Research Time - Best Watches from the 1990s
Okay gang, it's Monday and I've just been given a new assignment.
The Best Watches from the 1990s.
Who wants to chime in 😀
I was in middle/high school in the nineties and l I think I wore a Baby G-Shock for a few years. And of course, Swatch, because I had quite the collection. But when I went into full grunge mode, I think I just stopped wearing watches for a while.
My parents were big into Longines in those days (my dad is from St. Imier, Switzerland, home of Longines). But I vaguely remember a lot of TAG, Breitling, and Omega ads in magazines. Maybe on TV too? I can't remember - I'm old, lol
Oh yeah, and Panerai became a thing in the 1990s thanks to Arnie and Sly.
Yes, I've read this recent Hodinkee article about the very same topic, but as usual, I want to hear from the Watch Crunch community! You guys always help me uncover some gems.
So, do you have any favorite watches that scream 1990s style?
Thanks as always for your feedback!
*All pictures were ruthlessly stolen off the internet.
I've worked in different areas of the watch industry over the last 15 years. Now, I'm a freelance luxury watch writer. Instagram @luxwatchwriter. Champion of #ladieswhocrunch.
I feel like Swiss Army Watches were a much bigger thing in the 90's than they are now. What happened to them? Or, is it just a case of me getting old so they no longer bother to market to me?
I feel like Swiss Army Watches were a much bigger thing in the 90's than they are now. What happened to them? Or, is it just a case of me getting old so they no longer bother to market to me?
Oh yes, Swiss Army watches were huge!
Funny, I was just reading the complicated history about the branding of these watches yesterday and all the lawsuits that happened - (https://www.watchhunter.org/2019/01/unofficial-history-victorinox-swiss-army-watches-origin-historical-timeline.html)
VSA is definitely still around, but you're too rich for them to bother marketing to you 😜
It's as much the 80s as was the 90s but the quartz Santos Galbee moonphase is a personal favorite from that era.
SKX007 - 1996 introduction if I recall correctly
And the 16520 Rolex Zenith Daytonas - I think this run lasted into the mid 90s.
Fossil and the ocassional TAG Formula 1, plus the aforementioned G-Shock, are all I really remember. I want to say I remember Oakley watches, but this might be wishful thinking.
All I wore were Casios and I have 2 of them with video games on them. One was spaceship and the other was soccer game. It was the coolest thing ever!
Breitling Aerospace!
Cool movement✔
Two tone ✔
Cool brand✔
It's as much the 80s as was the 90s but the quartz Santos Galbee moonphase is a personal favorite from that era.
SKX007 - 1996 introduction if I recall correctly
And the 16520 Rolex Zenith Daytonas - I think this run lasted into the mid 90s.
Oh, I totally wore an invicta pro diver in the 1990s. Kinda looked like this.
Fossil and the ocassional TAG Formula 1, plus the aforementioned G-Shock, are all I really remember. I want to say I remember Oakley watches, but this might be wishful thinking.
Oakley watches were certainly a thing and went for big prices too!
Oakley Watches | The Complete Guide to Every Oakley Watch | Oakley Forum
I wore a Fossil my wife bought me for one of my birthdays and this was before I got the watch bug. I wore this watch everyday and one of the few watches I remember getting compliments on. It was a vintage looking square faced watch, that I loved. We were on vacation one summer and it fell off my wrist from a balcony and landed on a smaller roof of the complex, it was never to be seen again. After that I wore a Citizen for 17 years every day (still working). Then Covid hit and I I started watching YouTube watch videos and the rest is history. I do remember when the swatch craze hit and everyone was wearing them, but I never liked them, but kind of get it now all these years later (except the moonswatch of course). Don't get that.
Up until very recently I have still owned my Tag 2000 series which was given to me in the 90's.
But I have just given it to my son (who has always admired it) having just received good results on his GCSE's (for non-UK folks: national exams for 16 year olds) .
I feel like this particular version of the Timex Ironman was everywhere in the 90s. I had 2 of them after losing my first one. . (not my picture; "borrowed" from this guy credit where credit is due) Not a super high end watch but, man, was it solid and iconic of the 90s watch scene.
I think that different watches were popular in different parts of the world. I can only describe what I saw in my little slice of America.
The affordable mall brand was Fossil (and later Relic). The sensible middle tier was Citizen (I still can summon that awful Citizen jingle in my head):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIrmzWjMC3c
For those with a little more spending power this was Tag's golden decade.
This was/is my Fossil, it was a gift:
Love the fixed bezel and gold tone. This has sat in a drawer since 2005.
Swatch, Timex Ironman, Tissot and Bulova were all the rage in my circle back in them days.
Up until very recently I have still owned my Tag 2000 series which was given to me in the 90's.
But I have just given it to my son (who has always admired it) having just received good results on his GCSE's (for non-UK folks: national exams for 16 year olds) .
I love that you’ve passed it on to your son!
It's as much the 80s as was the 90s but the quartz Santos Galbee moonphase is a personal favorite from that era.
SKX007 - 1996 introduction if I recall correctly
And the 16520 Rolex Zenith Daytonas - I think this run lasted into the mid 90s.
Skx007 is a good one! And yes, Zenith Daytona was produced through the 90s -discontinued in 2000.
That Cartier is so glam ✨
My firt watch when I was 7 or 8 years old
92/93
I probably wore digital watches exclusively for the whole of the ‘80s/‘90s, then got a Citizen Eco Drive Worldtimer with enough going on on the dial to melt your brain. That was around 1998 and wore that for probably ten years, then a G-Shock before getting into watches properly.
Up until very recently I have still owned my Tag 2000 series which was given to me in the 90's.
But I have just given it to my son (who has always admired it) having just received good results on his GCSE's (for non-UK folks: national exams for 16 year olds) .
I still have mine, still going strong and looking good.
Please tell me someone remembers the Casio remote control watch!! This made you the defacto coolest kid in class if you owned one. Plus you could mess with the adults by changing the channels, volume, power, etc. on their TV sets! I wish I held on to one.
When I was doing waiter training one of the other students had one of these. The trainer couldn't understand why the CD player kept turning back on when she turned it off.
i thought they came along earlier but it was 1999
You can't possibly mention the 90s without me tuoning the #seiko #skx007
The watch that brought not only diver-style watches to the masses at an extremely affordable price, it's also an actual diver's ISO compliment waterproof to 200m diving watch. 😜 The precision with which these mass produced models exhibit is unparalleled still (for the most part). Take for example the bezel which moves in ½ minute increments, the angles on the case, and the unpretentious mostly undecorated dial...
As a 14 year old in the early 90s I had to walk past a Jeweller on the way to and from school each day and would just stand and stare at the various versions in the window, sometimes for uncomfortably long periods. I think that's where my fascination with watches really started!
TH Super Professional of course!
Somewhere, in a deserted warehouse on the outskirts of London @chronotriggered is patiently waiting for his collection of 1990's Tags to come back in fashion.
Patiently waiting indeed. Time to flood the market.
@celinesimon, I worked as an in-house patent attorney for the Swatch group in the early nineties. The start of my watch obsession! For me, it was all about two-tone (back in vogue now?) and reduced size. Here are two of my purchases from that time: Speedy reduced and Seamaster mid-sized.
@celinesimon, I worked as an in-house patent attorney for the Swatch group in the early nineties. The start of my watch obsession! For me, it was all about two-tone (back in vogue now?) and reduced size. Here are two of my purchases from that time: Speedy reduced and Seamaster mid-sized.
Those are some super cool pieces! And I love that you bought them in the 90s. I've always loved two-tone, I have quite a few of them.
Those are some super cool pieces! And I love that you bought them in the 90s. I've always loved two-tone, I have quite a few of them.
I used to work at Marin, Neuchâtel when I was with the Swatch group, not too far from St. Imier. I've been to the Longines factory many times. 😀
I used to work at Marin, Neuchâtel when I was with the Swatch group, not too far from St. Imier. I've been to the Longines factory many times. 😀
How awesome!! I spent all my childhood summers in St. Imier, I miss it very much. My grandfather and Mr. Von Känel were good friends.
Just got this one in from the 90's.
Just got this one in from the 90's.
Nice!!