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Fender and Gibson wristwatches from the '90s

Just when I thought I had seen it all, I find these.

Guitar companies had some interesting promo items back in the '90s, and that included special edition watches.

A few things to note up front:

None of these watches are good timepieces. Said very honestly, you would get better timekeeping performance out of any new cheap Casio compared to what you're about to see. But what those Casios don't have are famous guitar brands on them.

I also do not have any official information on size, dimensions or weight. Heck, I don't know if any of these even work. The only reason to get one of these is for a nice display piece. Only one of them could be used as a daily wearer, which I'll talk about at the end.

Let's go.

Gibson '67 Flying V watch

This little guy is supposed to be a tiny replica of a 1967 Gibson Flying V. The dial does have "'67 FLYING V" printed on it to indicate as such. It has a quartz movement, leather strap, and does have hour, minute and a seconds hand you can barely see but it's there.

The strap is what I find to be the most interesting part of the watch just because of the way it works. At the end of the "headstock" is a catch. That catch goes over one of the metal loops on the other side of the strap. This means when wearing the watch, the headstock is still visible. Neat.

Also, this is the only watch of the lot to feature a "hardshell case".

Fender "Solidbody Gear" ana-digi

Metal bracelet, stark yellow dial with analog up top and a digital panel at the bottom. Three buttons and a crown to set the time.

This watch obviously has multiple functions because of the ana-digi setup, but I'd have to sit down with this thing to figure how to use it. I'm assuming it works similar to a Casio AQ230.

The LCD panel and size of the buttons vs. case suggests this is a smaller watch. AQ230 sized? No, not quite that small as it has some thickness to it, but certainly not large by any means.

The back of this one shows that yes, the bracelet can be removed for an alternate bracelet or strap in case the one provided doesn't fit (I seriously doubt extra watch links are included with the sale). If that's the route you have to go, a metal mesh strap would suit this timepiece nicely...

...although it would be a shame to do that given the clasp does in fact have the Fender "F" logo on it, which is cool.

Red Fender Oval wristwatch

This is most likely a traditional women's sized watch. Looks small. However, it's very easy to set as it's just a 3-hand analog.

Like the "solidbody" watch, it has a bracelet with a Fender "F" logo on the clasp, and can be removed for a different one if it doesn't fit. But I'm pretty sure the strap width on this one is 16mm. Again, looks small.

Squier Stagecaster watch

No, not Stagemaster (even though the listing states as such), StageCASTER, just like it says on the dial.

Is the Squier Stagecaster a real guitar? Yes it is, but you don't find them for sale all that often. You can try searching for one if you like. What is it? Strat style guitar with Floyd-Rose tremolo and HSS configuration pickups, i.e. rock/metal guitar. Many had quilt tops (probably fake quilt, not sure).

Also, somehow Squier sold a Stagecaster model when the Aria Pro II Stagecaster also exists. I do not have an answer as to why Squier could sell a guitar under the Stagecaster name when it appears the Aria existed first. Maybe the Aria is one of those late '70s "lawsuit" guitars? Email me if you have info on that.

This is the most boring watch of the lot but at the same time the most usable because it appears to be your standard Rolex Submariner clone. That means it's probably a 40mm diameter with a 20mm wide bracelet.

The magnifier over the date window? Useless. You can even see it in the photo that the date window is barely magnified at all.

The bracelet once again features the Fender "F" logo, but there's something else interesting about this watch:

Screw-down case back and not a snap-back.

Also, "QUARTZ" is not printed on the dial.

Does this mean this watch has a mechanical movement in it?

Highly unlikely. Probably a quartz.

The real shame of this watch is that it's not Fender branded on the dial. If it were, this is the best one of the lot that a man could wear every day. The case could be very easily polished up like new, and you can't go wrong for style with a black dial dive watch since it goes with everything. (This is why black dial Seiko divers sell so well.)

Even though it's Squier branded, it would be true that if you wore this to a guitar show, you'd be one of the few if not the only guy there wearing a guitar-themed watch. That alone would make it worth buying for some.

And concerning the bracelet, this case style is the most strap-friendly, no question. It even has drilled lug holes on the side for easy spring bar removal. Take off the bracelet, put on a cheap NATO, off you go, done deal. Heck, you could even get the NATO color to match your guitar strap. Why not, right?

Published 2023 Nov 2

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