TOP 8 April Fools’ Prank Watches
The Seiko Senbei with a dial made of Japanese rice crackers, Bremont with Shark Recognition Technology, or Timex showing 25 hours a day. Keep reading and have fun. Top 8 April Fools’ Watches.
We have seen a lot in recent years. Anything you can think of, ranging from fake news and funny mockups to crazy prototypes that made the story so real that even non-believers got hooked. Some of them are actually so good, we would like to see them in production.
It is interesting to see how far brands can go.
Not only in terms of ideas, but also in terms of production. Special promotions featuring landing pages filled with pictures, detailed long reads, even videos full of interviews and visual effects. All for watches that don’t exist. It’s called dedication. Or marketing. The goal of these efforts is always the same. To make others read, enjoy, and share the story. Sometimes being aware of the joke, sometimes believing the exciting news to be true. Today we selected a few examples of April Fools’ prank watches from the past few years.
Bremont FA-UX
I like Bremont by default. Their April Fools’ watches made me think of Bremont as the Jules Vernes of watchmaking. Every single piece must be made. Sooner or later. Have you seen Bremont’s FA-UX diver watch with Sonar Recognition Technology? If you ended up owning it, it would allow you to identify different shark species. Simply hold the watch up to the shark and stare at the signal light. It will tell you, within minutes (lol), whether it’s deadly or not. And that’s just the beginning.
Bremont Wellington and Melville
It was five years ago when Bremont announced the limited-edition Wellington that marked the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, where English forces defeated Napoleon’s French army in 1815. The Wellington was supposedly a hand-made mechanical chronometer that reminds the wearer of the event every day by playing Waterloo at 18:15 from its built-in speaker located at the three o’clock mark. Almost as genuine as the Bremont ultimate sailing watch Melville — a watch equipped with its own windshield wiper. Probably not easy to hide under the cuff, but not something you’ll care about when a tsunami hits your boat.
Timex Twenty5th Hour
Believe it or not, this one is actually real. You could buy them for $79. The only weird and beautiful change to the watch was a 25-hour dial, with the last hour (or extra hour) highlighted. Two Timex Twenty5th models were offered, a 34mm women’s in a rose-gold case and a men’s gunmetal 40mm. Everybody was in a frenzy, minds were rallying — is it a 24-hour watch with a jump at midnight past the 25th hour?
No groundbreaking discovery here in the end. As you can see a series of smaller 1 to 12 digits in the smaller track around the outside, which is the one actually telling time. The 25th hour looks great, but that’s about it. Standard 12-hours quartz movement. But a big thumbs up for the special website that Timex published. If you want to be surprised by how many management members Timex managed to put in front of a camera, watch the intro video. The site is still up. And if you crack the link to Da Vinci and the 25th hour, please let us know. My verdict? It would make an amazing and highly limited addition to my quirky watch collection.
Seiko for Ninjas
I will leave the Grand Seiko SBGA211G Spring Drive Ninja Edition with the “practical” Shiruken-shape bezel crafted in steel and polished with the Zaratsu technique with exactly zero comments. Enjoy the sight for as long as you can take it.
Crispy Seiko Presage
I was never a Presage fan. That is until I saw the literally crispy Seiko Presage Senbei. Senbei is a traditional Japanese rice snack grilled to perfection by master artisans and Seiko decided to make it into a dial. That in itself would be enough, but it was the next fine detail that completely got me. In a macro making-of image, you could see a tweezer applying Roman numerals on the crispy Senbei. That would be pretty normal if the numeral weren’t finely cut “nori”, Japanese edible seaweed. To further amuse you, Seiko “released” three different dial versions. Would you reach for the Soy Sauce Senbei, the Sesame Senbei, or the Crystal Sugar Senbei?
Triwa Comb-Over
A unique piece whose story only began on April Fools’ Day. The Swedish watch company, that offers some interesting pieces such as the Humanium39, a watch made from destructed illegal firearms, posted a limited-edition watch that replaced a regular handset with the hair of the US President Donald Trump. It was just a joke, mimicking Trump’s “troubles” in keeping his fringe in place at times. But sometimes, jokes take on a life of their own…
Unexpectedly, Triwa received hundreds of requests to produce the watch after publishing the concept.
In response to the outpouring of interest, the brand made the product available for pre-order three days later, promising to start production if 100 orders were received before 15 April. With hundreds now sold, it made the Triwa Comb-Over their fastest-selling product ever. The piece features a caricature illustration of President Trump with a pink face as he is shouting, with his lemon-yellow hair is split into two parts. Obviously enough, Trump’s hair sits where it’s supposed to only twice a day and for a short time. The Trump Comb-Over watch is still up for grabs with either mustard or a black strap for €99. True believers can spice up their order with a striking red cap. Act quickly, I think it won’t stay available for long.
The gift that keeps on giving
If you decide to hold off, we offer you the last addition to April Fools’ watches, again from the same producer Triwa. Inspired by self-assembly IKEA furniture, Triwa introduced the DIY watch. The DIY package includes a quartz movement parts, watch case, battery, glass, dial, hands, crown, strap and lots of really small cog thingies. It also includes the tools needed for assembly. I crave to have one of these. With the small difference that the so-called Triwa YNGVE finished at the concept level. Let’s see what this year’s April Fools’ holds for us.
