Fossil Trench Watch LE1040 - Another Limited Edition You May Have Missed
/The Fossil Trench LE1040 watch is our next submission in the ongoing series of limited editions you may have missed. With a run of 1054 pieces and a retail price at $225 this piece most certainly blew past many collector’s radar when launched in 2015. Over the years Fossil has released several trench style watches, but this is the only “official” piece and let’s discuss.
Trench watch history is fascinating and with just a quick search online you can find photos and clubs dedicated to these earliest of watches. Trench watches are easy to spot with their steel guard cases covering the dial to protect from scratches and/or cracking. Fossil has done numerous trench style watches over the years, but this is the only one called a trench watch on the watch itself and also in the materials related to the watch – all other similar watches that Fossil has produced they’ve identified as Paratrooper starting in 1987.
See below for a quick history lesson spanning 1987 - 2009.
FUN FACT: PT nomenclature in Model number for Paratrooper in ALL Fossil early pieces.
1988 Pop-Top Paratrooper pieces PT-20 (gold case) and PT-21(silver case).
March 1991 is the last of the Paratrooper pieces – PT7420 and PT7421
More recently we saw the Paratrooper style watch brought back in 2009 with the FS4474 and FS4473. These were re-releases of previous Paratrooper watches of the 1980’s brought back in a series called REISSUES as part of Fossil’s 25th anniversary. I have both of these in my collection for the time being – both feature a 45mm case and an odd crown location for those odd lefties.
Now onto the Trench watch from 2015. Lots of great limited pieces during this age and the Trench watch certainly is an acquired taste that got a lot of mixed reviews when I posted it on Facebook a few weeks ago. I bought this in 2015 at an outlet store for much less than retail which always tells me that these weren’t popular and instead of sitting on the shelf they hit the outlet stores (remember those!)
The case comes in at 43mm, which is large, but not dinner plate large. The movement is a simple quartz movement with a large plastic spacer inside — certainly the watch looks quality and durable, but the insides not so much. I have had to send it back to Fossil twice for repairs over the years, but with something this unique and cool I don’t mind it.
What I like most about this limited edition and several other similar offerings back in the mid 2010’s is the versatility of the limited editions. Don’t like the stainless steel grill on the face? Take it off. Don’t like the leather strap, swap it out with a nylon fabric strap. The packaging of this piece has ALWAYS been on display in my Fossil cabinet because it is very elegant as compared to the fabric/canvas boxes from earlier limited editions. As far as durability, the stainless grill is worn during war times at the office and I like to joke at work that special days at work require the Trench Watch to survive corporate life and all the urgent emails and expectations.
