Collaborations have been done in the past with Fossil and we’ve covered our fair share of them. The latest collaboration is one that pushes all the right buttons for our household: Southwest Airlines, Retro-Pilot Series, Aviation theme, Limited Edition and of course a Fossil product!
Read MoreWay back in 2015 - Fossil released the Aeroflite Mustang P-51 Limited Edition in partnership with the Cavanaugh Flight Museum and thus launching the Vintage Aviation Series. Are you one of the elite in the 854 club?
I’ve been eager to talk about this watch for some time! The P-51 combines a lot of loves in one watch – it’s an Automatic, it’s aviation themed, it’s a limited edition, it has a luscious brown leather strap and the packaging and marketing campaign behind the series was unlike anything Fossil has done in recent memory.
The P-51 Limited Edition for Fossil is very unique and highly detailed and I wonder if we’ll ever see more in the Vintage Aviation Series. The case was etched with P-51 Mustang Limited Edition logo alongside the number produced and your specific number in the series. The rotor in the automatic movement is very detailed and adorns The Brat III nose art and colors. All automatics should have these custom rotors…..it’s a great feature and a talking point when people ask to see my watch. Reminds me of some of the Bremont watches I’ve drooled over. The strap was unique, thick and based off of the seat harness of the plane – I hope the strap never fails!
If you ever get the chance to see a P-51 in person, you’ll notice a lot of these touches with the watch and the packaging that is similar to the plane. There are many more!
The packaging was nice bonus as well. I’m a sucker for good packaging and this kit didn’t disappoint. A wings pin adorned with Vintage Fossil Aviation logo and an embroidered insignia patch were included in the kit. What I liked most however was the attention to detail that most people overlook. The wings logo was on the packaging, paperwork, the watch and even the wallet (sold separately). The little 4-page booklet gave a nice little history lesson about the heritage of the P-51 and tied it together nicely with the Cavanaugh Flight Musuem and the design team at Fossil. All of these goodies were neatly packaged in a military themed box with a green inlay that looks very familiar to a certain green you’ll find inside the cockpit.
There was a video and social media campaign that blitzed me all at the same time and I paid attention to every one of them. The picture above that showed up in all my social feeds was that of the watch, wallet and card holder all resting together with some paracord. The video posted below again reminded me of things I've seen from the Bremont Watch Company including the videos I've studied/memorized from them. Every time I was on the fence about making the purchase, one of these images/videos would popup in my feed and I wondered how many of the 854 were left?
At a retail price of $400 the entry barrier was a bit high, but for $400 you knew you were getting something special. I took my time purchasing one and after a trip to Fossil in March 2015 to meet the team and see more about their process and passion for this series – I made the plunge and haven’t regretted it.
Aeroflite display at Fossil HQ
Watches are meant to be worn and this watch sees a lot of action (office worker action!), but I wear it all the time and it has replaced many of my previous go-tos. I also purchased the wallet, there's something childish and wonderful bout about having the outline of a P-51 Mustang on your wallet.
My actual everyday wallet -- yeah I'm a big deal.
Recently I saw a refreshed P-51 face appearing on the Fossil Q Marshal commercial. Nice to see that even after this watch has come and gone that elements of it live in the newer products.
My Christmas wish for 2016 is a second watch in this series with a possible review or advance screening for our readers....wink wink nudge nudge.
Perfect choice for cocktail parties - well done Bryan
Vintage aviation is cool. The pilots back in the 40's looked cool and I know that wasn't the intent, but still that look is timeless and countless modern day brands have tried to capitalize on it. I've bought into it and if you Google military watch or pilot's watch, the results are endless. Who hasn't fallen down that wormhole a few times?
Fossil back in 1988 came out with the Retro-Pilot series of watches. This could very much be one of the first collections or series of watches they created. Due to the age of these watches or possibly lower production numbers they are not common - I've only seen several watches show up online in recent years. The watches I have don't even have model numbers or years on the back, but they did have model numbers and I've included them below with the images. In total there were 22 watches featured in this collection and they ranged from Paratrooper, Navy Diver and various pilot themed watches all with leather bands.
A few details is that the cases on the 2 I've had both measured 37MM, which is really small. The bands were 18MM and embossed on the leather band is Fossil Air.
Rumor has it Fossil is soon to return to these roots with a Vintage Aviation Series in 2015. Regardless enjoy the several watches I've found. I wouldn't categorize them all as pilot watches, but they are "distinct and unconventional as those daring aviators that inspired them".
Here's an auction that has peaked my interest. 4 different versions of the Fossil airplane watch. 2 of them are limited edition versions, one being from the Around the World Series (LE-9451) and the other was the first limited edition watch ever done by Fossil in 1992, the gold airplane on a skelton face (SK-5038). This is the last watch on the right. I'll definitely be watching this auction (and I missed it).
The airplane watches on eBay lately have been doing well, much better than Captain Fossil :)
Fossil Defender promo shot
Fossil Defender watches were marketed as a top of the line watch styled in classic 1940's style. These watches were available from what I remember in about 1995. It's another truly retro series that only Fossil could pull off. These watches were inspired by the design of a 1940's airplane cockpit and in my opinion are a better representation of the era than Fossil's latest attempts of doing vintage aviation.
Anyone have a great Defender watch you'd like to post?
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