What "60% off" really means on a fashion watch

Watch retail has the most inflated recommended prices of any category in UK shopping. A fashion-brand watch — Emporio Armani, Michael Kors, Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Fossil — carries an RRP that authorised retailers routinely sell 40 to 60 percent below, all year round. The discount isn't a sale. It's the price.

How it works

Fashion watches are licensed: the brand licenses its name to a watch group (Fossil Group makes Armani, Michael Kors and others), which sets a high RRP to support the brand's positioning and then sells to retailers at a price that lets them discount deeply while keeping margin. The RRP anchors the perception; the street price is where the market actually clears.

What that means for you

A watch at "55 percent off" is at its normal price. The interesting moment is when it goes to 65 or 70 — that's a retailer clearing a line, and it won't last. Our deal pages show the price history, so you can see whether today's discount is the standing one or a genuine dip.

Authorised matters

Buy from an authorised retailer. The manufacturer's warranty (usually two years) applies only through authorised channels, and the piece is guaranteed genuine. The retailers on this site are authorised for the brands they list. The grey market — marketplace sellers, unfamiliar sites — offers deeper discounts with no warranty and a real counterfeit risk on exactly these brands.

Where the real value is

Fashion watches are fashion: the movement inside a £250 Armani is a £15 quartz module, the same as in a £60 Casio. You're paying for the design and the name, which is a fair thing to pay for if you like the design. If you want a watch that holds value, look at Seiko, Citizen, Tissot and Hamilton, where the RRP is closer to the real price and the movement is the product.