Timex 41mm Waterbury Metropolitan Chrono – $189
- model: TW2Y23500
- size: 41mm width, 11mm thick, 20mm lug width
- movement: Quartz (Japan)
- water resistance: 50m
- crystal: Mineral
- etc: 60 min chronograph (stopwatch), 24 hour sub dial, quick release leather strap sourced from the Leather Working Group, deployant buckle.
Art-deco / heritage inspired without going overboard.
Here’s the eloquent, cerebral yet concise, linguistically expansive analysis of this wristwatch:
This thing is cool as hell.
Two-tiered stepped, polished case.
Lugs are brushed for a really nice bit of finishing contrast.
One of the new models in their just released Waterbury Icons collection, this Timex avoids the mistakes of their recent, previous retro-inspired designs by not succumbing to any big goofy branding or unnecessary cluttered styling bits. The design comes together to make a watch which looks like it could cost 10x as much (if not significantly more). The two-tiered bezel is reminiscent of the (very) old Tissot Carson Automatic Chronograph and other much-more expensive models which use those gently stepped-sides to invoke a little curved elegance.
Signed crown.
41mm diameter case / 11mm tall = a pleasantly mid-sized feel.
The 41mm case diameter actually wears a little smaller that that. Which places it firmly in the dress-watch appropriate dimensions a lot of average to larger sized fellas prefer. The case height of 11mm isn’t razor skinny but it is relatively trim. So while it’s a chronograph, feel free to wear it with a suit.
41mm diameter. Shown on a 7.5″ wrist.
The old advice “don’t over egg the pudding” has been heeded, and the dial is a pleasant light cream color instead of the gooey faux-tina sepia sludge seen on some other retro-inspired watch dials. The Timex is a heritage inspired yet still contemporary looking watch which has been discreet with its use of “yolk” shading. Eggcellent.
Quick release brown leather strap.
It’d also look great on a black leather strap (to match black shoes).
The chronograph quartz movement is intuitive and a pleasure to use. One push of the top plunger at 2 o’clock gets the stop-watch going. A second push stops it. Depress the bottom plunger and the thing resets. A 60 min sub-dial at 9 o’clock keeps track of the time elapsed.
The other sub dial at 3-oclock is a somewhat unexpected 24-hour reader. It’s not attached to the chronograph, but instead acts as a defacto AM/PM indicator. Which is great for anyone who can’t look out a window and see if it’s light or dark out. Both subdials are slightly sunken at the lowest level of the three tiered dial, the bevel indices are applied, there’s a minute rail track around the edge of the dial, and the handset (syringe hour and minute, tipped arrow seconds) looks all kinds of right. It’s a home run for styling.
Soft & slightly aged leather strap.
The watch-head then gets attached to a surprisingly soft, very-slightly waxed, aged but not worn out looking leather strap. They even thought to put quick release pins on it, so when you want to quickly change out the brown for black, it’s a breeze to do so. A deployant style buckle is another pleasant upgrade, and while some may not like a deployant as much as the traditional pin + buckle style, those who are used to this sort of thing won’t have any trouble. Also worth noting is that at least on the watch we purchased for review, there’s no sharp/pokey edges to the two-piece (not butterfly) style deployant. That can be a concern with cheaper brands trying this style, but it looks/feels like Timex did well on this one. Overall its super comfortable out of the box. (At least on the 7.5″ wrist wearing it while this review is being typed.)
“Deployant” clasp instead of the usual (and cheaper) pin-buckle style.
This thing’s a winner. Priced under $200 (for now), it does not make an excruciatingly loud “TICK” like some of the cheapest Timex models, it’s unique but subtle, and it’s a pleasure to wear.
Expect to see it in use more often in other posts on this site. That is until they sell out and possibly don’t restock for forever. Which they very well could… as it’s (*nervously adjusts necktie*) assembled in China.
