Timex "Blackout" Marlin, July 2018
A new version of the 2017 reissue, with a black dial and a hacking mechanical movement.
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All photos taken by myself. Hi, this is Alan. (Info: email, website). Thanks for reading. Here is a new wristwatch from Timex, issued around July 2, 2018. At the time of this writing (Friday the 13th of July, 2018) it is only available exclusively from Todd Snyder New York.
The watch is a modified version of the first mechanical watch from Timex in decades, the Fall 2017 reissue of a 1965 Timex Marlin. Here is my review of that Marlin, a brilliant watch, very faithfully crafted. That reissue was very well-received, sold out everywhere, underwent another production round, sold out again, etc. I'll keep this review shorter than the review of the "original" reissue, and focus on the features that distinguish the two, with maybe some repetition of some of the key features; if you do want to learn a lot more about the Marlin reissue, I really suggest you see at some point that earlier review.
The hands and dial have reversed appearance, compared to the original reissue. Instead of a silvery-champaign looking, the Blackout Marlin has a deeply grey dial, almost black, with the same textured nature as on the original (hard to photograph well.) The hands are silver color, instead of the black hands of the original.
This is a nice touch. It is the "code string" that was found along the bottom edge of the dial, in the original 1965 Marlin. It is totally unnecessary, but was included, because the people who designed this watch really rock. Purely for historical completeness, it indicates model 2024, movement M24, and year of production 1965. (The actual model number of the 2018 reissue is TW2T18200). These numbers are very small, and this was very hard to photograph in focus.
One great thing about the Timex "Blackout" Marlin watch, to me, is that this watch never existed. Not in 1965. Not ever. Not until it was made in 2018, as a modification of the earlier reissue. Many Marlin models were made, since the model began in the approximate mid 1950s, but they were virtually all some kind of "white" or "offwhite" color in the 1950s and 1960s. There were occasional black dial and charcoal-grey dial Timex watches during the 1960s, and even more rare examples in the 1950s, but they were mostly Self-Wind, Viscount, etc, never Marlin. This could be seen as a more "dressy" or "sophisticated" riff on the first reprint. (Although today I wore it with to the diner around the corner, to get my oatmeal and coffee, wearing navy blue corduroy shorts from from American Apparel, and a red Wagamama t-shirt, so there's that too.
The caseback is kind of fun. I love how it says HAND WINDING MOVEMENT. The originals from the 1960s and 1950s never said this, because back then hand-winding was of course the default. It's nice how they engraved that; shows how proud they are of their new mechanical watches, that they wish to highlight this someplace on the watch. CIRCA 2018 is fun, or even funny, because it is very clearly 2018 when the watch was manufactured (July 2018, specifically, as designated by 54 code on the back.)
While I have opened neither of these watches, it is clear that the both use a hacking movement (the seconds hand stops, and indeed the entire running of the watch stops while the crown is pulled out, and resumes once it is pushed back in.) This allows for more precise setting of the time, as it allows you set the time correctly, to the second. This hacking feature is one found more commonly in higher grade mechanical movements, though I don't think anyone believes this movement to be necessarily high grade.
Black leather strap signed TIMEX on its undersurface appears identical to the strap supplied with the original reissue. The crystal is acrylic, and has a dome shape.
Steel buckle on the strap is signed TIMEX. The case of the watch is also steel; this is an upgrade to the 1965 version, which was chrome-plated base metal.
Haha, what? This is kind of ridiculous, but also fun. Ridiculous usually is fun. But this watch of course does not exist, pure fantasy. Purple is my favorite color, and although I doubt this watch could ever really sell, I can have my fantasy, right. (This is the only watch image on this page that is not mine, taken I think from the Todd Snyder sales page for this watch, and modified using the "hue" setting on my graphics editor.)
This is a really lovely watch. I am a big fan of the original 2017 Marlin Reissue, and I'm not surprised that I like this one a lot. I wasn't expecting this watch at all, but it seemed to suddenly drop in very early July, 2018, and I thought wow, I'd like that! (There is another mechanical Timex in the works, a reissue of a 1960s "AUTOMATIC" model, to be released sometime in the Fall of 2018, with a few partial "teaser" type pictures, like this one.)
All in all, a favorable review. Timex Marlin Blackout with a hacking mechanical movement, and a reversal of the dial / hands appearance of the earlier 2017 Marlin reissue.
Thank you for reading this review. I hope you will like it.
Alan
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Here are some actual Marlins, each a black/white inverse of each other. Extremely rare.
