Timex has quietly upgraded its pilot’s watch. The new Waterbury Ace Fly-Back Chronograph runs a proper fly-back movement, the kind that resets and restarts a running stopwatch with a single press, all inside a 43mm stainless steel case built to look like a vintage cockpit tool.
Price:Now at $235.04 (From $289)
Where to Buy: Amazon
This isn’t a limited edition, and it isn’t trying to be. It’s an everyday addition to the Waterbury line, priced from $289 and aimed at anyone who wants cockpit styling and a party trick on the wrist without paying Swiss-chronograph money.
Why Timex built a fly-back Waterbury
The Waterbury is Timex’s heritage line. It leans on the brand’s 1854 roots and its Connecticut factory town, and the Ace is its pilot’s variant. This version sharpens that identity: Timex swapped the Waterbury’s usual W-shaped second hand for a plain sweep, so the dial reads as a cockpit instrument instead of a branded reissue.
Its movement is the reason to care. Timex calls it the Intelligent Quartz fly-back chronograph, a proprietary caliber designed in Pforzheim, Germany, and it’s the mechanism that sets this Ace apart from every ordinary quartz chrono in the same case.
Fly-back timing usually lives in mechanical watches that cost several times as much, which is exactly what makes its appearance here notable. On a battery? Even better. Seeing it in a sub-$300 case is the entire draw.
This fits a pattern. Timex has leaned on its heritage all year, and it recently gave the Waterbury Heritage line its first mechanical movement with the Waterbury Heritage Automatic GMT. The Ace Fly-Back sits in that same push, taking a familiar case and handing it a function most rivals skip.
What the fly-back actually does
On a normal chronograph, timing back-to-back laps is a chore: stop, read, reset, restart. A fly-back collapses that into one press. The hands zero and start timing the next lap instantly, which is the whole reason pilots and racers wanted the feature in the first place.
Timex packs in two more uses. The top register can track a second time zone when the chronograph is off, so the watch pulls double duty as a travel companion, and the tachymeter index reads average speed off a timed run.
None of it clutters the dial. Two retrograde registers sit at 4 and 10 o’clock, their hands picked out in bright yellow, and luminous fill on the hands and markers keeps everything readable, day or night.
The case, dial, and build
Physically, this is a broad watch. The case measures 43mm across, 51.2mm lug-to-lug, and 13.5mm thick, which lands it on the larger, sportier end of the Waterbury range. Timex works the stainless steel in a mix of brushed and polished surfaces, and the tarnish-resistant case holds its look whether you wear it on leather or the matching steel bracelet.
One corner shows where the price lands: the crystal. This is mineral glass, not sapphire, so it handles everyday knocks but will pick up fine scratches over the years. Water resistance is the sturdier story, with a 100 meter rating that shrugs off rain, daily wear, and a swim, though Timex warns against pressing the pushers underwater.
Legibility is the harder test. Triple-register dials clutter fast, but high contrast, applied markers, and those yellow accents keep this one clean.
Upkeep is refreshingly dull. It runs on a common CR2016 battery, so a dead cell is a corner-store fix rather than a service appointment, and being quartz, it barely needs attention beyond that.
Straps, sizing, and range
The Ace comes three ways. Two versions ride on LWG-certified leather in a smooth-grain finish, one black and one brown, and the third arrives on a stainless steel bracelet. Every strap and bracelet uses quick-release spring bars, so swapping the look takes seconds and no tools.
Sizing is the one caveat. At 43mm with a 51.2mm lug-to-lug, this is a broad watch that suits wrists in the listed 150 to 205mm range better than it flatters slim ones. If your wrist runs small, the standard 41mm Ace covers similar ground, and Timex’s $199 END. collaboration shows how well the brand’s smaller cases wear.
Price and availability
Pricing depends on how you wear it. The black leather model (TW2Y70000) starts at $289, the brown leather version (TW2Y70100) runs $299, and the stainless steel bracelet (TW2Y70200) tops out at $319. All three are on sale now through Timex, and none of them is a numbered, limited run.
Stock is the catch right now. The entry black-leather model was already sold out on Timex’s US site at the time of writing, with a notify-me option in its place, while the other two remained available. Because this is a standing catalog piece and not a numbered drop, restocks are likely, so a sold-out listing shouldn’t end the hunt.
Value is where the Ace makes its case. A quartz fly-back chronograph with 100 meter water resistance for under $320 undercuts almost everything that offers the same complication, and it pulls that off without a collaboration or a limited-edition markup. You’re paying for the mechanism and the materials, not a logo or a hype cycle.
Should you buy it
Two buyers should look hardest here. Aviation-watch fans who want fly-back timing without mechanical-chronograph money, and Timex regulars ready to trade a plain quartz Ace for something with more going on. For them, the fly-back movement and 100 meter rating make the $289 entry feel like a lot of watch.
Price: Now at $235.04 (From $289)
Where to Buy: Amazon
Everyone else should weigh the size first. At 43mm this is a bold watch, and buyers with slim wrists or a taste for dress pieces have better-fitting options elsewhere in the Timex range. But if a cockpit chronograph with a standout complication sounds like your kind of watch, the Ace Fly-Back delivers a feature usually locked behind a much bigger price tag.
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(as of July 20, 2026 09:27 GMT -05:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
