GOOD COLLAB, BAD COLLAB
🤝 Put 'em next to each other and you can really see
Hey there, long time — I got a ring watch! Why? Because I thought it was cool.
It’s a collaboration between Timex and MM6 Maison Margiela, a diffusion line of Maison Margiela proper.1 I’m absolutely not in MM6’s wheelhouse but I really wanted this thing mainly to waggle it around on my finger like some kind of expensive cheeto. There’s also a non-ring, full wristed Timex T80 in the package as well that slots nicely into the MM6 universe.
I really believe Timex is the most fashion-forward and streetwise watch brand and collaborations like this and the Noah collab earlier this year (I have one on the way! ETA April 2025) convince me that someone at Timex really do be having a pulse on the peoples. And Timex is really, really good at collab watches. This Brain Dead one is an old favorite of mine2 and I bought the BEAMS Boy Timex Digital used off Yahoo Auctions Japan. Big fan of Timex here. They do their thing well and they have the enviable trait of being affordable (cheaper than all of my sneakers!) so I can just buy and sell ‘em without any hassle. I haven’t bought a watch over a grand in 4 years in part because I’ve kept the collector brain satiated wheeling and dealing Timexi and Casios.
I ran into this upcoming Casio and A.P.C. collaboration. A.P.C. is another upscale-ish fashion stalwart.3 Like the above, it’s A.P.C.’s take on a minimal classic digital watch.
so why does it suck lol(?)
Casio is no stranger to collaboration watches. A.P.C. is no stranger to collaboration items. But bruh somebody just slapped the logo on the thing and called it a day.
How is that different from the Timex x MM6 T80 though? They’ve essentially done the same thing and printed MM6 branding on a blank canvas, right?
I believe the best collaborations between brands result in something which either brand would not have created on it’s own and this is a good little case study on intention and execution.
If you took the A.P.C. logo off the Casio it would look like any other Casio. If you took the MM6 branding off the Timex you would still know it was the Timex x MM6 T80 Ring watch because it is the only T80 Ring watch. The reason I reckon the MM6 triumphs over the Casio is because MM6 took one liiiiiiiiittle extra step and got their respective watch brand to create something new in the T80 ring watch — which wouldn’t have existed otherwise.
Compare again the A.P.C. to this Casio x UNO watch. The execution is minimal but very distinctly UNO-ish. To wit A.P.C. have failed to impose enough A.P.C.-ness onto the Casio.
Or look at this Asics x A.P.C. collaboration on the Gel-Sonoma 15-50. It’s fucking sick.4 I think it’s sick primarily because Asics doesn’t offer anything else like this in their vanilla range and because A.P.C. have actually done something to the thing they were supposed to… do something to.
It’s pretty basic advice but it’s a good idea to keep in mind when you find yourself in the hype cycle of a new collaboration T-Shirt or sneaker or watch or whatever. “Would this thing have existed without the collaboration?”.
That’s why I thank MM6 because without them I wouldn’t have a cool little ring watch to waggle at my enemies.
There’s been a little uptick recently in the fashion and watch crossover collab space. The Porter Zenith is great because it looks like my Porter bag. The Engineered Garments Hamilton is ass because it just looks like a Hamilton. I love love love the Marni G-Shock, it’s the strongest G-Shock in a while for me. While most of your traditional watch outlets would skip over stuff like this I find that Hypebeast’s watches section is a good follow if you’re into collab watches. It’s a fun parallel sort of alternative to, ‘limited-edition’ releases. I’m just glad we’ve almost moved past slapping Snoopy on shit.
Time+Tide posted a fun little article on trying to obtain the T80 ring watch. It’s fascinating seeing watch people attempt to do things that sneaker people have been doing for nigh on 15 years at this point. All I can say is git gud scrub my refresh finger faster than John Marston.
As I type this post the watchiverse is in an uproar over the Cubitus. Sneakerheads do this thing where if a new sneaker sucks we all say, ‘wow this sucks lol’ and then move on without ever mentioning it or thinking about it ever again. I really wish the watchiverse could do the same with the Cubitus. Maybe something to look into as I think there’s an element of luxury and expectations here that I’m not clocking (heh).
As the Australian summer approaches I’d like to get in the habit of writing and posting and being active on social again. I’d love to increase output and do more, ‘short burst’ posts like this. Plus I’d enjoy expanding and writing and posting on social more broadly outside of watches because hilariously despite everything I’ve written so far I’m an art book snapper-upper first, sneaker collector second, clothes hoarder third and watch idiot last! Maybe video is the way? Should I join WatchTok? Become Watchtuber #187X3? 10 Affordable Watches That Watch People Love? This Patek Is Making People Go CRAZY!! (5 Things I Would Change About The Cubitus) 🤔🤔🤔
What’s that jacket? 🗼
Favored brand of the quasi-Scandinavian minimalist guy of which there was a pandemic of in the late 2010s. Like a Pokémon they seem to have evolved into Aimé Leon Dore guy.
Australian for, “really quite excellent”.