Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Wristwatch, Japan, 1990
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- 1990
- Historical period
- Mechanical Renaissance (1990 – 2010)
- Country of origin
- Japan
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Holding institution
- Blekinge Museum
- Accession / object no.
- blm_item_25849
- Catalogue title (original)
- Wristwatches (English)
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Blekinge Museum (object number blm_item_25849), this is a wristwatch, made in Japan, dated 1990. 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 Blekinge Museum (English)
Wristwatch in ash. Around steel with four steering wheels and marking 0-60. Yellow dial with red numbering. Three black sages, hour and minute sages with luminescent function. Text in black on the dial: “GUL Quartz Japan mov 't.” Around the yellow dial there is a black ring with markings in white. Below the dial is a rectangular box for digital time indication. Below the box is the text: “Water resist.” Bracelet in black travel year with Velcro. On the bracelet a black rubber plate with text in orange: “YELLOW.” Uret is in a square cardboard box with text in burgundy: “GUL impact chrome.” In the ashes there is proof of warranty and instruction booklet. GUL is a Swedish company founded in 1967 as a manufacturer of wetsuits. The first watch collection came in 1987. The bells are sporty and durable. In the 1990s, the watches became very popular among young people in Sweden with their cheerful neon colored dials and bracelets. The clock could be varied by a new bracelet in a different color. The bell has belonged to Christine Klar, born in 1986, Karlskrona. Purchased sometime during the 1990s. Donated 2010 by Christine Klar, Lköpping.
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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