We are delighted to continue our journey in a series we’re calling The European Special introduced in May 2021. Unlike the first issue, the second issue is quite lengthy and for all the number nerds out there, the second issue is mainly a supplement to Volume 4 Issue 1 in 1997 although….
Read MoreIn the process of publishing all the Fossil Times newsletters over the years we were informed by our friend Heino that they had special European issues of the Fossil Times. I bet most didn’t know this! We certainly did not!
Read MoreEven the best curator of all things Fossil makes a mistake every once in a while. In prepping the list of posts and ideas for 2021, I found a mysterious Fossil Times edition that I marked as Q4, but in reality it was Q1 1998. Let’s blame 2020 or let’s blame a certain administration with an orange man – either way it is time dig into the LAST USA Fossil Times edition that I have access to. Volume 5 Issue 1. We do not have access to the Volume 5 Issue 4, which I believe has a pair of glasses on the cover.
Read MoreLet’s end this year with one of the largest issues of the Fossil Times. It just so happens to be next on our mission to publish all the Fossil Times online. No need to buy one on eBay for $40, read away and enjoy the witty commentary on what could be the largest edition (in size): Volume 5, Issue 3 otherwise known as the Pink Panther edition.
Read MoreGreetings Fossil Fans. We’re emerging out of quarantine here and as such have emerged another copy of the Fossil Times….this time it’s the 2nd quarter edition of the 1998 Fossil Times.
Read MoreWe’re winding down 1997 with a timely throwback to the last Fossil Times of 1997 Volume 4 Issue 4 and yes, we are still waiting on Issue 2 to magically appear. Bathroom monkeys get on it!
Read MoreCollaborations are no doubt something you’ve seen with Fossil lately – all these collaborations in 2019 with Crosley, Pride, etc and way back in 1997 Fossil collaborated or teamed up with T.K. Toys of Japan to come up with some limited-edition pieces that came with tin toys.
Read MoreAnd then it was 1997. Welcome to our ongoing series of bringing back to life Fossil Times from the Collector’s Club era. Up for your consideration today is Volume 4, Issue 1. The newsletters from 1997 & 1998 were the first ones in a different size at 10.5 inches wide and 16.5 inches tall (ie..very hard to scan in)
Let’s start with missing socks. Remember those from last time? In this day and age, it’s hard to imagine a major company (or any company) announcing that they received a sock and have a hard time identifying the sender! 22 years later did anyone ever claim that sock and what was the reward?
The highlight of this newsletter and the reason why this site was created was for the collectors. On Page 3 we find an article called, “C’mon in Collectors” and wow it really made me long for the retail days where you had to go to the stores to get your goods and talk with salespeople. I had a good relationship with the salespeople at 2 of my local Fossil stores and they would call me when the good stuff came in! Like my own personal Cheers Bar minus the drinks. Those Fossil stores in the 90’s were magical and I can attest that they were designed to keep us coming back for more.
Further inside in the newsletter we learn about the international presence of the Fossil Collectors Club – 1500 members internationally! Suspicions confirmed that the retro-American style was loved internationally just as much as here in the good old USA. Little known fact that has been forgotten was Fossil Collectors had their own inbox direct to Fossil HQ: COLLECT.FOSSIL@FOSL.COM
Other points of interest are always Star Wars watches (how many did they make?), information on the 1997 Collector’s Club option and always a highlight for Collector of the Quarter – where are you Matthew Martin?
Enjoy the first issue of Fossil Times from 1997 – it was a good year!
Just in time for the holidays, join the 1997 Fossil Collectors Club today! Ahh…wouldn’t that be nice? In our own humble opinion this is the peak of the design phase for that 50’s American style we all love and miss. The front cover really says it all, but an exclusive fossil frame is something that our bathroom monkeys must have missed and now they are searching the halls of the interwebs for one! Without further ado let’s dig into Volume 3, Issue 5!
Fossil 2002! If only we knew to save these or remove the batteries immediately. I can’t tell you how many collectors (or eBay scalpers) email us asking to fix these LCD 2002 watches. The LCD watches take 2 batteries and besides replacing the movement entirely we haven’t found a way to fix them. These watches when working selling for good money online, but honestly, they are way too cool to sell.
The Fossil cups are of interest and we haven’t seen these since going to see Beavis and Butt-Head Do America in late 1996 in the theaters. These cups are one thing we would love in our collection – over 4 million produced, are any left?
Moving onto Collector’s Club news…the Fossil Europe page is very meaty. Details of the previously mentioned European Collectors Club Meeting sound amazing and please send pictures!
Wrapping up the “Fossil Missing Sock Drive” is something Fossil probably regrets. How many socks were mailed and how many of them were not cleaned prior to sending? The world may never know, but take comfort knowing this was a one-time deal and you weren’t involved in opening those stinky packages.
All-righty onto the newsletter!
Welcome to another installment of the Fossil Times circa 1996. Unlike previous years and future years the 1996 year saw five (5) Collector’s Club newsletters. We’ve reviewed a few stinkers in the past, but this one is one of the better ones for the Fossil Collector. Ignore as always the Issue/Volume numbers on the top and pretend that you see Volume 3, Issue 4. Let’s begin.
The Mod Time was a bust wasn’t it? 22 years later we never see these come up. Of all the options to put on the front cover in 1996 and this was the selection. No more bashing let’s continue onto the Limited Edition Preview and we start with Star Trek. The LI-1435 is okay if you like that sort of thing, but the takeaway is the LI-1436 where only 1000 were produced and these were in special gold. That’s stuff of dreams for the collector imagine the conversations you could have with all your Fossil Collector’s Club colleagues:
Friend: “Well I finally found the LI-1435 and it comes in a lovely black box”
You: (while polishing your LI-1436 to really make that gold stand out) “congratulations you are 1 of 10,000 other collectors who have the same piece”
Friend: “I want your life”
What’s interesting about all these Limited Editions is the regional distribution. In modern times it’s probably impossible (fiscally & legally) to get such a deal, but Fossil managed to release Star Trek, The Beatles, Mickey Mouse and Toy Story all in this newsletter. Some of these 1000 released pieces are some of the more valuable Fossil watches today. The Mickey ones especially with the wooden toys seems to command a premium along with the gold pocket watch LI-1457.
The rest of the newsletter is dedicated entirely to the Collector’s Club and this is why it ranks high on our list. 22 years later there isn’t a lot of information around our club out there and our bathroom monkeys are continuously searching the interwebs for every piece of information they can find. A few takeaways:
Germany (no surprise) had the highest amount of Collector’s Club members outside of the USA
Like the USA, there was a European Collectors Club Meeting along with an Limited Edition Auction on October 26-27, 1996! Pictures please send!
Fossil Pen Pals was marketed as a way for non-USA members to get limited edition pieces not widely distributed.
The winners of the jacket from the previous newsletter was announced. Fred Heedt and Julie Kodama where are you and can we have the jackets back?
The 1996 Fossil Collector’s Convention was a 6 city tour. Where’s that bus?
Okay onto the show. Sorry for the long post, but this is a good newsletter! Ironic isn’t it that in 1996 a print newsletter was used to announce an upcoming web page and now in 2018 we are using “the internet” to broadcast a print newsletter.
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