In this blog post we’ll try and answer the question of…
Is Skagen a good watch brand? Or not.
For us, yes Skagen is a great watch brand for affordable, on trend, Danish designed fashion watches.
Their watches have been growing steadily in popularity since the 1990s. With Skagen Denmark now owned by fashion watch giant; Fossil.
Learn more about this Danish/American watch brand below…
Skagen Watch Review
- Is Skagen a good brand?
- Reputation of Skagen
- Danish Design
- History of Skagen
- Where are Skagen watches made?
- What movement do Skagen use?
- Are Skagen watches good quality?
- Best Skagen Watches
- Where can I buy Skagen watches?
Is Skagen a good brand?
Yes, Skagen is a good brand if you’re after an affordable, on trend, Scandi style watch.
They make watches that fit that popular, minimalist Scandinavian aesthetic. This style of watch is very on trend now, and makes for a great everyday watch.
While Skagen watches are not badly made watches. That doesn’t mean that they are great. Most of their watches come with a Japanese made quartz movement from Miyota. Which is a very reliable movement.
But this can be a turn off for watch enthusiasts who love watchmakers who make their own in-house movements.
If you’re one of those watch enthusiasts you would probably go for other affordable watch brands. Such as: Seiko, Orient, Bulova, or Casio.
Yet, in recent years we’ve seen Skagen explore different types of watches. Now they have a range of smartwatches, solar powered watches, and even automatic watches too.
So Skagen is a good brand thanks to their wide selection of watches to choose from. Anyone should easily find a watch to suit their style.
They are also known for their great selection of women’s watches too.
We think they make for one of the better fashion watch brands out there now. For us, if you like the look and feel of a Skagen watch then that’s a good enough reason to own one.
Check out the latest Skagen Denmark watches on Amazon.
Or if not then check out one of our other guides. With some of the top affordable watch brands around today…
Reputation of Skagen
Danish watch brands are known for their cool, minimalist style. The watch brand Skagen is no different.
Skagen has a reputation of releasing stylish watches that embody the Danish ideal or minimalism. Skagen watches are cool, yet simple. All while being very affordable too.
Their watches are slim and embody the Danish way of less is more.
Skagen rapidly grew in popularity from the 1990s, and still remains popular today. They are known as a Danish/American lifestyle brand. Today they offer not just watches, but they also design jewelry, travel accessories, and home goods.
Their reputation is in offering products that are Danish in design. Yet, at a fairly affordable price. Especially when it comes to their watches.
Danish Design
Skagen watches are known for honoring their Danish heritage. Always taking inspiration from Danish landscape, architecture, and of course design.
From the Skagen coastline of the North of Denmark. To the cool cityscape of Copenhagen. Denmark is a special place and Skagen loves to channel the Danish energy in their watch collections.
This brand loves to stick to the main aspects of Danish design when creating their watch collections. These basic aspects of Danish design are; simplicity, functionality, and elegance.
History of Skagen
The watch brand Skagen was founded in 1989 by Charlotte and Henrik Jorst. The Danish couple founded the brand in the United States. After they moved there from Denmark.
While Skagen was established in the US, their new watch brand was inspired by Denmark. The brand name even comes from a coastal city in Denmark. The town of Skagen still inspires this brand today.
They designed their first watches when they collaborated with the Danish company; Comtech Watches. This watch supplier helped the couple create Danish inspired watches for an affordable price. Thanks to Comtech’s plant located in Hong Kong. Skagen now could make their watches and offer them at an affordable pricepoint.
Skagen showed the world their first watch collection in New York in 1991. From this time onwards the Skagen watch brand grew. With many retailers interested in stocking this new Danish watch brand.
Today, Skagen Denmark watches are for sale in over 60 countries worldwide. They now are a global brand with headquarters in the USA, Denmark, and Hong Kong.
Times Ticking has an excellent video that outlines the history of the Skagen watch brand. Check out their video down below.
Who owns Skagen watches?
Skagen Denmark was originally founded by the Danish couple; Charlotte and Henrik Jorst. They set up the watch company when they moved to the US.
Yet, today Skagen has a parent company.
Skagen is now owned by the Fossil watch group. Skagen was bought by Fossil in 2012. The sale of Skagen Designs amounted to around $225 million.
Fossil is best known for acquiring fashion brands, as well as fashion watch brands. Alongside Skagen, the Fossil group now owns other watch brands like; Michael Kors, Michele, and Zodiac.
Where are Skagen watches made?
Unlike what the name suggests, Skagen Denmark watches are not made in Denmark.
Instead Skagen watches are made in the USA and in Asia (mainly in Hong Kong). This is thanks to the lower prices of labor and watch parts found in Asia.
This lower production costs allows Skagen watches to be sold at such affordable prices.
What movements do Skagen use?
Skagen most often uses Japanese made quartz movements in their watches. They use Miyota movements, and Miyota is owned by the watchmaking giant; Citizen.
Using a generic quartz movement might be off putting for some watch enthusiasts. However, it means Skagen quartz watches are reliable in terms of timekeeping, and affordable too.
Are Skagen watches good quality?
Now many of you probably are wondering…
Is Skagen a quality watch?
Skagen watches are good quality for a fashion watch.
We think they beat out other notorious fashion watch brands like Daniel Wellington for example.
However, they aren’t of great quality when compared to other similarly priced affordable watchmakers like; Orient or Seiko, for example.
But they do make up for their quality in the style stakes. Their watches have heaps of on trend Scandinavian style.
Skagen Watches Pros vs Cons
Here is our review of the top pros and cons of Skagen watches.
We want to give you a quick overview before you jump into the best watches that Skagen has to offer.
| Pros | Cons |
| Cool Danish design | Not made in Denmark |
| Slim watches | Fashion watch brand This is often looked down upon by some watch collectors |
| Affordable | Not the best quality |
| Reliable quartz movement | Generic quartz movements |
| On trend watches | Low water resistance Between 1 – 5 ATM Learn about ATM here |
| Large selection of watches for women & men |
Best Skagen Watches
The Skagen watch collection has plenty of watch types and styles to choose from.
All with a cool Danish influence in their design. These watches have a vibe of simple, Scandinavian sophistication. With a watch style to suit everyone.
Below we have linked our best Skagen watches. That we think deserve your attention.
Skagen Smartwatch Collection
Today, Skagen has entered the smartwatch scene. They now offer a selection of Danish designed smartwatches.
What we love most about their smartwatches is their looks. With traditional styles, along with cool sporty, futuristic styles to pick from too.
All Skagen watches are compatible with Android and iPhone. So it doesn’t matter which smartphone you own. As they are powered by Wear OS technology from Google.
All Skagen smartwatches come with fitness tracking. Which is handy to keep on top of your everyday fitness goals. However, none of them have high levels of water resistance.
Check out the latest Skagen smartwatch collection.
But if you’re after a smartwatch with higher levels of water resistance. Then you should check out the Nixon Base Tide Pro or the Apple Watch Series 6.
Skagen Pro-Planet Collection
Skagen has made an attempt at being more Eco-conscious. Their Pro-Planet collection uses materials that include some more Eco-friendly materials.
Aaren Naturals Collection
The Skagen Aaren Naturals collection uses some natural materials to make their watches. Materials like apple, cork, and mulberry bark.
Which gives their watch a really cool look. Coupled with the minimalist design. One of these watches makes for an eye-catching everyday watch.
Solar Powered Collection
Solar powered watches are gaining popularity more and more. So Skagen didn’t want to miss out on this trend.
The Skagen solar powered watches usually come with a 4 to 6 month power reserve. Which is decent, but not the best.
A few of their solar watches are also built from recycled stainless steel. With up to 50% recycled material included in some watch designs.
Like their Ryle collection. Which comes with a power reserve of 6 months as well. Along with a cool square shaped design.
Skagen Automatic Collection
Skagen has now started producing automatic mechanical watches. Which is great new development for this mostly quartz watch brand.
Their automatic watches often come with a skeleton dial design. Giving you a look into the automatic movement powering your watch.
These watches still come with the classic slim Danish design too.
Skagen Women’s Collection
Skagen Denmark has a big selection of women’s watches.
They have women’s watches in all of the above collections and styles. With plenty of affordable, minimalist, and on trend designs to pick from.
The women’s sizes run from as small as 22mm. Up to as large as 42mm.
However, many of the Skagen watch designs are unisex. So anyone can decide to wear a Skagen watch.
Skagen is a very popular brand of watch for teens too. With teenage girls favoring many of the cool Skagen designs.
Learn more in our review of the best watches for teenage girls.
Skagen Men’s Collection
Like most watch brands, Skagen has a great selection of men’s watches to pick from.
All of the collections we listed above have male friendly designs.
The Skagen watches built for men come in a size range of 36mm to 44mm. So there is a wide range of sizes to suit many wrist widths.
Plus there is plenty of overlap with the women’s watches too. Making Skagen a great brand for unisex watches. Or even matching couple watches.
Where can I buy Skagen watches?
One of the best places to buy a Skagen watch is on Amazon.
On the Skagen Amazon store you will find their entire watch collection, with all of their latest styles to choose from. Plus some great prices and deals on their latest collections.
Check out the newest watches from Skagen now.
