It's always time for
character watches...Watches with Character.
Vintage Space & Science Fiction 1935-1974 Character Watches
Vintage Apollo Space Pacer, Buck Rogers, Buzz Corey Space Patrol, Dan Dare, Rocky Jones Space Ranger, Space Explorer, Space Mouse, Star Trek, Tom
Corbett Space Cadet character
watches.
To see Space & Science Fiction watches after 1975, click here
Buck Rogers was the first SPACE character
watch made back in 1935 as a pocket watch. Ingraham produced this Buck Rogers pocket watch with Buck holding his ray gun and Wilma at his side. This has copper lightning
bolt hands with a smaller second-hand inset dial.
On the back of the case, Ingraham embossed the One-Eyed Monster.
Box is rare today.
16 years later, space related shows began to
take off in the 1950's with
"Space Patrol" and the 30th-century
adventures of Commander-in-Chief Buzz Corey television and radio shows.
Here is a very plain and simple Buzz Corey watch by US Time marked with the name "Space Patrol" on it, 12 black
regular numbers and 12 red numbers for military time, with red hands including a red second hand. Even the band was plain and simple grey. These came in a nice box with a compass (see below) which are very rare today and rarely seen
just like the 1951 Captain Liberty watch.
Here is a beautiful example of the Buzz Corey Space Patrol compass that came with the above "Space Patrol" Buzz Corey watch. Even the back of the compass has distance and planet info.
In 1951, Ingraham produced the Tom Corbett
Space Cadet watch with original leather band with space design on it. The watch
has Corbett's name at the very top on a yellow background, a picture of a yellow rocket in the background and is marked Space
Cadet in bright red at the top with lightning bolt red hands. This also came in a Deluxe
model with a stainless-steel expansion band.
In the 1950s Ingersoll, in the UK, produced several different
1950s Dan Dare pocket watches with space themes that are highly collectible.
Dan Dare is the British science fiction comic hero from Eagle comics. Here is
Dan Dare with monster first run where it says Ingersoll in large type at the
top, larger than Dan Dare. The Eagle people, who produced "Dan Dare"
had them change that in later runs. He is wearing his space suit and helmet.
His arm moves up and down to tick off the seconds as if he's firing at the
green monster along with a sub dial where his rocket ship spins to count the
seconds all on an alien planet like background in yellow, pinkish and blue
along with the green monster, white numbers and white hands to tell the time.
Marked made in GT. Britain.
As with Buck Rogers above, the back should be embossed with a design, this time an Eagle and written Eagle in large letters as shown below.
Here is a 1950s Dan Dare Space Ship pocket watch by Ingersoll. Eagle was a British children's comic best known for "Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future" and "Riders Of The Range" which featured
Western hero Jeff Arnold. Dan Dare is at the bottom in his space suit working the controls as his head ticks back and forth for the seconds while he looks out to a colorful space station all while the red star spins at the bottom also to indicate the seconds on a beautiful blue background with white numbers and white enameled hands to tell the time. Marked made in GT. Britain. 
In 1954, Ingraham produced the Rocky Jones
Space Ranger for their TV serial. This large tank style watch colorfully
pictures Rocky waving in his blue and yellow flight suit as if he's about to embark with his rocket behind him. Marked Space Ranger Rocky Jones at the top in red, it has several yellow moons and stars and has the even number in red and the odds show as just red dots with black marks for the minutes and lightning
bolt red hands. It came with a desirable custom leather band
marked with the ranger logo on it. Sadly, no space related watches for the
next 14 years.
In 1963, Bradley produced this
"Astronaut" Space Explorer watch with nice colors showing off a yellow spaceship,
planet, moon and stars on a white background with black numbers, black minute
marks and black hands to tell the time. Marked Space Explorer, Swiss made with
the standard Bradley movement at the time.
In 1969, Bradley produced this Space Explorer watch with rotating astronaut and space capsule for the second hand. It has full white numerals for each five minute with white numbers and white
minute marks along with black hands to tell the time all on a starred blue dial background. Came with expansion band.
Here
is a late 1960s or 1970s Apollo Space Pacer watch (according to the
insert) which portrays two astronauts on a space walk. The smaller
astronaut ticks back and forth to count of the seconds while the larger
astronaut supervisors both teethed to the capsule with the moon and
earth in the background all on a dark blueish background with gold
numbers and black minute marks and silver hands with red inserts to tell
the time. Marked Swiss made and internally marked Agon Chromatic Watch
Corp, one jewel unadjusted.
here is the insert
In 1972, Citizen, for the Walter Lantz Production
Company produced this Space Mouse watch based on their cartoon at the time and
came with a Japanese movement. Space Mouse is on a white background with a moon
and stars in the background, black numbers with black minute marks, a pink
second hand and his arms to tell the time, always plus with character watches.
Signed by his creator Walter Lantz at the bottom.
In 1974, Paramount
Pictures produced this Star Trek USS Enterprise watch for the movie, Swiss made,
electronically timed with a picture of the Enterprise on a space background
with white numbers and gold hands including a gold second hand to tell the
time. Marked 1974 Paramount Pictures Corp. All rights reserved ASA Inc. In 1977, Bradley, together with 20th
Century Fox Film Corporation produced two watches to mark the launch of the Star Wars
movie, both with the standard Bradley Swiss movement. These simple watches usually came in Bradley's standard
plastic square box or in the roundish (known as the coffin style)
box.
For more Information on Watches see:
The National Watch and Clock Museum: https://nawcc.org/index.php/museum
The West Coast Clock & watch museum https://www.agsem.com/West-Coast-Clock-and-Watch-Museum.php which is located at the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum http://www.agsem.com/
Any thoughts can be emailed to
characterwatchtime@gmail.com
How much is your character watch worth???
For Legal info: https://characterwatchtime.blogspot.com/2019/03/legal-info.html
It's always time for
character watches...Watches with Character.
