Pokémon Opening Pokeball Watch

Today, I'm wearing one of my silly children's watch, and one of my Pokémon watch collection.

This watch has a large round plastic case, and a face which is painted as a Pokeball (which is used to catch Pokémon in the games /TV series), with the centre of the ball being where the 4 digit LCD can be seen. As with the normal novelty watches, the LCD module is very simple, having only time, date, and seconds displays. The Pokeball can 'open' by rotating the bezel, and this changes the picture on the front from the Pokeball to a collection of Pokemon (Pikachu, Bonsly, Marshtomp, Meowth, Septile, and Mime Jr).

The strap is reversible with different pictures on each side, and swapped by pulling the strap out of the body a little which allows it to be rotated. One side is yellow with pictures of Meowth, Pikachu, Minun, Plusle, and Munchlax. The other side is green and has the white outline sketches of lots of Pokemon (too many to name).

Looking the Pokémon on the watch, the newest of them only appeared in Generation IV which dates the watch to around 2005/06, but it has an unusual mix of Gen III and Gen IV characters. The back of the watch gives nothing away about the origin as all it says is 'Patented'.

Don't Worry Be Happy! Watch

I've had a little break from the blog over the last couple of weeks, but I should be back to some more regular posts again now.

I'm back to work today after a short holiday (which maybe should have been longer ;-) ), so I thought I'd wear a watch with a good positive phrase as it's motto.

This watch is a basic quartz watch, with two hands for telling the time, and a rotating disc which turns with the seconds. The disc isn't really for telling the time, and has a large smiley face in the centre over the dial. The disc also has the phrase "Don't worry. Be happy" around the edge (which always makes me think of the Bobby McFerrin song). The watch also has a black plastic strap which is also printed with the Don't Worry Be Happy phrase on one part, and the smiley face on the other.

There are no markers on the watch to tell me a manufacturer or age of the watch (I'll guess late 2000s), but this isn't going to worry me, I'm just going to be happy!

Kaworu 04 - Evangelion watch

Today's watch is another of my anime merchandise watches, and for an anime I've got a few watches from.

The watch features a black & white picture of an anime character and the text Kaworu 04. There is also a quote in small red text around the bottom saying 'God's in his heaven. All's right with the world'.

Fans of the series will have recognised that this watch is from the anime story Evangelion. Kaworu refers to Kaworu Nagisa, and the picture is of the character. The character is hard to explain in a few simple sentences for those who aren't familiar with the basis for the series, as saying that Kaworu is the 17th Angel, one of the Fifth Children, and a Seed of Life won't be helpful to many. If you are interested in finding out more, check out the anime or one of the many Evangelion wiki sites online.

Kaworu only appeared in one episode of the TV series, but had such an impact on fans that the character appeared in many of the later movies and alternative continuities (in the rebuild, he is first and thirteenth Angel). I've also seen on one of the Eva wikis that the Kaworu merchandise is very popular, and his items are often the top of the best sellers list.

I don't know where the 04 comes from, but in the PSP story for Neon Genesis Evangelion, Kaworu is linked with the Eva-04 unit, so there could be a link there.

The quote "God's in his heaven..." is one that is part of the NERV logo in the series. NERV is a paramilitary agency under the control of the United Nations who are using the Eva robots to protect the earth from the Angels. The quote originally comes from a verse drama by Robert Browning called Pippa Passes. The verse was originally published in 1841, but became more well know after an 1848 reissue, and the line used on the watch is the most quoted line in the poem.

The watch itself is a simple 3 hand dial design with a quartz movement. It has a large metallic case, which is very light, and features fake screws to make it have a more industrial look. The case has 4 fake buttons, and has hidden the crown so it looks more complex than it really is.

Based on the light weight, and cheap feeling build, this was a low cost promotional item, possible an arcade prize, but I don't know when it is from.

Ronald McDonald rotating arm watch

It is another promotional watch for me again today, but this time it's for burgers.

The watch features an image of Ronald McDonald, who is widely recognised as the mascot of McDonald's fast food chain. Ronald McDonald was first seen on TV spots in 1963 as the Hamburger-Happy Clown. Since then, his adventures have been seen in the adverts (including the battles with the Hamburgler which I remember from my youth).

This watch is a 3 hand dial design, where two of the hands are Ronald McDonald's arms with his body painted on the face. The back has a model number of A99-9698 which is not a known number to me, but may suggest a model/module A99. It says this has a Japanese quartz movement, but must have been for a different market as he is called Donald McDonald in Japan.

There is no information regarding the date on the watch, but the look of the watch is very 80s.

GeGeGe no Kitarō Nurikabe watch

Today, I decided to blog a manga/anime watch today which is still in its box.

This watch is from the series GeGeGe no Kitarō which started as a manga (Japanese comic) series in 1960 by Shigeru Mizuki (but with an original name Hakaba no Kitarō). It tells the story of a type of spirit monster called a yōkai and their adventures based on original Japanese folktales. The main character is Kitarō who is a yōkai boy born in a cemetery who fights for peace between humans and yōkai. Many different anime have been produced (one every decade since 1968), along with a couple of live action films and a computer game.

This watch comes from 2008, so could be tied into the anime series which ran from 2007 to 2009, an 11 part anime from 2008, or the 2008 live action movie.

It is a 3 hand dial design watch with the character Nurikabe on the face. Nurikabe is a large grey well-shaped yōkai, who protects Kitarō and his friends using his massive size.

The watch box is written almost entirely in Japanese, so it's hard to work out much information from there. The two names that can be read are Max Co., Ltd and Plex. The Max Co., Ltd company seems to be a Japanese manufacturer of precision parts, while Plex makes toys and TV Hero products and is linked to Bandai Namco. The other information I can see is that the watch was made in China and it uses an SR48 battery.

O'Neeon mirror and comb watch

Today's watch is by a mystery brand, but I don't think this one is Japanese.

The watch from a brand called O'Neeon, with the name being shown as a registered trademark. I've seen two watches by them, but I've not found anything online. The watches I've seen have both been novelty watches with different hands designs. I've found one set of references for O'Neeon online, but this was for a manufacturer of wetsuits and drysuits. For this company, I've seen a trademark registered in Sweden in 2006 which registers the owner as Europris AS which is a convenience store chain from Norway. It may be that it is the same company as produces the, but it is a strange combination of products. The strap on this watch, however, is a fabric coated neoprene style, so it may be there is a link...

This model is a 3 hand dial design which has novelty hands. The watch has an hour hand which is shaped like a comb, while the minutes hand is a small hand mirror. The seconds hand is a little different, just having a heart on the end. The back of the watch doesn't give any extra information about the watch apart from that the back is made from stainless steel.

I have no idea what price these watches were sold for, but I'd guess this is a 2000s model (if this from the wetsuit maker).

Rilakkuma bedtime watch

Japanese watches seem to be full of cute characters, and today's watch is one of those.

This watch is for the character Rilakkuma who is a brown teddy bear and was voted the 5th most popular character in Japan (as of 2010). The name Rilakkuma means relaxed bear and he is quite a lazy character. His story started in 2003 and is that one day he suddenly appeared in the apartment of an office lady called Kaoru after deciding to live there. The character comes from the company San-X who are a stationary manufacturer who are well known for their cute characters.

This watch looks to be one of the capsule machine (gachapon) toys and so is likely one of a range of watches in a series. The face of the watch features Rilakkuma, his friend Korilakkuma (a mysterious white bear cub - ko means little child in Japanese), as well as another character under a blanket. The strap says Rilakkuma on thee long end, and the other part has a small duck on wheels. There is Japanese text which unfortunately I don't understand, and the small print shows this is copyright 2012 to San-X Co., Ltd.

The watch part is the usual basic 4 digit LCD module, and has only time, date, and seconds display options. There is a second inset button, below the display button, which is for time setting.

Naughty Naughty Pets Blue Burt watch

Today, it's time for one of my sillier watches.

The watch is a Naughty Naughty Pets (or NNP) watch and is covered in cartoon characters. Naughty Naughty Pets was a set of stories made into a cartoon series from 2006 about a range of unusual household pets, and also had a range of toys and accessories. The series was written by Scary Stories Inc founder Wendy Ann Gardner. She founded the company in 1997, and was inspired to write stories inspired by her quirky pets, leading to the Naughty Naughty Pets series.

This watch is for the character Blue Burt the budgie and features his image at various places on the watch. There is also a cat on the dial, which I guess may be Killer Kiwi the Devil Cat (although he doesn't look too devilish, but I guess looks can be deceiving). The face of the watch has a 3 hand dial which is offset towards the top left corner (with a crown at the 13:30 position). The bottom left of the face has a picture of Blue Burt behind a magnifying dome on the glass (but on the inside). The top half of the strap has Blue Burt's name pressed into it, while the bottom half has the Naughty Naughty Pets name (printed except for the 2nd Naughty which is pressed in) and a picture of Blue Burt in a night cap.

The watch seems to be associated with the series as it has a copyright of Scary Stories Inc from 2007 on the back, and there is also a Naughty Naughty Pets hologram sticker to show it's genuine.

The model number is GM-NNP-71, which refers to the style as there are a few other watches of this style but for different characters with the same number.

There was a website for the line of watches (nnpwatch.com) but that doesn't seem to exist anymore. It seems to have been made by Menjiana and is on a type called Mini Miniature Watch. Inside is a Seiko Epson AL21E movement.

Pocket Monsters Tsutarja (Snivy) watch

Last Sunday I blogged a Pokémon clock, and this Sunday it's a Pokémon watch.

I've got quite a few Pokémon watches, including several from the same range as this. This watch is a Japanese Pokémon watch for the Pokémon Tsutarja who is known in the English version as Snivy.

Tsutarja is a grass type Pokemon and was one of the 3 starter Pokémon in the Black and White series. It is described as a Grass Snake Pokemon and evolves into Janovy (Servine) at level 17 and Jalorda (Serperior) at level 36.

The watch is a basic LCD design with a lid over the front of the watch. It is likely that it was a prize watch from one of the Gachapon machines in Japan and it was one of a series of the Pokemon Black and White characters.

The design has a green and yellow pokeball as the cover with the text Tsutarja and Pocket Monsters on the green strap. On the face, there is a picture of Tsutarja and the 4 digit LCD display.

The back shows it is by T-Arts and made in China. As normal with the Pokémon watches there are lots of detail in copyrights listed on the back and also the face (to Nintendo-CR-GF-TX-SP-JK and Pokémon).

As the Black and White games came out in 2010, the watch must be from around that time.

Apple LED watch

Today, I decided I would blog my brand new Apple watch with an LED display.

Now, before you get too excited that I have a preview model of the Apple Smartwatch, it's not that. This is something much cooler and more fun, and you need to take the description more literally.

This watch is an LED watch, but in the shape of an apple (complete with a little leaf detail on the top and bite out of the side). It has a large 4 digit display in the centre which uses red LEDs for illumination. There is a possibility that it is an LED illuminated LCD instead, but I think that the light is maybe too even for that to be likely (although the shape of the segments makes me wonder). The module is one of the simple styles with only day, date, and seconds view, which seems to be the default for novelty watches.

There are no manufacturers marks on the watch, and I think this is just a mass-produced novelty watch from the Far East (likely China).

One Hand watch

The last few weeks have been rather busy with me forever checking the time and rushing between activities. With today's watch I can't worry about being accurate with the time so I'll just need to take it easy instead ;-).

The watch is a One Hand watch by an unknown manufacturer. It has a 1 hand dial design - yes, it really does have only 1 hand and nothing else! The hand it has is basically the hour hand and is a single red hand with a narrow pointed tip. Around the edge of the white dial are the hours numbers bit there are also minutes markers. The minutes markers are in 5 minute increments with every 15 minutes also marked with a number. This allows you to tell the time to the closest 5 minutes (along with the useful information like 'just before' and 'between') but you can never be too accurate. This is a very similar, but slightly more accurate, style as the Chromachron which I blogged before, and means that if I can't see the seconds and minutes ticking past, I can't worry about them :-).

The inside has a standard Japanese Miyota quartz movement with AG4 battery. There are no other distinguishing marks on the watch either outside or inside, so I have no idea on the maker or date.

Pocket Monsters rocking clock

I've decided that this weekend will be a clock weekend for a change, but today's is a little more outrageous looking.

The clock today is also part of my Pokémon timepiece collection which seems to be getting quite large.

The Pokémon games/series came out in several generations which is how the Pokémon were originally grouped. The Generation 1 Pokémon came out in 1996 and were shown in the games Red, Blue, (green in Japan), and Yellow, and in season 1 of the anime.

This clock is celebrating the gen 1 Pokémon with a couple of the starter Pokémon (Charmander and Blastoise (2nd evolution of Squirtle) ), the well liked (Pikachu and Arcanine (evolution of Growlithe)), and the final legendary of gen 1, Mew (number 151). It is a Japanese model as it refers to Pocket Monsters rather than Pokémon.

It is a large foam rubber watch with a 3 hand dial clock in the centre. On the top of the clock is a see-saw mechanism with the Pokémon on which rocks with the seconds. It is run by a large quartz clock mechanism. The copyright for the clock is to Nintendo, Creatures, Gamefreak, TV Tokyo, Sho-Pro, and JR Kikaku.

As it is for the gen 1 Pokemon, I assume this is from around 1996.

Pokémon Keldeo Watch

I've been with my family today so wore another of my children's watches.

This watch is one of my many Pokémon watches, but a more modern one this time.

Today's model is from 2012 and was released to commemorate the unveiling and release of the Pokemon Keldeo. Keldeo was leaked in February 2012 before being fully revealed in that June. The Pokemon Keldeo is a legendary Pokemon and is number 647 in the national Pokedex. It is called the Colt Pokemon and is a combined water and fighting Pokemon and has two forms depending on the situation in the game.

The watch has a picture of Keldeo on the face, and has a blue and white strap with Keldeo's name on. It has a 3 1/2 digit LCD display as with the other novelty watches, with the standard time, date, and seconds displays. It is more unusual in that the button to change the mode looks like a normal crown design.

The watch copyright is to Nintendo and Pokemon as well as something written in Japanese (as this is a Japanese model watch). The back doesn't give much more away and just has a sticker saying 'made in China'.

Crazy Planet Gumwatch Aqua

It's really hot here today so I thought I'd wear something silly and summery.

This watch was bought by me when I was living in Scotland (in the early 00s). I was queueing to buy my lunch one day and this was by the counter and caught my eye so I decided I must have it (and it cost me £5).

The watch is made for Crazy Planet who are based in Barcelona, Spain. The Crazy Planet brand was started by the Spanish Chupa Chups S.A. company in the late 90s, famous for their lollipops, to market non-lolipop products.

This product is the Gumwatch Aqua, or as I refer to it, my sweet dispensing water pistol watch. The Gumwatch Aqua has a basic 3 1/2 digit LCD display, and like most novelty watches, has just time, date, and seconds displays. The case is huge, because the majority of the watch is taken up by its special features. On the right side is a button called open, which causes the watch face to flip up, revealing the space for the gum sweets underneath. On the left side is a flip up targeting sight, and the trigger for the built-in water pistol. The nozzle for the spray is at the top/front of the watch so it is easy to squirt people in front of you, and you can get 5-6 squirts from a full tank. The filling hole is on the bottom of the watch, but the water pistol can be detached so you can fill it without getting the sweets wet (or to use it as a separate mini water pistol). This is definitely meant to be a kids watch, but the case is so big, it dwarfs my wrist, and maybe is the largest watch I own!