Worn & Wound
Timex Expands their Atelier Line with New Chronographs
Lots of ink has been spilled in the short span of time since the launch of the Formex Aria on the topic of small brands (microbrands, if you must) going upmarket and playing at significantly higher price points than consumers are accustomed to. When a brand releases a watch that is multiple times the cost of the watches they are already associated with, it can cause a near panic in the watch enthusiast community. Lots of “HOW COULD THEY?” type comments appear on websites like ours, Instagram, and over beers at local meetups as collectors grapple with the idea that watch brands, which are also businesses that support the lives of real human beings, might attempt to make the most of the increased popularity our hobby has received in these past few years. And that’s really what it is, right? The mainstreaming of watches has led brands like Formex, Christopher Ward, Atelier Wen, and others to feel confident in their expansion upmarket. Gone are the days when microbrands appeal solely to value conscious consumers – they have the eye of at least some traditional luxury buyers as well, and the ambitious watches they’ve developed and the prices being asked are a reflection of that. Timex, of course, is not a microbrand, but their Atelier line is a significant move into a higher pricing tier, and some of those same dynamics are in play, I think with the release of two new chronographs in the brand’s highest end line of watches. You might remember the Atelier collect...
