Timex x Nigel Cabourn Naval Officers Watch
Watch dial inspired by a 1940s H.S.3 Royal Navy Deck Watch by Zenith
Hi, this is Alan. Thanks for reading. My contact info is at the bottom. Here is another nice watch resulting from a collaboration between Timex and the English designer Nigel Cabourn. It's the fourth watch from this ongoing collaboration, which began with the Nam Watch, and the third with a 36 mm fixed-lug steel case.
Like all of the previous Cabourn Timex collaborations (here are watch 1, watch 2, watch 3,) there is a theme to the design of the watch and the box, inspired by a 1940s Royal Marines issued deck watch by Zenith, and also as a general tribute to the Royal Marines service in the harsh environments of the North Sea. The case has been treated in such manner to reflect metal corrosion of the ships.
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A good look at the dial and case. A clear and bright watch, with white dial having markings and numerals in red and black, with red seconds hand. A characteristic of all the Cabourn Timex watches, 12 o'clock is replaced by the Broad Arrow.
The 36 mm case is superb, and is based on the steel case version of the Timex Original Camper. The steel version came out in 2017 for a watch issued by Timex Japan. Here is an example of the case. This one, as we'll see in below pics, has a different finish. Also different is the crown, an "onion" style, meant to emulate the original deck watch.
Above is a Zenith deck watch H.S.3., issued to the Royal Navy, in the 1940s. Clearly, not the same dial as the Timex, but you can see now Nigel's design was without a doubt inspired by the watch. The 1-10 scale might be for calculating ship speed in knots, but I'm not sure.
Unboxing, here's the watch embedded in a fabric and foam cutout iwithin the tin, alongside the two provided straps.
I usually don't show "wrist shots" on these pages, but I thought it looked good against my red hoodie, so here it is.
Look how great the lugs are. You can see the case metal is darker, and isn't shiny.
The 18 mm black leather NATO strap was soft and instantly comfortable, required no "breaking in."
This is, of course, not a Royal Navy warship, but it has a maritime theme, and is a nice painting, so I thought to include it here.
Closeup of the dial of that 1940 deck watch.
It wasn't easy to capture the appearance of the case, but here you can see that the metal looks sort of grey, with small flecks of almost like grey flannel. From the inside of the tin: "This watch has been specially finished with a sea air corroded watch case, reminiscent of the corrosion that often occurred on boats and equipment due to the harsh weather conditions of the North Sea." I am not sure if this is simulated corrosion, using some kind of metal fabrication of treatment technique, or if it's actual corrosion of some kind.
Unlike the previous three Timex Nigel Cabourn watches, which came with cotton mending kits, the Naval Officer watch comes in a rectangular tin. Above is the outer front of the tin, and below is inside.
Talk about corrosion, here is something rusting out in the harsh winters of Chicago. NORTH SEA, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT, THAT I AIN'T GOT.
Caseback detail. Of course, this isn't a real serial number, and all watches will have 68-19.
Seems like this a reference to the year 1968, the year in which I believe Nigel Cabourn became a designer.
The leather strap, and steel hardware.
Pages 296 and 297 of the Autumn / Winter 2020 Nigel Cabourn Japan catalog.
Here's the cover of that catalog. The theme of the collection is THE ARCTIC CONVOYS & THE MURMANSK RUN
Here is some more information about the Murmansk Run, a dangerous supply-chain operation during WWII, and more generally, here is some information about the Arctic Convoys during that period, an Alllied program to provide the Soviet Union with essential supplies.
"The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945, sailing via several seas of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, with two gaps with no sailings between July and September 1942, and March and November 1943.
About 1,400 merchant ships delivered essential supplies to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program, escorted by ships of the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, and the U.S. Navy. Eighty-five merchant vessels and 16 Royal Navy warships (two cruisers, six destroyers, eight other escort ships) were lost."
Murmansk, the red pin, is a city in northern Russia. I'm shivering just thinking about it.
Here is the watch in the other strap, in a navy-colored Melton wool material. Melton is a twill that has been woven densely, to achieve a kind of felt-like surface. Below, the wool strap and hardware.
Here's a close look at the oignon crown, meant to emulate the crown on the original deck watch.
*** Another nice collaboration between Timex and Nigel Cabourn. ***
Pat Keely: Join the Royal Navy recruitment poster 1939 World War 2 Fleet Air Arm.
