WESTCLOX "Johnny Zero Air Force Pocket Watch," 1960s
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Hi this is Alan. Thanks for reading. Contact info is below.
Here is a 1960s pocket watch for kids called "Johnny Zero Air Force," from WESTCLOX. It was part of a series of 6 different Johnny Zero pocket watches, also including "sport, secret agent, combat, frontier and cycling." (Pictures of these watches will also be shown below)
Notice the watch has a red seconds hand, a black minute hand, and instead of an our hand, an hour disk.
You can see the disc lists four time zones across the Americas (Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific) along with two in Europe (London, Rome,) and one in Asia (Tokyo).
In the pic above, the way it is set, if you are living in New York and it is still morning, then it is 11:10 am for you. It will be 8:10 am in Palo Alto, California, 4:10 pm in London (just in time for tea) and 1:10 am the next day, in Tokyo.
Here are some instructions. It lists London, Rome and Tokyo as "three major cities of the world."
If you look at the disc, there are two available city spaces between Pacific and Rome. Above is the map of the world (Mercator projection) between Tokyo and Rome. Many cities. They could have included Athens or Beirut, 1 hour ahead of Rome, and Zanzibar or Istanbul, 2 hours ahead of Rome. Or the other gap, between London and Tokyo, they could worked backwards from Tokyo, and included, say, Manila or Shanghai, 1 hour ahead of Tokyo, and Jakarta or Hobart, 2 hours ahead of Tokyo. Or any of many different options, these are just some I listed. (Also, they could have also put in Halifax or "Atlantic" one hour ahead of Eastern, there is one space there.)
Wait, I just notice now after writing all this, the WESTCLOX name is printed on the disc between Pacific and Rome. Every watch company puts their name on the dial, understandable, and there does not really seem to be any other good place to put it, other on the disc. Still, as they chose to put it between Pacific and Rome, there is still space two hours prior to Tokyo. Alternatively if they put WESTCLOX between London and Tokyo, that would open up two time zones between Rome and Pacific. Either way, I see three potential time zones and/or cities that could have been included.
Here are four of the six Johnny Zero watches that were available. Mine, the Air Force one, is in the upper left. You can see it has a vinyl case that I found cumbersome and limiting, so I removed the watch. More better pics below of the different Zeros.
So, lets' get back to the watch He's a closer look at the dial, hands, disc. The outer dial is dark grey, not quite black. The numerals and nour markers are a pale green, non luminous. Nice red seconds hand, ad a black minute hand. The central hour disc is metal, probably aluminum, the black ink printed time zones and cities. The disc elevates above dial, but does not look like more than 1 mm.
Here is the inexpensive, no-jewel movement The black band across the center is a tension spring. When the caseback is on, it creates tension, wanting to press the movement forward toward the crystal, so nothing rattles around. No fancy finishes or decorations.
Like the two other WESTCLOX pocket watches I own, the ticking is really loud. (But I don't mind, and actually like it). It has been explained to me that zero-jewel movements will need a higher-power mainspring to power through a "less smooth" movement, compared to a jeweled one. As a consequence, the ticks are just louder, as the system is just more "tense" from the strong mainspring, resulting in louder clicks and ticks.
Here is a closeup of the mainspring.
Closeup of the balance.
Johnny Zero would probably would not approve, but I have taken the watch out of its stiff and cheap vinyl pouch and have attached an old work lanyard to the loop. Seems to work.
More Johnny Zeros!
I only own the Air Force Johnny Zero, so all these other pics were from the webz. Above is the "Combat" JZ, in a green vinyl snap pouch that clips to your belt. 1-12 and 13-24, so Combat Johnny can track military time, bright green dial numerals against a black dial for good contrast, luminous marks on hands and dial for special nighttime ops. Below, part of the box.
"SHIELDED CASE FOR COMBAT CONDITIONS!"
BTW, was there ever a real Johnny Zero? I searched and found this 1943 song by the Song Spinners. I then searched further and there was a guy named John D. Foley, who apparently wasn't good in school, so kids would say "Johnny got a zero," when he failed a test (other kids can be such shit-heads). He went on to serve in WWII, and it was based on wartime events he was involved with that the song was written. More at Wikipedia.
I cannot be not 100% certain that WESTCLOX named the watch after John D. Foley, aka Johnny Zero, but it seems very likely.
I like things with ZERO in the name.
Johnny Zero was also into cycling. Here is the cycle watch, which seems to have a stopwatch feature. Dial looks very technical. METAL CRADLE CLAMPS ONTO HANDLEBARS. !! I love the black center, the white outer, the red, the black, all the contrasts. I LOVE THE CLAMP.
Here is the SECRET AGENT watch. Like my Air Force JZ, it has a central disc with time zones and cities for hour hand (same zones & cities as Air Force,) but also has each minute/second marked at the dial edge (better seen below). It also appears to have a stopwatch button feature that mine also does not have. Unlike the black minute hand, this one is greenish. I wonder if it is luminous.
The JZ Secret Agent also has MICRO LENS and MICRO MAP.
TELL TIME THE SECRET AGENT WAY
Here from the Johnny Zero promo sheet, my Air Force watch. Since John D. Foley was in the Air Force, I believe this of all the Johnny Zeros is the most authentic.
The PRO-SPORT Johnny Zero looks very similar to the cycling one, and also has a stopwatch button.
Johnny Zero was also a FRONTIERSMAN. This overly beige watch and plastic case has stagecoach logo on the dial and "Wild West" lettering for the numerals.
Seems like the retailer could buy them in two types of displays. Above, with four of the watches (Sport, Air Force, Combat, Frontier) or below with two of the watches (Cycle, Secret Agent.)
All retailed for $7.98, except for the Secret Agent, which retailed for $9.98, probably because of the lens and map.
WESTCLOX JOHNNY ZERO AIR FORCE POCKET WATCH 1960S
Thanks for reading.
I hope you will like it.
Alan
Contact
Website: Alan's Vintage Watches
