Kate Spade New York Watches Review
When you’re reviewing fashion watches, or watches from a fashion brand, you need to take a different approach. People who buy watches from fashion brands aren’t likely to care about complications or other elaborate features that hardcore watch collectors might be seeking.
What fashion watch buyers usually want is an eye-catching design that keeps good time, runs well and will offer good service for the price. You might not be seeking that if you’re buying a Tissot, but if you’re looking at Kate Spade New York watches, you might have a different point of view.
The company was founded as a clothing line in the early 1990s and they offer a number of watches (87 at the moment) as fashion accessories. They’re fun, colorful and eye-catching and they’re sold at a price that’s more or less reasonable, as designer watches go.
Read on for the full Kate Spade New York watches review.
Build Quality
Movements
Innovation
Styling and Features
Care and Maintenance
Warranty
Prices
Where to Buy
Summary
Kate Spade New York Watches Build Quality
The build quality is certainly adequate. No, they’re not going to allow you to dive to 1000 feet or withstand a drop from three stories. But they feature stainless steel cases and mineral crystal to protect the watch face. Many models have leather bands; the others have plated stainless steel bracelets. Water resistance is fairly modest, with most models rated at 30 meters. That’s good for getting them wet, but you won’t want to go swimming or diving while wearing them.
Given that these watches are for fashion, rather than sport, you’ll likely find that they’re built well enough.
The movements used in Kate Spade New York watches are quartz movements sourced from Japan. While we haven’t been able to confirm that, they’re likely from Miyota, a company owned by Citizen that is a large producer of quartz (and mechanical) watch movements. Japanese quartz movements are highly reliable and are known for keeping accurate time.
Click here to shop for Kate Spade New York Watches at Amazon.
If you’re a fan of technical innovation, you’re not likely to find it here. That’s because the company isn’t a watch company; they’re a fashion company that also offers Kate Spade watches in their product line. For that reason, they’re more interested in how their timepieces look, rather than in creating watches with elaborate features.
That’s not a criticism; that’s simply the nature of the business. Kate Spade New York watches are for people who want to wear a stylish piece of jewelry that will tell the time. That is all.
Styling is where these watches really shine. If you’re looking for a basic gold or silver watch with a white face, two hands, and nothing else, you’ll find that, but you won’t find a lot of it. What you will find is fun and eye-catching styling, with loads of color.
Most of the watches in the Kate Spade New York watches product line are time-only, but a few have additional complications such as an inset 24 hour dial or a 60 seconds dial. What makes them stand out, aside from the color, are the fun and crazy dial designs. You’ll find dials with animals, vehicles, flowers, birds, and even a map of the City That Never Sleeps. Colors range from silver, gold and black to red, orange, pink, and pastel greens and blues.
Most of the models have round dials, but a few have slightly odd shapes for those of you who like something that’s really different. These are fun, casual watches for the most part, but some of their more austere designs would look fine in the boardroom or on your wrist for an elegant evening on the town.
As these watches all feature high quality Japanese quartz movements, you’ll find that they require relatively little in the way of maintenance. You will need to replace the battery every 2-3 years. You should also keep your watches away from strong magnetic fields and extremes of temperature. As most of these watches do not possess exceptional water resistance, you should also try to avoid immersing them in water.
With proper care, you’ll find that your watch should offer years of reliable service.
The warranty offered with the purchase is the industry standard; your timepiece will be warranted against defects and craftsmanship for two years from the date of purchase. These are reliable watches that are tested at the factory, so defects are likely quite rare.
Prices
Prices are fairly reasonable, as designer watches go. Official retail prices range from a low of about $150 to a high of about $325. These are the factory recommended prices, though you may occasionally find them offered at a discount by some retailers.
You can buy at the company’s official Website, and that’s where you’ll find the complete line of currently available models. On the other hand, you can also buy them from a number of other retailers, both online and offline.
Online retailers may offer the best opportunity to buy at a discount, so you may wish to start there if you’re looking for a bargain. Keep in mind that not all retailers are likely to have all models in stock, but most should have a good representative sample.
Kate Spade New York Watches Summary
If you’re looking for chronographs, deep diving watches, or watches with lots of diamonds, this is not the brand for you. If you’re looking for fun, colorful, fashionable watches with lots of clever and attractive designs, and looking for them at a price that won’t leave you bankrupt, then you’ll love them.
Kate Spade New York watches offer reliable Japanese timekeeping with great styling, all at a price that most people can afford. We like them, and we think you will, too.
Click here to shop for Kate Spade New York Watches at Amazon.