Timex Group, one of the world’s oldest timepiece manufacturers (established in 1854) and renowned for its top-quality analog watches, has introduced the Metropolitan+ analog-style watch with fitness and activity tracking features. The Timex Metropolitan+ debuts as part of the company’s new Connected Style Collection and is marketed at men with active lifestyles; it maintains a traditional look while enhancing the user’s experience with these additional features enabled by modern smartphone and Bluetooth technology.

Connecting to a smartphone app via Bluetooth, the device tracks daily activity such as the number of steps taken, distance covered and calories burned and displays these stats directly on the watch dial. The associated app takes this data and provides a more detailed breakdown while storing full activity history for later access and analysis. The user can also set a goal through the app and have their daily progress towards it displayed directly on the watch face.

“In the fast-paced world we live in, today's active man works hard and plays hard, and he doesn't want to sacrifice style for technical features or vice versa,” said Shawn Lawson Cummings, CMO of Timex Group USA. “We recognized a void in the marketplace for fashionable, functional activity trackers that keep guys connected. The Timex Metropolitan+ watch can be effortlessly integrated into the dynamic, everyday lifestyles of our male consumers.”

In line with the Metropolitan+’s emphasis on style, it will be available in two styles: a silver case, black dial with red accents and textured leather strap or a black case, black dial with orange accents and interchangeable black silicone and orange nylon straps. These straps feature Timex’s quick release strap system and thus can be swapped out with any of the brand’s other straps. The watch is notable for its lack of an additional battery beyond the standard watch battery, although the company has remained silent on how long its life will be.

Many devices on the smart watch and technologically-enhanced watch market try to do everything at once, resulting in a product bulging with features that are each somewhat limited in functionality that inevitably ends up looking somewhat geeky. Watches are traditionally a form of classy expression, so products of this type are generally appealing to a different group of consumers than those approaching the market from a fashion perspective. The Metropolitan+ is therefore an ideal product for this niche: it’s a name-brand watch that is stylish and focused specifically on enabling an active and healthy lifestyle.

The release date for the Metropolitan+ has yet to be announced, but its expected to retail for about $150.