It's always time for character watches...Watches with Character.
Vintage Brutus, Olive
Oyl, Popeye the Sailor, Swee' Pea character watches.
Popeye the Sailor was a cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1929 and was very popular in the 30’s. A good hearted sailor who loved his spinach and ate it when he needed extra strength. In 1960, he went from comics to television when King Features Syndicate commissioned a new series of cartoons titled "Popeye the Sailor" and in 1978, Hanna-Barbera Productions (see their watches) along with KFS produced a new Popeye television series, "The All-New Popeye Hour".
In 1935, New Haven created the first Popeye watch for KFS. Marked King Features Syndicate Inc. at the bottom & marked copyrighted at the top. This large watch shows Popeye walking with his pipe and white cap wearing blue and black with a red collar and his tattooed arms to tell the time. It has J. Wellington Wimpy at the bottom that almost looks like a secondhand wheel, but its not. Around the dial features other Popeye character face pictures. It came with a blue leather band. A rare find today.
In 1948, Varsity Watch Company with a Sperina marked movement produced this unlicensed Popeye watch (that also came in an unmarked box often known as the unknown maker watch) with Popeye the Sailor squinting as usual with his pipe in his mouth wearing his red sailor hat and blue sailor top with a white collar along with a pic of smiling Olive Oyl (in a red top) for the number three, Swee' Pea for the number six and sleepy eye'd Wimpy for the number nine on a white background with black numbers fro the rest of the numbers and black poorly depicted Popeye hands to tell the time. These unlicensed (no marking on the dial (or box) except "Swiss") are highly sought after and hard to find today.
In 1969, Sheffield produced this nicely detailed Popeye watch with him walking along in his regular black shirt with a red collar detailed with black, blue pants with a belt and red shoes. He's smoking his pipe and wearing his white cap on a white background with black numbers and his tattooed arms are used to tell the time with one holding an open can of spinach. Marked KFS Swiss made with original red vinyl band AND with a glass back (see below). This is hard to find today.
These Sheffield watches, along with
came in these simple cardboard boxes
with a round opening on the back to
show the glass back feature of the watch.
The back of the box explains
what part of the watch does what and they came
with a small plastic magnifying glass.
In the 70's, Sheffield created several Popeye characters for King Features Syndicate.
Here is Brutus walking along in a yellow shirt, brown pants with a belt. He has his red hat and red shoes on a white background with black numbers and his arms to tell the time along with a red second hand. Marked KFS and Swiss movement at the bottom and the back marked stainless steel water-protected anti-magnetic. Super rare today.
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/
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For Legal info: https://characterwatchtime.blogspot.com/2019/03/legal-info.html
