Timex Expedition Chronograph T49781

In the vein of all the recent "How bad can it be?" reviews, I picked up this Timex "Rugged" Expedition chrono from Amazon at $68.99. There are several variations of this watch, including a brown dial, a black dial, and an IP black with yellow chapter ring. There are also a couple of 3 hander variations as well. Went with the white dial, blue chapter ring version.

No flashy packaging for this watch


Very manly looking, with a sharp white dial and concentric circle detail. Brushed finish case. Bezel is a fixed, two layer deal. An outer level of metal sitting on top of a black plastic ring. Bezel diameter is 42mm. East to west diameter is 48mm including crown. Mineral crystal.


Strap is a black leather, canvas, contrast stitch affair. Notice the embossed "E". Nice touch. Feels very comfortable right out of the gate, thickly padded. Fits the character of the watch well. 22mm strap.


Lugs have non-functioning hexagonal screw accents


I always appreciate a signed crown


Caseback detail. 100m water resistant. Faux screw down chrono knobs. Crown does not screw down.


Magical water resistant leather


On the wrist


Hirsh rally strap installed


Modest lume application, does not appear to be particularly strong lume


Indiglo activated


Overall not a bad little package for under $100. It certainly is handsome, and I'm sure any non-watch guy would be proud to wear it. I enjoy the little touches such as the signed crown, way better than average strap, and dial detail. Indiglo is always a fun feature for me. I am not a big fan of how loud Timex watches tick, but that goes with the territory and famous marketing for the brand. Two early warts: The chrono second hand does not line up exactly at 12 o'clock. There is no quick change date feature either. Crown position 1 engages the hour hand only, which rapidly spins to change the date.

Thanks for checking it out and please forgive my iphone photos, my usual camera has gone missing .

Excellent, well-written review, Neds. Got a kick out of the "Magical water resistant leather" reference, though I might be a bit hard-pressed to put it to the test if the watch were mine.

The Hirsch rally strap looks amazing, but the $64K question: did it cost more or less than the $68.99 watch? I think I might have gone with an inexpensive - but not cheap - mesh bracelet, depending on the weight of the watch. (I have a relatively light weight Haurex diver, on which I installed a rather heavy Deep Blue mesh bracelet; I can only describe the resulting 'feel' as 'NKR,' which is USN shorthand for 'Not Kwite Right.' )

I too am a fan of the Indiglo feature, but I've always [rhetorically] wondered; if you've got the Indiglo function on a given watch, why would you add 'regular' lume?

Thanks for the review, Doc; I enjoyed it a great deal...

//MORT OUT//

Great review Dave. I would much rather have the loud tick than a over the top loud watch.

I'm digging the Timex. The rally strap looks great on it. Thanks for the write up Dave.

I am a big fan of Indiglo watches......