I recently came back from a very enjoyable holiday at Disney World Orlando, Florida. One of my goals for the trip is to get a Disney watch as a memento of trip. At one of the parks, at Epcot, I found this watch, the Disney Parks Authentics Gears Link Mickey Mouse automatic watch.
The listed price was USD200 but I got a 20% discount by virtue of one of many deals available to guests at the park.
The watch comes with a very nice tin box painted with the image of Mickey Mouse. It opens from a lid at the top with no hinges.
Even the bottom of the tin with painted and a special notation that says the watch box is a limited edition piece. Usually it is the watch that is a limited edition but in this case it is the watch box. This is a first for me.
Opening the lid reveals a simple interior protected by black foam. The watch rests on its side. Apart from the watch, you would find a white document.
This paper is the one year limited warranty document for the watch.
The description is so generic that it is devoid of any reference to the watch. In fact, the document assumes the watch is a quartz when in fact it is an automatic. I am not sure whether this was on purpose or that I didn't get the correct document.
I do know that I didn't get a manual.
This is the watch that I got. A very enigmatic piece. Trying to search the internet about the watch came out empty apart from the product listing from Disney Store (http://www.disneystore.com). Anyway, here is the list provided about the watch from the website.
This watch uses a skeleton dial. It has a three hands with luminous paint on the hours and minutes hands. Both the hours and minutes hands are partial skeleton.The watch has a sloping chapter rink with markers and numbers in one minute interval.
On the dial itself, at the edge are hour markers in white luminous paint. Only the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions are without markers. Instead, there is a silver Mickey Mouse icon and the word "AUTOMATIC" at those two places.
The glass covering the dial I suspect is mineral glass without any AR coating.
Note the large size screws near the lugs of the watch. These screws are the anchor points for the large end-links of the bracelet. You can also see the transparent case-back which is a screw-down.The links are attached by pin rods.
The links on the bracelet are polished stainless steel.
The clasp uses a three-point safety mechanism. It is clean from any logo or wordings.
The two halves of the bracelet is connected by a stamped sheet metal that is not polished.
The outer rim of the case-back has information about the watch. The model number for this watch is 80/8621 with a TY2807SV Chinese automatic movement. After checking via the internet, this particular unit has a 40 hour power reserve as well as a 21 jewel movement. It is also capable of hand-winding.
Through the display glass you can see the decorated rotor and ‘blued’ screws.
The watch wears nicely on the wrist despite the size. As seen from the third photo below, the bracelet and the watch casing are designed to 'wrap' on one's wrist. This makes it a good watch to have on for formal functions as it does not snag on shirt cuffs.
I bought this watch purely for the Disney attachment. However, it would appear this watch has more going for it apart from that association. It is practical, robust and looks really good on the wrist.
One thing that really makes it interesting to me is the skeleton dial. You can see the heart of the watch without being blocked by the rotor. When hand winding, you can see the main springs being compressed. When it looks loose, it is a good indicator to start winding it - a simple form of power reserve indicator.
UPDATE:
While searching on the internet for the reference "TY2807SV", I can upon a model from Armitron that is is strikingly similar. Here is a picture of the watch that I got from Walmart's website.
As you can see, it looks the same except for the brand (which in my watch has been substituted for a mickey mouse symbol).
This watch retails for USD76.74 from Walmart.
With the association of Mickey Mouse, Disney is able to mark-up the watch by more than 100%
The listed price was USD200 but I got a 20% discount by virtue of one of many deals available to guests at the park.
The watch comes with a very nice tin box painted with the image of Mickey Mouse. It opens from a lid at the top with no hinges.
Even the bottom of the tin with painted and a special notation that says the watch box is a limited edition piece. Usually it is the watch that is a limited edition but in this case it is the watch box. This is a first for me.
Opening the lid reveals a simple interior protected by black foam. The watch rests on its side. Apart from the watch, you would find a white document.
This paper is the one year limited warranty document for the watch.
The description is so generic that it is devoid of any reference to the watch. In fact, the document assumes the watch is a quartz when in fact it is an automatic. I am not sure whether this was on purpose or that I didn't get the correct document.
I do know that I didn't get a manual.
This is the watch that I got. A very enigmatic piece. Trying to search the internet about the watch came out empty apart from the product listing from Disney Store (http://www.disneystore.com). Anyway, here is the list provided about the watch from the website.
- Watch face features various gears and subtle Mickey Mouse ears icon
- Automatic movement (Chinese movement)
- Water resistant up to 165 feet (50 meters)
- Watch face: 1 3/4'' Diameter (44 mm)
- Band: 7 3/4'' L
- Stainless steel
- Made in the U.S.A.
This watch uses a skeleton dial. It has a three hands with luminous paint on the hours and minutes hands. Both the hours and minutes hands are partial skeleton.The watch has a sloping chapter rink with markers and numbers in one minute interval.
On the dial itself, at the edge are hour markers in white luminous paint. Only the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions are without markers. Instead, there is a silver Mickey Mouse icon and the word "AUTOMATIC" at those two places.
The glass covering the dial I suspect is mineral glass without any AR coating.
Note the large size screws near the lugs of the watch. These screws are the anchor points for the large end-links of the bracelet. You can also see the transparent case-back which is a screw-down.The links are attached by pin rods.
The links on the bracelet are polished stainless steel.
The clasp uses a three-point safety mechanism. It is clean from any logo or wordings.
The two halves of the bracelet is connected by a stamped sheet metal that is not polished.
The outer rim of the case-back has information about the watch. The model number for this watch is 80/8621 with a TY2807SV Chinese automatic movement. After checking via the internet, this particular unit has a 40 hour power reserve as well as a 21 jewel movement. It is also capable of hand-winding.
Through the display glass you can see the decorated rotor and ‘blued’ screws.
The watch wears nicely on the wrist despite the size. As seen from the third photo below, the bracelet and the watch casing are designed to 'wrap' on one's wrist. This makes it a good watch to have on for formal functions as it does not snag on shirt cuffs.
 |  |  |
I bought this watch purely for the Disney attachment. However, it would appear this watch has more going for it apart from that association. It is practical, robust and looks really good on the wrist.
One thing that really makes it interesting to me is the skeleton dial. You can see the heart of the watch without being blocked by the rotor. When hand winding, you can see the main springs being compressed. When it looks loose, it is a good indicator to start winding it - a simple form of power reserve indicator.
UPDATE:
While searching on the internet for the reference "TY2807SV", I can upon a model from Armitron that is is strikingly similar. Here is a picture of the watch that I got from Walmart's website.As you can see, it looks the same except for the brand (which in my watch has been substituted for a mickey mouse symbol).
This watch retails for USD76.74 from Walmart.
With the association of Mickey Mouse, Disney is able to mark-up the watch by more than 100%
Great review. I have had mine for a little over 2 years. Now I have chipped the glass and am in the process of finding a repair shop and at the same time, trying to decide if it is worth it to repair or just purchase a new on on my next trip.
ReplyDeleteNice post. My 8 yr. old daughter found one of these watches among some rocks while on a walk in our neighborhood a few years ago. It had a broken bracelet (probably the reason for the lost watch). At first glance it didn't seem to be working by she liked the Mickey logo and decided to bring it home for me, as she knows about my love of watches. While walking home, she obviously activated the self winding system and it was working by the time she returned home. I purchased an aftermarket band and have added it to my collection of over 20 watches. It seems to keep fairly accurate time for an automatic movement. Perhaps when she gets older I will give it back to her for a graduation present or another landmark occasion. Seems to rare to just sell, so we'll be keeping it (close to our hearts).
ReplyDelete