Anyone know the history of this Trenches watch?

[inntruderr61]

Anyone know the history of this Trenches watch? Buck sent it to me right before he passed...Thanks....

[inntruderr61]

I got your explanation about this watch on the Facebook forum...Thank you Scott!

[GeekDragon]

I have one of these. It stopped working pretty quickly.

[GI Defender]

Yes, there is a history to that watch. In the 90's when the Trenches was on AOL there were a lot of very talented folks. Chris O'Brien from Canada came up with that logo and it has been the moniker for every version of the Trenches as we continued to grow the brand. With permission, the logo was used by Rick Sollers to have hats and patches (some jackets as well) custom made for members by Koreans while Rick was stationed there. There were also stickers, pins and such as I recall, mostly we would hand them out at Conventions and get the word out about our community. Keep in mind, the Trenches was an AOL community at the time and a public forum. There were however members who (for lack of a better term) ran the forum. We were lucky enough to be in that group. Enter a member whose name escapes me (Jim something?) that had watches made without our knowledge or permission. One day, out of the blue they went up for sale on the board. When he advertised them we reached out and let him know that it was not his image to replicate, he ignored us and continued to sell them. The watches were sold for a pretty penny I believe over $30. (remember this was the 90's) and when they arrived, they worked for about a week and then ironically they all broke. To this day, I do not believe there is a working version of that watch in existence. Funny that you got it from Buck, because after he passed, Tracy contacted me and said she had his Trenches watch saying I should have it and sent it to me. She added but it didn't work and I would have to get it fixed. I thanked her and have it in my collection. LOL knowing Buck, he probably had about a dozed squirreled away. Sadly, Chris isn't active in the hobby much these days. He was a huge talent who did a lot of the artwork we still proudly use. As he left AOL, he gave Charlotte and I sole ownership of the logo. To this day we do not lend it out for any reason. Many members were taken for a lot of money for a cheap watch with our logo. Not the legacy we want to leave. Enjoy it, it is a nice keepsake from days passed. But it is a knock off item, not licensed by this forum.