A. Lange & Söhne Introduces Stunning Honeygold Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, Panerai Releases Prototype-Inspired Radiomir, Laco's Beautiful New Pilot Watches, RW Pays Tribute To Basquiat And A New Czapek

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I know it’s crazy to open up this issue with a half million euro watch. But it’s not every day that Lange releases a new watch, especially not one that looks so incredibly amazing.

I you like this newsletter, you might consider supporting it directly through Patreon. If you were subscribed, you could have already read my lengthy piece on Only Watch and it potentially being the biggest scam of the watch world. Other subscriber-only articles include the Completely Sterile Secret Watches Of MACV-SOG and my choice of 11 vintage Heuer watches that would make the perfect basis for new TAG Heuer recreations, including a possible MoonSwatch type watch that could actually break the internet.

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In this issue:

• A. Lange & Söhne Introduces A Stunning Honeygold Version Of The Zeitwerk Minute Repeater

• Panerai Releases Radiomir Officine PAM01385 Limited Edition Inspired by 1935 Prototype

• Laco Reveals New, Great Looking, Hamburg DIN 8330 and Hamburg GMT DIN 8330 Pilot Watches

• Raymond Weil Pays Tribute To Basquiat With A Freelancer Special Edition

• Czapek Updates Quai des Bergues With Double-sunrise Guilloché Dials, Sleeker Look, And Crowd-Pleasing Case Size

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 56 seconds

👂What’s new

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A. Lange & Söhne Introduces A Stunning Honeygold Version Of The Zeitwerk Minute Repeater

If you have been reading these updates for a while, you might have noticed I try to have a pattern to the five pieces of watch news I publish every day. I strive to open the newsletter with a release from a major watch brand, one that would appeal to a wide range of readers. These can sometimes be quite expensive, but more often than not they are approachable and affordable watches. I follow that up with two or three cheaper watches, as this is the most desired category from the readers (although, to be honest, cheaper watches are consistently the least read about 😄) and I end with an expensive watch that is out of most reaches. But this edition will be something different. It’s not every day that A. Lange & Söhne comes out with a new watch. Especially not one as beautiful and jaw dropping as the new Zeitwerk Minute Repeater in stunning Honeygold. I know it’s insane to open up with a €500.000+ watch. But just look at it.

The A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater is a watch we have seen before. It was introduced in 2015 in platinum, as the only mechanical wristwatch to combine a jumping numerals display with a decimal minute repeater, followed by a white gold model in 2020. Now it’s time for a new version in an incredible shade of yellow gold that Lange calls Honeygold. Nobody really knows what the alloy is made up of because Lange is mum on it’s makeup and nobody is up to melting one down, but what we do know is that it is much harder than platinum and regular gold alloys and that it looks like actual liquid honey. Lange uses it only for it’s most exclusive models.

The watch comes in at 44.2mm wide and 14.1mm thick, with polished and brushed finishes. Another benefit of the gold case is that it gives a clear and rich tone to the chimes. Since the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater gets the power for the striking mechanism from the twin mainspring barrel it uses a single button to trigger the repeater instead of a slide that tensions a separate spring and there is a gold crown at the 3 o’clock position.

Set on a gray dial plate, you get the signature rhodium-plated German silver time bridge, bevelled apertures for the hours and minutes that made the Zeitwerk famous, and a small seconds counter in the middle. At the 12 o’clock position you get a recessed semi-circular power reserve indicator and a small red dot at the 12 hour mark on the power reserve. If power drops below 12 hours, you can’t use the striking mechanism.

I mentioned that this was the only mechanical wristwatch to combine a jumping numerals display with a decimal minute repeater. So what is a decimal minute repeater? It’s an incredibly rare complication that chimes the time as it’s displayed - if the time is 7:52 you will hear seven low-pitched tones, five double tones and two high-pitched tones.

This is possible thanks to the incredibly complicated in-house movement that’s made out of 771 parts called the L043.5. It has a constant force escapement between the barrel and the balance, the ability to block the mechanism to protect the movement, it beats at 18,000 vph and has a power reserve of 36 hours. It is, of course, incredibly beautiful to look at with hand-engraved motifs on the balance cock and escape-wheel cock and hallmark Glashütte ribbing on the untreated German silver three-quarter plate. The watch comes on a hand-stitched dark brown leather strap and an 18k Honeygold and white gold deployant buckle.

Like it’s predecessor, the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater Honeygold is limited to 30 pieces. Price is on request, but reports say that the white gold version sold for €449.000. This one can only be higher. See more on the brand website.

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Panerai Releases Radiomir Officine PAM01385 Limited Edition Inspired by 1935 Prototype

Righteously or not, Panerai has been called out online for overblowing the stories of their heritage, claiming some of their movements are made in-house when all evidence pointed that they really weren’t (although this is part of a much more complicated discussion on what really makes an in-house movement) and high price for what you get. But there’s no denying that Panerai the brand does have a very interesting history, especially before 1992 when they entered the commercial market despite being around for more than 100 years. And while they do tend to, at times, pimp out their heritage a bit too much, I like them and that won’t be changing very soon. Now, Panerai is reaching all the way back into their catalogue and putting out a heritage re-interpretation of an early military Radiomir prototype from 1935. This is the Panerai Radiomir Officine PAM01385 Limited Edition.

The watch comes in a 45mm wide stainless steel cushion-shaped case, a cone shaped crown without the crown guard and a sandwich dial. I mention all of these aspects because that’s exactly how you would describe pretty much any other modern Panerai. Even looking at it, you could easily mistake it for a new watch, and not a recreation of a 90 year old model.

While it looks modern, most of the homage to the 1935 model comes in the form of a coffee brown dial with an incredible matte texture and beige fauxtina Super-LumiNova markers. Seeing as it is a vintage dial, there is no modern OP logo on the bottom part of the dial, which is great as you can appreciate the texture. You get large recessed Arabic numerals, elongated batons and a small seconds dial at 9 o’clock.

Inside the watch is a manual wind P.6000 calibre with 3-day power reserve. It beats at the 21,600vph frequency, and has an Incabloc anti-shock device. The watch comes on a 27mm beige-stitched dark brown suede calfskin strap which complements the brown dial perfectly.

The Panerai Radiomir Officine PAM01385 will be made in only 300 pieces and retails for €5,500. It may just be me, but this sounds like a very fair price for a great looking watch. See more on the Panerai website.

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Laco Reveals New, Great Looking, Hamburg DIN 8330 and Hamburg GMT DIN 8330 Pilot Watches

While the German watchmaker Laco is primarily known for their solid pilot’s watches, whose production dates all the way back to the 1940s when they made watches for the German military, every time I mentioned them in this newsletter it was for watches that were not related to flying. First it was the amazing Atacama Quartz UTC tool and then recently for marine-themed Cuxhaven and Bremerhaven watches. All three of these looked like great watches, but I’m so glad they’re back to releasing new watches, seeing as how their new GMT might be one of the best looking pilot’s watches out there. These are the new Laco Hamburg DIN 8330 and Hamburg GMT DIN 8330 watches.

Before I get into what the watch is, let’s look at that name briefly. It says pretty openly that the watches were made to the German DIN 8330 standard, established in March 2016 as a contemporary benchmark for aviator watches. The standard necessitates clear readability, the ability to be operated with gloves, accuracy in temperature variations, resilience to pressure changes, resistance to liquids found in aircraft, and durability against vibrations, impact, centrifugal forces and magnetic fields. So, one tough watch.

The two new Laco pilot’s watches both come in the same 43.5mm wide case that is made out of 904L stainless steel which is highly resistant to corrosion and saltwater. Unfortunately, their website doesn’t really say what they have done to treat it steel, but it has obviously got some kind of blasting that turned the watch a very dark grey. This is likely to conform to the DIN 8330 standard which says that a watch can’t reflect light that will be distracting. Both watches have a bidirectional rotating bezel with a ceramic insert that has Super-LumiNova C1 on the minute markers and indices. Water resistance is set at 200 meters.

Both modesl also share pretty much the same dial, a matte black one that has large numerals at 3, 6 and 9, while a triangle sits at 12 o’clock. The indexes and hands are stark white and have a bunch of lume on it. The GMT model has an additional inner 24-hour scale with numerals in dark orange Super-LumiNova and a GMT hand with an orange arrowhead. There’s a date window opening on both watches at 4 o’clock with a color matched date wheel inside it.

The time only version uses a premium grade Sellita SW200, a familiar watch that’s easy to repair, robust and offers 38 hours of power reserve. The GMT version features the Sellita SW330, a caller GMT that has 50 hours of power reserve. Both watches com on a water-repellent black Nytech strap

The Hamburg DIN 8330 and Hamburg GMT DIN 8330 are on pre-sale now until October 30th and they should be available in December The price is set at €1,790 for the time only and €2,390 for the GMT version. Pricing on watches is subjective thing, so it might be fine for you, but I would love for them to be €400 lower, so that the GMT could drop below €2,000. See more on the Laco website.

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Raymond Weil Pays Tribute To Basquiat With A Freelancer Special Edition

Watches made in collaboration with pop-cultural icons can at best be a cool watch, but more often than not they are a quick cashgrab with very little respect paid to the original or care given to the integration of motifs. However, it seems that Raymond Weil has managed to walk that tightrope and come out on the other end as a brand that makes great tribute watches. They have done special editions honoring Buddy Holly, Bob Marley and David Bowie, and they are all pretty amazing pieces. Now they’re moving away from musicians and are paying tribute to one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, Basquiat, with the Raymond Weil x Basquiat Freelancer Special Edition.

The watch comes as a 43.5mm wide and 13.7mm thick titanium case with a ceramic tachymeter bezel and a pulsometer scale around the flange. Basquiat was an incredible artist who died at the age of 27, having defined the New York street art transition into fine art of the 1980s. And his style is incredibly recognizable. So one look at the watch instantly tells you who it’s tributing. The crown of the watch has a yellow crown symbol, one of Basquiat’s defining motifs. There’s more references to his art - a Copyright symbol on the Cancel/Reset pusher and $ symbol atop the Start/Stop chronograph pusher.

Then the chronograph is engaged, the minutes disk turns, emblazoned with the themes of Life, Death, and Humanity. The endlessly turning seconds disk positioned at nine o'clock is also intended to connect to the artist's concern for life's complexity. The crown, again, finds its place at the 12 o’clock position and coated in Super-LumiNova. At the center of the black dial is a recreation of the T-Rex symbol from his iconic painting Pez Dispenser.

Inside the watch is Raymond Weil’s Caliber RW5030 Bi-Compax movement that can be seen through the transparent caseback that’s engraved with Basquiat’s signature. The self-winding movement has a power reserve of 56 hours with a W-shaped oscillating weight and blued gasket.

is on full display, complete with Raymond Weil's signature W-shaped oscillating weight and blued gasket. This mechanical chronograph movement is self-winding and has a power reserve of 56 hours. As a final touch, the caseback is finished with a reproduction of Basquiat's own signature. The watch comes on a black leather strap.

Raymond Weil says that the Basquiat Freelancer Special Edition will have limited availability worldwide, without specifying how many will be made. It’s priced at CHF 4,995 and you can refer to the Raymond Weil website to see where they are available.

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Czapek Updates Quai des Bergues With Double-sunrise Guilloché Dials, Sleeker Look, And Crowd-Pleasing Case Size

Way back in the 1830s the world saw the birth of the Czapek brand. The company started production with pocket watches and then completely mysteriously disappeared as a company not even 40 years later. However, in 2012 three entrepreneurs came together with the idea of reviving a brand that never made wristwatches. By 2015 they released their first model, the Quai des Bergues, a model inspired by a Czapek pocket watch and distinguished by two sub dials weirdly positioned at 4:30 and 7:30 o’clock. It was an instant hit and now Czapek is releasing an update to the watch with the new Czapek Quai des Bergues Double Soleil.

While the original Quai des Bergues came in a 42.5mm, the brand quickly realized that people wanted a smaller case and came out with a 38.5mm version. The new Double Soleil model now comes in a medium sized case that measures 40.5mm and is made out of steel. It still has the very recognizable crown shield, elongated lugs, and a curved sloped bezel.

Perhaps the biggest change comes under the sapphire crystal, with the new dial that features a new guilloché pattern called “Double Soleil” or double sun, for the resto of us. This brand new pattern comes in three colors - Deep Blue, Tuxedo Black or Secret Alloy. The last one, of course, is the most intriguing, as it is an untreated dial that shows off the color of the alloy used to make the dial, which combines gold, platinum, palladium and silver.

Inside is the newest version of the calibre SX introduced in 2022, a proprietary movement developed by movement specialist Chronode. It beats at 3 HZ, has a power reserve of 7 days and two barrels. It displays the hours, minutes, small seconds and the power reserve. The very nice thing about the power reseve is that the hand is double ended with one side counting down the number of days left and the other showing the day of the week. Decorations are incredible, as expected, with sandblasting, beautiful anglage, open ratchets, blued screws and mi-glace rubies, along with openworked bridges. The watch comes on an alligator leather strap.

The Czapek Quai des Bergues Double Soleil is priced at CHF 18,800, without taxes. See more on the Czapek website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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Hands-On With The Nostalgic Casio CA-500 Calculator Watches

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The many facets of the Hublot Chronograph Orlinski Titanium

⚙️Watch Worthy

A look at an off beat, less known watch you might actually like

Marnaut Safe Harbour and Dark Surge – the everyday warrior and the diving explorer

Marnaut’s look is by no means conventional, which can be both a blessing and a curse for smaller brands. In my view, the refinement that the brand has shown since launching their first watch is commendable, as is the decision to stick to a distinct look. The new Dark Surge is a great example of this, with a reworked case that wears well despite its large dimensions, and the switch to more premium movements. Read the whole article on Time+Tide.

⏲️Wait a minute

A bunch of links that might or might not have something to do with watches. One thing’s for sure - they’re interesting

• Beloved celebrity chef and travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain has been gone for five years now, but his influence on how we travel and eat our way through the world remains strong. Ryan Bedsaul explores how Bourdain’s on-screen work, especially Parts Unknown, has helped him connect to and navigate the vast, enigmatic city of Los Angeles.

• Having briefly lived in the US and now live outside it, I get to observe your politics and not stress so much about it as my American friends do. This goes all the way back to Rush Limbaugh and his crazy radio show that led to a polarization that got Trump elected. However you feel about this trend, you, if you are American and the majority of you reading this are, surely don’t find it as amusing as I do. Which is a shame, here’s an article to remind you how off the wall he really was.

• I know a thing or two about my readers, thanks to you filling out that survey you can find linked at the end of every issue. That’s how I know you are mostly older than I am. And that tells me you have no idea what TikTok is. It’s a young persons game, and I can’t really keep up with it. But I loved this piece on how a TikTok talent factory is cranking out stars one after the other.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

OK, this might be retro week at It’s About Time. Yesterday I had that amazing thing on Dick Proenneke, today we’re going down under to follow the adventure of the Leyland brothers to Cape York. The Leylands were Australian explorers and documentary filmmakers, best known for their popular television show, Ask the Leyland Brothers and they single-handedly introduced the Australian people to the the sights of the Australian outback. Now, more than 50 years after this adventure was filmed you can see the outback as well.

💵Pre-loved precision

Buy and sell your watches. Think of this section like old school classifieds - i don’t guarantee anything except that a bunch of people will see your ad and I’ll put the buyer and seller in touch. Want to advertise your watch? Contact us 

• LOOKING TO BUY: One of our readers is looking to purchase three very specific watches: an Islander ISL-133 Mother of Pearl, a Sinn 556 Mother of Pearl or a Zelos 300m GMT Mosaic Mother of Pearl. If you’re selling any of these, reach out to us and we’ll put you in touch

• FOR SALE: Longines Heritage Skin Diver, box and papers. €1400. Reach out to us and we’ll put you in touch

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