What would you say if someone tried to sell you this watch for 2400 euros, which is somewhere around 3.500 dollars?
I bet you’d probably think it’s fake, since watches with Mickey Mouse on the dial are not something one would expect from Rolex. Well, even though it has been suggested for long that all Mickey Mouse Rolex watches are fake – this one isn’t. It’s actually a genuine piece of Rolex’s history, dating from somewhere around 1960. These rare watches are probably a tribute to the original Ingersoll Mickey Mouse watches.
Mickey Mouse first appeared on a wristwatch by the Ingersoll Waterbury Clock Co. of Waterbury, Conn. in 1933. The original watch was priced at $3.25, and the price was later lowered to $2.95. Owing to the affordable price and a design featuring the most favorite entertainment icon, the watch was sold all over the world, which saved the manufacturer from bankruptcy.
Here is a picture of the original Mickey Mouse model, which had a round bezel and featured a disk with three little figures of Mickey Mouse positioned at 6 o’clock. The disk was actually a small seconds indicator, which moved in the increments of a second. The watch used Mickey’s hands as the watch hands, to indicate hours and minutes.
Another piece of trivia: if you happen to be a fan of Dan Brown and his character Robert Langdon, you may remember that Langdon actually wears a Mickey Mouse watch: "Pulling back the sleeve of his jacket he checked his watch - a vintage, collector's edition Mickey Mouse wristwatch that had been a gift from his parents on his tenth birthday. Although its juvenile dial often drew odd looks, Langdon never owned any other watch; Disney animation had been his first introduction to the magic of form and color and Mickey now served as Langdon's daily reminder to stay young at heart.”
Tom Hanks featuring Robert Langdon wearing a Mickey Mouse watch.
Rolex Mickey Mouse watch features the classic Mickey’s picture printed on the dial, but it uses standard hands and hour markers, typical for the rest of their pieces. There is Rolex insignia positioned at 12 o’clock and a date window at its typical position and magnified with Cyclops’ eye. Basically, this is a standard Rolex watch with a special Mickey-inspired dial. It isn’t the most sophisticated Rolex’s piece, but it certainly is very rare and therefore, valuable as an interesting collector's item.
More information here.
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