Timex Universal Overall Original Camper

Timex x Universal Overall Original Camper [U2103TXUO] March 2021, limited to 300

Hi, this is Alan, thanks for reading, and for your interest in these reviews. My contact info is at the bottom.

Here's a nice Timex, made in collaboration with Universal Overall Chicago - Japan. They kindly sent me a sample, and I'm very grateful! Please take a good look at the dial in the detail photo below:

What? 1700 hours / 5 o'clock is up at the top of the dial instead of at the usual position "where five o'clock is supposed to be." And 1800-2400 hours shifted accordingly, such that midnight is at the 7 position. And cresent moons replace hour numerals from 1 am to 4 am. What? Read the below text from the Universal Overall page describing the watch:

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Who is Universal Overall, and what does this all mean? Universal Overall is a Chicago-based family-owned company that began in 1924, specializing in workwear, supplying a wide variety of garments to wide-ranging industries. They do not sell "to the public," per se, and don't have a retail shop. Their operation in Chicago (which I have visited!) is in the West Loop neighborhood.

"UNIVERSAL OVERALL CHICAGO" of Japan is a brand of retail clothing and accessories selling "workwear fashion" based on meticulous re-creation of vintage examples of Universal Overall garments, as well as new collections inspired by the aesthetic. Here, they describe their concept. The physical shop is also described as:

"The entrance to the store has a brick-based stance that resembles the UNIVERSAL OVERALL headquarters, and the store space uses the low ceiling height to sample the underground boiler room of the Chicago headquarters to create an inorganic atmosphere.

The open entrance and the low ceiling of the store create a unique space that looks unbalanced at first glance.

Vintage sewing machines and toolboxes in the store are shipped from the US headquarters, which have been used since the company was founded, and their displays reproduce the realistic atmosphere of Chicago at that time.

We have a full lineup of UNIVERSAL OVERALL items such as coveralls, shop coats, and overalls, as well as miscellaneous goods.

There are also flagship store limited products and USA items that can only be obtained here, and it is an antenna shop that generously demonstrates the world view of UNIVERSAL OVERALL."

The watch is supplied with black and orange straps, orange to match the brand color logo.

But back to the dial! You can see the inner track fo 1-12 seems normal, but the 13-24 track is really abnormal! Well the idea is that UO-Japan is a company that specializes the aesthetic and lifestyle of workwear, and with it the concept of "work" and "leisure" comes into play. The classic American "quitting time" of a standard job (though this varies considerably in reality) is 5 pm, or 1700 hours. By placing 1700 hours at the top of the watch, they are stressing the importance of the "end of work" and highlighting the beginning of the "after work" period, between 5 pm and midnight, the time when people can pursue their own activities as they choose. This time is stressed as important in the "work-life balance." At midnight we go to sleep. The moons from 1 am to 4 am remind us of our sleeptimes.

(Article about the watch, in a Japanese magazine.)

Before I forget to mention, the watch is supplied with a black cotton storage bag with UO logo.

The watch, like so many other collaborations between Timex Japan and other brands and designers, uses the "Original Camper" as a base model Much has been written about this watch, and you can read about it the link, including its origin stories. But briefly, Original Camper is a re-creating of a mechanical Timex watch, the "Camper Watch," that sold to the public from 1983 to 1995 or 1996. The Camper Watch was, in turn, derived from a project where Timex created an approved watch for US military use. This derives from specifications dating back to 1964. The "Camper Collaboration" has been highly successful for Timex and the related companies, and it is no surprise that it was used with the UO collab. Here, pictured, is the back of the watch showing the classic single-piece molded resin case, in black.

It's really an unusual watch, but Timex Japan is no stranger to them! Check out the January 2018 Timex x BEAMS x Engineered Garments Camper in steel. Take a good look at the dial! Also see the really unusual dial of the Timex x Snow Peak x relumed Journal Standard Camper!

Orange strap is fluorescent. Fluorescence is the quality of a material to emit light fo a different wavelength from the light incident upon it. The emitted light is of longer wavelength (lower energy) than the incident light. Here, in a pic using blue light of short wavelength, most everything looks blue. Everything else is just reflecting the blue light. But since the strap is fluorescent, it gives off orange light, a newly created light, not merely reflected. Some energy is absorbed in this process.

I learned about this watch from Instagram, above and below. Often Timex watches sold in Japan will have items on "pre-order," where buyers can reserve an item prior to release date. It's probably common there with items other than watches.

i like the orange strap so much, I haven't even tried it on the black one!

The watch was meant to be released in September 2020 to coincide with the anniversary of the store opening, but the release was delayed due to production and distribution issues related to the coronavirus.