News · Timex

Timex and Dimepiece give the 36 mm Intrepid a Blackout edition

The second Intrepid collaboration retains its cream dial and purple details inside a black case, at US$269 or A$490 by region.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 4 min read · 21 October 2026

• Timex announced the Intrepid x Dimepiece Blackout Edition on 20 October, retaining the collaboration's 36 mm case and cream dial.
• A black steel case and NBR rubber strap surround purple accents, a rotating top ring, INDIGLO lighting and 100 m water resistance.
• Reference TW6A19800 is listed at US$269 on the US storefront and displayed at A$490 with Australia selected.

A black case can be the quickest way to make an old design look tougher, but the Timex Intrepid x Dimepiece Blackout Edition has a more interesting constraint: it must still look like the smaller, playful Intrepid that made the first collaboration work. The cream dial, purple details and unusual crown position survive, while the case and strap move into black. Timex announced this follow-up on 20 October 2026, again working with Dimepiece founder Brynn Wallner and Foundwell's Alan Bedwell. The change is in character rather than size, which is exactly why the comparison matters.

The Intrepid x Dimepiece keeps the 36 mm case

The first Intrepid x Dimepiece took a watch with 1990s roots and reduced its large proportions to a 36 mm case. Timex says the original Intrepid debuted in 1995 at 46 mm, so the collaboration's smaller size was not a trivial colour update. The Blackout Edition keeps that 36 mm diameter and the distinctive crown near four o'clock. You still get a rotating top ring to track elapsed time. That means the design remains recognisable even though the dark case could, at a glance, make it seem like a different watch.

Timex specifies a black stainless-steel case, 10 mm thick, with a 40 mm lug-to-lug measurement. Those are the dimensions that make the watch easier to understand than a single diameter can. The case is compact from top to bottom as well as across the dial, but its rotating ring gives it more presence than a thin dress watch of the same width. The brand lists a mineral crystal and 100 m water resistance. That water rating is reassuring for ordinary wear, although the watch's personality comes primarily from the dial and case architecture rather than a claim to be a specialist diving instrument.

The dial is cream rather than black, so “Blackout” describes the surround, not the whole face. Purple appears on the seconds hand, the marker at twelve and the dedicated INDIGLO pusher; the skeletal hour and minute hands return from the earlier collaboration. It is a small palette, and the coloured points give your eye places to land without filling the dial with novelty. Timex's own description ties the design to a 1990s mood. You need not buy into that styling reference to see the practical effect: pale ground and dark case keep the information separate.

Purple touches give the Blackout its identity

The strap is moulded black NBR synthetic rubber, with a black-on-black debossed TIMEX INDIGLO logo. Timex says it uses quick-release spring bars, which makes swapping it straightforward if you want to change the feel later. It is an 18 mm lug width according to the product specification. The black strap makes the case look continuous on the wrist, unlike a bright strap that would turn the dial into one element among several. In the official wrist photograph, the purple details remain small, as they do in the product image, and that restraint is doing useful work.

There is a quartz analogue movement inside, powered by a CR1216 battery. Timex does not pitch this watch as a mechanical object to admire through the back, and it would be a mistake to judge it that way. Its argument is the combination of case shape, legible contrast, rotating ring and INDIGLO lighting in a small format. The light function has its own purple pusher, a detail that turns a familiar Timex feature into part of the colour scheme. It also makes the collaboration visible without having to print a large partner name across the dial.

Wallner and Bedwell are both named by Timex as collaborators, rather than just people whose names decorate the watch. The brand says the earlier edition sold out within days, but that history does not establish how many Blackout watches will be made or how long they will remain available. Timex has not published a numbered production limit on the product page. This is best read as a second expression of a specific design rather than a newly invented Intrepid. The scale and major layout were already settled; the surprise is how much mood the black exterior can change while leaving those things intact.

The objection is that a dark finish can make any watch look a little generic. Here the cream dial prevents that, and the purple at twelve, on the seconds hand and at the pusher gives the Blackout identifiable points of difference. I would have liked the product page to say more about the finish's long-term wear, because a black case shows scuffs differently from bare steel. Timex makes no durability claim for the coating, so the sensible assessment is visual: this edition is strongest when its contrast is seen together, on the wrist, rather than as a list of colours.

Timex Intrepid x Dimepiece Blackout pricing and availability

Timex lists reference TW6A19800 on its product page with an add-to-bag option. The US storefront lists a standard price of US$269; with Australia selected, the official storefront displayed A$490. Timex does not state an edition size or a future release date for this model. Those prices belong to their respective storefront regions and should not be treated as converted equivalents. If the original collaboration appealed for its compact interpretation of a large 1990s watch, the Blackout offers the same dimensions with a more restrained exterior and enough purple left to identify whose watch it is.