Timex waited until the latter days of December to drop a trio of new automatic timepieces straight from the brain of their prolific creative director, Giorgio Galli, and the timing seems significant. Sure, it could just be the supply chain crunch, but coming at the time of year when we’re all making resolutions and big plans for the year to come, it could easily be read as an invitation to embrace a less-is-more philosophy in 2022. Packing a Japanese automatic movement, a sleek, refined case, and a price well under $500, the new Timex Giorgio Galli S1 38mm could be the only watch you really need.
If you’ve been following the steady stream of masterful creations coming out of Timex HQ in recent years, Giorgio Galli is a name you may already know. For the uninitiated, the Timex creative director has spent the last decade transforming the brand from a beloved-but-unfashionable maker of cheap quartz watches into a global player in contemporary timepiece design. Under Galli’s direction, Timex brought in automatic movements, launched a series of collabs with designers like Todd Snyder and Nigel Cabourn and mined the archives for iconic reboots like the Marlin. In 2019, Galli upped the ante yet again with the Giorgio Galli S1, whose streamlined steel case, “sunray” brushed dial and high-quality Japanese automatic movement made for the most advanced and luxurious Timex ever.
“I wanted to make something that I wouldn't get tired of,” says Galli from his Milan design studio. “I design many watches, and sometimes I wear a watch for half a day and get tired of it. So I wanted to make something I could wear for a long time.” The result was a design that combined Galli’s favorite elements of dressy, sporty and vintage watches, for something with a uniquely versatile appeal. “I don't think it’s minimalist,” Galli says. “It's just thoughtful design with it with very simple elements that are made well. It doesn't overpower, but if you look carefully, there are so many things you discover. That was the main intention of the S1.”
The original S1 remains a certified hit, but it turns out Galli wasn’t finished with it yet. This week Timex revealed the watch’s latest form, the Timex Giorgio Galli S1 38mm. Like the original, the new S1 is full of luxurious details found in timepieces priced far higher, like a skeletonized case in high-grade stainless steel, a double-domed crystal and an automatic movement visible through a glass case back. For the new collection, Galli took the case down from 41mm to 38mm, a more easygoing size, and reinterpreted the dial in three new subdued colors (a mossy green, slate blue, and stone gray) inspired by his favorite places in the world. With a matching riveted rubber strap, it’s the kind of watch that’ll go with almost anything in your wardrobe. And at $450, it’s priced to be within reach without too much of a stretch.
Or, to put it another way, it could be the only watch you wear in 2022. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves—Giorgio Galli’s got a lot more where this came from.
