In 1994, Fender Custom Shop manager John Page, Fender Custom Shop Master Builder Jay Black, and Black's friend Vince Cunetto developed the first Fender Relic prototype guitars. Cunetto had established himself in building Telecaster replica bodies and Page and Black from the Custom Shop took note of his abilities. At the 1995 Winter NAMM show, Fender displayed two new Relic prototype guitars that were built by Black and Cunetto. Response from dealers was strong and Fender decided to add these guitars to their catalog; however, they decided that the Fender Custom Shop was not properly equipped to produce these guitars, so they hired Cunetto as an independent contractor to "Relic" the guitars. The first Relic guitars were introduced in 1996 with a '50s model and a '60s model and Cunetto continued to age and relic these guitars through 1998. It should be noted that Cunetto and his crew did not build, cut, or assemble any of these guitars - they simply did prep work, finishing, and distressing/aging of the guitars.
In 1999, Fender reorganized their effort and moved all production into their Custom Shop. They also introduced two new finishes/wears along with Relic: NOS and Closet Classic. Built to exacting specifications of their respective vintages, body contours and radii, neck shape, fingerboard radius, pickups, electronics and hardware. Original materials, tooling and production techniques are employed whenever possible, available in three distinct finish packages: NOS (New-Old Stock), as if the guitar was bought new in its respective year and brought forward to the present day; Closet Classic, as if guitar was bought new in its respective year, played perhaps a dozen times a year and then put carefully away (has a few slight dings, lightly checked finish, oxidized hardware and aged plastic parts) Relic, shows natural wear and tear of years of heavy use - nicks, scratches, worn finish, rusty hardware and aged plastic parts. Instruments are stamped on the headstock and into the body under the pickguard to avoid market confusion with actual vintage guitars.
In 2009, Fender discontinued the Closet Classic finish leaving only the NOS and Relic models. Fender also introduced the Classic HBS-1 Stratocaster that combines elements from both vintage and modern designs. The body, neck, and overall design are styled after a 1950s Stratocaster, but the pickups, electronics, and bridge are from modern designs.