Timex Pan Am

I'd call them close homages that don't stand on their own. Before reading your text I thought you were showing a real IWC versus another brand -- not two Timex watches. 

Edit: From IWC's website

The collaborative branding is great, and it needs to be a fairly traditional design. It would be vary harsh to call anything boring as IWC.

I'd call them close homages that don't stand on their own.

I agree. I actually am a quiet Timex fan (I have a Timex Marlin) but these to me are sort of watered down IWC rip-offs that don’t really work. Absent the novelty of the Pan Am logo I‘d say there is nothing new or interesting here. I am also a huge IWC fan so that may be a bias I have. But as you mentioned at first glance it looks like a Mark XX. Do you own any IWC? There are several that I’d love to own, including a Mark XII. Or this top gun 

And my grail would be the IWC x HODINKEE Mark xi tribute 

I like the collaborative branding. Are you or the opinion that IWC are boring? If so, why?

As a stainless steel quartz 3-hander with mineral glass from a big "value" brand, it is probably a little overpriced. The 42mm size is probably too large, as well (maybe they were splitting the difference between the 40mm Mark and the 43mm Big Pilot?). 

I think it looks remarkably close to the blue IWC Mark XVIII or XX, but then, so would any other Flieger-style watch in blue like those offered from Stowa, Laco, etc. ... or anyone else - like Islander or the DIY Watch Club.

The Timex 3-hander has a day-date, and the chrono has a 3-6-9 subdial arrangement that differentiate them from the other date-only or no-date Fliegers and the 6-9-12 subdials from IWC's chrono... and the Pan-Am branding is cool.

I just wish Timex's promotion team hadn't appropriated German war watch design as "American ingenuity" with this phrase from the watch description: "the result is a nostalgic tool watch that captures the spirit of American ingenuity."

I like the collaboration a lot but I can't help but find it a bit dull, especially compared to what Breitling did with their Pan Am collaboration. I know it's a little bit of an unfair comparison but still I feel like the Timex is more a logo on a watch than a collaboration.

I personally love these 43mm Big Pilots. And quite like the Timex homage if I'm honest. If I didn't have my eye on the real thing I would think about getting one.

OK - looking at the crown and the strap rivets of the Timex, the 42mm size was probably going after the 43mm Big Pilot vibe, but the dial fonts are clearly different - Timex's is much more 60's, which is in line with the Pan-Am collab.

Agreed. Though I suppose the Mark references, as opposed to the fliegers, originate with the Mark xi used by the Royal Air Force. 

I didn’t know about that collaboration. Now that looks great!!! 👏🏼

I love them!  But, I am never one to pass up the opportunity to make an obvious and cringy joke:

The IWC was on Lewis Hamilton's wrist in 2020:

The pale imitation is on the pale imitation's wrist in 2022:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euk2if9W5yo

I love them. I've been looking at IWC for a while. I've never been able to convince myself they are worth the money. So... Timex? ... They keep on ticking!

BTW, a Google image search yielded a page full of IWC listings. So...

Pan Am brings back happy memories to me. Aged 27. Free upgrade to first class. Sitting next to a stewardess. Flirting, eating chateaubriand and polishing off a couple of bottles of expensive red wine between us.

That was when transcontinental first class was classy. Now you just get a second bag of pretzels.

You had me at Timex.   I just ordered mine today and it brings me back to an imagined world in my mind that probably never existed, but still love whatever memory it brings me.  98% of my collection is Timex (which was intentional) because of how it democratized watch ownership and the memories of their commercials as a kid.  As soon as I get my Pan-Am Timex watch I will do a wrist shot on my android phone which also made cell phone ownership affordable.  I'm sure you can see there is a pattern here, which is why Timex is the brand for me.  For the record, I also drive an economy car and invest with Vanguard.  

Yikes. That sounds like an unpleasant experience and a definte reason to pass on this watch! 

Are you or the opinion that IWC are boring? If so, why?

I am hard pressed to think of a more forgettable brand but @AFChris names some equivalents in  tasteful innocuousness. They just cause no emotion or response whatsoever in me. They are just there. Apparently some find a way to get excited over them but I'm at a loss.

I understand. I’m not particularly moved by the Mark XVIII. But I love the Mark xi, Mark xii, and Mark XV. I also love a lot of their use of cutting edge materials with many of their chronographs. 

I think they’re nice but I know the Timex collaborations tend to be on the pricier side so I’ll have to pass. 

I was excited about the PanAm collaboration when I saw their coming soon page... but I'm a bit disappointed that it looks like it's mostly just a logo placement rather than feeling like a real collaboration..

Nothing in the watch evokes the dawn of the jet era. It's just a mere brand placement on a poor copy of an IWC. 

I'm a bit disappointed that it looks like it's mostly just a logo placement rather than feeling like a real collaboration.

I agree wholeheartedly. 

Don't worry there will be one along in a few minutes.

Yeah I like it. I believe it is a homage of course, but I would definitely wear one as I am a Timex fan. Need to be a little bit cheaper though or better materials.

The IWC x Hodinkee collab is a darn near perfect design.

Yes, Breitling did more, but I’m not sure they did better. I mean, if the point is legibility ok, that thing‘s super-easy to see. Or maybe it’s a tie-in for the new Captain America movie?

The IWC x Hodinkee collab is a darn near perfect design.

I couldn’t agree more. I absolutely want it. It’s my grail. I kick myself when I think about it. When they were released it cost around $6500. That’s about my Speedmaster. Now on Chrono24 there are just a few listed and they are between 10 and 12k. Too rich for my blood. My only hope is that IWC releases an actual Mark xi tribute without a date. I just can’t get down with this one. 

The Mark XI was a tiny 36mm watch with stick hands. The Fliegers were huge 55mm watches, but the sword hands, big crown, rivet strap, and dots adjacent the triangle found on the IWC Big Pilot were part of the original Luftwaffe specs. The Big Pilot also has uniform 5min markers like a Flieger. The Mark XVIII and XX lack the big crown and rivet strap, and have slightly larger minute markers at 3, 6, 9, and 12 (vaguely similar to the Mark XI), but still share the sword hands and dots of the Flieger design... which preceded the later RAF design.

Mark XI

That’s probably exactly how that went. 😂😂😂 

If they had an automatic in the 3 hander, that would be great. I understand no automatic in the chrono at Timex price points. If the 3 hander were auto, it would be much more interesting. Aesthetically, I like both. 

IWC doesnt own the style of Flieger type A so it’s fair game imo