Disney Character Watches - Where Do They Come From

If you ever seen a Disney character watch, the first thing that would come to your mind would be, 'Wow, what a beautiful watch!' There is something extremely attractive in these simple, yet magnetic watches; that something is represented by the popular Disney and non-Disney characters that appear on these watches' dials, belts and so on. Contrary to popular belief, these watches are not only worn by preteens and teens, but also adults and senior citizens, which speaks clearly about the amazing appeal these have for all segments of the market.

Where do these Disney character watch designs come from? The first such watch was launched in the market in 1933 by Ingersoll Waterbury Clock Co. and this had a Mickey Mouse on its dial. This was the result of an amazing and definitely unusual partnership between a large but ailing watch company and the mogul of animation, Walt Disney Productions. This proved to be a new lifeline to the flailing company, which bounced back in a big way after this contract. This venture had been so successful that it continued production through the 40's, 50's, and 60's. By this time the company was known as Timex, and diversified in many, many other varieties of watches from classics to super modern models.

As one of the Disney character watch designs, the Goofy watch became top priority for collectors all over the world. What was launched at a regular price of $19.95 in 1972 became worth over $700 by the 1990's. This watch had Goofy on its dial, and the numbers of the watch backwards. The best part was that the watch hands also moved backwards, making it one of the most unusual watches of its time.

The trend that Ingersoll started has now been perpetuated by other large companies such as Seiko, Disney Time Works, Fossil, and Colibri, among others. The most popular among all the Disney character watch designs is still the Mickey Mouse, though today you can find an amazing variety to choose from consisting of both Disney (Minnie Mouse, Popeye, Tom, Jerry, etc) and non-Disney characters (such as Batman, Spiderman, Pink Panther, etc) watches. Though every batch of watches met with great success, the Disney watches remain one of the most successful brands, which has maintained their niche unchallenged for over six decades.

The Disney character watch production was taken over by Elgin National Industries, Inc, in 1972. The company continued to produce, market and profit from these watches when in 1987 another company (Lorus) joined the bandwagon. Today this is a multi-billion dollar venture, which covers not only the USA, but also a good part of Europe and other countries around the world. Just like the humble beginnings of Walt Disney himself, the evolutions and unbelievable success stories of these watches in unparalleled. It is rare to find a watch which has maintained the same theme over more than six decades, and still enjoys the same popularity and demand in the market.