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Fossil Townsman Automatic Dark Leather Mens Watch
Ref. ME3098
Sits in Fossil’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Fossil watches we list, which start at £99.
Price range £99 to £399 across 93 Fossil watches in stock.The Townsman line has always leaned into a certain kind of dressed-down formality, and the ME3098 makes that impulse literal: the skeleton dial removes the face entirely, leaving the movement's rhythm on open display through both the dial side and the exhibition caseback. The amber tint of the crystal pulls the whole thing slightly warm, giving the brown leather and the dark PVD case a coherent, vintage-adjacent character rather than the cold industrial look that open-worked dials can sometimes produce. At 44mm across and 12mm through, this sits big on the wrist without being especially thick — proportions that suit the bold dial well and keep it from reading as a dress watch trying to do too much. The quick-release pins on the strap are a practical detail worth noting: swapping to a NATO or a lighter tan strap takes seconds and changes the register of the watch considerably.
- Reference
- ME3098
- Brand
- Fossil
- Collection
- Townsman
- Case size
- 44mm
- Case thickness
- 12mm
- Lug width
- 22mm
- Case material
- Black PVD
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Brown
- Crystal
- Mineral
- Movement
- Automatic
- Functions
- Skeleton dial
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Brown
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Goldsmiths
Learn more about Fossil
Tom Kartsotis founded Fossil in Texas in 1984 after noticing that fashion watches manufactured in Hong Kong could be produced far more cheaply than the market assumed. The name came from his brother's nickname.
The company's insight was presentation. Fossil watches were designed with a deliberately retro American aesthetic and sold in collectable tin boxes, which made an inexpensive quartz watch feel like an object worth keeping. It worked at scale, and Fossil became one of the largest watch companies in the world by unit volume.
The business then grew primarily by acquisition and licensing. Fossil owns Zodiac, Misfit, and the leather goods brand Skagen, and manufactures watches under licence for a long list of fashion houses — Michael Kors, Armani Exchange, Diesel, Kate Spade, and others. For much of the 2010s Fossil produced a substantial share of all branded fashion watches sold globally.
It was also an early and significant player in smartwatches, launching Android Wear devices from 2015 and becoming the largest maker of Google-powered watches, before that market consolidated around Apple, Samsung, and Google itself.
Fossil remains a public company headquartered in Richardson, Texas, and continues to produce its own mechanical and automatic lines alongside the quartz and connected ranges.
- 1984
- Tom Kartsotis founds Fossil in Texas.
- 1990
- The tin-box packaging becomes a signature.
- 2001
- Acquires Zodiac.
- 2015
- Launches its first Android Wear smartwatches.
Also in 7 collections
This watch appears in the Fossil Townsman range (5), Back in Stock (4,847), Stainless Steel Watches (3,197), Automatic Watches (1,736), Leather Strap Watches (1,049), Watches 44mm and Over (849) and Automatic Watches Under £500 (352).
Manufacturer’s guarantee
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- One of Fossil's more premium watches
Worth knowing
- 50m suits rain and handwashing, not swimming
- 44mm sits at the larger end
Fossil Townsman alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | ME3098 | 1791642 | I13104 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £239 | £229 | £249 |
| Case size | 44mm | 44mm | 45mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 30m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Leather strap | Stainless steel bracelet |
| This watch |
| Closely matched |
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Showering yes, swimming no. 50m covers splashes and brief immersion, but a swimming stroke generates well above the pressure that figure describes.
Water resistance explainedWill the glass scratch?
It can, over time. Mineral glass handles daily wear but will pick up fine scratches that sapphire would not.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedWhat size strap does it take?
22mm. Any strap of that width will fit, and on most modern watches quick-release bars make the swap a two-minute job with no tools.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's.
Cheapest place to buy
Goldsmiths is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference, so there is nothing to compare it against today.
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