5 cartoon-themed luxury watches for wearable childhood nostalgia
Looking for a dose of childhood nostalgia? Then you might want to check out these five luxury watches adorned with your favourite cartoon characters.
They might not sound like something you’d find on a luxury timepiece, but animated characters make regular appearances on some of the best watches. Whether it’s hidden within a date window or winding around a tourbillon, many watch manufacturers are adding fun cartoon-inspired accents from your childhood into its watch collections, as a fun contrast against the luxurious and intricate timekeeping.
From Snoopy and Mickey Mouse to Homer Simpson and Kermit the Frog, here are five cartoon-inspired watches to add some colour and playfulness to your collection.
1. OMEGA Speedmaster ‘Silver Snoopy Award’
Snoopy is the most prominently featured cartoon character on watches. The little cartoon dog has graced many watches, including timepieces from Swatch, Timex, Fossil and Bamford London. But the most popular Snoopy-themed watch is from OMEGA.
Snoopy and the OMEGA Speedmaster have a long history, due to the two’s connection with NASA. The OMEGA Speedmaster was the first watch worn on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, while the ‘Silver Snoopy Award’ is a special honour given to NASA employees and contractors for achievements related to human flight safety and missions. And that’s where the OMEGA Speedmaster ‘Silver Snoopy Award’ comes from.
The 42mm blue and white OMEGA Speedmaster ‘Silver Snoopy Awards’ is a truly unique piece, as it celebrates the 50th anniversary of OMEGA being given the award. It has a stunning moon illustration of the caseback and a Snoopy astronaut sitting in one of the blue counters. The dial is simple with its use of blue subdials and its gradient bezel, and is complete with a blue stitched strap.
2. TAG Heuer Formula 1 X Mario Kart Chronograph Tourbillon
TAG Heuer created two limited edition versions of its Formula 1 X Mario Kart collaboration: the Chronograph and the Chronograph Tourbillon. The first watch features Mario in his kart in the seconds counter on the dial, but the tourbillon version is much more dramatic and really shows off the mechanical details of the watch.
Powered by the 02T tourbillon movement, TAG Heuer Formula 1 X Mario Kart Chronograph Tourbillon has a 45mm case with a black and red dial with a fun pattern that makes it look like a shell that’s frequently thrown during Mario Kart. The tourbillon has Mario, a bullet and a blue shell on each point so when it moves, it looks like they’re chasing one another in an infinite loop.
3. Rolex Oysterdate Precision with Mickey Mouse dial
Another commonly featured animated character is Mickey Mouse. The most popular luxury watch to feature the Disney mouse is the Rolex Oysterdate Precision with Mickey Mouse dial. The Rolex Oysterdate Precision was first introduced in the 1960s, and features a 34mm stainless steel case and a manually wound mechanical movement. It has a date window in the three o’clock position, silver hour markers and hands, and is complete with the Oyster bracelet.
The Mickey Mouse version of the Rolex Oysterdate Precision is fun and playful, with the iconic red, black and yellow mouse sitting at the centre of the dial. The hands protrude from Mickey Mouse who has his arms outstretched so at certain times of the day, Mickey Mouse is actually telling the right time.
4. Oris ProPilot X Kermit Edition
One of the newer watches in this list, the Oris ProPilot X Kermit Edition was unveiled during Watches and Wonders 2023. With the tagline ‘This time it’s (not so) serious’, the Kermit-inspired watch has a 39mm case and a lime green coloured dial, similar to the puppet character. But the real star of the show is the date window that’s located at six o’clock.
Inside the date window is a mini illustration of Kermit the Frog. The small Kermit face appears at the first of every month, which Oris calls ‘Kermit Day’. Aside from the colour and froggy features, the Oris ProPilot X Kermit Edition is powered by the automatic anti-magnetic in-house Calibre-400 movement, the New Standard from Oris which offers 100m water resistance and 120 hour power reserve.
5. Swatch The Simpsons Sweet Embrace
Finally, Swatch has an entire collection dedicated to The Simpsons, including the Seconds of Sweetness donut-inspired watch, which has the pink iced donut with a bite taken out of it on the dial. The Simpsons collection from Swatch has the most over-the-top cartoon watches compared to the others on this list which are more subtle and less ‘in-your-face’, but hey, if you like The Simpsons, you’ll like the Sweet Embrace watch.
Swatch’s The Simpsons Sweet Embrace watch has a bright red case and strap that’s made from bio-sourced materials and uses a quartz movement. As a Valentine’s special watch, both inside and outside the dial is Homer and Marge kissing.
