Timex x Nigel Cabourn Desert Watch, October 2022
Hi, this is Alan. As always, thanks for reading and for your interest in these watches. My contact information is below.
Here is the FIFTH installment of the nearly seven year collaborative relationship between TIMEX and British designer Nigel Cabourn. Like three out of the four previous watches, it utilizes the same 36 mm steel case design that was originally pioneered for the "SST Steel Camper" by Timex Japan. It's really a super fine case.
As with all the previous Timex-Nigel collabs, there is a historical theme that goes alongside the watch design and packaging. Though they never elaborate that much on it, I get a sense that all of the themes are important to and maybe personally relevant to Nigel. (Four of the watches have thematic backgrounds of war, and one is about the football club he rooted for as a youth.)
This one is themed to commemorate the roles played by Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery during the Western Desert campaign of WWII, where Allied forces from 11 countries were successful in defeating Axis advances from Germany and Italy.
Like all of the issues, this one came in a presentation like you bought a delicate gift from a 1940s haberdasher.
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The dial is white and all of the dial markings and numerals are a medium olive color. 1-12 and 13-24 scales, with a broad arrow replacing the 12. Steel or other metal hands, and a thin red seconds hand.
Four of the five Timex Nigels, including this one, come with a cotton cloth "mending kit" that is said to have originated with the Italian army. The kit is tied like this and opens up to store (originally) sewing supplies, buttons, needles, threads, etc, so that the soldier could mend their uniforms, as needed, in the field or back at base. More pics later showing it opened up.
Here's a good look at the really fine case of this watch. The steel seems of excellent quality, and the design is just superb, closely following the design of the green resin case used for the 2015 Original Camper, but in steel, as developed by Timex Japan for their SST steel Camper watch.
The caseback markings: W.W. references W.W.W, for "watch, wrist, waterproof," which was stamped on the back of watches used by the Ministry of Defense, from the mid 1940s. I suppose as no Timex is marketed as truly "waterproof" anymore, they decided to make it "watch, wrist." Serial no. 68-19 is kind of funny. All copies have this exact number, it's not really a unique number but appears to be a reference to 1968, the year that Nigel became a designer.
Field Marshall Montgomery. If you wish to learn more about the Western Desert Campaign of WWI, click the link.
Note: this article is neither in support nor in condemnation of WWI, allied nations, axis nations, Montgomery, or other related entities, and is presented for the historical context in which the watch is presented.
The watch came with two straps, both "NATO" style with nice steel hardware. In the first pic at the top of this article, you can see it's a fabric strap with white, khaki and olive stripes. Here, the strap is made from Ventile, backed by smooth leather nicely annealed to the Ventile.
Ventile is made from "extra-long staple cotton fibres that are used to form a low-twist yarn, which is then woven into a tight high-density textile to create a 100% cotton fabric, capable of providing an effective barrier against inclement weather. In wet weather, the softly spun yarns - within the tight weave - dynamically expand to form an effective barrier against the elements."
"Extra-long cotton fibres are only available from around 2% of the world's entire cotton crop, but due to their naturally long length this creates yarns of superior strength as they can be spun using an exceptionally low twist."
Above is Ventile. Look how dense and tight the weave is.
Here is the mending kit, opened up. I believe this kit may also be made from Ventile, rather than the "cotton twill" of the previous mending kits. It sure seems like it, the weave looks "boxy" and dense, as you might be able to tell from the below pic, which also has a good look at the metal zipper.
Few pics of the Ventile strap. Maybe you can appreciate the tight weave of the fabric. The hardware is pretty good. Next two pics are of the undersurface, showing the leather backing with TIMEX and the broad arrow.
The fifth TIMEX Nigel Cabourn watch.
Thanks for reading.
I hope you will like it.
Alan
Contact:
Website: Alan's Vintage Watches
