Hands-On With The Huckberry X Timex ‘Cola’

Huckberry has teamed with Timex to release a design of their own version of the Q featuring a “Cola” colorway. The online retailer has worked with Timex in the past with the release of the Timex Diver last year, and the Q looks to capitalize on their most popular model of the year. So how does this one differ from the other variants we’ve seen? Quite a bit, as a matter of fact. That’s not to say it’s strayed too far from the formula, but if your preferences land in the toned down territory when it comes to bright colorways, this just might be the one for you. We got our hands on one example to see just how this one fares in the flesh.

At a glance, the Q ‘Cola’ is, well, a Timex Q. The same funky case shape and unique ‘woven’ steel bracelet are present and accounted for. The dial and bezel is where things begin to get interesting here. Unlike other Q models, the Huckberry edition ditches the circular hour plots, replacing them with polished and faceted batons at 12, 6, and 9 o’clock, with printed lines appearing in between. The chapter ring at the dial’s edge is split into a white outer section, and red inner section, creating a distinctive point of contrast not seen on other Q watches. The red theme continues inward with crosshairs sectioning the dial in quadrants. Finally, a red seconds hand ticks atop the usual hour and minute hand, which are filled with a yellowed lume. The yellow throws off the color scheme a bit, where white would have served as complimentary. The day and date apertures remain at 3 o’clock. 

The bezel also receives an overhaul, appearing in red for the first 20 minutes before transitioning to black for the remainder. Unlike other Q watches, this bezel lists the minutes rather than hours, moving away from the GMT look we see in the bi-tone bezel inserts. Overall the look is high contrast with a considerable bend toward modernity over the free wheelin’ ‘70s vibe of other Q watches. Even the letter “Q” has been removed from the top of the dial as a point of separation. It’s a very cool look that veers toward the aggressive, but somehow jives well with the throwback case and bracelet.

Inside sits the Seiko PC33 quartz, meaning the same welcome svelte case dimensions we know and love in the Q line: 38mm in diameter and a hair over 11mm in thickness. This was a welcome shift from the M79 we went hands on with right here. The naming of the watch is particularly interesting, as the generic ‘cola’ riffs on the established nomenclature of the genre dominated by Rolex GMT models (from Pepsi, to the 5 digit Coke model). Obviously, Rolex themselves never make reference to or even acknowledge these nicknames as they aren’t licensed to, so seeing a brand go head first into a similar name while avoiding any potential trademark hazards feels a bit tongue in cheek. 

The Timex Q for Huckberry is available for purchase now directly from Huckberry (and only from Huckberry) for the price of $189. Nab yours right here.