Mickey Mouse Watch History

Mickey Mouse watches - A history of how Disney's famous little mouse ended up finding a home on millions of wrists around the world. Mickey Mouse first appeared on a wristwatch in 1933 and has never looked back.

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A Mickey Mouse Watch History:

An Introduction

Back in 1933, the first Mickey Mouse watch model was made by the Ingersoll Waterbury Clock Co. of Waterbury, Conn. (which, like the Lionel Train Co. was rescued from bankruptcy by Mickey). A collaboration formed between the flagging watch manufacturing giant and the increasingly popular film producer, Walt Disney Productions. This collaboration brought about the inception of the Mickey Mouse Watch for boys, launched in 1933 at the Chicago Exposition 'Century of Progress'. Herman Kamen, a merchandise promoter recruited by Walt Disney to find novel ways to market the Disney brand via Mickey Mouse, jumped at the opportunity to promote the new entertainment icon at low cost which in turn helped rejuvenate the failing watch manufacturer.
 

Ingersoll manufactured the original Mickey Mouse watch which was priced at $3.25 and later lowered to $2.95. A pocket watch was also made available around the same time for the price of $1.50. The original Mickey Mouse watch had a round bezel and featured three little Mickeys on a rotating disk, the disk moved in increments with each second. The Mickey Mouse watch has been made continuously since that very first watch back in 1933. At one point during the 1960’s Mickey himself did not appear on the watch at all, only the words, “Mickey Mouse” was written on the watch face.

Display for the first Mickey Mouse Watch

Ingersoll continued to manufacture Mickey Mouse Watches throughout the '40s and '50s. In the '60s Ingersoll became US Time which then became Timex, producing new classics from this period, such as the famous Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse Mod Watches. One very interesting and sought after watch was the backwards Goofy, manufactured by Helbros. The numbers were placed in backwards order and Goofy's hands moved backwards as well. The watches became a popular collectible after their 1972 debut. The original cost was $19.95, and within two decades they were being purchased for up to $700 by collectors. In 1972, Bradley, a division of Elgin National Industries, Inc., took over the manufacture of Disney watches, and in 1987 the contract went to Lorus. Today a number of different companies make Disney watches including Seiko, Fossil, Colibri and Disney Time Works.

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Watch for a more in depth Mickey Mouse watch history coming soon, which will feature photos of the earlier watches.
 

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