Dappered

Affordable Men's Style

Muytjens-ometer Test: The J. Crew Timex Andros

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J. Crew Timex Andros Watch – $175.00 (Made in the USA Update:  No it’s not.)

Confused as to what the Muytjens-ometer is?  Click here to find out.

Keep it simple.  J. Crew excels at that.  They also excel at jacking up the price to make you pay for that simplicity.

No doubt about it, it’s a great looking watch.  Has plenty of dive influence, some flight dial looking font, and the fact that it was built with the purpose of you buying more of their NATO straps to swap in and out is pretty smart.

BUT $175.00?!?

“…it was inspired by one of the most breathtaking and extraordinary barrier reefs in the world, Andros.”

Well that’s nice.  It’s still pushing $200.  The thing has a day and date function and the bezel rotates.  That’s it.  And it costs $25 more than their military inspired watch.

Make no mistake, a watch can get a serious markup on looks alone.  But this watch, born from gazing at a barrier reef (c’mon) isn’t that much different than this $23 no namer.  You could always take the links off an automatic Invicta Pro Diver which at $80, is half the price of the J. Crew.  There’s also a beefier substitute from Orient for $145.
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On the Muytjens-ometer: Three and a quarter heads.

Dammit Muytjens.  The substitutes just don’t look quite as clean.  A shade past pricey and moving towards ridiculous, this newest collaboration with Timex looks better than good, and as an added bonus it’s made in the U.S. (update:  Actually, it clearly says “Import.”  Coulda sworn it said USA earlier.)  But $175 is almost $200.  For a Timex.  And that’s real tough to swallow.  Almost as tough as that line about the barrier reef.

For past items that faced the Muytjens-ometer, click here.

Comments

  1. If it has a sapphire crystal (their description doesn’t say, so I doubt it,) then I wouldn’t be totally opposed to charging $175 for a quartz watch on a 75-cent band. Unlike the military version, it has a day and date functions, so you won’t get confused by those pesky and hard to track days of the week. (“Why is the office so empty today? Oh, apparently it’s Sunday!”)

  3. for ~25$ less, I’d definitely take the orient aviator (I have it on my wrist right now, as a matter of fact) and a couple diff color watch bands.

  4. I would never spend more than $35 for a “dive” watch that isn’t rated to at least 200m.

    Besides… where is the value in this watch? It’s on a cheap nylon strap, so obviously none of that $175 is covering a high-quality, solid stainless steel bracelet. It’s got a quartz movement that probably costs all of $8. It’s not water resistant to any real diving standard. No mention of a sapphire crystal. No mention of a screw-down crown, either. And despite everything you might say in favor of Timex, it’s not a “nice” brand. When people see you wearing a non-vintage Timex, they’re going to think it cost you $30, whether you bought it from J.Crew or Wal-Mart.

    I don’t even want to think about the kind of profit margin J.Crew is ripping off these “exclusive” Timex watches. I doubt they pay more than $15 per watch. The only thing the consumer is paying for is inflated J.Crew brand glamor.

    Now, if the watch came with 3 interchangeable bands (including one leather and one steel bracelet), 200m WR, a domed crystal, a screw-down crown, and some sort of self-recharging battery (ala Citizen Eco-Drive) then maybe it would be worth the $175 pricetag.

  5. It’s kind of neat, for a 50 dollar watch. Just buy any of Timex’s myriad analog watches and a 15 buck nato strap, and you have something close enough for less than half the price. Or get any of a number of Orient’s or Seikos that eat that things lunch (and have enough left over for lunch). It doesn’t even say if it has lume or indiglo (with Indiglo being the only thing that endears me to timex).

  6. I’d rather get eaten by sharks while diving off the andros reef than pay $200 for that watch.

  8. Here’s a $50 Casio that looks better. http://www.amazon.com/Casio-MDV102-1AV-Analog-Illuminator-Watch/dp/B00134JNM8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311611932&sr=8-2

  9. As if the watch wasn’t overpriced already, it is actually NOT MADE IN USA. I was on the Jcrew website and noted it said “Imported.”

  10. The hell?  I swore it say USA on there.  And not the “Timex is a registered trademark of Timex Group USA inc.”  Yep, it says import.  Fixed above.

  11. Other than the word “Timex” is missing on the face, Urban Outfitters has a Classic Field Watch in white or black that looks the same as the J. Crew version for $39. I’m definitely considering it at that price.

  13. Seems like this merits at least four Frank-heads.

    One other cool thing about the $50 Casio mentioned above, which I have: it has THE brightest light I’ve seen on any watch (that second knob at the 2 position). You could almost use it as a flashlight.

  14. Joe- I finally got that Orient Explorer from your June feature. I’ll disagree with a few of your suggestions on occasion, but this one was 100% on-point. It’s instantly become my favorite mid-range watch (and it’s not close).

  15. I like the look of the military Timex’s, but this doesn’t look good to me strap wise. It seems like cloth is just not the best looking material for a dive watch in my eyes.

  16. Maybe they priced it that high so it would qualify for free shipping and folks would think they’re getting a deal?

  19. @Justin, your style? What a dive watch with a nato strap? A rather overused combination for several year s now?