Swiss Made Mickey Mouse Collectible Watches
From LoveToKnow Watches
While Mickey watches have had a steady following ever since they were first marketed to the public, Swiss made Mickey Mouse collectible watches are timepieces for true connoisseurs.
About Mickey Mouse
Who could have predicted the legend that was being created when Steamboat Willie, the first Mickey Mouse film, came out in theaters back in 1928? Not only was it the first Mickey Mouse movie, but it was the very first time a cartoon with sound had been shown in movie theaters. Mickey Mouse's creator, Walt Disney, was already familiar with the cartoon industry since he had created Oswald the Rabbit, another animal character that was extremely popular at the time.
The story goes that on a long train trip, Walt Disney doodled until he came up with the initial design for the adorable mouse, who his wife dubbed "Mickey." Disney was so taken with this little character that he got together with animator Ub Iwerks to create a cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse. The film was a smash success, drawing both young and old to theaters to follow the exploits of the spunky little mouse.
Mickey Mouse Watches
It didn't take long for manufacturers to come up with products to cash in on Mickey's success. Before long the stores were filled with things like Mickey Mouse dolls, banks, and watches. The first watch was made by the Ingersoll-Waterbury company (which is today known as Timex) in 1933, five years after Mickey Mouse first charmed audiences in his big screen debut. Like many companies during the Depression Era, Ingersoll-Waterbury had been struggling along, barely able to make ends meet, but the Mickey Mouse wrist watch solved the firm's cash flow problems. More than 11,000 units sold the day the watch first came out. The company followed up this success with a Mickey Mouse pocket watch.
Seeing the success of Ingersoll's watch, other watch companies quickly began developing Mickey Mouse watches of their own. Over the years these timepieces have become popular amongst both watch collectors and collectors of Mickey Mouse themed items.
Bradley Mickey Mouse Watches
Bradley, a division of Elgin National Industries, produced Mickey Mouse collectible watches between the years 1972 and 1985. Although Bradley was based in the United States, they used Swiss movements for their watches and many of the Swiss Mickey Mouse watches for sale today are Bradley watches. Bradley made other Disney themed watches, including Cinderella, Donald Duck, Goofy and more. Most of the Bradley watches were the wind-up variety, however in the 1980s the company produced some quartz models that ran on battery power.
Styles of Mickey Mouse Watches
It is amazing how watch manufacturers have managed to take the Mickey Mouse character and show him in new and different ways to create unique Mickey Mouse collectible watches. A common style for Swiss made Mickey Mouse collectible watches shows a smiling Mickey in a jaunty pose with his arms serving as the hour and minute hands, but there are other types of Mickey watches that show only Mickey's happy face. Still others show Mickey hanging out with one of his friends. With so many different Mickey Mouse watches available, it'll be hard to make a choice when you're ready to buy!
Purchasing Swiss Made Mickey Mouse Collectible Watches
The Swiss are known for the amount of skill, detail and attention they apply to the art of watchmaking. Swiss made Mickey Mouse collectible watches are a marriage of the legendary Swiss watchmaking skills and the cheerful American icon. What a combination! Look for them online at eBay, which has an ever-changing supply of these watches available.
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Comments
Hi Bonna,
Your best bet for getting a value on this watch is to have it appraised by an antique watch dealer. Your local yellow pages should help you locate one. Without knowing more about when the item was made and so on, it is impossible to say what the worth might be.
However, it does sound like a numbered edition, because of the 23. Generally, the lower the number, the more the watch is worth. A lot depends upon how many were created and what the demand is for that particular watch as well.
-- Contributed by: LorisoardI have a mickey mouse watch that says Bradley at the top, walt disney productions at the bottom. and swiss made above that. On the back it says base metal swiss and the number 23. Mickeys hands are red. Thank you for your help I have know idea what it is worth. Bonna Meacham
-- Contributed by: Bonna MeachamThis page has been accessed 2,093 times. This page was last modified 07:39, 1 July 2007.
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