In June, a £200 watch sold out in five minutes. This is nothing new for luxury watch brands that like to dabble in hype economy – high-end manufacturers doing low-cost collabs, “signature” watches for celebs, etc – but for a “cheap” brand such as Timex to do it feels important.
The Sun and Moon watch looks a little bit like a Cartier Tank Chinoise. The result of Timex teaming up with zany New York clothing brand Noah, it features a 37 x 25mm rectangular case, quartz movement with AM/PM indicator (the sun and moon bit), and a black leather strap with a -crocodile-skin pattern.
“Noah and Timex have quite a bit in common,” explains Brendon Babenzien, co-founder of Noah and formerly of Supreme. “Most importantly, I believe Timex and Noah share the goal of making great products that are practical but not boring.”
Timex has been doing exactly that for 170 years. The brand quietly makes watches that look good, tell the time, and barely dent the bank (the cheapest Timex is a £40 tool watch on a fabric strap). But over the past few years, it has turned up the cool factor – emerging as a watchmaker that offers genuine style for less than £200.
“The beauty of Timex is that it’s a watch for everyone,” says Todd Snyder, founder of the eponymous clothing brand, and a -long-time Timex collaborator. “For 170 years, Timex has democratised time with high-quality, thoughtfully designed timepieces that combine heritage and modern innovation.”
Snyder is known for his preppy Americana workwear, and the Timex watches he brought to the US market – kicking off in 2016 with a reimagined classic Waterbury Chronograph for the runway – have been hugely successful. “I have always been drawn to collaborating with best-in-class American heritage brands that share an obsessive attention to design, craftsmanship, and quality,” says Snyder.
As well as still working with Snyder, Timex has branched out with its collaborations over the past few years: NN.07, Adsum, Adidas Originals, Finisterre, and Nigel Cabourn (the Survival Watch is my everyday beater) to name a few. A Timex collab has become a badge of honour for cool menswear brands, and in turn, it is cool to wear a Timex – not because someone might from a distance mistake it for a Daytona or Universal Genève, but because they’re cool all by themselves.
The driving force of Timex’s golden age are what it calls the Reissues, which demonstrate the sheer breadth and all-American madness of its archive. Highlights include the Q – a 1979 sports watch with a two-tone bezel and integrated strap – and the Marlin, a 1960s dress watch forever destined for Don Draper’s wrist. In August, Timex dropped a reissue of the 1975 Enigma, replete with ‘mystery’ indices-less dial and 37mm steel tonneau case. Only £180, it looks like something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
It seems mad that these watches just keep rolling out of the Timex factory without the fanfare they deserve. OK, they’re not handmade (parts are produced and shipped from factories dotted across the planet), but which other watchmaker is able to delve into a 170-year-old archive, pull out a killer design, update it, and sell it for less than £200? Which other brand even wants to?
Some succour can be found in the Noah collab selling out. The massive demand led to a second drop, which also sold out immediately. So now, if you want one, you have to drop the best part of a grand on StockX. Proof that great watches aren’t necessarily defined by precious metals or proprietary movements... but vibes.
A version of this story originally appeared in the December/January 2024 watch supplement issue of GQ with the title “”
Set design by Alfie Di Trolio
