A few days ago Timex launched Rewound, a new micro-site allowing customers to trade in their old watches in exchange for discounts on new watches… At least thats the headline.

When is a deal not a deal?

Its not clear if you can just trade in an old Timex or if theyre taking trade-ins from other brands. The idea is that you get a whopping 20% discount towards a new Timex.

This is where it falls down.

Timex are known for having multiple sale days throughout the month with the average discount being… you guessed it… 20%. You even get a code for signing up to their mailing list. Ive seen discounts on selected watches go up as far as 30% in recent months.

Its not clear if the code you get for trading in your old watch is stackable with these existing codes as that would be awesome. But i suspect this isnt the case.

As a result the 20% offering from Timex seems a little lack lustre considering that on a regular basis this is the norm.

Theres obviously the recycling angle which is ok, however its no different from putting your watch in the scrap metal bin at your local recycling centre.

When a deal is a deal

Timex do make the claim that they will upcycle some watches. Again details are foggy but it does look like some pieces might make their way into the Timex Rewound shop. This is where things get interesting.

You can already find out of production watches on the Timex Rewound store. Initially i believe there were some rare watches like the last Mechanical watch produced in the 1990s before their hiatus from mechanical pieces. Rumor has it that theres more to come.

If you combine this with refurbished watches from trade ins then this could be a great place to find a hard to find vintage watch in good condition.

I’m not suggesting that 1956 Marlins will be available, but if you’re looking for a missing piece from a more contemporary collection then i’d keep my eye on whats available.

Theres no word on how frequently the Timex Rewound store will be restocked but i do know that when it is i’ll be waiting.