of the watch), there are markings every 10 seconds. At the “10” marking, there is a button that starts and stops the second hand on the chronograph. When 60 seconds pass, the minute hand dial will start to move. In order to stop the timing of the chronograph, you press the button at the “10” marking again. The button at “20” makes the second-hand revert back to “0”.

• Smartwatch/Hybrid watch: Fossil also makes smartwatches and hybrid watches, that serve as exercise and sleep trackers. They communicate the information to apps on your smartphone.

• Advantages of each type of wristband: Fossil watches have wristbands in four different materials. They make wristbands in leather (such as calfskin), polyester, silicone, and stainless steel. Silicone has the advantage of being waterproof, even if it also causes perspiration. Polyester is good for casual watches that you’ll wear when engaged in sports events. Leather is soft, and will maintain its appearance for a long time. Stainless steel will be the most durable, albeit being also heavy. Many Fossil watches have a leather wristband that runs underneath the watch’s faceplate. This means that only leather is in contact with your skin. Customers are pleased with the comfort--also, there is less of a risk of perspiration ruining the watch mechanism.

• Wristband clasp: You’ll see a wristband that closes by means of a buckle, as well as wristbands that close by means of a deployant clasp. Also, take note of the wristband width: Fossil makes wristbands in 16 mm, 20 mm, 22 mm, and 24 mm widths.

• Custom making your Fossil watch: Fossil has an app to let you design your own watch. You can select a dial face, select a case, add a bezel, choose a strap type, and even engrave a text on the watch case.

• Watch tin: Fossil sells its watches in a distinctive watch tin, with a vintage appearance from the 1940s and 1950s. 

• Dial window material type: Many Fossil watches have a mineral crystal covering the watch dial. It consists of several elements together, to produce a scratch-resistant surface. There are also watch models that use sapphire as the watch crystal, which is three times harder than the mineral watch face. You’ll also see acrylic watch faces, which are not 100% scratch-proof but can resist scratches.

• Water resistance: You’ll see that many Fossil watches will be marked as “water resistant”. This should not be confused with “waterproof”. Water resistant watches can withstand 5 ATM of water pressure. You might be able to go swimming with such a watch, and it will be able to withstand an occasional splash of water. But don’t expect to go scuba diving with it--the water will almost certainly ruin the watch mechanism at such a depth. 

• Movement type: You’ll see Fossil watches that are mechanical, meaning that they run by releasing the energy of a wound spring. These watches have to be wound up. There are also quartz watches, which run by the oscillations of a quartz crystal. They will be battery-powered. The electric current from the battery will compress the quartz crystal causing it to oscillate at a precise frequency. You have to note if the battery is a non-standard type that might be hard to replace, or a standard lithium-ion battery.There are also “automatic” watches, which rewind the watch’s spring by means of the wearer’s natural motion while walking. This removes the need to rewind the watch’s spring manually. Fossil also makes a “Quartz Twist” watch. It uses a quartz crystal for the time keeping, and an automatic movement to operate the second hand.

• Fossil Group--is a manufacturer of recreational goods, including watches, wallets, jewelry, fragrances, bags for men and women, and more. Fossil Group was founded by Tom Kartsortis in 1984, and their headquarters is located in Richardson, Texas. They have a line of men’s and women’s watches, as well as smartwatches and even wristwatch computers and PDAs (=personal digital assistants).