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Style Battle: Two Kenneth Cole Watches

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Kenneth Cole N.Y. Silver Chronograph – $90.67 ($150)* | Rose-Gold Tone Subdial – $125

*NOTE:  The silver chrono is available via KennethCole.com, where you can save 20% if you donate $10 to the efforts going to rebuild Haiti.

**NOTE #2: Credit to James in the comments who found it being sold direct by Amazon for $90.  As always, do factor in shipping and potential return costs.

Consider this giving credit where credit is due.  Kenneth Cole can make some really odd looking watches.  Stuff that’s so gaudy and over the top that you can’t imagine anyone actually wearing them.  But that’s not the case with these two.  They’re pretty classic looking, and they provide a real clean watch for those on an entry level budget.

The silver chronograph is all class, and it’s as retro looking as anything Kenneth Cole makes.  If anything, KCNY pushes too far on trendiness too often.  This thing looks like it was inspired by a wall clock from 1950.  Terrific font, great pushers, and a crown with texture.  Been around for awhile and here’s to hoping they don’t stop making it.

The Rose-Gold Tone is a new addition.  Plenty of white on the dial so if you’re on the fence about the rose-gold thing, it won’t be too gaudy.  Textured crown, and a perfectly proportioned & placed date dial.

Both are an as-good-as-it-gets-for-most 42mm in diameter, and yes, they’re both quartz.  Sorry zero-tolerance quartz guys.  But you’ve got to hand it to their watch design team.  This time.

Have a preference?  Vote in the comments.  And watch snobs, do hold your nose if you must.

Comments

  1. I own the silver chronograph one and I like it as a daily wearer.  It is very versatile as it can sport various looks when exchanging the straps.  

  3. I actually picked this up watch from Kenneth Cole on Amazon over Christmas  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026ZOIMS/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details. 

    I got it for a steal though $41.95 it is now back up to $59.00. This is definitely one of my go-to watches!

  4. I like the look of the silver chronograph. Probably not enough to actually buy it, but it is a nice looking watch.

  5. The silver chrono is very classy, but I’d be worried about spending that much on a watch where I’m not sure of the quality. Who makes the movements for CK?

  6. This is the best I can do about the KC movements: “The majority of Kenneth Cole Reaction Watches are manufactured with
    Japanese quartz movements (citizen mainly). In some cases (i.e., some
    chronographs), we do use other first quality movements (Swiss part China
    assembled).” Although, this is unsubstantiated. KC seems to keep pretty closed lips on their movements. That being said, I would absolutely wear the silver chrono. 

  7. As stated before, I own the silver chronograph by ck and it’s awesome. I’ve had it almost 16 months and where it 3 times a week on average. I’d recomend it to anyone looking for a white dial chronograph. It’s awesome!

  8. KC watches are made by the Geneva Watch Group (which is now owned by the Binda Group), a New York-based company that makes a lot of low end fashion watches in east Asia.

    As for the movement, if it’s that hard to find what it is, then it’s nothing special and they probably use whatever is cheapest/available at the time of manufacture. That said, even cheap quartz movements can generally pretty reliable. If it were an automatic I’d say don’t even bother, but I wouldn’t worry too much about a quartz movement.

    Where a watch like this will be lacking in quality is in the materials and fit and finish. It will probably feel lighter than you’d expect it to. Cheap crystal, band. I’ve had friends complain of the plating wearing off the metal areas.

  9. Note that the Silver ‘chrono’ (sorry to sound like a snob, but it’s not a chronograph – more on this later) has a domed crystal. A cheap domed crystal likely means you might have some distortion reading the dial at an angle, and it is going to be prone to getting banged around and scratched.

    As for it not being a chronograph, take a look at the subdials. They are a secondary hour/minute/second display. This has no chronograph features so the pushers are likely non-functional/decoration.

  11. Well… it looks like Dappered ate my post with all the links. But Jessy, you should check out the Seiko chronographs at CreationWatches . com. They are a reputable dealer from Singapore with free 3-day international shipping. I bought a Seiko Mini Monster from them a while back and it was a smooth transaction.

    They sell a good selection of Seiko chronos at a little over $100, many of them in a 40mm case diameter which should be a little more workable with small wrists. I have 6″ wrists, too, and my 41mm Casio Edifice chronograph doesn’t feel clownishly big on me.

    I think you can generally wear a slightly larger chronograph than you might think you could, just because all the “stuff” on the dial breaks it up visually and helps it to wear smaller. A 40mm dress watch with a minimalist dial will actually look bigger than a 40mm chronograph.

  13. I thought all the stuff of the chronograph would make it look bigger, don’t know why. I’m not in the market at this moment, but a chronograph watch might be my Christmas present. Saw a few models I like on your website, thanks for the link!

  16. I looked at the KC silver chrono at the store and confimed my feel that it’s just too busy with all those floating around “hash” marks. 
    But the rose gold one is very nice and classy. Could have been even better with a smaller logo and removed the minute hash marks and 5 min incriment numbers. Well that’s MY opinion… But I will agreee, two pretty good watches from KC.

  17. I like the design on that silver chronograph… a nice modern look, without being over the top. The rose gold is a little meh.

    If you’re looking for a classic-looking chronograph (think Omega Speedmaster Professional), you might take a look at the Casio Edifice EF-503D series. They come in a bucketload of colors, are reasonably sized at 41mm, and look pretty darn amazing. The bracelet is really nice, too, complete with solid end-links. I got mine for $72 this summer.

    http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/5078999002_9ca16cb602.jpg

  18. Thanks for clearing that up, Joe. I also found those 5 minute increments to be odd and thought it would not be very useful as a chrono without clearly marked minutes. Then again, how many people actually use that feature on a watch?

  19.  Oddly enough, I use my chrono quite often (parking meters, cooking, chugging contests) but I agree, most don’t use em’ ever.

  20. Not a big fan of the rose gold on mens watches.  Plus, 42mm is just a tad too small for me.  I don’t like the look of a small watch for some reason.  44mm is the safe zone but nothing over 49mm.  I also prefer mechanical as opposed to quartz.

  21. Both look pretty nice. Anyone know which company makes Kenneth Cole watches? Or do they make them themselves?

  22. I have, if you can believe this, a 5.25in wrist. The key for small wrists, if your self-conscious, isn’t so much the diameter of the face but the thickness. The Amazon page sites this as 12mm thick so I think you’d be okay with it. Plus, someone mentioned its a domed crystal so it will appear even slimmer than a comparable watch with a flat top crystal. 

    My personal sweet spot is 37-41mm. I do have some 42 and 43mm watches which are thick and sporty and feel like a wrist weight. I don’t wear them as often. My largest, and most complimented by the ladies, watch is 45mm but it is relatively thin so it works well.

    Good thing about small wrists is girls love to try on your watches and they’re already sized appropriately. I’ve met several girls where it started by them complimenting my watch and I was able to segway that into an actual conversation with them when I suggested they try it on.

  24. I would argue against buying a watch from Kenneth Cole. I bought one over the Christmas season. They refused to replace the battery for me in-store, despite it sitting for who knows how long on the display shelf. When I got the battery replaced a month and a half later, because it had started losing time, I was told in-store that I might as well get it replaced in a watch shop, cause although the cost of the battery would be covered, the shipping would not.

    Finally, and putting the nail in the coffin, the battery replacement has not fixed the time-losing problem, indicating a problem with the movement, after two months.

  26.  I own the chrono, and I lurrrve it. The gold option is too asymmetrical and right-side heavy.

  27. Definitely the silver, gold always felt tacky/gaudy to me. But I dunno about a KC watch in the first place.

  28. I know I’m a little late to the comment thread but FYI Nordstrom will price-match. I just placed an order for the Kenneth Cole Silver Chronograph and they matched Amazon’s price of $90.67. I’m not sure if they regularly match Amazon but they did this time.

  29. The silver is always my choice. Gold watches and anything gold for that matter clashes with my skin.