Toyota TRD Pro watches are far from subtle
Toyota’s TRD Pro trucks carry some serious cachet — it’s only going to get more serious after Friday’s reveal of the 2024 Toyota Tacoma lineup featuring the rugged TRD Pro trim, part of the one-two off-road punch alongside the new top-of-the-line Trailhunter. Anything branded TRD Pro is pretty sought-after here in California. A bright orange 4Runner TRD Pro received more thumbs up than just about any press car I’ve driven, and that includes the likes of high-end Benzes, Porsches, and a Nissan GT-R. So it was probably only natural that a line of TRD Pro-branded watches would eventually come into existence.
Toyota has partnered with Original Grain, a San Diego-based watch company that carved a niche for itself by using sustainably harvested wood to craft their timepieces. Called the Solar Octane collection, subtlety is not their forte. The watches are named after the orange color exclusive to TRD Pro Tacoma, Tundra, 4Runner and Sequoia for 2023.
Somewhat confusingly, there are three watches named after three different trims for Toyota’s off-road rigs. The top-of-the-line TRD Pro is a 44mm with automatic movement constructed of “racing grade” aluminum and blackwood. It wears a camouflage — if you can call bright orange digital camouflage — pattern and comes in its own orange rugged case. It costs $749 and is limited to 250 pieces, each serial numbered.
The middle-grade one is called the TRD Off-Road, named after the grade that’s not as hard-core as TRD Pro but still fairly off-road capable. It’s a 45mm case with solar movement made of stainless steel and blackwood. It too features a digital camouflage print, but at least the primary color is black. It’s priced at $549 and is also limited to 250 individually numbered pieces.
Finally there’s the TRD Sport, named for trucks tuned for street use. It has a 45mm case, uses solar movement and is made of stainless steel. It costs $595 and is not a limited production item.
The watches are a far cry from the understated elegance of a Porsche Tag Heuer or Nissan GT-R Grand Seiko, each of which can cost over $23,000. Nevertheless, there are probably enough TRD Pro die-hards out there who will spring for this kind of wrist accessory. They are on the flashy side, but then again so is an eye-searing orange pickup.
