You know what they say: Timing is everything.

Ariel Adams—owner, publisher and editor-in-chief of aBlogtoWatch—decided to take his first ever visit to our Timex headquarters in Middlebury, Connecticut and managed to get an exclusive first look at our American Documents collection.

Prior to taking a trip with our Design Director, Giorgio Galli, to visit the American suppliers coming together to make our made in America watches, Adams took the time to chat with us about his take on the collection, how he thinks it will shift perspectives on the Timex brand and the emotional connection people will make with this timepiece.

A noted watch enthusiast with a dedicated following, Adams admits he wasn’t expecting the news of our American Documents collection—our first American-made watch in decades.

“I would say I was pleasantly surprised and curious,” he says about his initial reaction to the project. “It makes sense for Timex to do this project, but it isn’t one that even serious brand devotees might expect. I recognize the large storytelling effort required to educate people like me as to what the product and the project are all about.”

Our American Documents collection brings together time-tested Swiss movement with beautiful, carefully-crafted American materials—including crystal made in Massachusetts, leather straps sourced and tanned in Minneapolis and a case back coin stamped in US-sourced brass and plated with “Aged Waterbury Brass,” all assembled by hand at our headquarters (located just seven miles from our original factory).

“American Documents watches contain a Swiss watch movement, but everything else you see and touch on the watch is made in the USA and uses parts from over a dozen American manufacturers, all curated by the Timex team,” Adams notes.

Adams has seen many of our watches and thought he had a pretty solid grasp on the brand and its direction. That is, until American Documents came along.

“Did I expect this from Timex? No,” Adams says. “But it’s very welcome and not something predictable from the brand.”

While many know us as an American brand, this collection is our first American-made watch in decades. What started as an idea quickly became a project the entire team was passionate about, setting us out to search for the highest quality American-made materials to create a watch that reflects the diverse people, culture and landscapes that inspire us every day.

“This is not a standard production,” Adams notes. “New supply chain, new development, new materials… this fundamentally changed how Timex made a watch. It’s not your everyday Timex.”

Adams had the chance to visit with some of the manufacturers whose parts were used in creating the American Documents watches.

“What an adventure it was to visit both a selection of the manufacturing partners and Timex’s incredible headquarters. It’s hard to package that experience for others, but it proved to me that American Documents isn’t just a marketing campaign but something real that is worth sharing. What I’ll remember most is the massive investment of time and effort the Timex team put into this project. What is also cool is the story of all the skills Timex as a historic watchmaker needed to relearn.”

“I think what was most interesting was the authentic pride and interest all the manufacturing partners had in this project,” Adams says. “They saw it as more than just another parts order and saw their relationship with Timex as different than that of just another client. I also think it’s interesting how challenging it is to make watch parts correctly and that many people have the notion it’s easy and that these parts can be made anywhere with relative ease.”

During his time at our headquarters, Adams also took note of how we fit into the narrative: Time as a brand and product that is quintessentially American.

“America has been one of the world’s most important makers of democratized technology. What they didn’t invent, they often made accessible to the masses. Timex has been integral with timepieces in this regard and now they release an emotional product, but one that maintains and serves those very same values.”

When asked about what he meant when he talked about the emotional value of the watch, he explains that people don’t buy watches because they need one; they buy watches because they want one. In the ‘90s, watches solidified its place in the fashion and style sphere. Consumers were now looking for more than just a watch; they wanted a watch that aligned with their style and their values.

So, what does this mean for the American Documents collection?

“For me, Timex always sat to the side,” Adams says. “The brand is so popular and well-known, I didn’t think there was anything they could add. They didn’t need me to talk about their products.”

But now, as American Documents is introduced for the first time, there is plenty to talk about.

To learn more about our American Documents collection, visit timex.com/americandocuments.