Timex is no stranger to collaborations, partnering on limited-run watch designs with everyone from menswear designer Todd Snyder to gear retailer Huckberry to Pac-Man. Some of them catch our eye, others go by relatively unnoticed, but once in a while they strike gold.
Today they’ve done just that with The James Brand x Timex Expedition North, an automatic watch limited to 500 pieces designed with the Portland knife- and toolmaker we’ve praised plenty of times before.
As with The James Brand’s own wares, this 41mm timepiece prioritizes a minimalist but meticulous design bolstered by better-than-normal materials. For the case, this one swaps out Timex’s traditional stainless steel for a brushed titanium alloy (6Al-4V), which is lighter but still strong and provides extra corrosion resistance. It features a black NATO strap, which means you can also easily swap in any NATO straps you have lying around. The movement is a Japanese Miyota 8215, and here can be seen through the open caseback; but it’s the face you’ll be focused on, an elegantly laid out design — co-branded but balanced, featuring generous C3 Super-LumiNova for seeing in the dark, a 24-hour dial, a date window that doesn’t make it lopsided, and don’t forget the signature lime green color on the crown.
This is a watch that first and foremost prioritizes the actual function of a watch, telling the time (and day) accurately even in adverse conditions (something that certainly can’t be said of all Timex collabs). But just because it’s a tool doesn’t mean it can’t also be handsome.
It appears many people feel a similar affinity — this watch has already sold out at Timex and The James Brand, and only Huckberry still has stock left.
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