“So, what was your first watch?”
Without a doubt, this is the question I get most when I meet someone and try to explain that yes, I’m a watch journalist, and yes it’s a full time job. For a while, it’s a question that I dreaded because I knew that, inevitably, my answer would be met with disappointment. My passion for watches does not have romantic backstory. It does not involve inheriting a beautiful and rare hand-wound wristwatch. It doesn’t even begin with a mechanical wristwatch. In fact, my first watch was an an inexpensive and battery-powered Flik Flak … no joke. Here’s the (slightly embarrassing) proof.
The watch was a gift from my parents, a reward which I had been promised if I received good grades in my end-of-year school report, and I remember it was a pretty big deal at the time because it marked what felt like an important accomplishment, and because it was my first grown up toy. Of course, it was anything but.
When Swatch launched Flik Flak in 1987, the company’s goal was to teach young children to learn to tell time in a fun and interesting way, while giving parents some peace of mind regarding the cost of that lesson. And it succeeded in its mission. Flik and Flak – the names of the two characters that play the hour and minute hands – had a friendly quality and made it very easy to understand how analogue displays work. Flik, the boy, was blue and pointed to the blue minute markers, while Flak, the girl, was red and pointed to the red hour markers.
Flik Flak watches were educational tools, but they were also unbelievably cool. Everyone at my school wanted one, which meant I wanted one, and there were plenty of models to choose from, meaning you could express your personality through your watch. I retired my trusty Flik-Flak a very, very long time ago (for a digital Casio calculator watch), and I forgot all about it until recently, when for no reason at all, I found myself thinking: “What are the cool kids wearing on the wrist these days?”
Which totally made me feel old.
30 Years On, What Does Flik Flak Look Like Today?
Flik Flak is still going strong, thirty years after the first models were released, but the watches have changed noticeably. But the most important innovation and the most important development, is actually quite new. In 2013, Flik Flak introduced plastic cases, which are much cheaper to manufacture. They happen to be a little lighter on the wrist (though I don’t think that’s why Swatch ditched aluminum cases) but they’re still tough. Every model spends a month in Flik Flak’s quality control lab for intensive testing before it is released, and every component is checked to make sure that it is 100% safe for children.
Flik and Flak are still present in the current collection, which is separated into three age groups, for children over three, five, and seven (with prices between $ 40 and 75$ ). The more expensive models are a lot more advanced in terms of functionality than the ones I remember. The older kids have sports watches inspired by the real thing, with bi-directional bezels, lumed hands, rubber straps and depth ratings up to 30 meters.
The watches are manufactured at ETA, one of the Swatch Group’s largest watchmaking facilities, and that is felt when handling the different components of the watch. It’s also why Flik Flak is comfortable offering a 2 year global warranty on their product, which seem incredible for a plastic watch that is guaranteed a rough life in the hands, and on the wrist, of a child. The bezel actually turns smoothly and hits the detents crisply – and no, I’m not trolling you, I tested the watch (how could I not). I was truly impressed by the build quality of a watch with such a (relatively) short life expectancy, because even if the watch is durable, past a certain age, it just isn’t cool to wear any longer.
But the most desirable Flik Flak watches are no longer the ones featuring the company’s cheeky protagonists. Today, real heroes, in the sense they are famous heroes, are gracing the dials of Swatch’s plastic watches. The company has licensing deals with some of the hottest properties, loved by kids and adults who are still kids at heart. The Spiderman, Batman, and Superman watches are super popular choices today, and probably that’s what I’d have chosen, had they been around in the 90s.
Girls have a lot of options too, with or without rotating bezels, with or without female heroines, and with or without fake diamonds – the collection isn’t without its gender stereotypes, it has to be said. It’s an important customer base for Flik Flak, who told me the boy/girl split is currently “fairly equal.”
The (Very Thin) Competition
By now, Flik Flak has established itself as the front runner in the children’s watch market, and the brand is the first that parents think about when shopping for their kid’s first watch – but the competition is getting stronger. Really, kids are spoiled for choice these days (there I go again, sounding old).
Honestly though, search for “children’s watches” on Google and you’ll find a watch for every kid out there, including digital watches, watches with Lego parts, and even smart watches for the little ones. But only one brand is truly able to compete on the scale of Flik Flak, and that’s Timex – Casio has a Youth collection aimed at children in their early teens. Curious to find out how their watches compared to modern Flik Flaks, I ordered one on Amazon.
The watch I received the next day was one that has a big disadvantage going into a head-to-head with Flik Flak, in that it has nothing going for it in the way of nostalgia – and yes, I do feel nostalgic about my childhood watch, especially after spending some time with the newer models.
The dial of the watch just isn’t as fun; some models have graphics, but those are kept to a minimum to ensure the watch is easy to read. It’s also not a Swiss watch (a trait of Flik Flak watches I like to hide behind when sheepishly defending my first wristwatch). The Timex is powered by a Japanese quartz movement (not that a child would care, nor a parent notice the difference) while other components are made in China.
However, the case of the watch is made of hard resin, which feels like it would increase the watch’s survival rate through primary school. Another major positive is the elastic band it comes on, which can be adjusted at the buckle, and is interchangeable with other straps, ironically a very mature preoccupation for a child, and a childish one that very many serious collectors enjoy later in their collecting lives. Start ’em young, they say.
I was surprisingly convinced by Timex’s more classic, less juvenile design, which is just as appropriate at the age of 5 as it is at 10. But if you caught the watch bug early, Flik Flak watches are by far the most collectible because of the range of different products. As with most things geared towards children, I suspect the choice of watch will ultimately be theirs, but I hope my review of modern Flik Flak and Timex watches will give you a better idea of what’s out there for your kids.
Through the constant development of materials, successful licensing deals, and the launch of an e-commerce platform – strategies luxury watch companies are also pursuing – Flik Flak has been able to continuously grow the brand and build on its successful foundation. But the market it uncovered back in 1987 has attracted new players and new designs for kids.
For more information, please visit the official Flik Flak and Timex websites.
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