Timex American Documents Watches
By: Michael Penate
For a while now, TBWS has been urging watch lovers everywhere to keep a close eye on Timex. Recent releases like the Mid Century and the sportier Bayman really demonstrate the brand’s commitment to attractive products that are virtually always accessibly-priced. Now, Timex is pursuing a new effort that hits closer to their roots—authentic American watchmaking. By bringing as much of the manufacturing process back to the USA, Timex has been able to produce a new line of products that stand out in their catalog while highlighting new, exciting relationships with USA-based suppliers. Here’s a quick look at the new Timex American Documents collection.
What I enjoy about the video above focuses less on specs, production, and aesthetic—but more on the idea that, despite its flaws, American identity is a patchwork. When you consider how Timex sourced the production of these watches here in the US, this idea is immediately apparent when you realize the kind of collaborative effort fueling this watch’s existence. From aviation to good, old-fashioned leatherworking, American suppliers were pulled in—without prior watchmaking knowledge—to make this vision a reality for Timex. That in itself is very exciting to me, especially since something like this hasn’t happened in decades for Timex.
The Timex American Documents collection has been debuted as a set of four watches, each with varying strap and dial color combos and 41mm cases. The references range from #001 to #004 and Timex claims that the collection will continue to grow. The crystals are “Massachusetts-made” Gorilla Glass 3 and all straps are crafted from Minnesota cowhide. The white dial #001 pictured above is my absolute favorite, but it will be interesting to see how far Timex expands the collection color-wise. We even got a black gunmetal version—the #004—pictured below. Personally, this looks like a very cool package from Timex that’s difficult to judge without experiencing it in person… we’ll get to that soon.
Timex American Documents Specs
- Case Diameter: 41mm
- Case Thickness: 10mm
- Movement: Swiss Quartz Analog (According to Timex)
- Crystal: “Massachusetts-made” Gorilla Glass 3
- Strap: Leather (20mm width)
- Water Resistance: 30m
- Price: $495
Is this the ultimate American watchmaking revival we’ve been waiting for? Probably not, but it’s certainly cool to see Timex jump on board with what brands like Orion and Weiss have been pioneering for a while. I just hope that the marketing doesn’t beat me to death and that Timex expands this idea beyond simple Calatrava-style dress watches. Overall, the package is very enticing, even if we’re looking at nearly $500 for a quartz three-hander. If recording over 100 watch podcast episodes has taught me anything, it’s that the story behind a watch is often more important than specs or value proposition—and this new collection really does have an interesting story behind it. I’ll be watching closely.
Co-Founder & Senior Editor
Michael Peñate is an American writer, photographer, and podcaster based in Seattle, Washington. His work typically focuses on the passage of time and the tools we use to connect with that very journey. From aviation to music and travel, his interests span a multitude of disciplines that often intersect with the world of watches – and the obsessive culture behind collecting them.
The watch has a great look but $500 for a swiss quartz time and date movement? You can find really good swiss quartz chronographs for a better price.
Just feels like for the price it shows just how sad the state of watch making is in America for how little you get in this watch for a substantial price of $500. No sapphire, doesn’t seem to be a screw back caseback and it has Quartz movement. All that said I don’t like dress watches but if I did I would probably buy one anyways just to support made in America, so I hope it does well so they can do other projects in the future.
Great write up. I also applaud Timex’s efforts to source American-made parts/materials and assemble these watches in the U.S. It looks to me that Timex saw what Shinola is doing with the “American-made” idea (not to mention Shinola’s sales), and decided that they could get in on the action, and even take it up a notch. I will admit I was surprised to see that these use quartz movements as I expected an automatic or mechanical one, especially for a $500 price point. But again, if they’re following the Shinola business model (with their quartz watches in the $800 range) these are priced very competitively. And I suspect an automatic/mechanical version to follow, especially if these sell well. As a legacy brand, Timex has a lot of potential in this space. I could even see the company trying to expand into a lifestyle brand (again like Shinola). It’s a handsome watch and I really like the brass caseback. Finally, I find the “Swiss Movt” copy positioned below the “Made in America” copy on the dial to be confusing and a bit of a message buzz kill. But this is a minor nit in the face of a really cool move by Timex. Well done, Timex. Well done indeed.
That video was just fantastic.!!.. What a country we are blessed with! And maybe I am a sap but I like this made-in-America angle and these watches look great. And Timex is a name that still carries weight with me.
I will follow these very carefully. I prefer automatic after a little fiasco with getting a quartz battery replaced in a watch that had sentimental value to me… But I hope Timex continues with this! If they can capture in the watches the aura in that video it will be a success…