The Timex x Pan Am Watch Collab Is A Cool Nod To Aviation History
Two American icons unite in this variation of the Waterbury chronograph.
Like your watches with a heavy dose of nostalgic design? The new Timex x Pan Am Collection has arrived with a unique variant of the Timex 42mm Waterbury chronograph, bringing a flash of color and a heavy dose of longing for the golden age of American aviation.
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The name Pan Am may conjure an image of Leo DiCaprio’s grifter pilot sashaying through airports with an entourage of flight attendants in Catch Me If You Can. But the airline’s history is even more interesting than the Hollywood version. Pan American Airways was launched in Key West in 1927 by a former World War I naval aviator to ferry mail to and from Havana. A year later, Pan Am began the first-ever passenger flights between the two cities, and Charles Lindbergh was one of Pan Am’s earliest pilots.
Pan Am was also the first airline to use Boeing’s first jetliner, the B-707, leading the world in the jet age of air travel. The company’s iconic logo, also known as the “Pan Am meatball,” was designed in 1955 during its heyday, and for a time it was the most recognized brand logo in the world. So, bringing back the logo of America’s most recognizable airline alongside America’s most recognized watch brand is a thoughtful union. And one that Timex has handled well here.
There’s no shortage of aeronautical design references on this chronograph, such as a winged second hand and a jet graphic at the bottom of the glossy blue dial. The dial’s indices are alternating printed markers and numerals. There’s a date window at 4:30, a 24-hour sub-dial, a 60-minute sub-dial, and a 60-second sub-dial that’s also a Pan Am globe logo. A quartz movement drives all these complications, and the stainless steel case is water-resistant to 50 meters.
Other touches nod to the collaboration. The leather band is brown with white contrast stitching, and the band’s interior is blue leather. It has two applied metal Pan Am globes on the band, and the crown is engraved with a Pan Am globe.
In total, there are no less than six Pan Am logos on the watch, double the number of Timex logos, but somehow it manages to not seem excessive. Instead, these design elements combine to conjure the aspirations of the era that inspired it. For fans of aviation history or simply inspired design, it’s a worthy purchase.
