Everything You Need to Know About Vintage Abercrombie & Fitch Wristwatches
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Seafarer ref. 2447 circa 1965 / Credit: Christie’s
Today, there are hundreds of fashion brands that sell watches that are of questionable horological significance. It’s not often that fashion brands make a worthwhile watch, but there are vintage watch models made by Abercrombie & Fitch that are relatively well-known and appreciated by connoisseurs.
The History of Abercrombie Fitch Watches
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. was founded in 1892 in Manhattan and soon after turned its focus to outdoor attire, becoming an upscale sporting goods brand. Now, as we well know, part of outdoor attire is a reliable watch. Abercombie & Fitch started producing them, eventually getting in touch with Heuer, who began producing watches for Abercombie & Fitch in the early 1940s. The focus for the outdoor brand was always on tool watches; chronographs, alarm clocks etc. for sportsmen.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Solunar
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Solunar ref. 2447, with tide indication and center seconds, circa 1949 / Credit: Timeplex
Abercombie & Fitch asked Heuer, in the late 1940s, to produce a timepiece that showed the best times for hunting or fishing for outdoorsmen based on John Alden Knight’s solunar theory. John Alden Knight hypothesized that movements of the sun and moon indicated the movements of animals and fish. Knight then established solunar charts to indicate the best times of day and month for hunting and fishing.
At that time, Jack Heuer, the grandson of Heuer’s founder, Edouard Heuer, was tasked with recruiting his high school physics teacher to complete this timepiece. Jack successfully recruited Dr. Heinz Schilt, which was his first contribution to the company that he would one day lead. Upon completion, a rotating sub-dial at 6 o’clock displayed high and low tides, which could be set by a pusher located at 4 o’clock. The Abercrombie & Fitch/Heuer Solunar was born.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Seafarer
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Seafarer ref. 2443, circa 1955 / Credit: Christie’s
The Heuer Solunar is the origin of the Abercombie & Fitch Seafarer, as the brand then transitioned the watch from showing the tides on one sub-dial, to also having a chronograph function that allowed the wearer to see the two high tides and two low tides of the day on the chronograph’s sub-dials. The first versions of the Seafarer used a Valjoux 71 movement and had a different dial configuration than the latter ones. The most common, later models, were powered by a Valjoux 72C (calendar) and are inside a Heuer 2443 or 2444 case. Abercombie & Fitch or Heuer Seafarers were also housed inside Autavia and Carrera cases towards the 1960s.
The functionality of the watch was supposed to help outdoorsmen, fishermen for example, as they generally prefer to fish while the tide is running, not while it is low or high. The watch would’ve allowed fishermen to optimize their time by showing the high and low tides and potentially allow them to get a better catch. However, fishermen disagreed, and the Abercrombie & Fitch Seafarer is largely remembered for being a commercial failure, with the line being phased out by the mid-1970s.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Auto-Graph
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Auto-Graph, circa 1954 / Credit: World of Time
Abercrombie & Fitch first released the Auto-Graph wrist chronograph in 1948. This model featured a manual reference hand, tachometer scale, and 1/5th second stopwatch. The main function of this timepiece was to measure the speed of a vehicle over a mile and was marketed towards racers in the 1940s and ‘50s. In addition, it can time long-distance calls using special calibrations on its dials. The three sub-dials can be utilized to measure a day’s run, up to 12 hours.
Today, Abercrombie & Fitch vintage watches are so sought after because they were specifically purpose built. The 1940s and 1950s saw the introduction of many purpose-built timepieces, tool watches if you will, which emerged after the Second World War, and which Abercrombie & Fitch sold in their retail stores. These were watches specifically made for rigorous activities and sports, in a category that Heuer ruled from the 1940s to 1970s.
Founded back in 1892, Abercrombie had always boasted they were ‘The Greatest Sporting Goods Store in the World’. And they had the famous clientele to match it: Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ernest Hemingway. They also have a range of famous vintage wristwatches to add to their list of accomplishments – despite the recent failures of the company.
By: Eric Mulder
Read more:
“5 reasons why collectors love vintage Heuer for Abercrombie & Fitch watches.” Christie’s, https://www.christies.com/features/vintage-heuer-for-abercrombie-and-fitch-watches-8375-1.aspx.
“A Hands-On Look at Jeff Stein’s Abercrombie & Fitch Watch Collection.” Crown and Caliber, https://blog.crownandcaliber.com/a-hands-on-look-at-jeff-steins-abercrombie-fitch-watch-collection/.