EXCLUSIVE: Introducing the Timex Snoopy Space Traveler Marlin Automatic

It really shouldn’t be a surprise that Timex has a way of tapping into our collective nostalgia receptors in a way that few other brands can. They’ve shown over and over again in their recent releases that they have an innate understanding of how to reach into the past and make something old feel new again. The Q, their huge hit watch from earlier this year, made you long for the 1980s even if you didn’t personally experience them. The Marlin, which in many ways reignited Timex as something more than an afterthought among contemporary watch heads, was an extremely successful take on their classic 1950s dress watch, dripping with Mad Men style and charm. And their series of watches celebrating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing released earlier this year, with a certain iconic beagle on the dial, is another example of Timex showing up in an almost Forrest Gump-like way to make us think lovingly of the past. Their new Marlin, featuring that same beagle, feels like another well-executed play on our continued desire to commune with an earlier time.

(Editor’s Note: a previous version of this article had the movement incorrectly listed as a Chinese automatic caliber. That is incorrect. The movement is a Mioyota automatic, and the article has been amended to indicate that.)

Timex Snoopy Space Traveler Marlin Automatic

• Case Material: Stainless steel w/ Black Coating
• Dial: Silver 
• Dimensions: 40mm
• Crystal: Acrylic 
• Water Resistance: 30 meters 
• Crown: Push/pull  
• Movement: Japanese Miyota automatic movement
• Strap/bracelet: Black leather  
• Price: $249
• Reference Number: n/a 
• Expected Release: November 11th
  

  ---

The Snoopy Space Traveler Marlin Automatic celebrates the 50-year partnership between Peanuts and NASA. Aficionados of NASA history will remember that the Silver Snoopy program, inaugurated in 1968, has long celebrated NASA employees for outstanding achievements in safety. And of course, the Apollo 10 modules which successfully orbited the moon, laying the groundwork for the lunar landing, were nicknamed “Charlie Brown” and “Snoopy.” Over the years, Snoopy (often drawn in a spacesuit) has become a sort of unofficial NASA mascot and ambassador. 

So, with plenty of history to draw on, Timex’s new watch should prove to be pretty satisfying to a certain kind of history buff who also appreciates vintage watch styles. This is an automatic Marlin, in the larger 40mm case size (the original re-issued hand-wound version was 34mm and true to heritage sizing). While this isn’t the first time we’ve seen Snoopy on a Marlin, it is the first time he’s been seen clad in his astronaut helmet.

At $249, this is a well-priced watch that is simply meant to make the wearer smile when checking the time. These kinds of value-priced tribute watches aren’t for everyone but can serve as a great reminder to some of us that this hobby should be fun, and there’s no shame in being seen with a well-known cartoon character on your wrist. Timex