Wearing Nostalgia On Your Wrist

Ingersoll 30s Collection Mickey Mouse Watch

One of the things that I've learned since starting this blog is that nobody does nostalgia like the Japanese. From buying up classic American brands like Brooks Brothers in search of authentic Ivy Style to securing old selvedge denim looms from American mills, it just seems as though the Japanese culture has a great sense of holding on to things that matter. Another thing that I love about the Japanese culture is their love for cartoons (as a father, I can totally relate to this). I can't remember if I read this or saw it in a movie, but I recall hearing that it would be common place to see a Japanese man reading a comic book on the train to work instead of the morning paper. I say all of this to highlight the fact that nostalgia is not a bad thing when made in small increments. Case in point: a classic character watch.

Now, if you follow my instagram then you are well aware that I'm a big Mickey Mouse fan. I recently found myself in the market for a new Mickey watch and stumbled upon a few great options from Japanese brands such as Beams and Jam Home Made.

 Jam Home Made

Over the Stripes x Beams

 
One thing I've noticed about these Japanese Mickey watches were the subtlety of the character. None of them are shaped like Mouse ears and more importantly, they both take cues from classic Mickey. This quickly became my criteria for looking for a character watch. However, since I've never purchased anything from a Japanese site before, I decided to keep the search stateside and either go vintage or new.

I searched ebay for some classic Mickey watches and fell in love with a few but ultimately, I was kind of looking for the best of both worlds: A new watch that paid homage to the classic mickey style.  Then I found it.
 

Side by side: A 1930s Mickey Mouse Watch next to the Reissue

Last year, Ingersoll reissued the classic 1930s Mickey Mouse Watch (the first to feature Mickey) that stayed true to the original watch even down to the mechanical movement (using modern parts of course).

Ingersoll-Waterbury Co. debuted the first production model in 1933. The brainchild of a Montgomery Ward buyer and Disney merchandising prodigy Kay Kamen, the Mickey watches were an immediate hit and are credited with saving Ingersoll from bankruptcy. According to legend, more than 11,000 were sold in one day at Macy's in New York.                                                              - Hodinkee

 

The watch comes in a box similar to the original 1930s gift box. And although I appreciate the details of the leather band, I ultimately decided to remove it for safe keeping (until I pass it on to my son) and switch it for a NATO strap.

Each watch is numbered.

Overall, I really love this watch.  I never had a winding watch before but as reader Chris Chan tweeted to me on Saturday,

[It] takes some getting used to, but I like the routine of winding it up in the morning. It's like saying "Here we go" to the day. 

Well said. Amazon currently has it on sale for half the retail price.

And even if Mickey isn't your thing, the same principles apply when looking for any character watch:  Try to go with a classic clean watch with a possible early rendition of the character, switch the strap and enjoy a little nostalgia in your life.

Duffer x Snoopy

Editor's Note: If you are interested in learning more about classic Mickey watches, Ingersoll Mickey Mouse blog and Mickey Mouse Watch Co. are both great resources.