Timex has made plenty of unusual watches over the years, but few are as immediately charming as the Original Camper Ring Watch, a fully functional miniature designed to be worn on your finger.
The tiny timepiece first appeared earlier this year as part of Japanese retailer icon BEAMS’ 50th-anniversary celebrations, taking the familiar military styling of Timex’s Original Camper and shrinking it into something closer to jewellery.
Now, BEAMS BOY, a womenswear label within the Japanese retailer and fashion group BEAMS, has returned to the idea with a new version, and I think this one might look even better.
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The Timex x BEAMS BOY Original Camper Ring Watch swaps the utilitarian colouring of the earlier model for a translucent tortoiseshell-style brown case and bracelet.
The design references a tortoiseshell Original Camper that BEAMS BOY previously commissioned from Timex, effectively shrinking that full-sized collaboration down for your finger.
The warm translucent resin gives the miniature Camper more of a vintage-accessory feel, while the familiar white dial, black Arabic numerals and 24-hour markings retain the military-watch character of the original.
Small watch with a surprisingly serious execution
The Original Camper Ring Watch is a genuinely functional quartz watch, complete with a Japanese movement, acrylic crystal and the Camper's recognisable field-watch dial.
Its expandable bracelet accommodates different finger sizes, while the crown protruding from the side makes the whole thing look almost comically like somebody used a shrink ray on a normal Timex.
BEAMS BOY has also retained one of the best details from the original release: the packaging.
The ring watch sits inside a TIGHT VAC container, and a transparent internal stand makes it look as though it's floating inside the cylindrical case.
The clever case gives the package the feel of a tiny museum exhibit or some forgotten piece of 1970s industrial design.
The new tortoiseshell Original Camper Ring Watch is priced at ¥22,000 (~£102 / $139 / €119 / AU$193) and is due to go on sale from 11 September, with reservations already open in Japan through BEAMS.
While the Original Camper Ring Watch itself isn't new, this tortoiseshell treatment makes an already strange little Timex considerably more desirable.
