This is particularly fun for me, as this Timex was made in the year I was born! Yes, I was born way back in 1964. It is a finely-running Timex Marlin watch with a standard Timex #24 mechanical movement. The dial is metal, has a slight amber color. I'm never sure if this represents a kind of aging or yellowing of the "laquer" that is sometimes applied to watch dials, or this was the original look, or if these types of dials even received a coating of lacquer.
(Btw, if you'd like to see images of a modern mechanical watch from Timex, their first since 1996, see this review of the 2017 Marlin, based on a 1965 version. There is a ton of info there, including lots on the original Marlin series.)
Here is an image of the very bottom of the dial, showing the string of numbers found on most Timex watches from 1963, lasting to (?). More info on that is here. Based on this system, it is model 2014, with movement no. 24, and is from the year 1964.
The dial is nice. It's fairly simple, with non-luminous, straight metal hands (notice some oxidation or something on the hour hand.) There are number markers at 12, 3, 6, and 9, in a sort of "Art Deco" font. I know I am using that term kind of generically, and I'm sure that experts in typography would be able to define it better. If anyone knows, please let me know. At the other hours, there are simple straight marks. Painted or "pad printed" hash marks note the min/secs.
Another view of the dial showing the oxidation or other type of wear to the hour hand. Not that bad from a distance.
Just a short video, nothing too dramatic, but showing the ticking #24 movement in this Marlin. (May look better at the full Youtube page, than on this embedded video.)
Take a look at the case, pics above and below. Notice the pitting and brassing along the sides of the case, and lugs. These terms mean really the same thing, loss of the shiny chrome overlay of these chrome-plated cases, to reveal the underlying "base metal," some sort of brass. The effect and severity is exaggerated in these close-up pics, and the appearance of this watch on the wrist does not really show so much. Many Timex watches have this, of varying degrees. I think it mostly comes down to the use history. Some watches from the 1950s have nearly perfect cases, while others from the 1970s are a shambles. Worth remembering that Timex watches were inexpensive; stainless steel cases did exist back then, but if this Marlin from 1964 had a steel case it would be more expensive, and maybe not affordable for the target market. It was a trade off. You got an inexpensive watch, but this was a potential consequence.
Here is the caseback. As it states, it's made of stainless steel, and the bezel (the whole case, really) is chrome plated. It also mentions the waterproof, shock-resistant, and dustproof nature of the rugged Marlin line of watches. One could wonder why not also make the caseback out of plated metal, instead of the more expensive steel. That was done, and you'll see it in some cheap 1930s and 1940s pin-lever watches, to often disastrous results. The caseback is chronically against the front of your wrist, and over time, the chrome plate wears off from friction and abrasion of the skin vs metal. So, Timex as well as many other watchmakers used almost exclusively steel backs, even if they used the cheaper plated cases.
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This is kind of interesting. An the inside of the caseback, there is 4P64, printed in ink. This is found on most 1950s Timex watches, as well as some from the 1960s. Appears to be a factory code. Perhaps it was for their quality control purposes. The 64 is clearly meaning 1964. As far as the 4P, as much as people have tried to find out if there is any pattern to this, or to suggest which *month* in 1964 the watch was made, it seems to have been nothing of the sort, but more like some factory code that may have indicated a "batch" or maybe a certain factory or assembly process. Unless Timex kept obsessive records, I'm sure any meaning to the two codes before the date are long lost. This ink is said to be pretty "fragile," in the it might wipe off if you smudge it with your finger, or if watchmaker oil gets on it.
That's pretty much it. Couple more pics above and below. 1964 mechanical Timex Marlin running well, with some casewear and mild wear to the hands, but otherwise in pretty good condition It's as old as I am! Thanks for reading. If you want to, contact me through the website or by skipping all that nonsense and emailing me directly here.
