4 minute read
The Timex T80 doesn’t need an introduction. If you grew up wearing one, you already know. If you didn’t, you’ve seen it on someone cooler than you at a concert or a skate spot and wondered what that boxy little digital watch was. It’s one of those things that never really went away — it just waited for its moment.
This is that moment.
Timex teamed up with Dime, the Montreal skate brand that built a cult following by refusing to take itself seriously, and END. — the UK-based streetwear retailer that curates collabs with the same precision most people reserve for fine art — to produce the Dime x Timex gift set. It’s a 34mm stainless steel digital watch anchored in T80 DNA, but dressed up in something you’ve never seen on one before: a studded pyramid-link bracelet and a matching natural leather strap with silver studs included in the box.
Why This Three-Way Collab Actually Makes Sense
Dime‘s whole thing has always been riding the line between sincere and absurd. They founded out of Montreal’s skate scene in 2005, started with a run of 100 t-shirts at a local print shop, and eventually built one of the most sought-after streetwear brands in the world — while acting like they couldn’t care less. Their collaborations follow the same logic. They’ve worked with New Balance, Reebok, and Vans, but they approach each one the same way they approach a skate video: with genuine creativity and zero reverence for how it’s “supposed” to be done.
END., meanwhile, has earned its reputation as the kind of retailer that only touches things it believes in. They don’t co-sign just anything.
Putting those two together with Timex — a brand that has been on wrists since 1854 and never pretended to be something it wasn’t — makes more sense the longer you sit with it. The T80 was already a cultural object before this collab. It was worn ironically, then sincerely, then both at the same time. Dime’s whole aesthetic lives in exactly that tension.
What You Actually Get in the Box
The watch itself runs a 34mm stainless steel case with a polished finish, mineral crystal, and Timex’s INDIGLO backlight built in. The LCD display carries Timex and Dime co-branding, with a customized INDIGLO logo underneath — a small detail that reads as considered rather than slapped on. All the T80 utility is intact: chronograph, daily alarm, day and date display.
The standout piece is the bracelet. That studded pyramid-link stainless steel band does something unusual for a T80 — it makes it feel deliberate. It’s the kind of thing you’d expect on something three times the price, not on a watch retailing at $229. The quick-release strap system means you can swap it out for the included leather strap in seconds, giving you two pretty distinct personalities to work with: one runs harder, one leans more retro.
The gift set packaging looks the part too, which matters more than it should when you’re gifting something or keeping it on a shelf.
Who It’s For (And Who Missed Out)
It’s already sold out on Timex’s site, which shouldn’t surprise anyone following how Dime drops work. Their seasonal releases consistently disappear within hours, and a limited collab with two well-regarded partners was never going to sit around.
If you’re watching the secondary market or still holding out hope for restocks, this is worth tracking down. At $229, the gift set was priced reasonably for what it included, and the secondary markup is unlikely to soften soon given the brand equity behind all three names here.
If you’re a collector, this one earns a spot. If you’re a daily wearer who wants something that reads as informed without trying too hard, same answer.
The Timex T80 has always been good at that. This version is just a little more deliberate about it.
