Wristwatch by EM-Entertainment München, Merchandising, Film und Fernseh GmbH, Germany, 1991 — view 1 of 1
View 1 of 1 · Image: German Clock Museum · original image source

Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Wristwatch by EM-Entertainment München, Merchandising, Film und Fernseh GmbH, Germany, 1991

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Date
1991
Country of origin
Germany
Place
Germany
Object type
Wristwatch
Holding institution
German Clock Museum
Accession / object no.
Museu_ProvidedCHO_museum_digital_65320__technical_number_
Catalogue title (original)
Armbanduhr „Nintendo Tetris“, EM Entertainment, München, um 1991 (German)

View the source record ↗

Record summary

Held and catalogued by German Clock Museum (object number Museu_ProvidedCHO_museum_digital_65320__technical_number_), this is a wristwatch by EM-Entertainment München, Merchandising, Film und Fernseh GmbH, made in Germany, dated 1991. The Atlas places it in the Mechanical Renaissance period (1990 – 2010) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Catalogue description from German Clock Museum (German)

Wer kennt ihn nicht, den Klassiker unter den Videospielen für tragbare Konsolen: Tetris? Bei diesem Spiel werden einzelnen Bausteine zu einer lückenlosen Fläche angeordnet. Tetris war das Kultgame der 1990er Jahre. Nintendos „Game Boy“ hatte diese „Killerapplikation“ 1989 gar erst zum Durchbruch verholfen. Viele Eltern fürchteten, dass ihre Kinder von Computerspielen abhängig werden könnten. Deshalb durften viele jüngere Schüler noch keinen eigenen „Game Boy“ besitzen. Unter ihnen waren Tetris-Uhren Kult – und meist erlaubt. Denn der Suchtfaktor nur eines Spieles konnte doch nicht so groß sein Auch der Besitzer dieser Uhr war gerade einmal sechs Jahre alt, als er sie 1991 geschenkt bekam. Seine Leidenschaft für das Spiel ist bis heute sichtbar: Die Zahnspuren am Armband zeigen, wie wahrlich „verbissen“ er damals gespielt hat. (Deutsches Uhrenmuseum Furtwangen)

Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

Historical context

Mechanical Renaissance (1990 – 2010)

Mechanical watches return as cultural objects; independent watchmaking flourishes.

Mechanical watches returned as cultural and luxury objects. Complications, tourbillons and new materials proliferated; independent watchmakers such as George Daniels, F.P. Journe and Philippe Dufour revived artisanal watchmaking; collecting vintage watches became a major field.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Quartz Revolution

Atlas type guide

Wristwatches

Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.

After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.

What to look for

  • The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
  • The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
  • Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
  • Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.

Dating clues

  • Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
  • Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
  • Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

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