TIMEX x Todd Snyder. May 2018 quartz wristwatch, with dial reproduced from a rare 1950s TIMEX "Southampton" model.
Hi, this is Alan. Contact information below. This is pretty nice wristwatch from TIMEX, which came about from collaboration with Todd Snyder New York. It has a quartz movement, and is fairly large at 40 mm. The dial and hands are really great.
The dial and hands of the hands are nearly identical to this 1950s "Southampton" model from TIMEX. The current model has been named "Beekman," and appears to be sold exclusively through Todd Snyder, and maybe Nordstrom was well. You can see the crown of this 1950s watch is closer to the 4, and there is a little lever along the case at 2. More pics of this later, but this lever would stop and start the seconds hand (and the entire going train of the watch.)
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The dial background color is sort of creamy white, and the color looks more accentuated on many of my pics than in real life, but it's definitely not white. Case is really good, stainless steel, and has a good shape and design.
This was in evening sunlight, and the dial is reflecting a lot of yellow sun. But this picture shows that the paint for the hour numerals and arrow makers is golden color, with slight glitter. This is hard to appreciate when just looking at the watch in ordinary usage, but it's pretty cool. The fine black line framing the numerals and arrows creates good contrast and definition. I think the hour and minute hands are called "dauphine hands," and are filled in green to emulate coloring of the luminous material (which was radium-based) of the original 1950s watch. The seconds hand is bright red, and has a spade-shaped terminus to the short end.
The steel back is nice, and has all the usual signages. Model number TW2T19600. The 53 stamped below NEW YORK indicates the watch was manufactured in May 2018, though I'm not sure when these first went on sale.
I'll admit that I was prepared to complain about the Indiglo. This is because in general I prefer watches without Indiglo. So I was really pleased when I tried out the Indiglo feature. It is bright, and is a very pleasing green color, more pleasing than the sort of blueish color I've seen before. Excellent visibility, and a soothing color. It has done its job. Notice that the green filler material to the hour and minute hands must be translucent, as it lets the green light from the dial come through.
(Not my watch, but I have owned the original 1950s TIMEX in the past and the old pics of my watch are of poor quality.) So this in an original Southampton from 1950s. You can see how the Beekman design is derived from this watch. In this case, the numerals and markings are not golden paint, but green radium-based luminescent material, as is the material filling the hands. Notice the crown is placed close to the 4, and near the 2 is a sliding lever. This lever serves simply to stop and start the movement, and therefore the seconds hand as well. It's simply an on-off switch for the movement. There is no button to create a "flyblack" of the seconds hand to zero.
In spite of the lack of a flyback feature, it was called a "Chronograph Stop Watch." This image must have been from some kind of trades journal or flyer/promo to retailers, showing the cost to the dealer, and what the markup would be. The case, like almost all of the US TIME / TIMEX watches of that time (and much later) was chrome plated base metal.
There is a Southampton in New York State, along the east end of Long Island. It forms part of a larger area people refer to when they say "The Hamptons."
There is also a Southampton in southern England, a port city in the county of Hampshire. There are five other Southamptons in the United States, and two in Canada (one in Ontario and one in New Brunswick.) Which one of these nine Southamptons this watch was referencing remains unknown.
Crystal is acrylic, slopes up from the edge. The face of the crystal isn't quite flat, and has a mild dome as you look at it from the side.
Springbars are pretty clever. I'd not seen this before. See that little ball protruding through a small cut-out in the strap. Sliding it away from the lug will retract the end of the pin into the barrel of the springbar, and the strap comes off. Replacing it, just reverse that move. Spring loaded, so it always goes back into position. Below pic with the strap removed.
Another good look at the gilt paint application for the hour numerals and markers, along with other features of the dial and hands.
At first I thought that maybe the small gap between the crown and the case was a defect of some sort, but then I realized it is necessary to allow the slight push required to activate the Indiglo.
Another late-day sunshine picture, more yellower looking than usual. The weirdest and coolest feature of this watch is the red spiral chapter in the center. The variable (increasingly widening) spacing between the adjacent marked values as you move to the center of the spiral indicates some kind of non-arithmetic scale, maybe logarithmic (base ten,) or natural log. At the far periphery of the dial in red hash marks, and black numerals, is a scale for measuring distance in miles. Seems to go up to about twelve miles. At the top you can see it says TELEMETER MILE. Notice the mile markers almost line up with the hour markers, but they do not line up exactly. This is said to be a watch with TELEMETER and TACHYMETER function. More explanations on how this all works will be forthcoming.
I am really happy with this TIMEX x Todd Snyder collaboration wristwatch, enjoying it even more than I expected I would. While it has no chronograph or stopwatch function, but it was not meant to be reproduction or true "reissue" of the original. Rather, it is, to me, a modern watch with an "homage" to the original's aesthetic, having the superb dial and hands of the original, (which is rare and a favorite among collectors). It has a good size, high quality construction, an exquisitely created dial, and a better-than-usual Indiglo experience. All in all an A+ rating from me.
Thanks for reading.
I hope you will like it.
Alan
Contact
Website: Alan's Vintage Watches.
