The Giorgio Galli S2Ti Is An Absolute Game Changer For Timex

It can, at times, be hard to shake preconceived notions about certain watch brands. Timex is an absolute iconoclast in analog (and frankly, digital) wrist furniture going back generations. It has morphed from a powerhouse American watchmaker, to the watch that "takes a lickin’ but keeps on tickin’," to a watch you might find on a turnstile on your way to checkout from an Ace Hardware. In the mid-aughts Timex began to re-invoke a sense of nostalgia and style from a younger audience with the Weekender; it evoked the American ideal with its “American Made" series; and then it made a pivotal personnel decision by bringing in industry mainstay Giorgio Galli as its Global Creative Director. It is that decision which saw the birth of the Giorgio Galli S1, S2, and now the S2Ti which is proving to be a pretty monumental release… despite being limited.

This morning, Timex revealed the latest from the mind of Galli, which takes the blue-collar roots of the American-born brand and pumps them full of industrial European design, a combo that just might pique the interest of a good number of watch enthusiasts.

First of all, we get a 38mm watch with a sparse dial design, in a textured grey color and featuring the Timex logo at 12 o’clock. Moving outward we find a really tastefully integrated metallic outer track adding a good deal of contrast and texture differentiation to an otherwise grey affair. The hands, which match that outer track, provide yet another bit of contrasting separation so as to not take away from the actual function of the watch, which is – um, you know – to tell the time.

But let’s not leave the case just yet (I know, I know, the bracelet is a big deal), because beyond that titanium exterior, we get a carbon fiber mid-case. Yes you read that correctly, we now have a Timex utilizing the increasingly industry-favorite material. It is integrated almost artistically, especially when you look at the watch in profile on the crown side. It is industrial design at its simplest – and perhaps finest.

Other than its Q series, and your elastic fare, you don’t typically think of Timex as a bracelet brand. And you certainly might not expect it to deploy a full titanium bracelet. But here we are. Affixed to this sweet-spot 38mm case is a matching three-link titanium bracelet with a milled butterfly-style clasp that doesn’t read “Timex” in any way, shape, or form. But that’s not all. I said this watch might very well appeal to the enthusiast, and nowhere is that better evidenced than within the sizing system on the bracelet. Timex and Galli have deployed a mechanism by which you can remove and reconnect the links without any tools, making sizing as simple as hinging and unhinging the individual links. We are going to get to the potential sticker shock in a moment, but I want you to remember this sizing system when we get there.

Inside this watch beats the ever-reliable SW-200 Swiss movement from Sellita. A Swiss Timex is not familiar, but it is also not abnormal. The brand has an atelier in Switzerland that has been making watches for top fashion brands for years. All of the Galli editions have been Swiss-made. It is visible through an exhibition caseback and it looks quite nice in the images provided.

Blocking out price, Galli and Timex absolutely delivered a home run here. This is an everyday watch from a brand that should begin its return to the everyday-watch conversation. Now it is limited to 500 pieces which is a shame. Do I think that limitation will exist only for the Ti/carbon model and that we may have a steel option in our future? I sure hope so. At $1,950, this watch has no shortage of competition but I think that the overall story, and the limited nature of the watches, will help some get over the price tag. It seems that Timex has more up its sleeve in the future so it would not shock me if this is the beginning of something new. Let’s see.