Model Identification

Identify Any Code

Enter any code found on your Timex (the case back stamp, the dial code or the model number) or a code from a catalog. It works out which kind of code it is and decodes everything it contains: year, month, catalog number, movement and series.

Inner Case Stamp

Most often during this period, you can find a stamp within the inner case back that will give you either the last two digits of the year, the full year, or a month and year of manufacturing. In some cases, especially if the watch has previously been serviced or parts replaced, this ink stamp may have rubbed off. Once you find the year, go to the Model Reference section of this site for more information on models within that year.

8-Digit Dial Code

From 1963, Timex imprinted a code on the face of the dial — not normally visible until the movement is uncased. The first four digits are the catalog number (the 5th digit, denoting strap or band type, is omitted). The next two digits are the movement number, and the last two are the year.

9-Digit Dial Code

From 1971 the catalog number expanded to five digits — the full catalog number including the strap/band variant digit is now printed on the dial. Movement number remains two digits; year remains the last two digits.

10-Digit Dial Code

Movement numbers expanded to three digits as the Timex lineup grew. The code lengthened to 10 digits.

Case Back Date Code

A one or two character code stamped on the outside of the case back, such as K4, AB or V3. It gives the year and month the watch was made, nothing more. Type it in the box above, or find it in the table below.

How a Model Number Is Built

Each digit in a Timex model number describes a physical property of the watch. The first two digits identify the series; digits three through five describe bezel color, hand style, and band type. Type a model number in the box above to decode one.

UK Model Identification

UK-market Timex watches (the dial often reads “Great Britain” or “United Kingdom”) used two parallel identification systems up to 1967: a numeric model number system and a mnemonic letter code system. Both encode the same properties — series, bezel plating, dial colour, and sweep second hand — in different forms. From 1967 an eight-digit code on the dial replaced both: catalogue number (digits 1–4), movement (5–6) and year (7–8). British watches made before 1967 have no code on the dial. Type a UK model number or letter code in the box above to decode it.

A code consisting of one letter and one number is stamped on the inside of the case back of every UK Timex watch. The numeral alone identifies the year of manufacture. The catalog does not say what the letter means.

The 1949–1955 catalogs and price lists identify each watch by a short letter code, such as ACL or BGSRM. These codes are printed only in the catalogs, never on the watch itself, so they won't help you read your watch. They tell you what a catalog listing describes, and which listing matches a watch you have. Timex never published what the letters mean.

This key is our reading of them, worked out by lining up every code with what the catalogs print beside it. A model name is only given for the years a catalog prints it. Type a code in the box above to see where it is printed.