Emporio Armani

Giorgio Armani launched Emporio Armani in 1981 as a younger, more accessible line beneath the main label. Watches followed under licence, and since 2000 they have been produced by Fossil Group, which holds the manufacturing and distribution rights.

The watches are fashion accessories rather than horological objects, and the house does not claim otherwise. Movements are bought-in quartz and Japanese automatic calibres, cased in designs that follow the clothing line's aesthetic: muted palettes, clean dials, and a preference for restraint over ornament.

That restraint is the appeal. Where much of the licensed-fashion category reaches for size and shine, Emporio Armani generally does not, and the better references in the line are quietly proportioned watches at prices well under the Swiss entry point.

1975

Giorgio Armani founds his fashion house in Milan.

1981

Emporio Armani launches as a diffusion line.

2000

Fossil Group takes over watch production under licence.