Always nice to have a new Daily Beater – that is a watch you can wear everyday, easy to read, luminous, good size, dependable quality, tough, decent Water Resistance. One that also indicates the Date is always useful. Now, I have had a few daily beaters over the years and I’ve still got them all, because there as easy to slip on as a pair of socks or gloves. They’re one of those every day things you can take for granted.
However, I might have to question this Timex TW5M61004. It has been called a ‘Main Street’ model, perhaps another way of saying Daily Beater, who knows, but this is the model number which is more important to know.
A friend who recently got himself one is actually very pleased with it and he showed it to me and asked my honest opinion.
Always a tricky when that happens, isn’t it?
Well, it’s a Timex Quartz movement, so that should be OK. I do like the size of it at 42mm diameter and it lies flat on the wrist as it’s just 10.5mm thickness. The case is resin with the typical Timex stainless steel 4 x screw back, which has always been dependable. It also manages a 50m Water Resistance and it’ s NOT expensive.
It comes with a conventional pin buckle coloured silicon strap in red or black – this is the red one and I agree with him, it looks great and for once not too stiff (so many “rubber” straps at too stiff these days). And being attached to conventional spring-bars, it’s easy to change for any strap you wish. So, not a bespoke affair which is a real plus in my book. It’s also a quick release type which is very useful as no tools are required to do a swap. So, for this strap, I have to give it a +100% rating – as it is very well made, flexible and very comfortable indeed. In fact, I’d go as far to say it’s one of the most comfortable straps I’ve worn from Timex.
So far it’s all good.
Now, while this model looks like a ‘diver’ model, it isn’t – and Casio do not describe it as such. But it does ‘look’ like one and is pleasing to look at. Mildly male orientated I suppose with the dial, hands and numerals design, though of course the distinctive bezel does NOT turn.
Some might say this is terrible, but it isn’t a diver, so it’s not – in fact there are more customers of ‘diver’ watches who don’t swim or even to go near water, so hardly divers? So, most buyers won’t bother and if nothing else it looks good and maybe quite handy for a ‘quick glance’ time check for 10 or 20 minutes.
The large diver style hour and minute hands are OK and there is also a centre seconds hand, which is always handy to have. But and maybe this is my first ‘but’.
The seconds hand is grey coloured which I find at certain angles not that easy to see, even though there is a seconds ‘spot’ at the sharp end. To me, if you have a centre sweep seconds hand then I want to see it clearly, otherwise what’s the point.
The main hands and the numerals are according to the spec – luminous – and they are, but only just and certainly not really what I would consider luminous.
These are too faint and just maybe if you’ve got your glasses on in the dark, then hopefully you might see them. For me – simply not good enough.
Ah! I hear you say – Casio has Indiglo – to which I say – exactly!
I mention this because Timex have also incorporated their “Indiglo” night light system in this model – though for me this is a system that has never won me over.
It basically allows you to push in the crown and the entire dial lights up in a sort of blue/green glow and the hands and numerals are then backlit, appearing as a dark silhouette idea. Now, I have always found that the glow is often so bright, it sometimes swamps out the silhouetted numerals. So, this is not my favourite system – I would much prefer really good luminous hands/numerals etc. every time. And OK and apologies to my friend, but you asked – and that IS my opinion.
The rest of the watch ensemble is pretty well made, the resin case is tough, the large crown easy to use to quickly set the hands and so on.
However, another small niggle is the Date, which is indicated in a small window @4 – which in this instance could definitely be bigger, as the window recess is too deep and casts a shadow and not that easy to read. And double digit dates without a 1, can appear crowded, so really not that easy to read at a glance. If the window was a fraction larger and the date wheel closer to the dial, then it would be much better.
I would also note the date transition period (when it changes over at midnight) is one of those long ones, so for maybe 30/40 minutes the window is in-between dates – and with this small heavily recessed date window – VERY tricky to make out.
A nice point I noted was that between the lug bars, where the strap fits, there is a notch cut into the case, which allows the strap to sit snug against the case, without the case curvature getting in the way. This is a neat idea rarely seen and it’s a good idea.
As said this watch is Quartz and powered by the easily sourced CR2016 battery, so should be good for around 5 years or so.
In summary then I would have to say – I quite like it as a basic Timex which is OK and is not going to break the bank. And yes, it’s probably perfectly fine as a daily beater, though I would prefer also as a nightly beater with better luminous hands/numerals etc.
But on the other hand it IS an extraordinarily comfortable watch on the wrist and my personal gripes probably won’t bother my friend in the slightest or another wearer, unless a picky old guy like me.
It is what it is – and so am I! After all he did ask!
Watch space 