Watching | The Origins of the Timex/JCREW Military Watch
Confirming the suspicions and many whispers regarding the illegitimacy of the Timex/JCREW Military watch, comes Hodinkee to confirm the claims. You are sure to see them virtually everywhere you go – a clean brush grade steel case with the Arabic numerals on a NATO nylon band. Not a bad look, a solid nod to function over aesthetic, and overall a clean sharp looking watch. However, it is the basis behind the aesthetic that has watch enthusiasts raising their brow.
While JCREW sets the watch in a WWII context by advertising its origins from that of a 1940s military watch produced by Timex, that reality is a little further from the truth. Or 40 years from the truth. It seems the watch was not inspired by any timepiece in existence at the time, but but by a design Timex pitched to the military in the 1980s, and was consequently never picked up. Still a functional and clever design, but nonetheless one carried out in nothing more than good ole’ American plastic – intended to be disposable. Surprisingly, its elusiveness has caused it to become a bit of a relic among watch collectors.
To be fair, they are largely responsible for the spur of interest in nylon watch bands, and to that we are greatful. The Timex/JCREW military watch is a sharp looking instrument for a minimalistic look, and shouldn’t be brought down because of its inauthentic origins. After all, last time I checked we acquired things because we liked them, and not because a private first class was ordered to like something.
