Wristwatch Review: Mossimo Men's Watches at Target

I've been intrigued by the inexpensive Mossimo wristwatches at Target for quite some time. Some of the styles seemed a little outrageous and I was unsure about whether they would fit my large wrist. But, every time we went to Target, the watches called my name. Perhaps, perhaps, I could just buy a couple and never wear them to work? I decided to give the Mossimo-brand watches a chance. Later, I picked up a copy of Watch Time magazine at a book store. I learned the prices of truly high end watches and I saw how they were styled. I quickly realized that the Mossimo wristwatches were a pretty good deal in the world of watches.

Having read Watch Time magazine, I recognized that one of Mossimo watches has styling very similar to a high end swiss-made Bell & Ross Watch. Inspired by aircraft instrument panels, Bell & Ross watches have a unique rectangular style and a purposeful, industrial, look. According to Watch Time magazine, Bell & Ross has four design principles: precision, readability, performance, and water resistance. A Bell & Ross watch also costs roughly $3,500 and some Bell & Ross watches cost far more. Regretably, I will probably never, ever, be able to afford a fine Bell & Ross wristwatch. However, I was glad I captured a little Bell & Ross style when I bought the rectangular Mossimo Watch for only $19.

The watch I call a Mossimo Bell & Ross tribute has a square body encompassing a circular watch face. The case and watch face measure a generous 1 and 3/4-inches (45mm) across. Like the Bell & Ross "inspiration watch," the Mossimo watch has a visible screw in each corner. Like the Bell & Ross watch, the Mossimo watch has large legible numbers at the 12, 3, and 9 o'clock positions and broad, white, analog hands. The Mossimo watch even uses the same font as a high end Bell & Ross watch. However, the Mossimo watch also has a small digital watch face centered between the 8 and 4 o'clock positions. This LCD digital watch face has the seconds counting through a large central circle in the LCD. While the digital watch feature brings Mossimo creativity to a styling knock-off, I soon managed to set the watch to annoyingly beep once at the top of each hour. Unlike the high end Bell & Ross watches which are fine Swiss-made automatics with carbon steel or gold cases, the humble Mossimo has a Chinese quartz movement, a stainless steel back, and a metallic toned base metal case. You just won't find a BR Instrument Minuteur Tourbillon or BR1 wristwatch at Target. While Bell & Ross watches often have supple leather straps, the Mossimo watch has a broad 1-inch wide metal strap that does not offer adjustability. I'd imagine that links could be removed for smaller wrists. But, unfortunately, this Mossimo watch fits my 8 and 1/2 inch wrist just a little tightly. While they are comfortable for an hour or two, the Mossimo watches are not totally comfortable for all day wear.

My second Mossimo watch has a bright golden face set against a flat black square case with the same general dimensions of my first Mossimo. However, for this watch, the face is in the form of a squared off circle rather than the traditional instrument panel inspired face. The result is a very large and legible watch face with large legible numbers in the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions. Minutes are demarked at the 5, 10, 20, 25, 35, 40, 50, and 55 positions with smaller numbers. The cool flat black case is reminiscent of the original F-117 stealth fighter and looks vaguely like something the futuristic fine watch maker Urwerk would create. The watch band is proportioned similar to my first Mossimo watch with a broad, 1-inch wide, band in flat black that tightly fits my 8 and 1/2 inch wrist. Again, the watch has a base metal case, stainless steel back, and Chinese-made internals. However, it works well and looks perfectly proportioned on my wrists.

On both Mossimo watches, the strap could be secured a little better. The push button deployment clasps can sometimes come open with strong flexing of my wrists. Overall, these Mossimo watches do bring high fashion pizazz to a big box department store at an affordable price. I recommend these watches with some reservations. While the Mossimo watches are not good for everyone and every wrist, they are fashionable, modern, practical, and only about $19 at Target. Now, if I can only figure out how to turn off that beep.

Sources:
"Building Bell & Ross," Joe Thompson, Watch Time, April 2010, pp 111-117.

www.target.com