Timex M79 Owner Review : Efficient, simple and beautiful

This little Timex was one of my first automatic watches. Timex is an American brand that is little known today, despite a rich history since its creation in 1854. The Timex Q was an important chapter, released in 1979 by the brand in the midst of the quartz crisis, it was a real blockbuster. Its characteristic design, in the shape of a barrel with an integrated bracelet is typical of the 70s movement and recalls models such as the Omega Genève, the Rolex Oysterquartz or the now famous Tissot PRX. For the 40th anniversary of the model, Timex decided to launch a reissue of the model revisited with many details that pay homage to the original model and others that use aesthetic codes of certain models of the brand with the crown. These details really make this watch charming. In addition, Timex decided to release an automatic version called M79 (for Mechanical and 1979). The unidirectional bezel gives a less massive appearance to the 40mm case compared to models like the PRX and the Tsuyosa. All the characteristics of a diver are present except for the water resistance which is only 50m (big black point of the model), so we can almost consider it as a skin-diver. The two-tone black and red bezel pays homage to the GMT Master, as do the hands although the Mercedes hand has been replaced by a hand with a small "T" that recalls the brand. Another nice little detail, the crown is signed. I particularly appreciate the simplicity of the dial which is not too busy and the effort that was made to integrate the date with a black disc like the dial. The finishes are really very successful for the price. The red second hand is a nice reminder of the color of the bezel. The domed acrylic glass reinforces the vintage look and allows you to enjoy the beautiful black dial. The transparent case back allows you to observe the Miyota 8215 caliber, a robust movement that has proven itself and requires little maintenance. We can criticize the only 42 hours of power reserve and the -20, +40 announced even if I have the feeling that my watch has a drift much lower than these figures. Finally, we must talk about the bracelet which recalls the old bracelets of the Timex Q, I find it very chic because it is much thinner (22mm down to 18mm at the buckle) and it reinforces the neo-vintage aspect of the watch, the signed buckle is robust. However, it is important to emphasize that even if the bracelet fits the wrist perfectly, it is not at all comfortable because it tends to catch the hairs on the wrist.