Budget Watch Collecting/Timex date codes
Most (possibly all) mechanical Timex watches from 1963 until the end of mechanical production in 1993 have a reference number, usually at the bottom of the dial. The last two numbers correspond to the year the watch was produced. The two (occasionally 3) numbers before that are the movement number, the remaining numbers are the catalog number. For example, 2495210592 would indicate catalog number 24952, movement 105, year 1992. In some cases this number is hidden under the bezel and cannot be viewed without removing the movement from the case.
Some earlier Timex models have an ink-stamped date code on the inside caseback consisting of one letter and one number. The numeral denotes the year of manufacture as follows: 1959-8, 1960-7, 1961-6, 1962-5 1963-4 1964-3 1965-2 1966-1 1967-9.
Watches from 1985 and later generally have a 2 digit code on the caseback indicating year and month of manufacture:
Timex Date Codes 1985 and Later Year: Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul- Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov- Dec-Year 1985: 01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 - 08 - 09 - 10 - 11 - 12 -1985 1986: 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 -1986 1987: 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 - 32 - 33 - 34 - 35 - 36 -1987 1988: 37 - 38 - 39 - 40 - 41 - 42 - 43 - 44 - 45 - 46 - 47 - 48 -1988 1989: 49 - 50 - 51 - 52 - 53 - 54 - 55 - 56 - 57 - 58 - 59 - 60 -1989 1990: 61 - 62 - 63 - 64 - 65 - 66 - 67 - 68 - 69 - 70 - 71 - 72 -1990 1991: 73 - 74 - 75 - 76 - 77 - 78 - 79 - 80 - 81 - 82 - 83 - 84 -1991 1992: 85 - 86 - 87 - 88 - 89 - 90 - 91 - 92 - 93 - 94 - 95 - 96 -1992 1993: A1 - A2 - A3 - A4 - A5 - A6 - A7 - A8 - A9 - A0 - AA - AB -1993 1994: B1 - B2 - B3 - B4 - B5 - B6 - B7 - B8 - B9 - B0 - BB - BC -1994 1995: C1 - C2 - C3 - C4 - C5 - C6 - C7 - C8 - C9 - C0 - CC - CD -1995 1996: D1 - D2 - D3 - D4 - D5 - D6 - D7 - D8 - D9 - D0 - DD - DE -1996 1997: E1 - E2 - E3 - E4 - E5 - E6 - E7 - E8 - E9 - E0 - EE - EF -1997 1998: F1 - F2 - F3 - F4 - F5 - F6 - F7 - F8 - F9 - F0 - FF - FG -1998 1999: G1 - G2 - G3 - G4 - G5 - G6 - G7 - G8 - G9 - G0 - GG - GH -1999 2000: H1 - H2 - H3 - H4 - H5 - H6 - H7 - H8 - H9 - H0 - HH - HJ -2000 2001: J1 - J2 - J3 - J4 - J5 - J6 - J7 - J8 - J9 - J0 - JJ - JK -2001 2002: K1 - K2 - K3 - K4 - K5 - K6 - K7 - K8 - K9 - K0 - KK - KL -2002 2003: L1 - L2 - L3 - L4 - L5 - L6 - L7 - L8 - L9 - L0 - LL - LM -2003 2004: M1 - M2 - M3 - M4 - M5 - M6 - M7 - M8 - M9 - M0 - MM - MN -2004 2005: N1 - N2 - N3 - N4 - N5 - N6 - N7 - N8 - N9 - N0 - NN - NP -2005 2006: P1 - P2 - P3 - P4 - P5 - P6 - P7 - P8 - P9 - P0 - PP - PR -2006 2007: R1 - R2 - R3 - R4 - R5 - R6 - R7 - R8 - R9 - R0 - RR - RS -2007 2008: S1 - S2 - S3 - S4 - S5 - S6 - S7 - S8 - S9 - S0 - SS - ST -2008 2009: T1 - T2 - T3 - T4 - T5 - T6 - T7 - T8 - T9 - T0 - TT - TU -2009 2010: U1 - U2 - U3 - U4 - U5 - U6 - U7 - U8 - U9 - U0 - UU - UV -2010 2011: V1 - V2 - V3 - V4 - V5 - V6 - V7 - V8 - V9 - V0 - VV - VW -2011 2012: W1 - W2 - W3 - W4 - W5 - W6 - W7 - W8 - W9 - W0 - WW - WY -2012 2013: Y1 - Y2 - Y3 - Y4 - Y5 - Y6 - Y7 - Y8 - Y9 - Y0 - YY - YA -2013 2014: 01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 - 08 - 09 - 10 - 11 - 12 -2014 2015: 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 -2015 2016: 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 - 32 - 33 - 34 - 35 - 36 -2016 2017: 37 - 38 - 39 - 40 - 41 - 42 - 43 - 44 - 45 - 46 - 47 - 48 -2017 2018: 49 - 50 - 51 - 52 - 53 - 54 - 55 - 56 - 57 - 58 - 59 - 60 -2018 2019: 61 - 62 - 63 - 64 - 65 - 66 - 67 - 68 - 69 - 70 - 71 - 72 -2019 2020: 73 - 74 - 75 - 76 - 77 - 78 - 79 - 80 - 81 - 82 - 83 - 84 -2020 2021: 85 - 86 - 87 - 88 - 89 - 90 - 91 - 92 - 93 - 94 - 95 - 96 -2021 2022: A1 - A2 - A3 - A4 - A5 - A6 - A7 - A8 - A9 - A0 - AA - AB -2022 2023: B1 - B2 - B3 - B4 - B5 - B6 - B7 - B8 - B9 - B0 - BB - BC -2023 2024: C1 - C2 - C3 - C4 - C5 - C6 - C7 - C8 - C9 - C0 - CC - CD -2024
Below is a general breakdown of Men's model names per model number. Model number can be found below and to the left of six o'clock (in small print)
(1XXX = Mercury/Sprite) (2XXX = Marlin) (25XX = Sportster) (3XXX = Fun Timer) (4XXX = Viscount) (5XXX = Super Thin) (6XXX = 17 Jewel) (9XXX = Electric)