Hands On With the Noah x Timex Oval Moon Phase, in Both Colourways
Both colourways landed at MGB this week. I have spent a few days with each, on and off the wrist, alongside the rectangular Moon Phase from last year and the lighthouse for comparison. This is the fifth Noah x Timex release and the first to put a real moonphase complication inside the elliptical case Noah introduced with the Lighthouse. On paper it is the most "Noah" of all the Noah x Timex watches. In hand, it is also the best one.
This is a hands-on with both references. What they look like up close, what they wear like, and which one I would actually pick.
The collab so far, in two lines
Five watches in. Sun and Moon (rectangular, summer 2024), Moon Phase (rectangular with proper moonphase, November 2024), Lighthouse (oval, no complications, June 2025), Moon Phase steel reissue (August 2025), and now the Oval Moon Phase. Each release has tightened the design language. The Oval Moon Phase is where it lands.
What you actually get
- Case: 31 x 35mm oval
- Lug width: 18mm
- Crystal: mineral glass
- Movement: Timex quartz
- Water resistance: 30m
- Dial: French vanilla cream, applied faceted dash indices, beveled dauphine hands, pin seconds, dot minute track, crescent moonphase window between 9 and 3, date at 6
- Strap: pebbled leather, 18mm
- Two references: gold-plated stainless on black strap, stainless steel on brown strap
The pebbled leather is a switch worth flagging. Every previous Noah x Timex came on a faux-alligator embossed strap. This one is proper pebble grain. Subtle change, noticeably better feel.
Out of the box
Packaging is unchanged from the Lighthouse. Cardboard sleeve, watch on a foam pillow. The first thing you notice is the dial. The previous rectangular Moon Phase had Roman numerals and leaf hands, very Cartier Tank. This one has dauphine hands, faceted applied indices, and a dot minute track. It reads less Cartier, more Patek Ellipse. The Noah logo is gone too, replaced with "Noah" in script above the date window. That single change does a lot of work. The dial reads cleaner, more grown up, less branded.
The intent
Brendon Babenzien (Noah's Founder) told GQ the Lighthouse had been personal to his Fire Island upbringing, and the Oval was designed to feel right for anyone. That tracks. The Lighthouse dial was a sketch, a memory, a private reference. The Oval drops the storytelling and lets the case shape and complication do the work. The result is a watch with broader appeal and more occasions it can be worn at. Babenzien also told GQ the brand will keep experimenting with new shapes and complications before circling back to the Tank-inspired silhouette later. Useful context if you like to collect these.
On the wrist: Black on Gold
The gold-plated reference is the louder one. The black pebble strap against warm gold is high contrast and the oval case has real presence on a 7-inch wrist. This is a dress watch, not a daily. Worn under a cuff, it disappears. Worn with a tee, it looks like I'd forgotten I had it on, in the good way.
Weight is light. The case feels thin for the proportions, which is the right call for an oval dress watch. The crown is small, polished, sits flush. The pebble strap is supple out of the box. No break-in soreness.
Shop the Black / Gold reference →
On the wrist: Brown on Steel
The steel reference is the quieter one and probably the more wearable for most people as a daily. The polished case picks up less attention than the gold and the warm brown pebble pulls the watch into vintage territory. If the gold is dressed up, the steel is dressed down without trying.
If I could only keep one, this would be it. GQ went the other way and called the gold their favourite for the vintage-treasure feel. Both arguments are valid. Pick by wardrobe.
Shop the Brown / Silver reference →
A Working Moonphase
It is a real moonphase complication, not a printed disc. The disc rotates through the 29.5-day lunar cycle and is visible through the crescent window between 9 and 3. Set it once to the correct phase and it tracks automatically.
The colour palette is the detail that sells it. Soft cobalt disc, warm champagne moon and stars, cream dial. This is the three-tone moonphase composition that Patek and Jaeger-LeCoultre were running on dress watches in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and it works the same way here. The single hit of blue is the only real colour on the watch, and it sits tastefully against the ivory dial in both colourways. Restraint, not gimmick. The kind of detail that reads neo-vintage without trying.
The strap question
The pebbled leather Noah ships is good. Better than the faux-alligator they used before. But 18mm lug width on a watch this elegant opens up real options, and the right strap upgrade is what takes it from dress watch to stealth heirloom.
A black or chocolate alligator-grain in 18mm turns the gold into something at home under a charcoal suit. A grey suede on the steel makes it proper weekend wear. A navy Cordovan on either makes it personal.
For full disclosure: MGB stocks 18mm dress straps that suit this case shape. I'm biased. I also would not put any of our sailcloth or FKM rubber on this watch. Wrong vocabulary entirely. This case asks for leather.
The verdict
The gold is the statement piece. The steel is the daily driver. GQ prefers the gold. I prefer the steel. Looking at both in person it is genuinely hard to call which is the prettier watch. They are different watches for different days, and either one would be the dressiest piece in most collections.
If I had to give one recommendation: the steel is the more versatile of the two. The gold is the more memorable.
Both are available at MGB, in limited quantity, in both colourways.
