The 4 Affordable Luxury Watches from Timex Atelier to Buy Now

2 min read

Though Timex is perhaps best loved for affordable and reliable watches (as well as a long-lasting partnership with Peanuts), it also takes pride in its horological heritage of more than 170 years. Now the watchmaker is taking one step further toward the luxury world, following its more expensive but still not quite luxury-priced “Giorgi Galli” series.

With Timex Atelier, the brand firmly enters affordable, entry-level luxury territory, inaugurating the range with four timepieces that run from just under a grand to about $1,500. Two watches, each coming with two different color options, have been made available: the Timex Atelier Marine M1a and the Timex Atelier GMT24 M1a.

A 41mm stainless-steel tool watch with a skeletonized cased that’s reinforced with a plated steel mid-case, the Timex Atelier Marine M1a is an adventure-ready tool watch that’s just as practicality oriented as it looks. With 200 meters of water resistance, it’s usable while swimming, snorkeling, surfing, and scuba diving, and thanks to the Luminova on its indices, it’ll be perfectly readable underwater too. It’s available with either a stainless-steel bracelet or a premium NBR synthetic rubber strap, if you’re really going for the functional look.

Meanwhile, the Timex Atelier GMT24 M1a is a refined GMT watch powered by a Swiss-made Landeron 24 GMT automatic movement. Its fourth hand, which displays the hour in another time zone, features an orange outline to distinguish it from the other three. Like the Marine, it’s available with either a stainless-steel bracelet or a premium NBR rubber strap, which is also a little more comfortable and flexible.

All four styles are currently live at the Timex Atelier website, though it seems they’ve proved popular enough that not all of them are available right now. The Marine is on preorder with the steel bracelet for $1,050. The rubber-strap version is sold out, but we’re betting we’ll see a restock in the near future. The GMT, on the other hand, is available immediately on the rubber strap, while the version with the steel bracelet is also listed as sold out. (As with the Marine, we anticipate a restock in short order.)

A little more than one may have come to expect from Timex? Well, yes. But these timepieces have the premium features, functions, and design that make the price feel like a genuine steal.