What We Know
This week, Noah, the New York City–based menswear brand that has made a name for itself by blending modern streetwear aesthetics with classic Ivy style, has dropped yet another in their series of highly sought-after limited-edition collaborations with Timex. But this time, instead of evoking classic dress watches, they’ve opted to move in a sportier direction, reimagining Timex’s MK1 field watch into a fun everyday watch.
The new watch uses the 36mm version of Timex’s MK1 field watch as a base, but swaps the military-inspired dial used in the majority of that line for a nautical-inspired silver opaline dial. The Timex logo stays put near twelve o’clock, with the cursive Noah wordmark joining it just below.
A printed minute track with lumed pips runs around the outside of the dial, and applied markers, alternating between Breguet numerals for the even numerals and dauphine-shaped markers — which mirror the lumed dauphine hands — representing the odd. The small seconds hand brings with it the most significant aesthetic choice on the watch. A red anchor, surrounded by a black railroad seconds track, backs the small seconds subdial and shouts on a dial that otherwise hums.
The watch comes with two strap options, each made of a double layer of woven nylon, and fitted with quick-release spring bars. The first of these, and the one more prominently featured in the brand’s marketing materials, is a red and navy double stripe, but the watch also comes with a solid navy option in the same material and construction.
Photo, Courtesy of Noah
The Noah x Timex Anchor MK1 measures in at 36mm across, 42.9mm lug-to-lug, and 9.5mm thick. They are fitted with an acrylic crystal and powered by a quartz movement. The solid steel caseback is engraved with the Noah logo and a supplemental anchor. The watch is available from 11am today, August 27, from Noah and is priced at $248.
What We Think
The ongoing collaboration between Noah and Timex has been an undeniably successful endeavor. Previous editions have sold out blazingly fast, and for good reason; namely, they’ve been absolutely brilliant. Unfortunately, I’m not sure this one is. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to like, and it will certainly make a lot of people very happy, but if previous Noah x Timex collabs have leaned more toward satisfying the watch enthusiast-y side of things, this one seems to be leaning in another direction.
My biggest issue with this watch comes from its namesake, the anchor. It just feels a little bit… Soviet. It takes a watch that otherwise feels well-considered and like a real step up in the construction of the Timex MK1 (and the dial here is really well made for a Timex at this price), and makes it feel a little too much like a Timex with a dial swap from a vintage Vostok or similar.
Paired with the red and blue nylon strap, it all just works out to be a little too much for my taste. I can’t help but think of Coco Chanel’s famous words of advice about taking one thing off before you leave the house — the red anchor is, unfortunately, the one thing, and, not to strain the metaphor, is a bit of a drag on the watch.
That said, it is better on the solid Navy strap, which minimizes the impact of the red on the dial, and the idea behind this watch is largely sound. I’ll be excited and curious to see how Timex and Noah continue to iterate on this concept, assuming they do so, as they have with previous releases, and in the meantime, I will not be surprised when these start popping up around lower Manhattan’s dive bar scene.
The Basics
Brand: Noah x Timex
Model: MK1 Anchor
Diameter: 36mm
Thickness: 9.5mm
Case Material: Stainless Steel
Dial Color: Opaline Silver
Indexes: Applied, Steel
Lume: Yes
Water Resistance: 30m
Strap/Bracelet: Nylon woven two-piece strap in red and navy stripe + solid navy strap of the same design.
The Movement
Caliber: Quartz
Functions: Hours, Minutes, Small Seconds.
Pricing & Availability
Price: $248
Availability: 11 am on August 27
For more, click here.
