Emporio Armani Watches – Affordable Elegance
If you follow fashion, you’re probably familiar with Giorgio Armani, who established the fashion house that bears his name in Italy in the mid-1970s. The company has become well known for both men’s and women’s fashions, and they now have several separate product lines, including one that makes timepieces.
Emporio Armani watches are elegant and stylish and for the most part, are quite affordable, making them a nice addition to your wardrobe. While the company isn’t particularly concerned with watchmaking, they do make a point of offering some unique and attractive wristwatches at a reasonable price point.
Read on for the Emporior Armani full watches review.
Build Quality
Movements
Innovation
Styling and Features
Care and Maintenance
Warranty
Prices
Where to Buy
Summary
Emporio Armani Watches Build Quality
We find the build quality to be a bit varied, as they have two product lines. They have watches for men and women, which are quite affordably priced, and then they have another product line, called Swiss Made, and that line offers unisex models that cost several times as much as the others.
The less expensive line consists of models with steel cases, mineral crystal and quartz movements that are probably made in China, though we’ve seen some for sale that were labeled as having been made in Japan. The Swiss Made line offers Swiss made quartz movements and stainless steel and ceramic cases with sapphire crystal.
Water resistance in both lines is typically 50 meters. Clearly, the more expensive line is better made, but those timepieces typically cost three times as much as the lower priced line.
All models use highly accurate electronic quartz movements, which minimize maintenance; they’ll run several years without the need to replace the battery. The lower priced models use movements sourced from Asia; we’ve seen them labeled as both “Far East” and “Japan” so some of the movements may be Chinese-made. The “Swiss Made” models, which are limited editions, use Swiss-made quartz movements. All are accurate and all will likely run well for a number of years without problems.
As Emporio Armani watches come from a company that is primarily a manufacturer of clothing and fashion accessories, rather than a watchmaker, it won’t surprise you to find that they really offer no home-grown technical innovations.
Their watches use well-tested, tried-and-true technology that has been developed by others, and Emporio Armani watches tend to offer innovation only in their styling.
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We find the styling to be rather traditional, with colors favoring silver, gold and black. There are occasional touches of color, such as green or blue, but you’re going to find conservative styling in the company’s line, with gold silver, and brown/black leather bands and analog displays.
There’s no cutting edge styling to speak of, nor will you find odd colors, such as orange or pink in their product line. These are elegant timepieces that have been designed to look good with business or evening wear, so you’re not going to see lots of flashy, casual designs, as you might find with Swatch, for instance.
A few models have chronometer features, and a couple of women’s models seem inspired by the Cartier Tank Watch, but for the most part, you’re going to see elegant, traditional styling. The current product line offers about 30-40 models.
As these watches use highly reliable and accurate quartz movements, you won’t have to worry about maintenance. The battery will need to be replaced every couple of years; we recommend that this be done by a jeweler. You should store your watch in a cool, dry place, and keep it away from extremes of temperature. You should clean it with a soft cloth and keep your leather bands away from water. Other than that, these watches do not require anything unusual in the way of maintenance.
Emporio Armani Watches Warranty
As warranties go, this one is about average. The company offers a two year warranty against defects in materials and craftsmanship; we find this to about the average among luxury watch manufacturers. Most problems should be rare and those that occur should turn up within the warranty period.
It may be possible to purchase an extended warranty from your dealer at the point of sale; this might be worth considering if you’re buying one of the lower-priced models.
As we’ve previously mentioned, this company offers two distinct lines of timepieces, so prices vary a bit. The lower priced men’s and women’s lines are quite affordable; models start at less than $200 and peak at about $500 or so. These are the less expensive models with the “Far East” internal movements.
The “Swiss Made” models are more expensive, and have Swiss made quartz movements. The models in this line are also limited editions, and are typically limited to several hundred units. These models sell for prices ranging from $695 to $1495, though they do have better build quality. As designer watches go, these are moderately priced timepieces.
We haven’t seen any evidence of collector interest, so we do not suggest that you buy one hoping to see it appreciate in value with time. That said, they are nice looking, affordable watches, particularly in the lower-priced line.
As with most designer timepieces, you can find the brand for sale at fine jewelry shops and high end department stores. You’ll almost certainly find them for sale at any store where you’d find the company’s fashion products.
In addition, the company owns a few stores around the world; as far as we know, there are only four in the United States. You can also occasionally find them for sale through online retailers. The limited edition models are produced in fairly small quantities of a few hundred units, so if you’re looking for something specific, you may have to shop around a bit.
Emporio Armani Watches Summary
As is typical of designer timepieces offered by a fashion company, Emporio Armani watches are attractive but don’t offer a lot of innovation or technical gadgets. Their lower priced line is quite appealing, as the product look nice and are quite affordable.
Their Swiss Made line is appealing in that the entire line consists of limited editions, and as limited editions go, they’re quite reasonably priced, as well. Emporio Armani watches will look great with businesswear or evening wear, though we don’t see a whole lot in their line that looks overly casual. If you want a nice looking timepiece at an attractive price point, you’ll find good value in Emporio Armani watches.