Fossil Times, Issue 1, Volume 2 - Marilyn the legend the beauty
Greetings Fossil friends! Welcome to the latest installment of previous Fossil Times newsletters. Here is where things get a little blurry as far as order. Based on 1994’s issues we posted, one would wager to say that the Fossil Times came out quarterly. We posted 4 issues and they all were numbered accordingly, Volume 1, Issue 1 / Volume 1, Issue 2 and so on. Starting with the 1995 issues, we could go one of 2 ways – Volume 2, Issue 1 or sadly there are some additional Volume 1, Issue 1 newsletters, but FEAR NOT! we’ve spent countless hours reviewing these looking for hints of dates, release information, etc and believe we have the correct order for at least the next few issues.
With Volume 2, Issue 1 we see the start of some limited editions that are still collectible today including the firemen LE-9466 and the policemen LE-9469 watches. Marilyn Monroe and Elvis watches will never be unpopular and there’s an introduction to FSL watches, which were marketed starting in May 1995 as a durable sports watch. Additional scans of FSL launch materials coming in the summer of 2017.
Two things stick out when reading this issue. The mention of the Fossil Antler Watch (DT-3201) comes up. While not valuable, this is one of the first limited edition watches Fossil did way back in January 1992 and it was limited to 5000 pieces. Even in early 1995, it was on the hard to find list. We always liked this watch because it features a 5-legged deer and oddly enough the newsletter mentions that! How about that? Secondly as always we have to ask, where is Dennis Wiens, the Collector of the Month? Stay tuned with news on Dennis – we’ll see him in further issues. Until then enjoy the hits from early 1995!
Fossil Times - Issue 4, Volume 1 - 1995 Sneak Peak
Ah the 90's! Hard pill to swallow seeing 1995 Sneak Peak in our journey through the Fossil Times newsletters. Oh by the way this issue is 23 years old! On that note of positivity, let's dig in!
This issue isn't too exciting, unless you long for the days of licensed limited edition watches. Two things caught our attention and one is the updated limited edition checklist -- interesting that even at that time Fossil didn't have their facts straight and they admit that right here! I can't tell you how many questions we receive still on limited editions and what's what, who's on first, etc. The second interesting thing is a point we always like to make....where's Elaine Mapes now and how many Fossil goodies does she have?
Fossil Times - Issue 3, Volume 1 - Baseball Cards, Bottle Caps and Fossil Limited Editions
Continuing on our journey of posting Fossil Times newsletters in order month by month, here is the latest version for your viewing pleasure in 2017. Issue 3, Volume 1 all the way from 1994. We had it is easy this month because if you remember we posted about the importance of a newsletter in a previous post where we highlighted this issue. The question still remains however what happened to Larry Clark?
Fossil Times - Issue 2, Volume 1 - Fossil Takes A Road Trip
As promised in November 2016 - we are posting Fossil Times newsletters up on the site one at a time. Last month we strolled down memory lane to the year of 1994, when the Fossil shops took flight. Fast forward a few more months (still in 1994) we are pleased to re-introduce you to Fossil Takes A Road Trip, Issue 2, Volume 1.
The main story here is the traveling road show to 60 cities commemorating Fossil's 10 year history. I actually have a few documents and things from this tour, but sadly the 2 versions of this Fossil Times newsletter are equally as bad -- one has notes all over it from the person who attended the December 9 event at Northridge, California which looks like it was changed to Newport Beach, California and the other copy is below. Enjoy!
Fossil Times - Issue 1, Volume 1 - Fossil Shops Take Flight
What is it about newsletters? We posted about the importance of a newsletter back in 2015 and now we are ready to re-publicize the Fossil Times newsletters, albeit 1 at a time over the course of the next year. We've compiled almost all of them, so start looking for a new issue (in order) every month. We'll even create a special section to house them all! Tell your friend(s).
Without further ado....we are proud to re-submit for your enjoyment Issue 1, Volume 1 circa 1994.
Club Fossil? A predecessor to Fossil Collector's Club - yes, yes it is
If you've ever bought or looked at an early (and I mean early) Fossil tin you may have noticed something on the back of it called "Club Fossil" I never really paid much attention to it until I came across the following brochure for Fossil swag marketed as Club Fossil. Lots of the content in the brochure is around how Club Fossil members can get access to Fossil stuff first -- no indication of exclusivity or membership plans.
Few things of interest for me are the Dirtmaster watches and Airplane Watch SK-5038 which has always been listed as one of the first Limited Edition watches, but yet the Car Watch SK-5037 isn't on any of my checklists.
Enjoy and if you know anything about Club Fossil please reach out!
A Breakfast Just for the Fossil Collector
Do you like breakfast? How about a road trip? Obviously you like Fossil -- put all three together and you have the Fossil Collector's Breakfast. Started in 1993, these annual breakfasts were the place for collectors to gather and see Limited Editions, get free goodies and obviously get a breakfast. From the notes I have they took place in November every year at least through 1997 and almost always were in Nashville, Tennessee. I don't know about you, but Nashville is a wonderful city and it's only an 8 hour drive me...wink wink nudge nudge Fossil! Let's bring these back!
I'm going through several old Fossil Times newsletters at the moment and will have more info on the breakfasts as I find them and also other Collectors Events that happened already :(
Below are 2 scans from 1996 and 1998. The 1996 issue talks about the 4th Annual Collector's breakfast on November 23, 1996 and the 1998 scan talks about the breakfast that took place on November 22, 1997. Anybody ever attend one of these? I WOULD LOVE to see pictures and so would our readers. Reach out to me!
Apparently we missed out on this
think Tom still has the Roy & Dale Limited Edition watches? He's waiting for you.
Fossil Times: the importance of a newsletter
Back in the 80's my friends and I had a Def Leppard club. We signed our names in a notebook and listened to Hysteria on loop as we swung on the swingset in my friend's backyard. One thing the Def Leppard club didn't have and it led to its demise was a newsletter. Yes a tangible newsletter filled with Def Leppard goodness and mailed to it's members on semi-regular basis -- this would have been key to keeping the club alive!
One of the reasons the Fossil Collectors Club is still around albeit via fans is because of the Fossil Times newsletter that I found a few years ago when I purchased the 1995 Collectors Club kit on eBay. As my family grows and the clutter is creeping like The Blob into every room of our house I almost forgot I had this issue until this past week when I started digging through my collection.
From 1994 to 1998 the Fossil Collectors Club mailed out 3-4 issues a year to it's collectors. The newsletters had all the Fossil goodness you would expect including spotlight characters, limited edition release information, sneak previews and even one that announced the upcoming Defender line - xoxo.
Any good collectors newsletter should feature the collector of the month and the Fossil Times did that too. We should start one here. Our Facebook group is growing and some of the members have more watches than I do! Something to consider....
For your visual enjoyment I have scanned this issue of the Fossil Times that started it all. Volume 1 Issue 3 circa 1994. My only question is what happened to Larry Clark?
Fossil postcards - Round 2
Hard to believe it's been about 2 years since we last posted the first round of Fossil postcards. I wanted to send this off as a Christmas gift for 2014. 3 more cards from the archives.
Screenshots below with the URL for a Photoshop file (.psd)
Fossil Collectors Club Kits - one for the archives
With a site called Fossil Collectors Club, one would have thought a post like this would have been created many years ago to showcase all of the various kits from 1994-1998 that was available to members. Leave it to our friend Heino to spot the gap and create the post below.
1994 Fossil Collectors Club Kit
The 1994 Fossil Collectors Club Kit came in a paper box filled with some goodies. The box itself is a work of art, hard to display, but it is covered with 50's scenes.
This one was the first kit of a series of 5 (1994 to 1998) and was only available in USA.
As found in later kits, the paperwork is a real gem of information and some misc. print items also exist such as the membership card with the club member's name on it. A nice Collector's Club pin is included, along with a branded t-shirt.
The 1994 Fossil Collector's Club watch is a beautiful piece and very unique. Has a timeless design and is very clean. The watch is model number LE-9442.
1995 Fossil Collectors Club Kit
The 1995 Fossil Collectors Club Kit came in a pizza box basically filled with many goodies. The box itself is a work of art, hard to display, but it is covered with 50's scenes again.
This one was the second kit of a series of 5 (1994 to 1998) and was also only available in USA. This one has the most items. Similar items to the 1994 kit, but this one includes and issue of the Fossil Times -- the much coveted newsletter collectors are always looking for! On the back of the Fossil Times is the limited edition checklist.
Kit includes the pin and a the membership card -- see a detailed post on the 1995 Fossil Collectors Club kit and also some more details photos on Flickr. A brochure of items is also included, but apparently mine was missing this.
A t-shirt is also included in this kit. The shirt only has the logo on the front with no other markings anywhere.
The 1995 Fossil Collector's Club watch is a beautiful piece. Has a timeless design and is very classic. The watch is model number LE-9464.
Heino says, "I found this piece online – I was very happy to get it because it wasn`t available in AUSTRIA! Special of my watch is that it is number 00001 of 10000!"
1995 Fossil Collectors Club Kit
1996 Fossil Collectors Club Kit
The 1996 Fossil Collectors Club Kit came in the first tin box and filled with the usual goodies. The tin is really a nice piece of art and is really nice to display vs. the pizza boxes.
This one was the third kit of a series of 5 (1994 to 1998) and was the first watch which was also available in USA and in Germany (Fossil Europe) – the Germany Collectors-Club was started in 1996 and Heino was an Austrian a member of it since the beginning.
One of a great pieces in the kit is the Mini Bobbing-Head-Fred, it's a smaller version of the Fred displays used in stores.
Some miscellaneous print items also exists such as the membership card. Included also is a Collector's Club key-fob. Also had a sticker inside.
The 1996 Fossil Collector's Club watch is a beautiful time-piece. Has a nice pilot-watch design, shows a plane and I get comments on this watch all the time when I wear it. The watch is model number LE-9475.
1996 Fossil Collectors Club Kit
1997 Fossil Collectors Club Kit
The 1997 Fossil Collectors Club Kit came in a tin box like a little travel case basically filled with some goodies. The tin itself is a work of art and good to display. I like how the goodies appear in the kit -- really nice for display and storage.
This one was the fourth kit of a series of 5 (1994 to 1998) and was the second watch in Germany ( Fossil Europe ) – the Germany Collectors-Club, which started in 1996.
The mini-globe is unique and basically is the same as the big globe displays used in stores. The globe did signify it was a Collectors Club version. Kit also included postcards, which were a first. Postcards in detail can be found in an earlier post.
I've posted before on the 1997 watch and there are various bands -- I've seen stainless and leather. The 1997 Fossil Collector's Club watch is a beautiful time-piece. It shows a little world-card like a compass. The watch is model number LE-9489.
1997 Fossil Collectors Club Kit
1998 Fossil Collectors Club Kit
The 1998 Fossil Collectors Club Kit came in a tin box like lunch box. Of all the kits, this is the most fun to display.
This one was the fifth and the last kit of a series of 5 (1994 to 1998) and was the third watch available in Germany ( Fossil Europe).
A nice addition to the kit and previous kits is the mini display piece. This kit featured a mini train, which is the small brother to the larger train used in store.
The 1998 Fossil Collector's Club watch is unique because it's the only pocketwatch created for the Collectors Club. It came on a heavy duty chain and featured in a nice wooden box. The watch is model number LE-9492.
1998 Fossil Collectors Club Kit - final one :(