Timex was founded in 1854 in Waterbury, Connecticut and today is headquartered just a few miles from its original location. Commemorating a round milestone year following more than a century and a half of ups and downs as an American watch brand, Timex now seems to reawaken from a Sleeping Beauty-like sleep to launch a new collection called American Documents that combines American-assembled watch design with Swiss quartz movements.
The movement – which is not the focus of this sensibly priced line – aside, Timex’s American Documents watches contain a variety of components sourced from partners inside the United States. These include leather straps made from hides sourced from S.B. Foot Tanning in Red Wing, Minnesota and U.S.-sourced stainless steel for the case and brass (which the brand is calling “Aged Waterbury Brass” after working it) used to craft the case back plaque and crown insert. These latter two components particularly honor Waterbury, nicknamed “the brass city” thanks to the prevalence of watchmaking and the manufacture of other goods using brass there as of the mid-1800s. Another locally sourced element is the made-in-Massachusetts, impact-resistant Gorilla Glass 3 used for the crystal, a brand of chemically strengthened glass developed and manufactured by Corning.
The look of the watches themselves is incredibly sober, as Timex has historically been, but I would almost go so far as to say it is even relatively unremarkable in this age of highly creative watch design. Nonetheless, I do like that the double-layer brass dials just get down to business rather than distract from the principal function, which is to provide the time. There is however a dial element I feel I must point out: the “made in America” and “Swiss movt” verbiage. As we learned with the case of Detroit’s Shinola, who didn’t even explicitly claim to be making its whole watch in the United States (in fact Shinola and this Timex product share virtually the same movement), the Federal Trade Commission guidelines are pretty clear on the “made in America” label: all of a watch – including the movement – needs to be manufactured completely in the United States and not just assembled there to be declared “made in America.” Timex is looking to avoid possible trouble with the FTC by putting “Swiss movt” on the dial, but my question is whether that is enough to satisfy the government agency. Time will tell, I guess.
Celebrating this watch’s launch, Timex partnered with Texan photographer Bryan Schutmaat to chronicle people, culture, and diverse landscapes of America. The idea behind that was to create an inspiring visual diary that demonstrates what makes the United States so truly exceptional. A downloadable image of the photography is provided with the purchase of each American Documents watch, which retails for $495 in a choice of four dial colors at Timex.com. See a recent (and rather engaging!) Timex re-edition timepiece in original high-quality photos at Why I Bought It: Timex Marlin Re-edition.
Elizabeth Doerr is the editor-in-chief of Quill & Pad, an online publication that keeps a watch on time.
