Time For Play: Mickey Mouse To Minions, Top 9 Watches Inspired By Cartoons

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For the most part, watchmaking’s a pretty serious affair, often seeking answers to questions like – How accurate can the movement get? How many complications can we fit onto the dial? Which new material can we add to the mix? But on the contrary, watchmaking is also about personal expression and adding in a pinch of playfulness.

Now, having ‘fun’ could mean several things in watchmaking – striking off corporate instructions and being creative, reinventing an icon, or dabbling with nostalgia. When we think nostalgia, one of the things closest to our heart are animated cartoon shows we watch on boxy, antenna television sets. Bringing the vintage charm of cartoon characters to the dial of a timepiece is the perfect blend of playful nostalgia and luxury. From Mickey Mouse to Minions and Kermit The Frog to Mario, here are our top nine watches inspired by cartoons or characters.

TAG Heuer Mario Kart Formula 1 Chronograph Tourbillon

Despite polar legacies, TAG Heuer’s and Mario Kart have one thing in common: adrenaline. While TAG Heuer’s Formula 1 was born on the racetrack, Mario Kart’s spirit lives on it. Back in October of 2022, TAG Heuer unveiled a duet of Mario Kart special editions – one bearing a triple sub-dial chronograph with an ‘Easter Egg’ date window and the second, with a semi-skeletonized chronograph which features Mario, Bullet Bill, and Spiney Shell (our focus today). Cast out of grade-5 titanium, the F1 Chronograph Tourbillon is cased at 45 millimetres offering 100 metres of water resistance. The dial embraces Mario’s signature red hue in full effect, adding a playful dose against the black skeleton bridges. Inside rests a Calibre 02T, which winds automatically, featuring a tourbillon and chronograph functions, offering a 42-hour power reserve. Limited to 250 pieces.

ORIS ProPilot X Kermit Edition

Even two decades after I last watched an episode of The Muppets, Kermit The Frog’s signature green is fresher than ever in my memory. In March of 2023, ORIS partnered with Disney to bring this strikingly nostalgic hue to their ProPilot’s dial. Bonus: Kermit personally greets you via the date window at six o’clock! While all this seems overplayful, ORIS still means serious business. This Pro Pilot is cased in titanium with satin and sand-blast finishes. The ‘Kermit’ green dial features Super-LumiNova-dipped hour indexes and hands with a date window. Powered by the big boy Calibre 400, it runs automatic and offers a 120-hour power reserve. Strapped on in titanium with ORIS’ patented ‘Lift’ system.

Gérald Genta Arena Bi-Retrograde – Mickey Playing Football

Genta Mickey Mouse watches deliver a certain burst of nostalgia, unlike any other character watches, taking you right back to the ‘90s. As the FIFA World Cup ’22 was underway, Gérald Genta coincidently unveiled a new, bi-retrograde Mickey Mouse Genta design featuring the character playing with a football. Over a retrograde dial, Mickey’s arm operates as the minute’s indicator while there’s a jumping hour window at ten o’clock. Down South, there’s a retrograde date function. The cartoonist dial artistry comprises 14 total mother-of-pearl plates, which are coated in transparent lacquer. Inside, the BVL 300 winds automatically and delivers a 42-hour power reserve. All this is cased in a perfectly circular steel case in classic Genta fashion. Limited to 200 pieces.

OMEGA Speedmaster ‘Silver Snoopy Award’ 50th Anniversary

Snoopy has been a mascot for human space exploration since the Apollo missions. After the 1970 Apollo 13 mission, NASA presented the Silver Snoopy Award to OMEGA for their contributions to space exploration and the Speedmaster’s role in assisting commander Jim Lovell and crew in their perilous navigation back home. As playful as Snoopy may appear, this award celebrates humanity’s spirit of exploration, intent, and zeal in adversary. Celebrating the achievement’s 50 th anniversary, OMEGA unveiled an honorary Snoopy Speedmaster. In typical fashion, we see 42-millimetre steel casing but with blue sub-dials, hands, and bezel. Of course, an illustration of Snoopy dressed as an astronaut graces the sub-dial at nine o’clock along with ‘50 th Anniversary’. Snoopy also greets you on the case back, this time inside a white Command and Service Module (CSM) traversing the moon. The quote, “Eyes on the Stars”, is boldly featured. Inside, the OMEGA Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 3861 is METAS-certified, manual wound delivering a 50-hour power reserve.

SEIKO ‘Sonic The Hedgehog’ 30th Anniversary Watch

In 2021, SEIKO and SEGA partnered to celebrate the famous blue hedgehog’s Pearl anniversary with an elegant, hand-made designer timepiece, taking cues from the franchise’s first-ever video game from 1991. All the action takes place on the dial – the outer emerald-green ring and blue centre represent the first level of the game: Green Hill Zone. The timepiece also features a satin-blue dial contrasted by golden-hued hands, with the seconds hand featuring a star on one end. We also see a triple sub-dial chronograph and a date window at three o’clock. Sonic The Hedgehog appears to be running against time at four o’clock. On the caseback, the 30th-anniversary logo is boldly engraved. Limited to 3000 pieces.

Konstantin Chaykin Wristmons – The Minion

When we think of Minions, we often picture the clumsy little yellow helpers for Gru, running chores in absolute comical trouble. Now imagine its mischievous face on your dial – that’s the Konstantin Chaykin Wristmons – The Minion for you. This KC Wristmons features two ‘face’ dials, which use the Minion’s eyes as disks to indicate hours and minutes using miniaturised googly eyes. Inside, the calibre K07-3 is automatic winding and delivers a 42-hour power reserve. This is cased in 40 millimetres of stainless steel. Limited your 38 pieces.

Bovet 1822’s Miss Audrey Sweet Fairy ONLY WATCH

Miss Audrey Sweet the Fairy sure is sweet, but featuring sugar crystals on your dial? That’s a first in watchmaking. Back at the 2018 edition of Only Watch, Bovet 1922 employed coloured sugar crystals carefully chosen as per size and then painted in orange Super-LumiNova. The dial is covered with a protective lacquer, securing the art for eternity – so even if things get too hot, the crystals won’t melt. The hands add a lovely, romantic touch as they’re uniquely heart-shaped. The signature 36-millimetre Laurier Amadéo® convertible case is in stainless steel hand-set with sparkling white diamonds.

Franck Muller x Bamford Watch Department Popeye Vanguard

The spinach-gulping sailor meets Bamford WD’s signature hue. The set of 85 pieces comprised 60 in PVD black titanium and 25 in rose gold, both casing in at 44 millimetres. The dial features a micro-blasted black paintwork contrasted by hand-painted indexes. Don’t be distracted by Popeye’s cheekiness – there’s some serious Swiss craftsmanship at play here. Popeye sure lives by the sea, but the timepiece only has a 30-meter water resistance. Powering this is the automatic calibre MVT FM 800, which offers a 42-hour power reserve.

Gucci x Doraemon Dive Watch

Quick history session: Doreamon – born in the 22nd century as a cat-type robot, hails from a ‘70s Japanese manga series written Fujiko Fujio. He time travels to help a young boy called Nobita with secret gadgets from his four-dimensional pouch. Doraemon was the star of Gucci’s Lunar New Year campaign collection. Cased in a yellow gold PVD case and a black bezel, it contrasts against a GG canvas featuring a dancing Doraemon. The fictional robot cat inspires the Super-LumiNova indexes and hour/minute hands.