1974 Timex Viscount Automatic
Hi, this is Alan. Thanks for reading, and for your interest in watches. My contact info is below.
This will be a short review, mostly just a few pics and a few words about this nice mid-Seventies Timex. Model 46250, movement 031, made in 1974.
The defining features are the concentric rings and circles on the dial and the radial hour numerals. A medium blue central disc, a finely-grooved metal ring and finally a black outer track. The grooves on the middle ring are so sharp and fine that moiré patterns are not uncommon as artifacts of digital imaging, as can be seen in some of these pics.
.
The design of the watch draws you in, pleasing to look at, and it's no wonder that watch dials with "target" or "bullseye" patterns or concentric circles otherwise have been popular for many decades, probably for a hundred years now.
The numerals for the hours are radially-arranged, in keeping with the circular themes.
No mistaking time, with thick and bright hands for great contrast. I think this is an overlooked concept in watch design. The more complex a dial design, the greater the imperative to install easily-read hands, to create better contrast and "cut through the complexity" of the dial. Often you will see a watch with a complex pattern or logo on the dial, lots of lines, shades, sub-registers, etc, and it is paired with hands that against that background are hard to read and sometimes very hard to even see! This watch does not have that problem.
Domed acrylic crystal. Chrome + base metal case. The "dirty" look of the side of the case is just reflections from the sidewalk along the shiny case.
Good look at the metal grooves on the dial.
Timex had given the name Viscount to a long line of automatics, beginning in the 1950s.
What actually is a viscount? "A viscount (or viscountess) is the fourth rank in the British peerage system, standing directly below an earl and above a baron," however this is not limited to British systems; in France they are called vicomte, and other places have viscounts. The title and/or meaning of being a viscount and having a viscountcy has changed over the centuries, so a more detailed explanation of all the complexities can be found here.
The s in the word is silent, when spoken in English, and it sounds about like vye-count, or vai-kownt.
Above is the portrait of the 1st Viscount Combermere (1827).
I took out the color here, to allow focusing on the shapes, the contrast and the general design.
It's one of the very nice TIMEX dials of the 1970s, of which there are many!
Thank you for reading.
I hope you will like it.
Alan
Contact:
Website: Alan's Vintage Watches.
Many things were called Viscount, including a chocolate bar. Here is the Vickers Viscount, which was used for the world's first scheduled turboprop airline service in April 1953
