Timex Triathlon - Small

Today's watch was smaller when I'd put it on my wrist than I'd anticipated, but it just about fits with my small wrists.

The watch is one of the Timex watches from the Triathlon line of watches. Timex watches are made by the Dutch holding company Timex Group which has several watch making subsidiaries within the company. They released the Triathlon range originally in 1984, with the possibly more well known Ironman Triathlon being started 2 years later.

I'd guess that this watch was a 90s or early 00s design from the style, but as they don't have a good model number system, it has to be a guess (although there is the number 465-A on the back). It could well be earlier though as this is a standard design for the Triathlon range.

It has an LCD display with two lines of six equally sized digits. By default, the top line is for day and date with the bottom line showing time. The top line is set up so it can display text though, and describes the mode that is about to be selected. Modes included are chronograph, timer, and alarm, and it has an 8 lap memory.

The layout looks like a hand held stopwatch with buttons poking out of the side of the case at an angle. The stopwatch buttons are on the front of the watch for easy access while doing sports. The buttons are so small though, that I feel this must be a kids version as you need very small fingers to use it effectively. As this is a Triathlon model, it is of course water resistant (to 50m).

On the back is a US patent number D.287.341 which covers this particular design of watch and was filed in 1984 by Gary Grimes of the Timex Corporation.

The original sale price of this model was ¥9,800.

Timex Ironman Triathlon

I've posted a few different sports models from Timex before, but this is my first from one of their more well known ranges.

This is the Ironman Triathlon from the Timex Triathlon range. The Triathlon watch originally came out in 1984, and from that, Timex developed the Ironman Triathlon as part of a collaboration with the organisers of the Ironman Triathlon events. The Timex Ironman Triathlon first came out in 1986 and differed from the normal model with 100 m water resistance (rather than 50 m), and a new shaped body and strap. The strap is a very open web-like design so that it remains comfortable to use during sports, and it has the Ironman Triathlon M logo embedded in the strap's resin. In 1992, the watches gained the Timex indiglo el-backlight system and some cosmetic updates, and by 2005 they had also lost the reflective all-day-glow screen (which makes mine a pose 2005 model).

The Ironman Triathlon which this watch is linked with is a hardcore endurance race which is held around the world. The race comprises of a 2.4 mile (3.9 km) swim, a 112 mile (180 km) cycle, and a marathon (26.2 mile /42.2 km run). This watch has become a favourite of the competitors and so the design and marketing has definitely worked!

The watch has a large and easy to read LCD display with a large 6 digit time display. Above that is a smaller 6 digit display for day and date. The digits in the time and date lines are designed with additional segments so they can also be used for letters which are used to describe the modes being selected. For modes, this model has a chronograph, timer, interval timer, and 3 alarms, and the watch has a 50 lap memory.

There doesn't seem to be specific model numbers, but on the back this has two numbers 657 and R7. It uses a CR2016 battery, and is designed to survive the rigours of an Ironman Triathlon event.