Crazy Watches Are for Collectors. A Cool Timex Is for Everyone Else
The heritage watchmaker is known for its classic styles, but in the hands of BEAMS, it finds a way to gently rock the boat with a two-in-one timepiece.
Real watchheads will know that the marketplace is full of extravagant, freaky timepieces. There are watches that pack more than 500 components into their frame, and ones that add an enameled, hand-sculpted peacock into the mix.
The American label’s appeal comes entirely from its unfussiness. Its playbook is usually to go classic while others go quirky. But with its new Square Camper — a collaborative release with BEAMS, tied to the Japanese retailer’s 50th anniversary — Timex has shown that even when it takes on quirky, it can still look just as tasteful.
This Square Camper is just odd enough to stand out: it combines Timex’s Original Camper and Classic Digital models, layering analog and digital elements of each above the other to create a subtle depth effect. It's the kind of subtly crazy twist on a brand’s signature model that BEAMS is great at pulling out of its collaborators. (See: inverted Birkenstocks, laceless Timberlands, etc.)
Timex has been on a tear with its collaborations lately. Last year’s linkup with Noah on the Oval Moon Phase — featuring a tiny, Wes Anderson-esque panel on the dial to track the lunar cycle — was the duo's second massive collaborative hit. Ditto Timex's MM6 Maison Margiela T80 ring watch, which miniaturized a timepiece to jewelry-size proportions in 2024 and, similarly, did numbers.
Each release works because no matter what direction the design takes, it always looks quintessentially Timex — and has the price tag to match the brand’s luxuriously lowkey, affordable reputation. The BEAMS x Timex Square Camper, for example, clocks in at just ¥23,980 (around $150).
There’s a reason fans of the brand keep coming back. Timex is always finding ways to put subtle spins on its timepieces that don’t fully rock the ship, but gently tilt it to and fro.
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