CAT Watches

Was looking around to see if there were any new watch companies, and found that
Caterpillar was launching it's own line of watches.

"We are fortunate to have a strong brand which we can license beyond the core
products and services. By licensing the essence and lifestyle of Caterpillar, the
company has been able to successfully transfer it's image to licensed merchandise,
allowing the company to reach a whole new audience for the brand."

Right now there are five collections to choose from. They are Statement, Active
Steel, Yellow Steel, Urban Steel, along with CAT Racing. There are a variety of
watches in each of the collections that have everything from stainless steel cases
to polycarbonate ones. Case sizes range from 42.5 mm to 50mm, and the hands,
along with indexes use a material called Super Light for the illumination. Not 100%
sure about what movements are used, but one of the watches the Shockmaster
says it uses a Swiss movement which may be a quartz. The watches all look very
sporty, as well as tough, and come on stainless steel bracelets, silicone straps,
and even different nylon straps. Here is their link if you would like to take a look..

http://www.catwatches.com/en/

wonder how these came about from a construction equipment builder? Maybe the construction workers had a say! Couldn't find anything about movements???????????????

Some are not too bad looking, only one said swiss movement. i would think they are all quartz, would be o.k. for a beater watch. never found a price on any of them.

I ran across this brand way back in 2004?...a forum member in Australia bought one and it was rather Kool. Now looking at all the models, it kinda dilutes the rare factor haha! I think back then the watch had a Miyota quartz movement.

Northwestguy wrote:

wonder how these came about from a construction equipment builder? Maybe the construction workers had a say! Couldn't find anything about movements???????????????

Good point John. Looks like maybe there could be some real watch fans within Caterpillar.
So maybe that could be a reason, along with them wanting to "reach a whole new audience
for the brand." ..Also couldn't find much with the movements either. One said it was a Swiss
movement though, and the others might be various quartz movements like Thian said.

Steve, definitely some cool looks , and those movements you mention probably allow the
watches to be very durable, taking on the role of beater like you said, or just everyday
nice watch. P.S. I couldn't find anything about the prices either. I'll have to look around
to see if I can find more info.

Wow, Thian that is neat how you heard of them way back in 2004. Honestly had never
seen their watches before this. They seem like some really nice watches with some different
looking cases, and dials. Those movements you are mentioning sound like the perfect fit also.

Thanks very much for your opinions everyone !

Just found a little extra info on the prices. Seems like they range from around $150 to $525.
With most models being somewhere in between. Here is the link..

http://shopping.yahoo.com/watches/caterpillar--brand/

thanks for finding some prices. I had looked but nothing showed up.
The lower end price range would be a good deal IMO. Not to let those prices fool anyone into thinking they are cheap....IMO, they are solidly made watches with some current stylings ( the B&R square for instance).

thianwong wrote:

thanks for finding some prices. I had looked but nothing showed up.
The lower end price range would be a good deal IMO. Not to let those prices fool anyone into thinking they are cheap....IMO, they are solidly made watches with some current stylings ( the B&R square for instance).

You're very welcome sir. Think you are right about the lower end price range models
being good deals. The watches look a little different than other watches, and could be
a good option for people looking to have a different kind of durable watch.

Budabear wrote:

Definitely another good find

Pretty cool right ?!

Back in the mid-Seventies I was a loading dock operator at a potash mine near Carlsbad, NM.

Among other machinery, we had three CAT-950 front-end loaders, which I operated on a regular basis.

They were very hardy machines, to be sure. In fact, I would compare them to F1 cars, compared to anything the competition had to offer at the time.

The machines were fast with four gears in both forward and reverse. Their agility was enhanced by the chassis being articulated and they hydraulics being extremely responsive, once you got the knack.

They were a ball to operate and we drove them like race machines to keep up with the feed-belts that ran 5 tons a minute, while our buckets held about three tons of potash.

Running out of feed during a loading operation was not an option.

So, if these watches are anything at all like the heavy equipment CAT produced in those days, they are tough, if nothing else.

However, I'm always a little skeptical of products that are licensed by companies that are not in the business of producing the licensed items.

I would hope that CAT only puts their name on quality products, however.

GradyPhilpott wrote:

Back in the mid-Seventies I was a loading dock operator at a potash mine near Carlsbad, NM.

Among other machinery, we had three CAT-950 front-end loaders, which I operated on a regular basis.

They were very hardy machines, to be sure. In fact, I would compare them to F1 cars, compared to anything the competition had to offer at the time.

The machines were fast with four gears in both forward and reverse. Their agility was enhanced by the chassis being articulated and they hydraulics being extremely responsive, once you got the knack.

They were a ball to operate and we drove them like race machines to keep up with the feed-belts that ran 5 tons a minute, while our buckets held about three tons of potash.

Running out of feed during a loading operation was not an option.

So, if these watches are anything at all like the heavy equipment CAT produced in those days, they are tough, if nothing else.

However, I'm always a little skeptical of products that are licensed by companies that are not in the business of producing the licensed items.

I would hope that CAT only puts their name on quality products, however.

VERY VERY cool GP ! ..I hope these watches really do live up to those machines you are
talking about sir. Thanks for giving us this TERRIFIC information about them. Really appreciate
it !

Well, when I first saw one from a Seiko forumer in Australia, it looked good! Had a Japanese Miyota mvt and was designed yellow. Accuracy was good, build quality looked solid. But in those days, WISs tended to rather snobbish and poo pooed anything not a 'real watch brand'.

Now things have changed and micro-brands are the trend! I think the CAT watches are no less sturdy etc. than others, since they are likely made in China (casing and bracelet) as are many watches, due to lower cost.

Look at this ARTRON, won in our AWF forum contest. Check out the price tag! These were sold in Canada at stores like the Walmart company. The bracelet is crap, but the Chinese auto/handwinder movement is deadly accurate and keeps time with my ETAs and Seikos!!! This is not to say the build quality is equal to the Seikos, for example or even this CAT watches. But, there are lots of 'diamond-in-the-rough smaller branded watches which are excellent value.


Artron in hand by thianwong1, on Flickr

thianwong wrote:

Well, when I first saw one from a Seiko forumer in Australia, it looked good! Had a Japanese Miyota mvt and was designed yellow. Accuracy was good, build quality looked solid. But in those days, WISs tended to rather snobbish and poo pooed anything not a 'real watch brand'.

Now things have changed and micro-brands are the trend! I think the CAT watches are no less sturdy etc. than others, since they are likely made in China (casing and bracelet) as are many watches, due to lower cost.

Look at this ARTRON, won in our AWF forum contest. Check out the price tag! These were sold in Canada at stores like the Walmart company. The bracelet is crap, but the Chinese auto/handwinder movement is deadly accurate and keeps time with my ETAs and Seikos!!! This is not to say the build quality is equal to the Seikos, for example or even this CAT watches. But, there are lots of 'diamond-in-the-rough smaller branded watches which are excellent value.


Artron in hand by thianwong1, on Flickr

Great stuff Thian ! Thanks alot !!! You make some really good points with this, and by the
way, this Artron looks pretty impressive for such a reasonable price like that. You could wear
that one anytime, or anywhere, keep great time, look good, and not have to worry if you got
a few dings on it either. Thanks again for your opinions, along with all of the info, and pics.