Abercrombie & Fitch was founded in 1892 by David T. Abercrombie and had two locations, one in Chicago and one in a small waterfront shop in lower Manhattan. In 1900 Ezra Fitch became partner. Their mutual love of the outdoors formed the company’s vision to produce top-quality gear for numerous outdoor sports, such as fishing, racing, and hunting.
Abercrombie & Fitch carried everything that any sportsman would ever need. On his first visit to the United States, at age 23, Jack Heuer worked as an apprentice at Abercrombie & Fitch’s New York City store, working as a salesman—in the watch department, of course. From the late 1940s, Heuer produced robust waterproof watches with interesting complications for Abercrombie. The Heuer chronograph watches for Abercrombie & Fitch appealed to fisherman and racers becoming some of the most popular and useful watches in sport. In addition to the chronographs, Heuer also manufactured watches with special features, such as an alarm or indication of a second time-zone for Abercrombie & Fitch. Some of the most iconic names in Heuer history—Seafarer, Mareographe and Solunar—come from Abercrombie & Fitch.
In the 1950s, the company designed and manufactured one timepiece with a three-register chronograph with the tides indicator taking the place of the sub dial at 9 o’clock: the Seafarer. The case was like the Carrera ones and the movement was the caliber Valjoux 72 base. The Seafarer was taken out of production around 1970 making it increasingly rare to find.
