Benetton by Bulova Shaking Salsa

Sorry about the lack of posts at the moment, but I've been a little snowed under, but I've managed to find enough time to squeeze in this quick post. Normal service will hopefully be resumed soon!

Today, I'm picked one of the watches from my Benetton by Bulova range. The range started in the 90s, but so far I've not found out when they stopped. This watch was part of a line that they made called "Time of the World", and they all seem to have had this general case design.

This particular model has a white case (which is a first) with a bright green strap. The face is also green, and has the words Shaking Salsa in purple and black written across it.

I got this model in its box, so I found out that the original sale price was ¥7,000. Unfortunately, the guarantee card hadn't been stamped, so it didn't help with the date (but I think these models may have been from the 90s).

Benetton by Bulova Cartoon Exclamation

As it's Friday, I decided to wear something colourful, so picked a watch out of my seemingly very large Benetton by Bulova watch collection.

The watch was made by the watch manufacturer Bulova for the Benetton fashion brand, and I've covered so many of these watches in previous posts, so I won't go into details here.

This model is the typical 3 hand dial design, with the standard case shape, but this time with the case in black. The design for this particular model is a pop-art cartoon style, with the face covered in green dots on a light blue background. Instead of the 9 on the dial, there is a curvy apostrophe symbol, and in front of the 3 is a giant exclamation mark. The strap has a matching design, but this time with back dots on a green background, and has cartoon explosions and a 'One Way' sign.

The Benetton by Bulova range started in the 90s, but I don't know yet when they ended.

United Colors of Benetton - Date Wheel

Today's post is another short one as I don't have a great deal of information about the watch.

This watch is another by the fashion brand United Colors of Benetton. I've blogged two classes of watch from Benetton - the Benetton by Bulova range, and the United Colors of Benetton watches, and this is from the second category. As I've blogged about Benetton many times before, I won't repeat myself here too much, so please do check out my other Benetton posts for more information.

This model is a quartz analogue watch with a 3 hand dial design. I've nicknamed it 'date wheel' as just inside the ring of text for the hours is a ring of 31 small windows for the date. Behind most of the windows is a bright yellow colour background, with only the right date having an orange dot there. The hands are a matching yellow and orange, while the hours dots are a lime green colour. The rest of the face is a pattern of turquoise (maybe aquamarine) and dark blue, and the case (made from base metal) is painted/anodized blue too. To keep up with the blue scheme, the strap is a blue leather, while the buckle is also anodized blue metal.

The watch back is a smooth shiny stainless steel plate with the typical United Colors of Benetton rectangle logo, and also has the material and water resistance info (3atm). There is also a number which I assume is a model number of 940.0048.20 although I find no official record of this number online.

As for the date of the watch, I have no info and must make a guess. The other United Colors of Benetton watches have seemed to be from the 2000s (and definitely appear newer than the 90s based Benetton by Bulova), so I'd guess this is 2000s too.

United Colors of Benetton Square Bracelet Watch

It's been a while since I wore a really unusual looking watch, so today I've decided on one which is pretty unique (especially as I'm going to an art gallery opening tonight too).

The watch is another in the range by United Colors of Benetton, but not in the Benetton by Bulova range. I've featured many watches from Benetton so far, and this is the most unusual of the lot. More info about the brand can be found in my other posts.

The first thing you notice about the watch is that it is square - not that the face is square, but the whole watch including the strap is a square bracelet design (with a round hole for your wrist). It is made from semi transparent blue non-flexible plastic, which is hinged at one side for opening so you can get it on. The other opening side has a metal hook which when pressed releases the two halves.

The face of the watch is mirrored with a window for the LCD display. The LCD is a long thin dot matrix array of around 35x7 which shows a scrolling message (United Colors of Benetton) as well as the time. To excentuate the difference between message and time, the message is in normal LCD display while the time is shown in inverse. There is a mode button on the side of the watch which allows you to bring up the time instantly or to show the date. The other button on the side is for time setting mode, which works after you use the mode button to select time or date. Also in the setting mode is the option to change the language for the date to one of a variety of European languages, including English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Next to the display is a small United Colors of Benetton logo in white and green.

The back of the watch part is fastened with screws, and just has the basic info (brand name, stainless steel back, 3atm water resistant, and registered design).

I've not seen this online, so have no formal confirmation of the date of the watch, but the LCD module date starts at 2005, so my assumption is that the watch was released around this date. I do have the original price label, so I know it was sold with an rrp of €50.

Benetton by Bulova - Pastel Coloured Abstract Pattern

Today is another from my collection of the Bulova watches made for Benetton. This brand is another one with many different face designs that I have to work out a name for each time.

The Benetton by Bulova range started around the late 80s or early 90s, and are a collection of watches with similar cases but with many different face designs. At least some of the watches came with the phrase "Time of the World" so I think this may have been the logos tag-line.

All of the Benetton by Bulova watches I've seen so far are quartz analogue watches, and this is no exception, and this watch has a 3 hand dial design. It has the same case shape as the rest of the range, but in an aluminium colour, and features the Benetton logo at the bottom.

For this particular model, the face design is hard to describe. It has a purple background with abstract shapes drawn on. The shapes are in pastel yellow, purple, blue, and green, and all have a black scribble pattern over them. The Benetton name is written down the centre of the watch from the 12 o'clock position to the 6 o'clock position (where the only number is on the face), and 'by Bulova' is written at the 3 o'clock position.

The back has the usual info, saying United Colors of Benetton, By Bulova, and Mod. Dep. in the middle and stating this has a stainless steel back and base metal bezel.

United Colors of Benetton Dual Dial Watch

I've been travelling today so I decided to wear a watch which can handle multiple time zones.

This watch is by United Colors of Benetton, and also has a link to a watch I've blogged before. In November last year, I blogged a wide strap watch with a replaceable head (rather than strap), and this model is another of those. The watch has a wide rectangular head, but this time with two separate 3 hand dials, each with their own quartz movement. As with the other model, this watch has the crown unusually at the 12 o'clock positions. The back of this watch also has a registered design number, and this watch is 7451111055 (which starts with the same 7451).

The original sale price for this model was €99, but I'm not sure when it was released.

Benetton by Bulova - Black and White

I seem to have quite a collection of these Benetton by Bulova watches now, and so I'm going to try to research them a bit deeper to find out more about the background.

Most of the models I've blogged before have been highly colourful, but today's model is quite a plain design in comparison. It has the usual shaped case for the range, but this time in shiny silver. The face here is white, with a black ring where the hours numbers are shown. There are also minutes numbers and markers outside the ring in black text and the Benetton name and logo inside the ring. The design is completed with a brown leather strap, but I can't be sure that it is original (although it does have a Benetton buckle).

The watch is a 3 hand dial design, and is powered by a Swiss Ronda quartz movement.

The Benetton by Bulova range appears to have started in the late 80s or early 90s, and I'm still trying to narrow that timing down (as well as when the range finished). Other models have shown to be assembled in Hong Kong, so I'd guess that was common for the range too.

Benetton by Bulova - United Chronos of Chronos

It's now the start of a new year, and the continuation of my collection.

I'm starting 2015 with a set of watches I've covered before, but this is a much more complicated model than any of the others.

This watch is from the Benetton by Bulova range, which started in the late 80s or early 90s and produced a wide range of colourful watches. Most of the models are basic 3 hand dial designs with a distinctive case shape, however they also produced a chronograph model.

The chronograph watch is called United Chronos of Chronos and is a 2 hand dial with 2 smaller dials. The top dial is a for the seconds while the bottom shows the many different modes the watch has. Modes included in this watch are a calendar, 2x alarms, chronograph, timer, and dual time. The different modes are shown at points around the dial, for example the months on the bezel, and the date around the outside of the dial. There is also a 0 option on the modes for aligning the hands (although I've not completely worked out how the setting mode works). This model has a stainless steel case with a screw back and this has a 5atm water resistance.

There is a number on the back of the watch which suggests a possible model number of BN202. It was a very expensive watch when originally released with a retail price of ¥38,000.

Benetton by Bulova - Surfers

Time for number 5 in this Benetton by Bulova sub-collection.

This watch is part of the range of watches that Bulova made for the Benetton fashion brand. I think I've been drawn to this range because of the many different colourful designs they seem to have made. The range seems to have started in the late 80s or early 90s, and (mostly) follow the same case design but with different patterns on the face and strap. There is more detail on the brands themselves in the previous posts which can be accessed through the tags (down the right side on the non-mobile version of the site).

This particular design I've called "surfers" based on the text on the strap. The word surfers has been written across the two parts of the strap in a square pixel type of font with sur on one side and fers on the other. The dial is in red and yellow with blue numbers, and has a large B in the middle. As the B is in the same orientation as the strap letters, if you follow the letters all the way it actually says surbfers.

As with the other models, it is a 3 hand dial design powered by a Swiss Ronda quartz movement, and I think it is a 90s model.

United Colors of Benetton Wide Strap watch part 2

Today's watch links directly to yesterday's, so I've named this part 2. It is a different watch though, even though you may be puzzled if you've looked at the pictures already.

There are many watches out there which come with a variety of straps or attachments which you can change to modify the look of your watch. This watch is different, in that it is the strap which stays the same, but you replace the entire head of the watch.

Today's model is the red version of the 3 hand dial watch head, while yesterday it was light green. The back of the watch head has a single large screw which can be taken off to release the watch from the strap. The screw can be unfastened with a coin, and there is a small metal peg next to the screw to make sure the watch is orientated the right way. Inside is a standard Miyota movement which is powered by an AG4 battery.

Each head has a different registered design number. Today's is 7451 104 035, while yesterday's was 7451 104 015.

The watch was originally sold for €66, but I don't know if that included the second head.

It may be cheating on my blog to post this twice, but as there are two separate watch heads, I am still posting a different watch each day!

United Colors of Benetton Wide Strap Watch part 1

It was only a couple of days ago I blogged a Benetton by Bulova watch, but today is the first part of a blog from the United Colors of Benetton range.

The Benetton brand started in 1965 producing bright colourful clothing. The United Colors line of products began in the 80s, and is probably the most known range of products. As part of the line, they produced watches which seem to follow the colourful and fashionable theme.

Today's watch is definitely bright and colourful. It has a wide strap/cuff strap design in a bright yellow patent leather (but back of the leather is soft). The strap fastens with a clip which just presses on the strap making it adjustable to any size without the limitation of holes or notches.

The watch is a rectangular 3 hand dial design in a matching colour. It runs with a quartz movement, unusually with the crown at the 12 o'clock position.

There is also another unusual feature to this watch, and it is the reason for this being a 'part 1'. To find out what, you'll need to pop back for part 2 tomorrow!

Benetton by Bulova - Ecology

It seems that the Benetton by Bulova line of watches is now becoming its own sub-collection as this is the 4th I've blogged, and I have more to come.

The watch is a collaboration between the Italian clothing brand Benetton, and the American watch manufacturer Bulova. This collaboration seems to have started in the early 90s or possibly the late 80s, and has many different designs of watch. More can be found on the brands I'm earlier posts (found using the tags linked on the right of the page). Most of the designs I have use a similar case style, but with many different colours, patterns, and text. The case is round, but with a wider tapered section where the straps attach, and a Benetton logo imprinted on the bezel just below the dial.

This particular model has the text 'ecology' in a handwriting style font across the centre of the dial along with stylized drawings of two fish. It comes with a leather strap which is covered with a jade green fake crocodile skin coating.

It is a quartz 3 hand dial design, and inside is a Ronda movement.

United Colors of Benetton Soft Digit LCD drivers watch

For today's watch, I'm blogging one that is a mix of brand and styles which have each been blogged before, but not in this combination.

The watch is from the brand United Colors of Benetton, but isn't one of the Benetton by Bulova models. Benetton has been around since 1965 when it began as a family business after one of the family members produced bright colourful clothing which was unusual at the time. Their most famous line of products came around in the 80s or 90s as United Colors of Benetton. This line was mainly where the most colourful and fashionable products were marketed, and the also produced various ranges of watches.

This watch is from a range called Soft Digit and is an LCD drivers watch. The drivers watch design means that the display is on the front edge of your wrist rather than on the top. This was originally designed so that you could see the time while keeping hold of the cars steering wheel, hence it was a watch for drivers. This Benetton model is a modern take on the design with a mirrored LCD display with 4 digits. The LCD panel is rectangular and shows 2 digits per line to make the digits as large as practical and easy to read. There aren't any real modes to the watch, but it can show time, date, or seconds.

The side mounted LCD is surrounded by a thin metal rectangle with the United Colors of Benetton name engraved into it. This is all mounted in a one piece rubbery plastic (maybe silicone) strap with an expanding clasp. As the strap needs to be cut to size, you should check what size it is if you want to buy one second hand.

I haven't worked out when this was released, but as the only ones for sale are on auction sites, I'd guess it will be from the 2000s, but not older than 2002. The earliest date is set because the price label is in Euros, and the watch sold for €40.

Benetton by Bulova - yellow roses

It seems like I've now become a collector of another line of watches - the Benetton watches by Bulova.

The Benetton by Bulova range seems to have started in the very early 90s and produced many different designs over the years. Many of the watches have the same style with a round case with the Benetton logo on the bottom of the bezel, and a decorated face.

The Benetton group was started by the Benetton family in 1965. Their United Colors of Benetton line is one of the more well known lines and normally contained very colourful designs. Bulova are a US based brand making luxury clocks and watches. They were founded in 1875 in New York, and started a dedicated factory in Switzerland in 1912, (leading to a debate as to whether they are an American company or not, but it was founded in the USA). Since 2007 the brand has been part of the Citizen Watch Co family, who they had been working with since 1958.

This model is a 3 hand dial design, and has a purple face with a picture of 2 yellow roses on. Rather than the more unusual silver case, this model has a black case with a green Benetton logo, and has a matching black leather strap. Om the back is the usual Benetton by Bulova stamp as well as a sticker saying this is made in Hong Kong.

Bulova Neo-classic by Benetton

Today is one of the collaborations I blogged about last April, but this time, maybe with a hint on their release date.

The watch is one of a series of watches which were a collaboration between the watch maker Bulova and the fashion brand United Colors of Benetton.

The Benetton group was founded in 1965 and named after the Benetton family. The United Colors line is well known for their bright colours, and many of the watches follow this theme. The Bulova brand are an American brand making luxury clocks and watches. It was founded in 1912, but has been part of the Citizen Watch Co. since 2007.

It seems like the collaboration with Benetton may have started in the late 80s, and this watch from 1993. The dial states 1965 - 1993 neo-classic by benetton, so seems to be promoting the 28th anniversary of the Benetton brand. I've seen others online, so know that it came in gold with a green face, or this silver version with a silver face and green writing (and green strap). In the centre of the dial is a stylized version of the Benetton logo, and the Bulova name, and the logo is also imprinted into the rim of the watch face.

The watch is a 3 hand dial design, and inside there is a Swiss made Ronda quartz movement with 1 jewel and a metal construction. I don't know of it's bad luck, but this movement has failed on me more than the Japanese movements, as I've recently found a couple that I couldn't get working. The sticker on the back states that the watch was assembled in Hong Kong, so it isn't an entirely Swiss made watch.