Fossil Big Tic Chinese Lunar Dragon JR 7997

Today's watch is one of the more recognisable watch lines, and one which has been copied by many different manufacturers.

As the watch has an analogue dial with a full face LCD for the seconds, many watch fans would be right in spotting this is a Fossil Big Tic.

The Big Tic design has come in many different variations over the years, and this model is one of the Japanese inspired designs. The first detail is the use of the Japanese writing language Kanji for the numbers on the hour markers around the edge of the dial (except for number 6 where the Fossil name sits). The seconds display also uses Kanji characters on an inverse style LCD. The dial is a 2 hand design with a quartz movement. The two hands are both lightly curved triangles, and are glow in the dark for nighttime use.

The case is a curved brushed stainless steel design, which curves into the matching steel strap. The glass is round, and has a Chinese Dragon etched into the back covering the whole width of the face.

The back is dominated by a large Big Tic logo with the other details around the outside. Just below the logo is the serial number and the model number, which is JR 7997. The other information reveals this is stainless steel with a 50m /165ft water resistance.

The back also shows the watch is covered by two US patents 6,084,828 and 6,147,933. Both patents cover a "Timepiece and chronometer with overlapping, separately driven analog and digital displays" and were filed in 1999 (after a 1998 Chinese patent).

This model isn't for sale anymore, but originally had a price of around $65.

Subzero Big Tic watch

My watch collection started at quite a slow pace. After beginning with the Storm watches I received as presents, I wanted to buy some interesting watches that I could afford on my limited student finances. So I ended up with watches like this which were cheaper versions of more expensive makes.

This watch is by/called subzero and seems to be modelled on the Fossil Big Tic design. It has a 2 hand dial with crown adjustment and a quartz module. The face of the watch shows seconds in a curvy fisheye style which uses a separate module.

The design is basic with a standard case with small numbers around the dial (showing 12 and 24 hr numbers). It has a screw opening back and is 5 bar water resistant. The strap is a simple rubber one with the word sport on.

Fossil Big Tic BG-1093 - Retro Cassette Player

The first watches from the Fossil brand that I noticed were in the same range as today's watch, called Big Tic.

The Fossil brand started in 1984 and produced it's first branded watches a year later. Their aim was to be passionate and creative, producing items with a sense of humour. The Big Tic watches were first released in 1998 and stood out from the rest because the face was covered with an LCD display behind the hands, usually showing large seconds digits. These watches have become a signature design of Fossil watches and contain patented technology to Fossil.

This particular model doesn't actually feature the LCD seconds display behind the hands on it's 2-hand dial. What it has is a complicated LCD panel which draws a line drawing (like an etch-a-sketch) building up the picture in segments. There are two different pictures that it alternates between - a stereo/retro cassette player, and a cassette. Inside, the case is packed with the module (-it's a large watch but it needs all of the inside volume for the electronics), and there are three batteries - Two 920 batteries for the LCD display, and a smaller AG4? for the time. The analogue time is adjusted with the crown, and there is also a button which stops the animation and lights all of the LCD segments at the same time.

The case is large and quite heavy, being all stainless steel, and the watch is 50m (165ft) water resistant.

The back of the watch states that it is covered under two US patents, numbers 5,636,185 and 5,995,456, and the strap is patent 6,418,706 B1.

It's model number is BG-1093 (or BG1093), and it seems the original retail price was $75.