No one in the world will ever be able to collect every Mickey Mouse watch in the world. The first Mickey Mouse watch was made way back in 1933 by the Ingersoll Waterbury Clock Co. of Waterbury. It was a joint venture between the failing watch manufacturer and the rising star of the movie world, Walt Disney Productions. Later, Bradley produced low cost and low quality Mickey Mouse watches for the masses. And then almost every watch maker took a kick at the can!
I don’t have an Ingersoll, but I do have a Bradley, along with many other Disney specialty Mickey Mouse watches. Like:
This Peek-a-Boo Mickey Mouse watch was a novelty item with interchangeable bands that could be snapped on and off.
Every anniversary of the Mouse got a commemorative watch (above left). Mickey was also a star of comics, so the watch to the upper right was a fitting tribute to that stage of his career. And then there was the Bradley line (lower right) of watches that sold well but ran poorly. Mine hasn’t kept the correct time for more than a day at a time!
Lorus was also a player in the Mickey Mouse watch market. I have many examples, like the novelty Mickey’s Golf Club model (above left). I also have some women’s examples, like the gold Mickey version, above right. And speaking of novelty, why not own a reproduction of a Mickey Mouse Club watch (lower right).
One of my more upscale watches is also a women’s model featuring a grinning Mickey Mouse. Is he smitten or in trouble? Maybe it’s the same thing.
The three watches above are all variations on the Mickey Hands theme. Mickey uses his arms to indicate the time. But with the watch in the lower right corner, he also uses music to chime out each hour.
This last watch is one of my favorites! Mickey’s friends rotate around in front of his gaze to indicate the passing of the seconds. Normal hour and minute hands are used instead of Mickey’s arms.
I did this post just to show some of my Mickey Mouse watch collection, and not to go into too much detail about the history behind them. So many other sites have done that in great detail, like Kovels, who have a page that shows you how to Date Your Mickey Mouse Watch. If you’re interested.
