I’d like to gauge the interest of the forum in a potential new project for Eddie. I’ve long searched for a watch for my son who’s 10 years old. I’ve actually acquired a couple different Flik-Flaks for him and while they are OK, they don’t quite fit the bill. Kids’ watches today tend to be more cartoonish. An active, adventurous boy really wants something like what Dad wears and I’ve yet to find a watch like that sized for boys.

In general I think we’re a nostalgic lot here and more than a few of us have memories of growing up in a less “careful” society. We thought nothing of venturing out of doors for the entire day without any parental supervision (gasp!) to explore the woods, the streets or the neighbor’s backyard. Thinking about this and after recently thumbing through a copy of The Dangerous Book for Boys, I got to thinking that I loved my first watch as a boy which was a Timex.

Unfortunately I no longer have that watch but I searched a bit for various vintage Timex models for boys. Here are a few different styles from the 60s and 70s:



My vague recollection is that mine was similar to the watch on the bottom right only with a white dial. I do remember watching the luminous hands glow at night in bed. I know that RLT came up with an homage to a vintage boys Timex but I’m not suggesting an exact recreation of any of these models. I would like to re-create the “spirit” of the Timex of my youth. That is, a sturdy watch that my son can go out with and get dirty.

The features I’d like to see would include:
- Extremely legible dial with Arabic numerals
- Quartz is most practical
- Strong lume is key, there is nothing cooler to a kid than glow-in-the-dark stuff
- Simple sturdy strap, maybe a nylon NATO-like strap with Velcro closure (washable). A strap with a compass on it would make it that much more interesting. Boys, like their dads, are into gadgets.
- Reasonably priced. This is a relative term but I’ve spent anywhere from $30 - $60 for Flik-Flaks which tend to be more expensive than most kids’ watches. I think this would be a good target range.

So what would it look like? I’ll use my feeble photo editing skills to mock up a couple concepts but I’m very open minded about different cases, dials, hands, etc.:



Here, I borrowed the Timex case most similar to my Timex and the legible dial of the Speedbird 3. One is the basic black dial, the ivory dial is meant to represent a full-lume dial. And if ever there was a watch that should have a lightning bolt seconds hand, it should be the “Dangerous Watch for Boys”. As for a name, I would take my inspiration from the vintage Timex models bearing the Cub Scout logo, my son’s interest in Scouts and the adventurous spirit of this project. Call it the Scout.

So would anyone else be interested in a Timefactors watch similar to what I’ve described and sized for boys?

Thanks for looking,
Rick