Timex Deepwater Reef 200 Hands On

That didn’t take long

Left: Titanium automatic TW2W73800 and Right: Steel quartz Tw2W74700

No sooner had I finished my first draft post on the Reef 41mm diver, when I went and ordered two. I suppose that was a good idea since Timex was out of stock in less than a week on all styles. It was a bit compulsive for me, but I really liked what I saw and have missed several releases in the past while I hesitated to get out the wallet. Oh yes, the flippers. There is usually more to be had later when they restock, especially if it is a popular one. I usually wait for a better price later down the road. I’m also a proponent of buying preowned. Not this time. I got one from each end of the price spectrum—one steel/quartz, the other titanium/automatic.

Big 41

The first thing I noticed with the steel one is that even at 41mm, the Reef is a substantial watch. The chunky lugs are fairly short so lug tip to lug tip is only 47.5mm, but it is over 12mm thick. The crown is big. The 22mm wide rubber also makes it seem big? I have very few watches with a 22mm lug width. It didn’t help that I had recently been wearing some of my 90s quartz Bulova Marine Stars that are 37mm on 18mm bracelets and under 10mm thick! My wrist is around 6.75 in, so the Reef is not too big or overhanging, but it feels bigger than other 40-41mm watches I have. The Deepwater Tiberón at 43mm would probably be too much for me? But you never know until you try it.

Coated steel 41mm TW2W74700 on 22mm rubber

I get the feeling Timex meant to make a substantial 41mm watch. If you like a steel watch for heft, this should do it. Seems they wanted to give it some presence, but still fit a smaller wrist. Its a slab-ish barrel shape case, sort of like a Seiko Prospex with less refinement, if you will. The dial looks set deep below the sapphire crystal. I like the overall look. I’m also glad there are no crown guards. I’ll bet that the design needed to be deep enough to handle the various movements? As I will explain, the strap has presence, too. The coated steel case finish is interesting. This model has what Timex calls titanium(confusing choice?) color. Overall it looks like a finely brushed case with a polished bevel down sides and top of lug. Then it all appears to be darkened by this coating to give it a shiny grey look. Looks like the same crown as the Tiberón? I think the red arrow is to remind you to screw down the crown for 200m WR.

Steel Reef(left & top) 41mm case and Navi XL(right & bottom)41mm case

I thought it would be interesting to compare the Reef 41mm case with the long running Timex Navi XL 41mm case. The NVI XL was also made with quartz and auto movements, like the Reef. Notice how the lugs on the Navi XL are longer and thinner. Navi Lug-to-lug is 51mm while the Reef is only 47.5. Overall thickness is the same, but notice how the Reef lugs are taller. The difference between 22mm and 20mm lug width really changes things. The bigger shoulders on the Reef give it that skin diver feel. Its a distinctly different shape for Timex. Even the Tiberón shape was more like a beefy NaviXL.

The basic shape/size of case is same between the steel quartz and auto titanium versions, but there are little differences. The auto titanium TW2W73800 is taller. I measure it at 13.5 mm versus the 12.5 of the quartz. This was the same situation with a Navi XL quartz and an Navi XL auto; it got thicker. Its hard to see where the extra millimeter comes from, but the bezel on the titanium is taller. The crown on the auto got smaller. It appears to be made of titanium and measures at approx. 7mm dia., while the steel version’s is almost 8mm. The solid case backs differ, too. One steel and the other titanium. Both engraved the same, but the titanium is harder to read. Around the perimeter is data for model number, lug width, crystal and case material, WR and Timex movement code. I’m glad they didn’t do an exhibition glass back on the auto.

Titanium case back above, steel below

Both have the wave pattern Deepwater logo with stylized dive flag. Even though these are called Reef, nothing says “Reef” on either front or back? They both do say Timex Deepwater on the dial. Looking back at the Deepwater Tiberón, it says neither “Deepwater” or “Tiberón” on it. Another thing I guess I could mention as a difference between these Reefs and the Tiberón is that the Tiberón was built to ISO 1413 certification for shock resistance. That is not a feature of the Reef.

TW2W74700 rubber strap with tuck-in feature.

Big Strap

At what stage of the design process was the decision to go 22mm made? Was it a result of case ht./movement size development that helped achieve a wider/flatter appearance? The 22mm wide rubber strap is interesting and long. 98mm on buckle side and 110mm on hole side. Add 47mm and you get approx. 255 mm. On my wrist I’m using the second to last hole! If you always been frustrated by strap end keepers, this is your strap! After you put the pin through the hole you tuck the strap end through the opening next to the buckle and it goes underneath. So, you need to leave some space when you pick your hole. I have a lot of strap going underneath. It does securely hold the steel watch in place. If you were to use it over a dive suit, the length may be useful? Thankfully, it does taper to a 20mm at the buckle. The two watches use the same strap but the titanium has a matching titanium buckle. I expect I will try a flatter shorter strap, with a taper, to reduce some of the overall bulk?

Strap end tucks underneath

Dial and Bezel

Overall, its a simple, classic, diver look. Not a lot of fine detail. Black bezel insert(not sure of material). The minutes are marked with dots along the inside circle. All markings are silver/grey on the bezel. The modern cricket-bat shaped hands are painted a silver/grey also with a bright orange/red half of the second sweep. This skeleton style is not vintage looking. The steel model has the embossed wavy dial pattern. The titanium one uses a matte black dial without the wave. The simple minute track on the dial perimeter appears to be printed in white. Hour lines here are fatter. The raised circles and bar hour markers are painted with green super-luminova. There is also a super-luminova pip on the bezel and square on the second sweep.

Steel TW2W74700 wave dial. Lacks details.

I really like the overall look of the titanium model with bezel and case matching in that low-luster silver color. Besides the base material there are other subtle differences in materials manufacturing processes. The wave-less dial of the titanium is more serious just being matte black with no texture. The hour markers appear to be applied solid lume material rather than painted-on raised parts of the dial like the other. The hands are also different from the steel version. On close examination, the hands on the titanium look like flat pieces of titanium, not beveled and painted like the steel version. There is a major problem with these hand as I will explain later. On the titanium, the minute hand is a bit longer, too, reaching into the minute marks. The second sweep has a smaller balance end and is white instead of orange. Overall they appear lighter for the auto movement, possibly?

Uneven Lume

About the lume: I have noticed a pretty serious problem with the titanium version. When charged, the hour markers are very bright. Even the weaker bezel lume shows. But the hour and minute hands are not as bright and disappear over time! Was this a production mistake? Its kind of hard to tell time without hands? I mentioned earlier that the hands differ on the two models. When I compare it to the steel version which has less powerful lume on the hour markers, I find the less expensive steel version has better lume on the hour and minute hands?! You can see this in the images below. Comparing both watches after hours in the dark, I could not tell the time on the titanium version because the hour and minute hands could not be seen! The hands and hour markers on the steel version were not bright, but at least I could tell the time.

Original Timex image left, Updated image right? Images from Timex

Something is odd with this lume thing? Here is another related detail. Above are two images of the Titanium I got from Timex site. Ooops. The image on left was pulled down in Oct 2024 at release, the one on right 19 Nov 2024. I contacted Timex first week of Nov. about the lume on the hands. Notice the lume/hands in the two photos. The hand position now above the date window. They must have edited out the minute hand to show the date window originally? Not only did Timex change the image to show more lume, they put the new one three times on the page for this watch? Why? Even if you just saw the new image on right, you still see my point that the lume on the hands in weaker than the hour markers. On my watch the hands lume was just unreadable after a short time.

I don’t really have much to say regarding the decision to get a quartz version or the automatic Miyota 8215 version. Either way, I don’t think many people are getting a Timex for the movement? Quartz or auto, Timex is using a basic, workhorse movement to keep cost down. We each have our own cost/function preferences. If you want the auto you have to get the titanium. There is no steel auto Reef at this time, and no quartz titanium combination. There is a $280 price gap between these two, so it would be interesting to figure out how much is the titanium and how much is the movement. I’m not interested in the GMT version. A solar quartz seems like a direction to go?

Hands and hour markers done differently.

Big expectations; Reef final thoughts

Its a Timex. In that I mean a value watch with some compromises. Its bold like most Timex designs are. It has to be versatile to cover a lot of the market spectrum for high production and lowest cost. Non-vintage divers can be big. The Deepwater was probably sized to cover the widest possible customer range. Not too big, and not too small. Its more modern than vintage but with a classic shape. The design is still a little heavy-handed, maybe? The specs deliver value, but there is a lack of fine detail and fit and finish that the enthusiast may be seeking. I really want to like them more, and I do like them, but my expectation was maybe to high? What is the purpose of the watch? The dial on the steel TW2W74700 comes off as a cheap impersonation of a dial. From a distance it calls, but in close, it lacks finesse and detail. But once I stop and consider the cost and overall design, I’m ok. Thankfully no diver-down flag like the Tiberón, but do we need an arrow on the crown? The strap is interesting, but a little clunky for me.

The Titanium TW2W73800 dial is less offensive than the wave but still lacks detail. The cyclops really breaks up the harmony of the dial. The auto Navi got it, too. Do people perceive it to represent a higher class of watch? Is it an affectation? I don’t like it. It makes me wonder if that came later after the design team saw how the movements date worked with the dial/case/bezel combination. Maybe it looked too small? The thing is; maybe it makes the date bigger, but not necessarily any easier to read? Its something I’d just have to get used to. The lume on the hour and minute hands on the titanium one is inadequate.

Timex, as usual, give you lots of variety and looks while using a common framework. There are eight Reef versions to choose from. I did break them down in my last post. With five price points, you have choices in colors, features, materials, and movements. The titanium version is not as heavy, but does not really feel that much lighter than the steel one. Its probably the heavier auto movement? I really like the look of the titanium version. The titanium version does come across as a more serious tool watch with limitations.

As I have said, I like the overall shape/look of the Deepwater Reef and the specs. I just wish it was more svelte and detailed. The strap could have been 20mm instead of 22mm. On the other hand, a person with bigger arms might think it just right or even small? I could have got some other cool preowned divers for this money. Every purchase is a complex dance between specs, aesthetics and functions. We weigh value and make compromises and apply value to different aspects with every different watch we acquire. With this Timex at a chosen price point, you are going to get the tool specs but sacrifice the nice details. That’s the trade-off. An auto Navi XL has better detailing, but no sapphire, 200m, or titanium.

Its the same old story. Price. Do I really need 200m WR and sapphire? 90% of the time, no. Someone working or playing in and around water often, yes. We do tend to expect more from watches than we should? Especially Timex. We get what we pay for, make compromises, determine priorities. We decide what we want to pay for. To get vintage flavor, smaller size, more details and quality I will probably have to go up in price for a used Baltic, Yema, Seiko or Christopher Ward, as examples. Overhaul a vintage diver?This is what we love — searching for that mix of qualities and price to hit the sweet spot. Finding the deal. We each have our range, our formula. I still enjoy a preowned $80 quartz 38mm Archive Navi Ocean. But, its not a tool watch. No watch can do everything and I don’t look for watches to do that. I’d rather have multiple watches.

The titanium model, left has better lume brightness except hands!

I’m going to classify these as modern skin divers, as tool watches. They are solid water watches lacking the finer details. After all my thinking about it, maybe these are supposed to be working watches, not desk divers? Still, I’m not sure they will attract people looking for a serious dive watch. They are unique and done as only Timex can. I think its a winning design with the whole being greater than you would expect from the individual parts.

Update: After some passionate emails with Timex customer service trying to get them to explain why the lume on the hands of the titanium/auto TW2W73800 was so bad, but getting no good answer, I decided to return it. I like the watch, but I can’t overlook this shortcoming. I did get my refund on 20 Nov. It’s a shame because it is a pretty cool watch that I really wanted to like. I don’t want to beat a dead horse…It was just too strange to me; a marketing campaign to emphasize the super-luminova of dial and bezel, but failing to give the hands equal lume, at least to tell time? At least with the steel version, though not as bright, hour markers and hands were balanced with each other. Now, of course we all have watches with faults that we overlook because we place higher value on other aspects. Maybe lume is not an issue for you. That is fine. For example, I have another much more expensive watch than this titanium Timex that has negligible lume. But, it is at least consistent across the watch and I value the case finish, dial and movement and overall design more that the lume. I did not get it as a tool/dive watch. This Timex, on the other hand, is designed for taking to wet, dark, places so I find its performance discordant. I am keeping the Deepwater quartz version.


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