For a lot of modern watch designers, the perfect combination of old-school influence with modern designers is key to making a great watch.
But Fossil decided to go against the trend with their Machine Chronograph Watch by making an incredibly modern watch.
The watch, while being analog has an elegant modern design that’s a beautiful fresh air in today’s wave of old-school fusion.
We take a look at the design and much more in this Fossil FS5164 review.
- Fossil has always been inspired by American creativity and ingenuity. Since 1984, we’ve strived to bring new life into the...
- A celebration of American manufacturing, Machine is a classic for a reason. This watch combines the industrial—such as a...
- Case size: 45mm; Band size: 24mm; quartz movement with chronograph analog display and date window; hardened mineral crystal lens...
Movement
The watch uses a quartz movement, which is famous for being incredibly accurate while not costing that much.
Compared to mechanical watches that are powered by a mainspring that needs to be rewound, or automatic watches that rely on movement to power the watch, quartz movement uses a battery to keep the hands ticking, allowing it to be incredibly accurate, only losing a couple of seconds a month.
Case & Crown
One of my favorite characteristics of this watch is by far the material of the case, which is ion-plated steel.
It is incredibly durable, while also being much more affordable. Another plus with this material is it comes in great colors, but Fossil decided to go with a very elegant black color for this case.
Measuring 45mm in diameter, this case is the perfect size for a large men’s watch and is only 13mm wide which makes it incredibly comfortable on the wrist.
The watch’s gold-colored crown is situated at the 3 o’clock position and is a great size for the watch, along with two buttons (one above, one below) to control the stopwatch.
Strap & Buckle
The watch has a black metal bracelet which harmonizes very well with the black colored case.
But one nice detail to the watch is a blue stripe that runs down the bracelet that perfectly matches the blue on the outer chapter ring of the dial.
On the wrist, the strap is very comfortable and can be worn for extended periods of time without feeling any discomfort. The buckle uses a push-button deployment system allowing you to easily take the watch on and off when needed.
Dial & Crystal
The dial on this watch has a highly-detailed, intricate design with elegant modern influences.
The innermost part of the black dial has a nice pattern of concentric circles, giving off a nice texture which serves as a perfect backdrop for the three subdials (two for the stopwatch, one for 24-hour time).
The markers and the subdials have a beautiful gold color which contrasts perfectly with the black background.
Add that the to the white bold hour and minutes hands along with a gold-colored seconds hand, and reading time is a breeze from whatever angle.
In between the 4 and 5 o’clock indicators is a convenient window for the date, which is a nice detail from Fossil. To protect this beautiful dial is a mineral crystal to protect the watch from scratches.
Bezel
One of the key features of this watch’s design is the very classy knurled bezel that surrounds the watch’s face.
The bezel is made out of stainless steel but keeps in tune with the watch’s color themes by being colored a nice, shiny black to contrasts the matte colors of most of the watch.
Complications
The watch is equipped with its fair share of complications, which really gives it a lot of value. Aside from keeping accurate time, the watch also has a stopwatch, date window, and 24-hour timekeeping.
These aren’t complications that are new or innovative, however, they are very useful especially for the modern busy watch wearer.
Final Verdict
The FS5164 is truly a watch for the present times. With its sleek, elegant, modern look, it would look incredible with today’s modern smart casual fashion trends, while also being elegant enough to serve as a dress watch.
For a wearer who appreciates flexible and classy designs, this watch, without a doubt, needs to be on your radar.
