Timex's Marlin Chatham Makes 36mm Feel Modern Again

Finding an affordable automatic watch is easy; finding one with compact proportions and enough personality to avoid looking like every other round dress watch is harder. The Timex Marlin Chatham Automatic, model TW2Y84300, from $289, takes the second problem seriously and solves it mostly with shape.

The case is the story. It measures 36mm across with a 44.5mm lug-to-lug and a 12mm thickness, and Timex lists the complete watch at 60.73 grams. Those numbers describe a small watch that is not especially thin, which is an important distinction: the Chatham's appeal is compact proportions and a cushion outline, not an ultra-slim dress profile. The cushion shape softens the corners that a round case would draw, and the combination of polished steel, applied Breguet-style Arabic numerals, a white dial and a black leather strap keeps the whole thing restrained rather than fussy.

Inside is a Japanese Miyota automatic movement visible through the caseback, which is a sensible choice at this price: Miyota movements are well understood, easy to service and durable, and they remove the servicing anxiety that comes with an inexpensive mechanical watch. The trade-offs are honest ones. The crystal is mineral rather than sapphire, so it will pick up scratches that sapphire would shrug off, and water resistance is modest, which means this is a desk and dinner watch rather than a swim watch.

Against the alternatives, $289 buys a Seiko 5 in a larger case, a microbrand diver with sapphire, or a quartz piece with better finishing. None of them will give you a 36mm cushion case with applied numerals and a visible automatic movement. The lug-to-lug figure is the number to check against your wrist before ordering, since 44.5mm wears differently on different people. Buyers who want a small, characterful mechanical watch and can live with mineral glass will find very little competing with it at the price.