Untitled Page

It's time for Sonic!
With Sonic the Hedgehog themed watches of the USA. There were so many watches, that they had to get their own page away from accessories to keep them sorted. The watch page can have both vintage and new time pieces. But, if it goes on your wrist & is Sonic themed, you can see it here. (And if you don't...you can send in photos)

Sonic Gear Main Merchandise Page * Sonic Watches Page 1 * Sonic Watches Page 2 *

A new store begins selling Sonic items where there were none before: 5 Below
The 5 Below store is like a 'dollar' store but it is all items 5 dollars and under. It gets things sometimes that are unique to it, and others where it didn't sell well in other stores. So, it ends up as kind of a clearing place sometimes.
This watch could be either, but it's only ever been seen there. It is an "LED" watch which means you can't see the time until you push the button. (So then really what's the point--watches' entire PURPOSE is to be literally 'at a glance' and this spoils it, but...) the numbers light up in red when you push the button on the side.

However it seems to flicker somehow? And this makes it impossible for the camera to catch. There's full color leaping modern Sonic and rings on the band. It has a metal buckle and the band is the usual plastic. The watch itself does not have any Sonic features, so once it is de-carded it's just the band. The symbol & logo seem to be part of the face-protector sticker.
Being at 5 Below, this is naturally 5 dollars. BUT you SHOULD test it in the store! This particular one didn't work (half a number did not light up ever) so it had to be returned. It does not have a quality feel, either and is quite a simple thing.

Now here's something you DONT want to see!
A bad break caused by...
An item that's actually defective. This is a Sonic watch (probably a Walmart one--judging by the band, you can see another on page 2 that uses this band style) where the crystal (glass that goes over the face) has shattered and obviously let shards out onto whoever had it.
The face art had Sonic & Tails, probably neoclassic art, with black numbers & a blue ring for the seconds. But...notice how this was one of those lidded watches.

AND notice that the lid hinge is spring-loaded. The lid-topper had some kind of a spinner or a fidget spinning device but because it was either really bad quality OR badly assembled, using it AS INTENDED (spinning the spinner) has apparently unwound that screw in the center. Then, when snapping the lid shut with the spring loaded hinge...it drove the pointy screw directly into the center of the crystal, shattering it and ruining the watch for good because the pin that holds the hands was also directly under that and now it's wrecked too.
This whole thing is especially bad news because it's pretty much little kids who want wacky gimmick watches with lights or spinners or lids like this and nobody wants teeny tiny glass all over the place. Hopefully whoever this was got their money back because it is a very unfair product. What did it look like when it was normal & closed?

Here comes the 'Sonic Spinner Watch' again in 2021...
You'll recognize this from the previous page, as it is exactly the same watch...now re-packed away from WalMart (who had it first), and headed into Target in winter 2021. The packaging is a plastic hang card, which is a downgrade from the box/presentation Walmart had so it's extra surprising that...
They raised the price! This is now 18 or 19 where Walmart had it around 15. So, a worse package and a higher price...not quite a good look for Target. The whole 'a repackaged thing', isn't common....especially between two competing big retailers like this, so it is unusual to see. Hmm.

This old watch is a bit mysterious.
It may have been originally a Japan item, or even supposed to be a Japan Only item, but it seems that some Sega company officials, or maybe executives or even people within the company who won some sort of prize could have ended up with this watch as well. Special edition or within-company-items like this were sometimes shared overseas, especially in that era.
Notice that this watch is unlike all others on these pages. It is specifically designed to be a watch for adults / grownups and is not of the 'sport' variety. It has a steel chain and clasp band, and a steel body. The bezel edge is gold-tone with ridges. The face has lines instead of numbers & is analog. It tells you the date in the little window. (Aside: How did this work week by week & month by month?) The watch face has been custom-done for Sega, with full color Sonic & Tails back to back, using the Japanese art (So Tails looks good/normal) It also has the Sega logo in its font, with '92, so you know when it was released.

Being a company-only thing, this is by default uncommon. It is interesting to see.

This appears to be a re-packaging of the Interactive Watch from over on electronics. It seems to have the same functions. This is a 'smart watch', but on the cheap, because it is for kids. There's modern Sonic in a running pose & several rings on the blue plastic band. The watch itself is the usual rectangle 'phone screen' type face of a smartwatch. It can: tell the time, be a stop watch, record sound clip, calculator, record short videos, take photos and be a fitness tracker. You can also do games on it (What games? Sonic games?) and change the 'wallpaper' among several pre-loaded things. The dot-sticker says how you don't have to connect it to anything to get it to work. (Good) The camera is in the top, and it is a touch-screen device.

How well does it work? ARE the games something Sonic? How do you push calculator buttons when it is that small? It is 24.99 at Target, which is...really low for an actual smart watch. You can write in for credit if you have this and can tell how it works. This is a spring 2021 item.

This is a JAPAN and USA release...but mostly Japan.
Watch importers in the usa will be sure to get a hold of it though, so it may be considered for both areas. It maybe also should be considered for 'high end' gear, and will also likely be an uncommon item.
This is a Seiko watch that's being made for Sonic's 30th Anniversary. It is an analog all metal watch with metal band. There will only be 3,000 of it made and each one costs 450 dollars. There are lots of nice details though. The green border of seconds-markers is sliiiiightly 'green hill' checkered. The face is a metallic version of Sonic-blue color. The tiny timer circle thing at the top has the winged-ring with ribbon banner from the title screen, there are rings for the number markers between the main ones, and of course, Sonic (classic) is shown as a pixel-sprite running on the edge near the 4. Then, did you notice? The non-pointer-end of the second-hand has a little star on it for good measure. There is a square hole for the date & 2 other dials to do something also. So, it has plenty of watch features.

This will be released in August 2021, but because it is a higher-end item, watch e-news outlets have started covering it early due to it's liklihood of being pretty-darn collectible. A good, higher-end Sonic item with a solid but tidy look. Hopefully any fan with a bunch of money can get one of these as Seiko has done a good job here making something classically styled while including lots of fun detail at the same time.

Target adds a Sonic LED Watch in winter 2022.
However, this seems to be one of those super duper exra cheap-o 'kiddie' type watches. The face is always dark (as you can see the square there) with no branding on it (the logo & face are a sticker you have to peel). When you press the side button, it lights up the numbers breifly with red LEDs.
This defeats the purpose of having a watch--which is to know the time in 1 glance at a wrist. Not lift wrist, free up other hand, push button and wait.
The band is decent though! It stars Tails (modern) waving at the top and jumping Sonic is at the bottom. The band is rubber/plastic with metal clasp and checkered tip. The card is 30th Anniversary branded, and it should be about 9.99 at Target

Yet another watch for Target in 2022?
Seems so, with this, another kids LED watch, this time with "figure 8 running Sonic' as the band design. It has strips of light and dark blue & the same Sonic art repeated along the band.
Sadly, the face is that cheap feeling light-weight plastic square with the red numbers that don't stay lit. To see the time, you have to push a button on the side, then it will flicker the time for a few seconds. The face has the logo at the top and a face at the bottom, which is an ok effort at keeping the whole thing Sonic designed. It's only about 9.99, just like the other one before it.

Any Fleetway Sonic the Comic England fans in the house?
Don't let the name of this watch throw you for a loop then...This is the "Metallix Rotating LED Lights Sonic Watch". Another 'kiddie watch', but this one has a more quality band. It's thick textured rubber and features raised yellow rings along the darul blue band. The face has classic running Sonic on a blue/stripes background. The actual watch part is that usual tiny rectangle to show only the time, not even AM or PM. In this case the rectangle hides his legs. It's that old LCD matter at a tiny size so it can be as inexpensive as possible.
The gimmick here is in the rim (near the bezel). You can see that dark ring there: when you push one of the shoulder buttons of the watch LED lights inside light up in a 'spinning' pattern. This uses the battery faster, but little kids like effects.

Metallix: This seems to be the company that got the license...but it is also well-known to be bad guys in the Fleetway Sonic comics. The 2 things have nothing to do with each other, it's just an interesting coincidence.

Here is a bit of a better look at the Sonic & Knuckles watch from page 2. Here, you can see that the strap keeper thing is yellow, and how the dial gimmick looks at a different position.
The Sonic & Knuckles character icons are on a clear plastic disk that ticks along with the watch. The second hand is likely the one with the ring on it so the ring can tick around also. Notice it's hard to see it in this photo.
This is a 1994 item. Photo and owned by Richard Dorkings

Here are 4 watches made in 1991, all based on the same model. Can you spot the various differences, though? The only one without tiny numbers around the border is also the only one without a metal buckle piece. Only one of them has white Sega logo accents, and all of them have the same holes/strap blue part. Each one is quite classic, with primary colors and simple hands.
The first has finger waving Sonic, then running profile (But its the Japan art), the third is a bust with

finger waving Sonic and the last one is pretty much the same as the first...but here the tiny numbers ring is yellow instead of white and it's border is white instead of blue. Photo and owned by Richard Dorkings

Another watch, another gimmick it seems and...
This is the "Watch Survival Strap Set". What's a survival strap? In this case, it's a tidily woven blue and black paracord, with a small compass attached to the squeeze/snap buckle. (In a 'survival camping' type situation, you're supposed to unravel the woven paracord and be able to use this good/tough string type stuff for various purposes)
The watch is another of those 'tiny numbers in a little hole' lcd cheap screen type ones that they're always pushing in the kids area. This has jumping twist modern Sonic for most of the face (hole is in the leg area for the time) a wide edge wtih orange buttons, and decorated plastic strap. The strap has character portraits for Sonic & Eggman, with geometric lines. As this is a 2 item set, it is 20 dollars.
This is a Fall 2023 Walmart item.