Timex’s Twice-Sold-Out Affordable Cartier Killer Is Back with a Fresh Look

This may be the best version yet.

Every product is carefully selected by our editors. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission.  Learn more

The hits just keep on coming for Timex .

The resurgent affordable American brand has found great success through multiple avenues over the past few years. One has been mining its own back-catalog to reissue some fantastic Timex watches from the twentieth century. Another has been teaming up with higher-end designer brands, like Todd Snyder , to cook up unexpected collabs.

One of the best and most successful of these collaborative relationships has been Timex's team-up with New York-based men's fashion brand Noah . The pair first linked up for a gold-plated dress watch with Roman numerals and a sun-moon complication with strong Cartier Tank vibes. That watch set the internet aflame and sold out almost immediately.

The two brands then teamed up again for a sequel that upped the ante by swapping out the sun-moon feature — widely viewed as an imitation of the more complex moonphase complication — for a proper moonphase indicator. The response was even more positive than before, and the watch again sold out in a flash.

Now, the two brands are back for round three, and it's the rare threequel that may be the best in the entire series.

Silver and gold

This time around, the Noah x Timex Moon Phase Watch comes in two editions. There is a gold-plated case as we've seen before, along with, for the first time, one in plain stainless steel.

By eschewing the gold-plated finish on the stainless steel model, the watch instantly becomes more versatile and, in my opinion, looks more premium.

It's more versatile because, at least for most people, a gold watch isn't something you'll want to wear every day. But a steel watch that looks like a classic Cartier is absolutely something you can get away with wearing all the time, regardless of what else you've got on.

The watch is also less cheap-looking. Here's the thing: Gold-plated watches don't look like real gold, and everyone knows you're not getting a gold watch for 200 bucks. So why pretend? The plain steel model isn't posing as something else; it just looks good .

Both watches are on crocodile-embossed leather straps, but in different colors. The gold version has a light brown strap that matches the warm hue of the metal, while the steel version boasts a dark brown strap that, again, is more versatile for daily wear.

Pricing and availability

Outside of the new gold-free colorway, the Timex x Noah Moon Phase Watch looks to be the same model as before, with a quartz movement that tracks the moon's 29.5-day cycle, a date window at six, a mineral crystal, 50m of water resistance and a compact 37 x 25mm rectangular case with stylish gadroons flanking the lugs.

As of this writing, the gold version has already sold out, but the steel version — which is the superior configuration, imo — remains available. It's sold exclusively at Noah's online shop and is listed at $198.

Noah x Timex Moon Phase Watch – Silver

 Specs 

•  $198 at Noah 

About the Author:

Johnny Brayson is an editor at Gear Patrol mostly covering watches. He enjoys watches that are packed with blink-and-you'll-miss-'em details and believes nearly every watch could stand to be a tad smaller.