You are wrong about the Ingersoll Mickey Mouse watch. It absolutely belongs on that list. 1933 was the height of the Great Depression. The unemployment rate was 24.7%. Millions of Americans were waiting in lines at soup kitchens every day and the number one cause of death for senior citizens was starvation/ malnutrition. It was the most dire economic time in our nation's history. Despite this, according to the article, Macy's in NYC sold 11,000 Mickey Mouse watches on the first day! $3.75 in 1933 is $90.10 in today's dollar. That is an insane amount of money to spend on a kid's watch when Grandma is literally starving to death. It became the world's first watch to surpass one million in sales. The watch saved both companies from bankruptcy and they both are still in business today. Ingersoll changed their name to TIMEX in 1969 and they have gone on to sell BILLIONS of watches thanks to that Mickey Mouse watch.
I'm so glad you wrote such a thorough assessment of the Mickey Mouse watch. The number of people for whom Mickey was central to their first, second, third (?) watch over the next 5 to 6 decades is enormous. My guess is that Teddy just missed that period in his youth. There was so much greater emphasis on today's watch trends than what we experienced back then and continues with the pop culture wristwatches of today.
Who cares what you want to wear. I don't own a Hublot, but they are some of the best bang for the buck on the used/grey market. But you can keep listening to some fatter James Corden lookalike for watch advise
I give this list a C- at most. So many truly "important" watches are missing: Hamilton Ventura (first watch powered by a battery) Timex Marlin ("Takes a licking and keeps on ticking" - was an icon of the 1960s-70s) Bulova Accutron (first electronic watch) Pulsar (first digital quartz watch) Casio G-Shock Citizen Eco-drive Timex Indiglo Grand Seiko Springdrive etc... And Teddy, the original Mickey Mouse watch absolutely deserves to be on the list. That watch was the gateway for loads of children into the watch obsession. It was also the first "collaboration" between the worlds of watchmaking and pop culture.
Great counter-list. And not just the Timex Marlin, but the ubiquitous drug store Timex models sold everywhere, often a person's 1st watch. The Easyreader worn by millions of teachers and librarians.
Ide also like to add the Omega T17 Movement and any watch that it was in due to it being the first (as far as I'm aware and read) wristwatch movement available with a 60 hour power reserve. That had the largest power reserve made by omega until the caliber 8500 of 2006.
I don’t understand why one would omit the Casiotron, Date-Just, and the G-Shock. Those are just stunning omissions. A Timex Marlin should surely be there, too
“Takes a licking and keeps on ticking”. C’mon, we’ve all heard that slogan. So yeah, no Timex on the list? Almost as big of a fail as omitting the G-Shock. Esquire should have made it a YT video, as nothing stirs up comments more than a “list” video.
Obvious misses: Bulova Accutron Seiko SKX At least one Vacheron (puleeeze!) And yeah, a gshock square Possibles: Hamilton khaki Most Rolexes, frankly Seiko Bullhead Seiko Willard
Rolex Submariner, Bulova Accutron, Universal Geneve Polerouter, Hamilton Khaki, Hamilton Ventura, Lange 1, Lange Datograph, Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921, Vacheron Constantin 222, Nomos Tangente, Breguet Classique, Timex Marlin, JLC Memovox, Tissot PRX, etc, etc, etc.
C+. You know the richer guy in the room - the one who is senior to the others and whose orders are followed - shouted over the others and wanted his funky rich man's toys in there, over the SKX, G-Shock and Airman.
Puzzling how no Timex made the list. Growing up in North America, I think anyone who ever wore a watch at some point wore a Timex. Indiglo alone was a significant influence. No Citizens is also puzzling. I think of Citizen as the real force behind solar movements. And no G-Shock, as you said, is just ridiculous. How can they make the case that the best-selling watch of all time hasn't been one of the most influential? But the Vianney Halter X Jeff Barnes Antiqua has been?
No Vacheron Constantin, not even the 222? No Bulgari Serpenti? No Tissot Prx? No Porsche Design Chronograph 1? I don’t know if I agree with this list either 🤷🏼♂️
Maybe about 30 years ago, when I was a teenager who knew nothing about watches, I loved Fossils and ended up buying a few of them. But of course there’s no specific model that comes to mind so I can see why it was left off, but as a brand I think it was the gateway for a lot of people my age.
Unless I missed it, I didn't see a Vacheron Constantin on the list. For being one of the "big 3", that's interesting. I thought maybe the Historiques American might make it.
@@nuffaction5464 It's an all time list, not a Gen Z list. Mickey showed that watches can be playful and that licensing can be lucrative. Even if someone doesn't care for them personally and the mouse isn't the cultural powerhouse he once was, denying the historical importance of the Mickey Mouse watch is just denying history. I suspect it;s also a lot of the watch snobbery that infects the hobby colour people's views on the mass market appeal of the piece.
Sometimes first doesn’t mean iconic or important. In the car world the first cars are nowhere near iconic compared to special Ferrari or special race cars.
The list definitely needs G-Shock on it, possibly even the Casioak as it also helped to bring even more watch buyers and make watches appealing to a younger audience. Aside from Casio, I'd say that Seagull 1963, Vostok Amphibia, Longines, Vacheron Constantin, and either Waltham or Elgin for being the vintage watch that spurred on Swiss watch industry.
No SKX? No Glycine Airman? No Vostok? No Timex Marlin? No Smith's? No Breguet? No Nomos? No Navitimer? No thanks... Not a great list, but a great video!
Nomos def not on the list, since even Junghans is questioning. This doesn’t take anything away from Nomos. An incredible watch brand with phenomenal value for money.
Outstanding video. Even though you added your own thoughts in the end, and I agreed with all of them.. It would still be interesting to see your "Top 50" and the reasoning behind each one. Then, take it a step further and reach out to peers like Nico and others to get reaction videos to your list and get their thoughts. Would make a great series of videos for all.
Timex Group USA, Inc. (formerly known as Timex Corporation) is an American global watch manufacturing company founded in 1854 as the Waterbury Clock Company in Waterbury, Connecticut. In 1944, the company became insolvent but was reformed into Timex Corporation
You cannot have a list of the 50 most important watches without a having a Timex on it. Ironman, Indiglo, Easy Reader, collabs with Peanuts characters, most famous tagline, etc. So much heritage! Even "A Man and His Watch" features two Timex's.
This list is too long for my taste and full of not-so-important watches. It should be top10 or top15 and only real Icons like Speedy, Sub, Navitimer, Nautilus, Reverso. But Braun watch or Miki mouse? Give me a break.
Should there not be a solar watch, maybe an ecodrive. Something like a Certina DS? And i defintely agree on a Seiko diver like the 62MAS affecring watches worn today.
Totally agree with you that a Grand Seiko Spring Drive should be on the list. With regards to the Harwood Automatic, how did you set the time? I didn't see a crown. ETA: I found a video on the Harwood. The bezel rotated and turned an internal crown. I don't think I've seen that before.
Teddy: you REALLY need to invite Matt Farah from The Smoking Tire to your event. He’s a huge fan of Grand Seiko, knows lots about watches, and could be a very interesting interview on your channel!
Another watch that I think MUST be on this list is the original Garmin Forerunner. Garmin doesn’t get much (any) love from watch enthusiasts, but its impact was huge. It was the first mainstream watch to do pace and mileage well, which is incredibly important for runners and athletes in general. Garmin really produced the first mass market fitness watch and I would argue that without the innovations introduced by Garmin you would never have seen brands like Fitbit and even the Apple Watch take off. To this day, most serious runners and bikers use Garmin over the competition because of their superior location accuracy compared to the competition.
This is tough for me to agree with, but I do think a list with the Apple Watch and so many military watches should include something actually widely used by the current military
Yes, on Mickey Mouse watch. Back in early 1960's when I was 8 or 9 years old my parents gave me my very first watch. A Mickey Mouse watch. I think that's what got me started on this crazy watch collecting journey.
Dufour Simplicity for bringing attention back to hand finishing. Citizen Eco Drive. Grand Seiko VFA. A Breguet pocket tourbillon. This list is basically 80% a facebook poll of “best watches” + 20% random historic watches to try to legitimize the list.
They knew what they were doing putting that second on the list to stir up conversation. There were many missing that probably deserve it a bit more. This is a hard list to draw the line on as there is no question subjectivity.
Is that really the VC you’d pick? The 222 was uncomfortable to wear, the design was derivative and the reissue is already waining because it’s nothing but a call back. Honestly, I disagree with almost none of the selections and can’t think of many others I’d add. I can’t think of any VC I’d say is important - except maybe their “most complicated” models. Well made? Totally. But iconic in the larger industry or even the consumer level?
I’d personally put the Overseas first, then 222 if there’s room …. But regardless of which you prefer, it does seem crazy not to have any VCs in the top 50.
50 was a tough number as it makes the omissions much more noticeable. When I began I was more accepting of the takes as I thought it would include mostly everything, but I gradually started to realize as I was going through it that there were going to be some obvious picks left off.
I think you did great work@@TeddyBaldassarre . For me when the number of examples reaches a certain number, the lines between important for a brand vs. important for watch-making, or iconic vs important, start to get blurred.
Id add a timex in there. The marlin from the 60s, or even the expeditions from their modern catalogue, just because od the brand and value proposition of the watches.
1- Flieger Style is iconic 2- Ball literally reinvented railroad timing and standards 3- Probably should have at least one solar watch 4- Lange reinvented German watchmaking
8:38 There is a difference between most important and “iconic” those words are not synonymous. The Braun isn’t iconic, but the design language absolutely ushered in a wave of functional watch designs that is common decades later. It’s the next generation Bahaus design.
I think it's a pretty fair list. Mickey mouse should have gone on as it was important in getting kids into watches and introduced pop culture. Richard Mille I would simply because if you walk down the high street you'll see loads of people wearing fakes or a copy of the design - so clearly they've become culturally important, not just among those thst can afford one. I think most people have mentioned other possible additions. Maybe there should have been a hunter/half hunter or a trench watch as they're historically important. Or the Juvenia Mystere considered being the first mystery dial.
I agree with you here mate they missed loads out, here's one Hanhart chronograph and to miss of Rolex datejust who did that list. Andy UK. PS, Casio calculator and what about a Timex
So many other ones could have been in the selection : the Frank Muller Crazy Hours, the Yema Superman, the Konstantin Chaykin Joker, the an0rdain Model 1, the Sea-Gull 1963, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur, the M.A.D. 1 from MB&F, an Accutron, A Movado, perhaps a Pulsar, ...
The Crazy Hours, totally. Weird that they picked a “high complication” FM instead. Not sure about the others. I’ve even owned a Superman more than once (reissue and original). It’s mostly derivative.
@@KimiRai-lf3gn Frank Muller really is the godfather of independent watchmakers. Movado might be the Museum piece. I don’t think the M95, nice as it is for collectors, is an influence in the overall industry.
I woud include JLC Reverso, Hamilton Pulsar, Seiko DK001, Timex ironman, Casio Calculator, Texas Instruments rg07, Citizen Aqualand, Breitling Emergency. All of these were a great evolution. adding never seen before features to a wirstwatch. Cheers from Rio de Janeiro/ Brazil 🇧🇷
For some cheap watches that needed to be on the list - Vostok amphibia - half of Europe spent years wearing russian watches you need to have one on the list, citizen aqualand was the last dive watch before dive computers and seiko pogue of course.
1:27 What was this event? Is there a video of it? 24:02 I have a hard time accepting this because the design is so generic. It looks like any old 1950s watch.
Hamilton Pulsar. Really advanced tech for the time period and proved to everyone that quartz could also be on par with any other luxury watch brand. Not having a Hamilton on the list is just baffling.
The term “Mickey Mouse” is used to describe something shoddy and cheap. And I’d say 99% of versions of the Mickey Mouse watch made over the years (including ones you could actually buy at Disneyland) epitomizes the term. Because it was a term my grandpa used so much, I picked up a $17 Mickey Mouse watch from Amazon. I hardly wear it because it’s silly. But it does make me happy to have it since it reminds me of him. Ironically enough it keeps time far far better than my wife’s Brietling Navitimer.
With FP Journe, I always found his sideways tourbillon watch to be a gift from Zeus. How he made that is a level of genius and creativity I genuinely can't fathom. A real true accomplishment in watchmaking.
It's ridiculous that the cuckoo clock isn't on the list. They are Swiss and perhaps the most famous timepiece the world over. They're unmistakable too.
This is a list of wrist watches...and he means black forest Germany...the cuckoo clock is German not Swiss, along with the other mistaken stereotype, leder hosen.
Yes to the Micky Mouse it's not an expensive Swiss made but as my first watch ever in the mid 70's it made me and a lot of other people fall in love with watches
While the concept of 'most important' can be subjective, curated based on my own fascination with watchmaking, I consider these the most important watches ever made (categorized alphabetically): A. Lange & Söhne Datograph A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Apple Watch Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Breguet Type XX Breitling Navitimer Breitling Superocean Cartier Santos-Dumont Cartier Tank Casio Databank Casio F-91W Casio G-Shock The “Dirty Dozen” Doxa SUB 300T Glashütte Original Senator Navigator Glycine Airman Grand Seiko Snowflake Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical Harwood x Fortis Harwood Automatic Hublot Big Bang IWC Big Pilot IWC B-Uhr/Flieger IWC Ingenieur IWC Mark 11 IWC Portugieser Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Junghans Max Bill Longines 13.33Z Longines Hour Angle Omega Constellation Omega Seamaster Omega Seamaster 300M Omega Speedmaster Professional Omega X Swatch MoonSwatch Panerai Luminor Panerai Radiomir Patek Philippe Aquanaut Patek Philippe Calatrava Patek Philippe Louis Cottier Patek Philippe Nautilus Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 Perpetual Calendar Pulsar P4 Ressence Type 3 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Rolex Datejust Rolex Day-Date Rolex Explorer Rolex GMT-Master / GMT-Master II Rolex Oyster Rolex Submariner Seiko 5 Sportsmatic Seiko 62MAS Seiko Astron 35SQ Seiko Prospex Turtle Seiko SKX007 Swatch Swatch Tag Heuer Carrera Tag Heuer Monaco Timex Weekender Tudor Black Bay Ulysse Nardin Freak Universal Genève Polerouter Zenith El Primero
I don't consider Apple watches to be wristwatches, they're really computers you wear on your wrist that just happen to tell the time as well as doing a million other things. I know people who wear them and none of them are into watches. For me watches are beautiful pieces of kinetic sculpture whereas an Apple watch is just an appliance.
The Ingersoll Mickey Mouse Watch was the first Mickey Mouse watch & second Character Watch ever been made. It was the ancestor of all Character Watches. For many people, their first watch was a Character Watch which Ignited their interest in watches. If Ingersoll was acquired by LVMH and was making character watches at Gerald Genta’s quality and price point, then you may not have problem with the Mickey Mouse Watch being on the list?
Being against this being on the list is watch snobbery, pure and simple. The list is historically important watches, and a mass market watch showing that pieces can be playful and licensing can be lucrative is historically important.
