It?s no secret that watch brands have been using the power of nostalgia to sell us stuff for years. In fact, not only is it not a secret, it?s basically what much of the watch industry is built on. Release after release, we see throwbacks to time periods that many eventual buyers can?t possibly remember. Such is the power of nostalgia. If you don?t personally remember the so-called golden ages of diving, aviation, motorsport, or any of the other old-fashioned activities that brand build entire product lines around, Fossil has just introduced a watch that aims squarely at the 90s kids. Yes, the slap bracelet watch is here. 

It kind of feels like this is an idea that?s been joked about or discussed in one form or another for quite some time, but to my knowledge this execution by Fossil is the first time we?ve seen that old school slap bracelet incorporated into a watch. Slap bracelets, for those who either don?t recall or are simply of another generation, were quite the fad in the early 90s. Invented by a Wisconsin teacher in the early 80s, the bracelets were made from a thin layer of steel spring, and wrapped in various fabrics or a plastic material. When ?slapped? against the wrist, they would immediately conform to your wrist?s natural shape. Unfortunately, cheap versions of the slap bracelet used thin layers of steel that could cut right through the fabric, which naturally posed a safety concern. Once it was determined that kids could pretty easily cut themselv...