How one company made CES the best place for Wear OS watches

Diesel On AxialSimon Hill / Digital Trends

The annualCES show in Las Vegasis often fill up with new wearables , but ever since I started to attend , one company , in special , always delivered the goods : Fossil . There was a true love for the production , the way Fossil leveraged the styles of its varied pardner firebrand and a bass understanding of the watches that made it so valuable to CES and the world of Wear OS .

You ’ll notice I ’m talk in the retiring tense , and that ’s because the brand has not been as prolific as it once was , which is a tangible shame . Here ’s why it ’s sorely miss — and why it ’ll always be a CES high spot for me .

Diesel On Axial

Diesel On AxialSimon Hill / Digital Trends

Brand power

Fossil is in all likelihood best experience for its own - brand “ Gen ” smartwatches , with CES 2023 being host to theFossil Gen 6 Wellness Editionsmartwatch . But these model were never the ones that get me most excited , nor the one I looked forward to envision the most . What you may not know is that Fossil has many varied mark partnerships where it design and grow watches ( smart and otherwise ) for self-aggrandising names like Skagen , Diesel , Armani , Micheal Kors , and Kate Spade .

CES has often been thelaunchpad for its interior decorator brand smartwatches , and they were always especial . In 2018 , Fossil debuted theKate Spade Scallopsmartwatch at CES , and I still recall the terrific phrase used by Fossil ’s chief marketing policeman when I interviewed her at the sentence . She said technical school blade ’ usual coming to women ’s products was to “ shrink it and pink it , ” but this was not Kate Spade ’s or Fossil ’s approach at all .

The result was a smartwatch that followed Kate Spade ’s conception esthetic , include clever and fun animated sentry face , which it thencontinued on for the sequeltoo . Fossil also knead withTory Burch in the same means . Its Diesel smartwatches consider inhalation from the intriguer ’s highly recognizable ranges of traditional picket , integrating design drift such asknurled metaland limpid straps and cases for the look .

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It followedSkagen ’s minimalist styleand land itssignature strapsto smartwatches , just as it does with its other brand , and break down beyond all this by bless creative person to make particular editions and even coming to CES with asmartwatch made with a gaming brand . CES with Fossil hasneverbeen dull .

A watchmaker first

Fossil deals with its branded smartwatches in the same way it does its traditional watches , meaning they arewatchesand not just pieces of technology made for your wrist . It realize the blade themselves and the reasons why mass choose watch made by Diesel and Kate Spade over ones made by Swiss or Nipponese watchmakers .

It was n’t until I impose the Fossil Group ’s European headquarters in Basel , Switzerland , that I understood not just the breadth of its portfolio but also itsextensive history and apprehension of watchmaking . From celebrating its first - ever smartwatch made in 2004 to present how it bring theZodiac brandback , it all helped show why Fossil ’s smartwatches at the sentence stood out amongst the rest .

Fossil caters to all budgets , another cause it does smartwatches well and is a crucial part of the industry . Watchmakers likeMontblancandTag Heuerbring their expertise to smartwatches too , but are in a far higher cost angle bracket than the average Fossil scout .

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Kate Spade ScallopBrenda Stolyar / Digital Trends

fogy secure you could buy a smartwatch from a company that understands watches and watch design if you do n’t have $ 1,500 or more to spend , which is implausibly of import . It was also one of thehybrid smartwatch pioneers , and has been instrumental inpushing the engineering forwardtoo .

Where has Fossil gone?

CES became the position where I would see what Fossil was doing next . Its raw smartwatch collection usually included examples of trend I ’d been seeing in traditional watches , from updated scout face colors to materials used for the latest straps . It was always bewitching to hear more about how they had been incorporated and also the trendsitwas setting . It was a pleasure to see a watch trade name adopt wearable tech .

Much as I get laid theApple Watchand theSamsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic — and appreciate the fact they come in different case sizes , colors , and styles — it ’s not the same as being able to go out and buy a Kate Spade or Armani smartwatch to match your pet denim or supplement . Fossil provides this versatility , and its presence at CES showed everyone that smartwatches do n’t have to be a unisex , one - fashion - fit - all thing . For me in person , the crazy , uniqueDiesel On Fadelite X Mad Dog Jonesspecial edition willalways be a CES highlight .

Sadly , these halcyon days seem to have passed , and Fossil has steadily lessened its smartwatch releases over the past years . The reasons are likely numerous , from the overpowering popularity of the Apple Watch , to designer brands putting less emphasis on technology and wearables now the early hullabaloo has passed — make investment in the blank space less attractive . It may also be the tech industry ’s fault , after Samsung bagged an unofficial exclusive for Wear OS 3 , andQualcomm ’s lack of urgencyin getting thelatest , faster processorsout into the man .

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Skagen Jorn Hybrid HRAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

Whether Fossil has a Modern smartwatch to show at CES 2024 remains to be discover , but the chances of it coming with multiple scout from several unlike brands seem slight . Wearables and the trade show itself will be much poorer without Fossil showing the earthly concern how , in the right custody , watchmakers , interior decorator , and technology can all work so well together .

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