Lotus Watches Review
When you think of European watches, the first thing that will come to mind is Switzerland. The Swiss have long dominated watchmaking, and they’re the world leaders.
The Germans also make some good watches, and there are even a few interesting watches coming out of Italy.
But Lotus watches hail from Spain, and Spanish watches, in the worldwide marketplace, are a bit of a rarity. That doesn’t mean that these watches aren’t interesting, because they are. But there aren’t a lot of watchmakers who decide to call Spain home.
The company started in 1980, and they were originally inspired by motorcycle racing. There’s still some of that styling in their Lotus R and Chrono collections, but their other watches reveal a trend towards more elegant, austere styling that can compete favorably with other European brands.
You’ll find some nice styles for men and women and affordable pricing, making them a good choice for buyers who aren’t too preoccupied with function or mechanical movements.
While the brand describes themselves as a “lifestyle” brand and they also sell jewelry, watches seem to be their primary focus. They’ve recently signed American actress Megan Fox to help promote their new “Shine” collection.
Read on for the full Lotus watches review.
Build Quality
Movements
Innovation
Styling and Features
Care and Maintenance
Warranty
Prices
Where to Buy
Summary
Lotus Watches Build Quality
The build quality is more than adequate; the company uses 316L stainless steel in their cases, and the watch face is protected by mineral crystal.
Water resistance is typically in the 30-50 meter range, which means that you can get them wet, but swimming or diving is not recommended.
You may buy these watches with stainless steel bracelets, or rubber or leather straps.
As far as we know, the entire product line is sold with quartz electronic movements. As Lotus watches are made in both Switzerland and Spain, the movements are likely sourced from Swiss manufacturers.
Click here to shop for Lotus watches at Amazon (new window.)
As the company is focused more on lifestyle and styling, there isn’t much in the way of technical innovation to be found in their watches.
While many models are time-only, they also offer models with date complications, day/date complications, and chronograph models.
The styling of Lotus watches is a bit varied. Their Lotus R and Chrono series retain the company’s early motorcycle-inspired styling, but their newer collections are more up to date and trendy.
For women, there are the Bliss, Revival, and Trendy collections, which feature mostly time-only models in a variety of bold colors that are sure to dazzle.
For men, there’s the Revival collection, which shows off an old-school 1950s-style design. The Mimimalist series is somewhat reminiscent of Simplex industrial clocks.
The Lotus R and Chrono series are chronographs, and they’ve got bold styling and large cases.
The Multifunction line offers watches with unusual day/date complications represented via dials, rather than numerical displays. They appear rather like chronographs.
As Lotus watches are relatively modestly priced, you won’t find gold or other precious metals in their cases and at present, no gemstones, either.
The care and maintenance will be relatively trouble-free, as these watches have highly accurate and reliable battery-operated quartz electronic movements.
These movements will require that you have the battery replaced every three years or so, but aside from that, no other maintenance is required.
You should store your watch in a cool, dry place, and keep them away from strong magnetic fields and extremes of temperature.
With proper care, you should get a number of years of use.
The warranty is good, though not exceptional. You’ll receive a warranty against defects and craftsmanship for two years from the date of purchase.
This is the “industry standard” watch warranty, and probably 90% or more of watch makers offer a warranty of two years.
As these watches are well tested at the factory, defects are likely somewhat rare.
As designer watches go, you’ll find that the pricing is quite reasonable, making them a good alternative to the more popular and more expensive Swiss brands, which have prices that can range into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
These watches, on the other hand, are priced from roughly $60 to about $1000 or so. That puts them in the category of being relatively inexpensive, though we wouldn’t describe them as “cheap.”
While the company’s products can likely be found in brick and mortar stores in Europe, we are not aware of any such stores in North America that carry the brand.
You can, on the other hand, buy them at a number of online retailers, and most of the larger online stores that carry good selections of wristwatches will have Lotus watches for sale.
We’ve noticed that there tend to be more men’s models for sale online than women’s models, though the company is trying to improve their presence in the women’s watch market via their association with Megan Fox in their advertising.
Online shopping should provide you with a good opportunity to buy discount Lotus watches, as online retailers tend to offer larger discounts that brick and mortar stores.
While the official Website lists suggested retail prices for their timepieces, they do not sell watches directly.
Lotus Watches Summary
As far as we can recall, we haven’t previously reviewed any watch companies from Spain. The company’s timepieces, while being in business since 1981, are still not particularly well known in watch buying circles, though they’re working on that.
Though they offer only quartz models at this time, they do offer some nice styling, with bold colors and affordable pricing.
If you’re looking for an attractive European watch that will likely attract attention when you wear it but you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars, Lotus watches might make a good choice for you.
Click here to shop for Lotus watches at Amazon (new window.)