So many choices
In my last look into Fossil I concentrated on some of the Stone models of the mid ’90s. This time I am going to move on to some other styles of Fossil watches that have caught my eye–without stone. With 40 years spent on churning out all variety of watches Fossil has given me lots of material to work with. It is not easy to define what a Fossil watch is now or has been. It is probably easier to start by describing what they are not.
What Fossil is or is not has changed over the decades as the watch market changed with the times. As I touched on in my last Fossil post, the world’s economy, technology, and the retail shopping environment are quite different than the ’80s and ’90s when Fossil was booming. Also, let’s not forget the mobile phone’s impact. Fossil watches were never meant to be precision time-keeping instruments made of the highest quality materials, using specialized craftsmanship housing complex mechanical movements meant to last for generations(but some do). They were the opposite. You could say they were expected not to last or to be taken too seriously.
There is a certain freedom in choosing to wear a cheap watch. You are not worried about damage or theft (as much). It can just be something that makes you smile. Price does matter. The more watches cost, the fewer you have, generally. Cheap watches allow for many more ways to express your moods. You can get the feeling of vintage, or diver, tool, or classic luxury from a watch that is underneath none of these. But, what I like more than a watch that is trying to look like something else, is one that is just being itself, what it is, with no pretension. There can just be a feature that you like, that represents a certain feeling to you.
Another thing about cheap watches, or any watch really, is the movement and/or accuracy of the movement. Usually the movement is not much of an issue with a Fossil because most are basic quartz. They are more a fashion accessory than a tool. That said, the quartz revolution did make our wrist watches more consistently accurate. I do not get spun up on accuracy over a time period. I change watches almost every day, or sometimes multiple times a day if I am home, so a minute or seconds a day doesn’t matter. Now if it loses or gains ten minutes a day I might notice. There is always your cell phone to check, too.
A quartz watch can be more carefree than a mechanical one. Even a mechanical watch that needs adjusting daily can become a routine if you wear it everyday. A manual wind watch demands a routine interface. I have lots of quirky vintage watches that gain or lose minutes a day or have awkward setting procedures that become normal if used regularly. Fossil did make automatic watches, too. I have yet to find a manual wind Fossil. What I wanted to say is that an inexpensive quartz watch offers the freedom to not worry about a watch and just wear it.
The Hunt for Fossil
I went back to a watch source I had not visited in a while; Goodwill. The auctions there are different than eBay and in some ways more competitive. The bids start low so are enticing, but you get hit with hefty shipping and handling costs. The other risk with Goodwill is not getting as much details on condition of watches the other platforms provide. Photo requirements are less too, so it can be hard to tell what you are bidding on. Another point to make about Goodwill auctions is that some items are dumped there because they have unknown problems the previous owner did not want to deal with. Even with these issues, you can get some great deals. My problem is I’m not good at monitoring auction endings, so get pipped at the finish line. I’m more a bid and forget shopper.
Vintage
Seems I am attracted to the vintage look? More in character for me would be the Fossil Defender series, but I just like these funky vintage styles? When I decided to jump in collecting a sample of older Fossil watches, I was drawn to smaller, vintage-style three-handers in various metal finishes. Anything with brass or copper or two-tone, gunmetal, gets my bid. This was the same with my Eddie Bauer collection who’s watches were sometimes made by Fossil, too, or used the same parts suppliers. Fossil released many vintage looking styles from ’84 through the early ’90s. You could say their foundation style was vintage. I didn’t notice, at the time, if that was a trend. I was more into modern/minimalist or military design then. I was so busy with school, work, raising kids that I did not concentrate on watches yet. I do remember getting a couple of Fossil watches in the ’90s, but I can’t remember which ones? I still have some old Fossil tin boxes around, too.
Fossil had a category in 1996 (not sure when it started) called “American Vintage”. This is the group most of my current favorites fall into. I would like to know why Fossil emphasized the vintage looking watches early on. What was happening at the time? Was it a fashion trend? Was it a watch industry trend or was it Fossil highlighting how quartz technology could give you a classic looking watch without the mechanical hassles? Small, dress-style watches meet fashion accessory needs and also are less expensive because they don’t have the size and specs needed for sports watches.
Hong Kong
I dug a little bit to find some more specific info on which companies in Hong Kong Fossil used. As I said, I have a bunch of similar vintage-inspired ’90s watches with the Eddie Bauer label. Many were made by Quintel in Hong Kong so I wondered if Quintel also did Fossil production. Probably not, it seems.
According to Google AI, Fossil (East) Limited, along with affiliated entities like Amazing Time, Pulse Time Center Company, and Trylink International, provided watch parts and manufacturing supply management for Fossil in Hong Kong.
Key Hong Kong Companies Connected to Fossil:
Fossil (East) Limited: Taken over and renamed by Fossil in 1992 in Hong Kong to manage manufacturing and supply operations to the U.S. headquarters.
Amazing Time Ltd.: A Hong Kong-based company in which Fossil held a 60% stakeholder share to secure component sourcing.
Pulse Time Center Company Ltd.: Another local Hong Kong enterprise with 60% Fossil ownership aiding watch production.
Trylink International Ltd.: A regional supplier and subsidiary backed with a 51% stake by Fossil.
Let me start with the EC-6835 I found on Goodwill. I just love this watch. It is a simple but interesting design that ticks a lot of boxes for me. It is small at 35mm x 41.5mm and has that vintage/modern tension that makes it appealing and unique. I’m not sure what it’s original strap was, but for now its on a grey leather from Strapsco I had around.
There are limitations to this type of watch, like low water resistance and no or minimum lume. Some had the then new light up technology accessed by pressing a button. So they are indeed, casual, day time fashion accessories in that sense, not tool watches. What they do have is lots of character.
I love the deep blue dial with square gold printed numbers. On the perimeter, outside of the minute track hash marks, each minute is designated with a tiny gold number. The five minute intervals are in white and a bit bigger.
I like the rounded case lug shape that is a soft barrel form. It seems to be real silver plating on brass? The textured brass bezel is about the same color as the numbers and very rounded giving a vintage feel. The dauphine-style hands are shiny gold tone. The small silver crown is signed with the tiny “F”. There is a lot of details and interest packed into this little design. I have seen another model with this case and bezel finished differently.
Fossil was having watches made in Hong Kong at this time. The Morioka company was a Seiko company producing low cost quartz movements. Notice the Fossil label on the movement. Many of these small vintage-style watches used smaller movements and 364 batteries which are also smaller that the more common 377 or 371.
Another very vintage Fossil style that I like from this time period is the little TM-6268. The one I found is quite worn, but this watch has so much character. It has the same 34.5m base metal casting for case used on the BM-6765 and BW-6740 I covered in the Part 1 Fossil post where I looked at stone dials and bezels. In this case it is chrome plated instead of copper or silver plated. Compared to those other two this TM6268 does not have the same quality. Yes, there are quality levels even among cheap quartz watches. The VT-2429 was similar but with better plating and brass bezel.
The look here is like a late 19th century or early 20th century pocket watch. It has Breguet-style hands, small seconds, very vintage number style as well as a cream dial and bright gold plated fluted bezel ring. The plating has worn off the ends of the lugs and case back and small crown. Even with all its blemishes, I still like the look and feel of this watch. It came along pretty early in the Fossil history. I’m not sure about how do date these watches yet, but I’d say early ’90s.
The case back was very scuffed up. Clearly a Hong Kong case. The Morioka VT07A is a compact small seconds quartz movement. It is older, I think, than the similar Miyota GL45 use in the BW6740 stone dial with small seconds I discussed in my earlier Fossil post. Both use the 364 battery.
Let’s Talk Straps
This TM6268 was not on a Fossil strap. It was a replacement 18mm tapering to 16mm, black, imitation alligator leather that is a bit stiff with some padding. It was a pretty good fit aesthetically. Most of these small 34-36mm vintage-inspired Fossils I have collected are on 18 to 16mm taper leather. With watches this small strap taper and thickness and buckle shape can really change character of watch experience. It is easy to over-strap a watch. These are thin watches. The generic buckles that come on most mid-priced replacement straps are usually too beefy. I like to reuse the original signed Fossil buckle if available. I think it originally came on a 18-16mm black lizard grain strap with silver curved buckle. Because it has a gold bezel ring, I think a gold buckle would be good.
I tried it on a black (Heritage leather from Strapsco) 18 to 14mm taper with contrasting stitches and it really changes the experience. I don’t think it is right? 3mm is too thick for this watch and the contrasting stitches too casual, the buckle too bulky. The 4mm taper is quite noticeable and compensates for the thickness. Another interesting thing I noticed was how Fossil sometimes used the same watch cases with 18mm lug gap on an 18mm strap as a men’s, then a 16mm strap as a women’s!
I got a 18-16mm, black, lizard grain from Allwatchbands that is 2mm thick, smaller gold buckle and it seems to be a better fit for that vintage dressy look. It’s thinner and wider.
This next vintage-look specimen is a different take than many of the Fossils that used the same or similar case. The SW6602 is bigger at almost 36mm and has a simple smooth silver case. It was a definite women’s line offering, but I took it off its original jasper and wood beaded bracelet and put it on basket weave leather. This strap could also work as a s substitute for the woven leather on the Stone Fossils I covered in Part 1.
I feel bad about converting the original concept to something very different, but I just thought it was a great looking watch that could be worn on a traditional strap. Ironically, I later saw a listing of this watch on a normal strap, similar to what I tried, with a different model number!? I like the pale gold dial with textured center sector and classic Roman numerals surrounded by a railroad track. It has thin leaf hands and a delicate second sweep. It could be an old mantel clock face or a pocket watch. It really falls into the antique-look category–beyond vintage.
Many classic thin dress-style straps would work on this watch. It is very simple. The dial is the focus and the case and crown just sort of fade away. It is antique minimalist instead of modern minimalist. I guess its just one of the times when you change direction? Several years ago I might not have been interested enough in this type of watch. I am interested in many types of watches. My ADHD tendencies must kick in and I move from one interest to another.
There are so many old Fossil styles I like its hard to decide which are my favorites. When you look at so many watches every day you pick up traits you assign to types of watches. There is a sub-conscious analysis that takes place when you see a designed object. Sometimes a design just seems right? It’s parts are in harmony, the proportions right. Maybe not perfect, but enough to make you stop and know instantly, before any focused analysis, that something is good. Then you stop and try to figure out what it is that you like.
This next one, the EC8769, grabbed my attention the second I saw it. The brass case, drilled lugs, the numbers, the pie pan dial, the hands, domed crystal, the crown. All combined to click as an interesting and unique design you just don’t see often in the current copy cat watch world. Nobody is making interesting, inexpensive watches like this anymore. The pictures were bad and the watch needed cleaning, but I had to have it.
It is a two hand watch, with no second sweep or small seconds, so right away, not a common design. It takes a while to get used to a quartz watch not having a second hand, tick, tick, ticking away. It wasn’t running when I got it, so I wasn’t sure the Ronda 502 was still good. I’m used to putting in a new battery and seeing instant movement. With a two-hand, you have to be more patient, and then even then some quartz watches just take time to start moving after a new battery is installed. They have to be jump-started, if you know what I mean?
On top of that, I was having trouble getting the tight case back to snap closed after it did start. It had no gasket, so I guessed and tried a 40 o-ring. I assume it originally had a gasket, but I don’t know? The case is brass and the case back stainless steel. The case is softer and easier to damage while opening. The curved bezel makes it harder to keep the watch level in a press, too. I had to take out the gasket to get it to snap on. Anyway, it was running fine for awhile, then stopped again…
The old brown leather strap with brass buckle look ancient, but have so much character, I don’t want to change them yet. It is easy with the drilled little curved lugs. With the brass case, you can have any range of polish/patina you want. I like a happy medium. It’s just such a cool little watch. The brass is great, the art deco dial is restrained, but interesting. Just brass and a bit of black. Not a bit of silver except the stainless case back. This may be my favorite Fossil so far? This dial was used in silver on the VT-2461 with a different movement, case and hands.
Once I start looking for something; in this case the American Vintage style Fossils, I spiral down the rabbit hole as more and more cool styles emerge. I can get carried away and start trying to make some sense of model number organization, dates, styles, sizes, shared components, etc. In this era, ’80s-’90s, there was flood of releases, so the discoveries seem endless. I read some marketing copy from Fossil dated 1996 that said they had 500 watch styles in eight different categories at the time!
This next one I found, is a bit different; the SC-1030 seems to be a simpler, less expensive model than some of the others with silver, copper and brass combinations. It has a more modern style, also. It measures 34.5mm x 40mm and came on a classic black leather band tapering from 18mm to 16mm. The buckle matches the case finish, but it and the crown are not signed. It is a 3-hand with no date. It is very slim feeling at 11.5m with a flat crystal. What makes it seem slimmer is the case tapers up from the bottom so the mid-case is only a touch over 3mm thick.
What I liked was the faux-aged bronze finish and the dial layout. The base metal brass is showing trough in worn spots. But, because the finish is aged bronze, the brass showing through is not jarring and adds to the vintage vibe. The slender black hands are sort of a tapered baton style. The printed numbers have a very vintage style with curved endings. The minute/second track is like that of the above EC6835 having a number for each minute/second. It’s actually good for accurate time telling, but of course, due to limited space, the numbers have to be very small. Still, it is unusual and fun.
Unfortunately, the watch has a problem with the second sweep hand getting caught up on the minute hand, but not on every rotation, so it is frustrating and will have to be serviced. In most cases, I am always amazed at how these 30-40 yr-old quartz movements just keep ticking along without servicing. There are many I get that do need work, so I keep several watch repair establishments busy. My cheap, bargain finds end up not being cheap to own!
The SC1030 stands out to me as a more modern looking watch, at least in case shape, but still manages to have an antique looking dial. It was probably one to be inserted into the lower price range for Fossil before the Relic lines came out.
Let’s take a look at another vintage-style release, the EC-6822. I ran across a few of these for sale but opted for one that was looking pretty rough with a ripped brown leather strap and very dirty that came in at under $20. When I first saw one, it did not appeal, but after a while I thought it had several interesting elements.
Once I cleaned it up and got a new battery in, it has been running fine. The movement is a Shiojiri VP32 that I don’t think I have seen before. They were mostly used in the ’90s. You know its been a while since it had a battery change because it still had a high-drain 399 installed. You don’t see many 399s anymore. I replaced it with a low-drain 395. I don’t think it matters for this movement?
It is running fine and date complication works. The case is designed for that vintage look with brass and tarnished silver. I tried to polish it some, but the brass is pretty dark still. The bezel and lugs are held onto the mid case with some rivets, or at least are intended to look like that. The crown is small and signed with the Fossil “F”. I think the original strap was a 18mm braided black with brass finish buckle? I am using a taupe leather with silver buckle for now. It seems to work well with the dial coloring.
The dial design is pretty wild and definitely vintage; a prominent old gold center sector with a black min railroad track and Fossil logo on a cream background. Just out side of that is a red 13/24 hr track. The printed Roman number hour markers are gold with black outline. On the perimeter of the dial is another min/sec track and triangle hour markers. Inside each triangle is a tiny green lume pip. The hand set is a black step-down syringe style for the hour and minute and simple find black second hand. There is a bit of lume on the hour and minute hands.
The date window frame is gold and comes right off the center gold sector. It has black numbers on white. The crystal is a bit quirky, too, as it is a thick magnifying type with a dome. So you get a very distorted dial view as you rotate watch. It is a bit strange but not really any scratches on it and easy to read. Again, it is a fun watch. Lots of vintage style and details without the mechanical troubles.
For a little more minimal dressy look I present the SW-6614. Again one I ran across while looking for other Fossils. Vintage, yet modern this little guy was one I would not go after as much, but it was under $20, in great shape, so I just did it. The main feature with this on is the dial; It’s a metallic silvery-grey, variegated look that could almost be described as pearlescent, but I don’t know what to call it? The numbers are slim serif Roman numerals in black. On the outer perimeter is a minute track with tiny Arabic numbers marking the 5 min intervals.
The hands are black in a dauphine-style shape. A thin simple second sweep keeps this one very classic. The silver case measures only 33.5×39. The acrylic crystal is slightly domed. The small crown is signed again with the F. I had a 16mm tapering to 14mm blue Hirsch leather strap on hand already that seemed to work. The bezel is a simple double bead echoed by the lugs, that gives is just enough detail to be different from the standard flat or plain curved surfaces of many small dress styles. Its the old less is more design credo.
This size is definitely in the women’s or men’s dress range, or unisex-small category. The thing is with these small Fossils I have been collecting; that on my small wrist, they don’t seem like women’s watches but small vintage watches. Part of it is the thin case/bezel proportion to the wider dial diameter.
Vintage Size
An interesting thing came up regarding size as I collected a few more vintage-looking Fossils. Often in online listings, the seller does not know anything about watch being sold or provides little information along with bad images. The below Fossil World watch was clearly vintage looking like many other Fossils I have in the 34-36mm range. So, I assumed it would also be similar. On it’s arrival I was surprised to measure it at 41mm! Besides its size, it had other issues like a missing battery clip.
I liked the look of the dial’s numerals, hands and textured center, but overall it just seemed weird at 41mm. Notice the Fossil World case back, which indicates an early Fossil release, probably late ’80s? Before model numbers added on back. I didn’t keep it because of repair issues and thought it was too big for me in that style of watch.
I’m going to end this post with one more Fossil World specimen. I will be back with more vintage-inspired early Fossil styles to discuss. Anyway, this little guy is 33mm by 41.5mm and is an early Fossil effort Since there is no model number I know of, I just have to call it a gold tone plated small seconds, dressy looking style.
The quality of some of these early efforts was not great, lets say. The case/lugs detail and plating comes across as cheap. I like the cow horn style lugs but they and the bezel are not finely rendered. The definition between case, lugs and bezel is not there. The plating is cheap and should not wear well, even though this one is in pretty good shape. The dial looks better with finely cross-hatched texture in center. The plated hour markers look pretty good, too. The hands, however, are not impressive even though they have a nice shape.
I like the overall style, but the details and quality build are just not there yet. I’d say it has a 1930s or ’40s look? The lug width is 16mm and it came on it’s original brown alligator grain leather strap with 14mm buckle. The plating on the buckle has worn off mostly. The flat, wide crown with slight dome is not signed, but looks good for the period. Later many models had much smaller crowns. At the bottom of dial is printed Hong Kong, so you know this was early days in the fashion watch era.
Closing Thoughts
I have a lot more to say about Fossil, so there will have to be more posts in the future. I have become infatuated with the early small vintage-inspired stuff and keep finding more to talk about and more watches to revive. With my ADHD personality, I seem to dive deep into a niche for a while, then move on to something new. Then later I come back and add to older binges.
Clearly Fossil started out as a more dressy fashion-oriented product then morphed to include more realms of the watch world like sport watches and promotional and limited editions. There was a Nixon-like phase, experimental stuff like digital automatic, and smart watches. Things kept getting bigger, especially for men’s lines. I could do whole posts on each of Fossil Blue, Fossil Steel, or the varied Arkitekt lines. The long-running Defender series could occupy me for years.
For me, the bold designs of the “old” Fossil and it’s attention to detail provided watches that have a lot of flair and stand out from the mainstream, unlike their current stuff. Perhaps this is because the original design influence came from the fashion industry instead of the watch industry? As always, there are some designs that were not executed well.
These small vintage-inspired lines are considered women’s watches by the general public, but Fossil did intend many of these as unisex at the time in the ’90s. As “dress-like” watches men can embrace some of these styles, too. Fossil always had a fairly high quality of build to price ratio. They were priced mid-range in the ’90s so I would put them at a higher quality than Timex at the time. Later Fossil created the Relic line of watches that came in at lower price points.
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