Nigel Cabourn Joins Timex for an RAF-Inspired Survival Watch

Renowned British fashion designer Nigel Cabourn has joined up with American watch brand Timex to create a vintage-inspired survival watch paying tribute to the RAF who crash-landed in the North Atlantic during World War II.

The model itself is based on the design of the Vietnam-era hack watches commissioned by the U.S. military for its fighters, featuring a simple and legible dial with a seconds track around the perimeter, larger 12-hour markers on the outer ring, and smaller 24-hour indices on the inner dial. Syringe hands provide more precise readings while a red seconds hand enables more convenient synchronization of watches between squad members. The dial itself is colored in a vibrant yellow reflective of the Ventile immersion suits worn by the RAF personnel to increase survivability in the ocean, and the material has also been used to create a leather-backed NATO strap for the timepiece.

Other nods to military heritage come in the form of a stamped caseback reminiscent of those used in wartime, and a “Big Arrow” graphic at 12 o’clock. Completing the package is a second leather NATO strap as well as a yellow canvas drill case for storage.

The Nigel Cabourn x Timex Survival Watch is now available over on the watchmaker’s website, retailing for $180 USD.

Elsewhere in watches, Issey Miyake has tapped Konstantin Grcic for a unique hexagonal timepiece.