Timex Taps a Mid-Century Icon for a Pair of Affordable Pilot’s Watches

Over the past few years, Timex has become something of a hit factory in the affordable watch world, with a consistent and varied array of desirable new watches hitting the market practically every week.

The brand’s latest release, which is actually two watches, hits on a number of traits that have made Timex such a hot brand of late: Vintage inspiration, a trendy collab partner, and a good-looking tool watch aesthetic that offers a lot of functionality and value for the money.

Timex

Timex x Pan Am GMT

• $289 at Timex

Timex x Pan Am, Part Deux

Two years ago, Timex linked up with Pan Am, the former American airline giant that today stands as an enduring symbol of mid-century cool.

Those watches were Flieger-style pilot’s watches — one chronograph, one three-hander — featuring navy dials with white hands and indices, traditional riveted brown leather straps, and oversized crowns.

Timex

They looked a lot like IWC’s Pilot’s line but were crazy affordable and featured retro Pan Am branding. Naturally, they sold out in a hurry.

Now, Timex has reunited with Pan Am for a brand-new pair of pilot’s watches. But instead of retreading IWC-inspired territory, this time, the brands have launched a pair of complicated tool watches with high-flying functionality.

Flyback or GMT?

First up is the Timex x Pan Am GMT. This watch does have a Type A Flieger-style dial and handset but is otherwise entirely different from what came before.

The recycled stainless steel case measures just 39mm across and features a large, circular brushed bezel. The sunray dial is in a more brilliant blue shade than the last generation, and there’s a bi-color 24-hour inner bezel that’s blue up top and silver on the bottom.

Timex

The Pan Am logo appears at six o’clock, and a white date window replaces the index at 3. The leather strap is more casual, with contrast stitching near the lugs, blue lining and metal Pan Am grommets. Finally, the GMT hand has a bright red arrow tip for easy readability.

The other new release is part of Timex’s Waterbury Traditional Fly Back Chronograph line, but the brand did more than just slap a Pan Am logo on an existing model — this is an entirely different watch.

The Timex x Pan Am Fly Back Chronograph’s 43mm stainless steel case surrounds a blue dial featuring Pam Am branding and Timex’s signature flyback chronograph layout with the retrograde hour and minute counters at 10:30 and 4:30, respectively. (The top counter doubles as a dual time indicator when the chronograph isn’t running.)

Timex

The chronograph seconds hand features a prominent orange airplane shape at the tip, while the date window sneaks onto the dial at 2:30. The strap here is also brown leather with a blue lining, but it features more ornate stitching and forgoes any grommets or rivets.

While the dial looks busy, this is a highly functional traditional pilot’s watch. The flyback chronograph function means you can stop, reset and restart the chronograph with the press of a single pusher — a feature commonly implemented in 1950s military chronos.

What’s more, Timex has added a slide rule bezel to the watch, something missing from the standard Waterbury Traditional Fly Back Chronograph. This type of bezel, most commonly associated with the Breitling Navitimer, features logarithmic scales for making a variety of in-flight calculations relating to speed, distance, fuel consumption and more.

Both Timex x Pan Am models boast 100m of water resistance and Pan Am-signed crowns and are powered by quartz movements. They’re priced nearly identically, too, with the GMT listed at $289 and the Fly Back Chronograph going for $299. Both watches are now available on Timex’s online store.

Timex

Timex x Pan Am Fly Back Chronograph

• $299 at Timex

Related Topics