While researching watches in a completely unrelated context, I randomly wondered: What was the first ever officially licensed Star Wars watch? I was already sitting waist-deep in historical sources, so it didn’t take long to identify a strong candidate.
Issue #107 of Europa Star Europe from 1978 featured an ad by Bradley Time that showcased their new models for the then-upcoming spring fairs. Alongside three Mickey Mouse pieces sat “the official Star Wars watch“, complete with “© 1977 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation” in the description. C-3PO, R2-D2, and the Star Wars logo featured on the dial of the analog quartz timepiece, although the small black and white images didn’t give away much detail beyond that.
The same watch made another appearance in the very next issue. In this instance, it was included in a slightly larger selection of Bradley Time products from that year’s Basel fair, the largest global watch industry trade show at the time. It was again a black and white ad.
At that point, the contemporary sources dried up so I switched to searching for online listings on the secondary market. Now in both full color and high resolution, I could see that the backdrop behind our two favorite droids can probably be best described as an exceptionally starry night on Tatooine. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that some even included its original presentation box. Nearly all listings indicate 1977 as the year of production.
As a bonus find, I also ran across another Star Wars-themed Bradley Time watch with Darth Vader in his classic 1977 promotional pose on a grey background. The Star Wars logo and the name “Darth Vader” also appear on the dial, and the release date on some listings also point to 1977. I initially assumed it was the same model with a different character, until I realized this one was powered by a manual wind Swiss mechanical movement. Wow.
So were either of these the first? It’s impossible to say for sure without actually digging into Lucasfilm records, but surely well within the realm of possibility.
As it turns out, this wouldn’t be the end for Bradley Time and Star Wars. A bit more browsing revealed additional collections for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, including both analog and digital models. Of course, with release dates being no earlier than 1980 and 1983, we are now straying away from the original question.