Vintage Revival: The Imaginary Return of Abercrombie & Fitch Watches
Their vintage watches are hot collectibles, but could Abercrombie & Fitch ever get back into the mechanical watch business?
This is the first installment of a new series where we look into the past for inspiration about what we want in the future. Welcome to Vintage Revival.
The return of Universal Genève marks a significant turning point in the grand horological timeline. Wristwatches, in essence, have existed for just over a century, affording us the privilege of hindsight. And a theme is emerging before our eyes as many are turning to the vintage markets in anticipation of what will come next.
In recent years we saw a trend of successful resurrections with Zodiac, Nivada Grenchen, Vulcain, and Aquastar all pulled from the depths of vintage obscurity. And this got me thinking – what other vintage luxury watch brand or style would I love to see return? With so many brands having succumbed to the gauntlet of the quartz crisis, there was no shortage to choose from.
But the one that truly needs to return, technically never went away.
For many in my generation, Abercrombie & Fitch occupies a unique space in pop culture. It was that store whose fragrance reached your nostrils before you even glimpsed its dimly lit vestibule in the local mall. It was where you deftly sidestepped the shirtless 16-year-old at the entrance, who ironically was trying to sell you an $80 T-shirt, only to resort to your phone’s light on your trusty Moto Razr Flip just to determine whether the shirt you wanted was black or blue.
That, to me, encapsulates Abercrombie—a store associated with shirtless, heavily scented, color-challenged peers from my millennial world.
In those days (late 90’s to early 2000’s), A&F was an overpriced fast-fashion brand catering to middle-class America. I vaguely recall seeing their cheaply made quartz watches as I trailed behind my sisters through their never-ending safari of denim shopping. But they were nothing I considered back then to be “high horology.”
And then while on my daily stroll through eBay and Chrono24 I stumbled on something completely unexpected. An A&F watch that had a price tag far above anything I ever saw in the store.
It was 2017 when I came across the vintage A&F Seafarer chronograph, which was auctioned at Christie’s for $60,000. Another Seafarer, a later reference 2446, sold for nearly $100,000 in 2021 after factoring in the buyer’s premium. These prices clearly did not align with my previous view of the brand or its modern-day ethos. So, what happened?
A trip down Madison Ave.
Similar to several esteemed companies, Abercrombie & Fitch has undergone numerous transformations over its history. Established in 1892, the brand initially specialized in premium outdoor gear and clothing. Its Midtown Manhattan location in the early to mid-20th century was a vast, 12-floor emporium catering to outdoor enthusiasts. This location did not have shirtless teenage boys with spray tanned abs greeting you but taxidermied elephants. Notable clientele included Teddy Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, and Ernest Hemingway—a far cry from the brand’s later marketing to gym-obsessed teenagers.
The wealthy would visit Abercrombie & Fitch before their fishing trip, safari, hunting expedition or cross country road trip to be “outfitted.” — hence the name.
Abercrombie & Fitch didn’t confine itself to outdoor gear; it also featured watches from renowned Swiss watchmakers. In the 1940s, the brand embarked on a partnership with Heuer, a company known for producing some of the most captivating tool watches of that era. This collaboration yielded truly exceptional timepieces exclusive to Abercrombie & Fitch. Among the earliest creations to emerge from this collaboration was the Solunar watch, which featured a subdial for tracking tides.
In the late 1940s, Abercrombie & Fitch approached Heuer with a unique request: to create a timepiece tailored for outdoor enthusiasts, specifically designed to showcase optimal hunting or fishing times based on John Alden Knight’s solunar theory. Knight’s theory posited that the Sun and Moon’s movements correlated with the activities of animals and fish, leading to the establishment of solunar charts to identify prime moments for outdoor pursuits.
Jack Heuer, the grandson of Heuer’s founder, Edouard Heuer, took on the responsibility and enlisted his high school physics teacher, Dr. Heinz Schilt, for the creation of this specialized timepiece. This collaboration marked Jack’s initial contribution to the company he would eventually lead. A patent was submitted in 1949, under the name of Walter Haynes, then president of Abercrombie & Fitch.
The result of their efforts was the Abercrombie & Fitch/Heuer Solunar, featuring a rotating sub-dial at 6 o’clock that displayed high and low tides. The tide settings could be adjusted using a pusher conveniently located at 4 o’clock, giving birth to a unique timepiece tailored for outdoor enthusiasts.
This may be a very controversial take – well, as controversial as a watch article can be. But there is something magical about a tide tracker. I don’t know why. The allure of a tide tracker is just as enticing of a complication to me as a moonphase. It is romantic. It reminds you of a simpler time when watches were truly tools that contributed to everyday survival.
The Solunar eventually evolved into the Seafarer which was produced from the early 1950s to the mid-1970s. Eventually, ten or so different versions of the Seafarer would be produced, and they remain today comparatively accessible when they appear at auction.
Initially designed to display tides on a single sub-dial, the Seafarer underwent a significant upgrade by incorporating a chronograph function. This enhancement enabled wearers to observe both high and low tides twice a day on the chronograph’s sub-dials.
Early versions of the Seafarer featured a Valjoux 71 movement and a distinct dial configuration compared to later models. The more prevalent later editions were equipped with a Valjoux 72C and were housed in Heuer 2443 or 2444 cases. Notably, Abercrombie & Fitch or Heuer Seafarers also found a home in Autavia and Carrera cases around the 1960s.
These watches were originally intended to assist outdoorsmen, especially fishermen who preferred to fish during tidal movements. Despite these intentions, the Seafarer faced dissent from the fishing community, ultimately becoming a commercial disappointment for Abercrombie & Fitch.
The line saw a gradual phase-out, ceasing production by the mid-1970s.
Looking into the future.
A&F does not only have tradition and history on their side but a stunning catalog of vintage timepieces which they could draw on for modern inspiration. Between the Solunar, Seafarer, Shipmate, and Auto-Graph, they have a lineup of purpose-built, well designed tool watches that will be a guaranteed hit if they return. Bringing these watches back would be like the return of Tamagotchi’s, original formula Four Loko, and actual dollar menus all at the same time.
Regarding A&F’s stance on their timepieces, Analog/Shift put it about as eloquently as possible in an old post for a vintage Shipmate when it said, “while many modern brands have gone to great lengths to honor their history and heritage, Abercrombie has given theirs the finger and run away in the opposite direction. This is a real shame, and makes finding vintage A&F products all the more desirable.”
Is the world ready for the return of A&F mechanical watches?
Absolutely. A&F has experienced a significant resurgence in popularity through a successful rebranding for a new generation. In 2023, its stock outperformed the tech giant NVIDIA, skyrocketing by an impressive 285%. This indicates a clear demand and renewed interest in the brand.
However, should A&F decide to reintroduce a mechanical watch line, the intriguing aspect lies in the pricing strategy and execution. The key question revolves around the price point they choose and the approach taken in the production process. Will they opt for collaboration with established watch houses like Zenith, or will they pursue a design-centric model by outsourcing affordable calibers from manufacturers such as Miyota or Sellita?
Jeff Stein, founder of On The Dash, and internationally renowned Heuer expert and historian shared his perspective on the matter: “So the question that I would ask is whether TAG Heuer would want to be associated with the current Abercrombie & Fitch brand? At its worst, Abercrombie & Fitch had a very poor reputation among consumers,” as reported in a Business of Fashion article naming Abercrombie & Fitch the most hated retailer in 2016. However, he did add that their reputation has “improved significantly in recent years.”
If I were A&F, I would revert to what has proven successful and collaborate once again with TAG Heuer. While this might be unlikely given Tag’s ownership situation with LVMH, it remains the most logically sound option and aligns with the envisioned ethos of these watches – both in their past success and potential future.
Stein also agrees that it makes sense for the two companies to join forces again. He stated, “As a collector of the Abercrombie & Fitch timepieces from the ‘good old days,’ it would be intriguing to consider what these two brands could create together.” However, if Abercrombie decided to create a line of mechanical watches with another brand, they “would be losing an interesting and important aspect of Abercrombie’s history.” Stein emphasizes, “They partnered with Heuer circa 1950 because of the quality of the Heuer watches and the innovations that Heuer was willing to develop, at Abercrombie’s request. They could do lower-quality mechanical watches, or even higher-priced watches, but this would lose the mystique/romance of the original collaboration.”
While a collaboration with an established watch house seems ideal, it may result in a higher price point that could potentially exceed the budget of their current clientele. The question arises: is that the demographic they aim to attract? Alternatively, could this move be a strategic shift away from their past focus on younger consumers, distancing themselves from the “teenie-bopper” image of yesteryear? Perhaps their target audience now leans towards a more mature demographic, reminiscent of the older clientele who once frequented their iconic 12-floor NYC outpost dedicated to outdoorsmen.
In an era where high-fashion houses are revisiting the past when things were made with purpose, care, and elite craftsmanship, I’m making a humble plea to Abercrombie & Fitch to resurrect their horological division, much like Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren have done, and create a modern iteration of what many vintage collectors once considered a distant dream. This resurgence of true watchmaking could provide Abercrombie & Fitch with the opportunity to rekindle its legacy in the world of horology.
*Feature photo taken by Jeff Stein of OnTheDash.com