AP Kicks Off 150th Anniversary With 10 Watches And New Perpetual Calendar; Sinn's Diver Chronos; Nodus Releases Ultimate Photographer’s Watch; Another Great Kollokium; And A Very Striking Bovet

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I love it when an established brand like AP just dumps a bunch of watches as a new release. There’s usually something for someone in such a release. Even if you’re not shopping in the CHF 50k+ range. But for the rest of us, check out that Nodus and tell me it’s not briliant!

In this issue:

• Audemars Piguet Kicks Off 150th Anniversary With 10 New Watches And New Perpetual Calendar Movement

• Sinn Introduces The 613 St And 613 St UTC Diving Chronographs

• Nodus Releases The Ultimate Photographer’s Watch That Lets You Take Better Photos

• Kollokium Continues Releasing Better And Better Variants Of The Projekt 01

• The Already Striking Bovet Virtuoso XI Skeleton Tourbillon Gets A Shiny Red Gold Case

👂What’s new

1/

Audemars Piguet Kicks Off 150th Anniversary With 10 New Watches And New Perpetual Calendar Movement

Celebrating 150 years as a watch brand is about as major as it can get. There are perhaps only 12 or 15 brands that can claim a longer life, fewer if you consider the fact that some of the brands took breaks. But here we are as Audemars Piguet is ready to celebrate their 150th anniversary. A lot is expected from the brand for such an important mileston, and we just got a first glimpse at what they are doing. Sure, today’s release is not ground breaking, but I have a feeling there will be quite a lot of releases. AP claims that today’s release is all about ergonomics, most evident in the introduction of a new self-winding perpetual calendar, the caliber 7138 which is much more intuitive and easier to operate, something that’s not often seen on QP movements. So, here’s a brief overview of what’s new from AP.

Starting with the most impressive, it’s the watch that is retiring the calibre 5134. The 41mm Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 150th Anniversary Openworked Limited Edition comes in a 41mm wide and 9.9 mm thick case made out of titanium and BMG (bulk metallic glass). This shiny material, which has over 50% of palladium, is found on the bezel, intermediary links, and the caseback, and is a material that is praised for its robust properties. The watch uses the old perpetual calendar, the calibre 5135, and has a skeletonized dial to give you a full look of the outgoing movement. The watch is limited to 150 pieces and price is on request, although some have reported it being CHF 175,000. See it on the AP website.

Moving on, we have the two new Royal Oak and Code 11.59 Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar references, which are used as platforms to introduce the new Calibre 7138. The Royal Oaks come in 41mm wide and 9.5mm thick cases that can be had in either stainless steel with a blue dial or a 18k Sand gold variant with a sand-gold colored dial. The Code 11.59 comes in a 41mm wide and 10.6mm thick white gold case, with an embossed smoked blue dial, stamped with a guilloché mould.

Now’s a good time to mention why the 7138 is so cool. Previous movements delegated some of the time setting functionality to pushers on the case. This new movement operates from an all-in-one crown, allowing AP to increase water resistance from 20 to 50 meters. To set the watch, the crown has four positions. Position one is used to wind the watch. Position two sets the date in the clockwise direction, and adjusts the month and leap year in the opposite direction. Position three sets the time. However, to get to position four, you push the crown back to position two, which then allows you to set the day and week clockwise, and the moon phases counterclockwise. The price on the steel Royal Oak is CHF 95,200 and the CHF 130,000 for the gold one. The Code 11.59 Perpetual Calendar is priced at CHF 95,200.

In addition to the Perpetual Calendars, AP has introduced a Shades of Grey duo of Code 11.59 models, each with grey dials that incorporate blue accents. Both are stainless steel and 41mm in diameter, available as either a time-and-date model (priced at CHF 22,800) or a chronograph (priced at CHF 31,400). Also available as a Code 11.59 is a new flying tourbillon, a first for AP in general. The watch measures 39mm wide, 9.6mm thick and comes in a diamond-set 18k Sand gold case with a Sand gold-toned dial. Price is set at CHF 149,000. Rounding out the Code 11.59 presentation is a special edition, a 41mm chronograph in white gold with a blue ceramic case middle. It has a stunning Tuscany blue grained dial and it’s priced at CHF 74,500. See it here.

Despite a lot of updates to the Code 11.59 collection, AP hasn’t forgotten the Royal Oak Offshores, either. First, we have a new Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph with a black ceramic. It comes in a ceramic case that measures 43mm wide and 14.4mm thick, with a pretty cool dark green ceramic bezel on top and crown guards on the side. The dial is green with black accents. Inside is the automatic flyback calibre 4401 which gas a 70 hour power reserve. The watch comes on two fabric straps, a black and a green, to match the dial. Price is set at CHF 50,900. See more of it here.

And last, we have a very similar Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph that comes in a full black ceramic case that measures 42mm wide and 15.3mm thick. It, too, has a 100 meter water resistance and the dial features the same Méga Tapisserie dial, with chunkier squares, just like the black and green version. Inside is the automatic flyback chronograph calibre 4404 which has the same 70 hour power reserve. Price is set at CHF 75,700. See the watch on the Audemars Piguet website.

2/

Sinn Introduces The 613 St And 613 St UTC Diving Chronographs

Nobody needs a dive chronograph. Let alone a dive chronograph with a second time zone. At least not to use as hard core dive tools. And yet, if we approached buying watches with such rationality, Sinn would be long out of business. Thankfully, we do not think rationally when buying watches. That’s why we can really love Sinn’s latest release, the new Sinn 613 St and 613 St UTC, two hardcore dive chronographs that only bolster the fact that Sinn makes some of the finest watches in the world.

The two watches share a case and a lot of the details, and they are both quite familiar if you are a Sinn fan. The cases measure 41mm wide and 15mm thick, and the stainless steel surfaces have a really nice bead-blasted finish. On top is a sapphire crystal surrounded by a diver's bezel with minute ratcheting. Both watches have the Ar-Dehumidifying capsule, which prevents any fogging. And these are hard core tool watches that Sinn wants you to use while working underwater, so they are overbuilt. They are resistant to magnetic fields of up to 80,000 A/m, resistant to low pressure and are water resistant to 500 meters. And this has been certified by an independent institute. The watches also hold DIN 8310 and 8306 certification.

The main differences between the two watches can bee seen on the dial, and its functionality, of course. Both dials feature a matte black base contrasted with stark white lumed minute indices, along with a couple of pops of red on the central chronograph hand and the sub-dial hand. The simple obelisk style hands are also painted in white lume. The simpler 613 St comes with a running seconds dial at 9, a 60 minute totalizer on a white background at 6 and a day and date aperture at 3 o’clock. The 613 St UTC is a bit more complicated. It ditches the day indicator, but instead gets a third hand that points to a 12 hour indicator on the inside track to keep time in a second time zone.

Inside both watches is a variation of the Sellita SW500 movement — the 613 St gets the SW515, while the 613 ST UTC gets the SW535. Both of these are automatic chronographs based on the Valjoux 7750, hence the thickness of the case. Both beat at 4Hz and have a power reserve of 42 hours. Sinn offers a choice of straps for these two — you can either choose the matching stainless steel bracelet H-link bracelet or a number of leather and rubber straps.

The new Sinn 613 St models are available now as part of the permanent collection. Price is set at €2,450 and €2,675 for the 613 St on strap or bracelet respectively; and €2,950 and €3,175 for the 613 St UTC on strap or bracelet respectively. See more on the Sinn website.

3/

Nodus Releases The Ultimate Photographer’s Watch That Lets You Take Better Photos

Ever since I was a child, I loved art. Doesn’t really mater what form it takes. Movies, music, books and, on occasion, photography. I studied the history of art, I’m a decently proficient at it, but one thing has eluded me forever. I’m hopelessly useless at creating it. My photos look like they were taken by a visually impaired person. The good thing is that it’s possible to improve. And I really want to start working on it. In the meantime, I’ll go back to admiring what real photographers can do. And photographers that do know how to take a photo might take notice of a new release from California-based Nodus, their Obsucra watch that’s made with taking pictures in mind. It was made with Juan Martinez, founder of the photography meet-up and gear review site Beers And Cameras, and features the patented Exposure Gauge which helps you calculate the right exposure.

Before we get to all the nifty details that make this a photographer’s watch, here are the basics, even though you already know them. The watch is based on the Nodus Sector II models, meaning that the brushed stainless steel case measures 38mm wide, 12mm thick and has a 47mm lug-to-lug. On top is an oversized rotating bronze bezel with a black PVD coat that measures 40.5mm wide for easier operation and it holds the key to the calculations. The crown gets the same treatment of a brass base and a black coat, with the intention of the coating rubbing off and creating a worn-camera look. Water resistance is 100 meters.

There’s a bunch of photography-influenced details on the dial The base is all black, with the “B&C” Beers And Cameras logo at 6 o’clock. The blue-and-white seconds hand takes the pattern from the practice of exposing slide film sprocket holes and the shade from depth-of-field markings on zoom lenses from the 1980s. The orange-colored “+1” markers represent ISO 200 and ISO 800 on the dial.

So, what’s the bidirectional bezel all about? It’s what they call an Exposure Gauge bezel and it’s used to calculate the “Sunny 16 Rule” developed by Juan Martinez which allows you to see the ISO, f-stop and shutter speed triangle on a sunny day, if you don’t have a built-in light meter. So, you twist the bezel to match the lens aperture with the corresponding value on the chapter ring; then find the correct ISO marker on the dial’s chapter ring based on the film speed — ISO 100 or +1 (ISO 200) or ISO 400 or +1 (ISO 800). The chapter ring’s ISO indicator will then point to the corresponding shutter speed on the bezel.

Inside is the familiar TMI (Seiko) NH38 automatic which beats at 3Hz and has a 41 hour power reserve. Nodus regulates the movement in-house and claims an accuracy of +/- 10 seconds per day. The watch comes on a tapering three-link bracelet that closes with their NodeX clasp that allows for one-button adjustment, and you get an additional Hybrid Tectuff rubber strap.

The Nodus Obscura is available as an unlimited pre-order, remaining open until delivery, which is currently estimated for June 2025. Price is set at $650. See more on the Nodus website.

4/

Kollokium Continues Releasing Better And Better Variants Of The Projekt 01

OK, I realize that I have interjected a lot of personal opinion today, but bear with me for just one more. A lot of us buy watches to mark special occasions. I am no different. And I have set quite an ambitious milestone for this newsletter that when reached will marked with a new watch. And I know exactly which watch — the Kollokium Projekt 01. I deeply fell in love with this crazy watch when three industry veterans, Manuel Emch, Amr Sindi and Barth Nussbaumer, introduced it late in 2023. They have since released several variants of the Projekt 01, each very limited, in a variety of subtle color changes and I love each and every one of them. The latest release is the Kollokium Projekt 01 Variant "E" and it comes in two flavors.

The case remains practically the same - 40mm wide, 11mm thick and it’s die cast instead of milled. This means that liquid hot metal is poured into moulds which allows Kollokium to make a case with a spectacular grained texture and rounded edges. The case is made of two parts - a barrel-shaped caseback with lugs that are apparently inspired by the Phillips-head screwdriver. On top is a sapphire box crystal which protrudes far from the case, allowing you to see the dial from the side of the watch.

The dial is once again made up of 468 cylindrical markers in six different diameters and heights that have been so arranged to make “hills” where the hour markers would be. It is a sensational effect. This version has a dark, dark grey dial base, black pins and the entire thing glows a brigh blue. I honestly have no idea how they get every thing on the dial to glow so intensely. The E1 version features a fluorescent yellow seconds hand with black hour and minute hands, while the E2 reverses it with features fluorescent yellow hour and minute hands and a black seconds hand. Stunning.

Inside is the La Joux-Perret G101 automatic movement, an alternative to the ubiquitous but increasingly hard to source ETA 2824. It bets at 4 Hz and delivers a 68 hour power reserve. It’s not a high end movement, but it’s clear that all the money has been spent on the case, crystal and dial. The watch comes on an elasticised black textile strap with a die-cast steel hook fastener that makes it easy to size.

The Kollokium Projekt 1, E1 and E2 variants are limited to 499 pieces in total and orders for the general public open on February 26 at 15:00 CET. Knowing Kollokium watches, these will go super fast. Price is set at CHF 2,999. See more on the Kollokium website.

5/

The Already Striking Bovet Virtuoso XI Skeleton Tourbillon Gets A Shiny Red Gold Case

The Bovet Virtuoso XI, introduced two years ago, is one breathtaking watch. You might not like it. I don’t think I do. But you have to admire the amount of hand work that goes into one of these watches. It is skeletonized, hand-engraved, hand finished, features an in house movement with a 10 day power reserve and just looks the part. Well, now Bovet is making it even more impressive, with the new Virtuoso XI in 18k red gold, with options for gem-setting and custom engravings.

I think it’s pretty clear that this is not a subtle watch. The new red gold case measures 44mm wide. There are two cases available — one has a bezel set with 60 baguette diamonds and a bow engraved with Fleurisanne, the floral pattern characteristic of the Fleurier area, while the other has no diamonds and has a bow engraved with a “Pierre du Château” (stone of the castle, in French) motif, a reference to the Château de Môtiers where Bovet operates.

There is no dial, obviously, but instead you see the fully skeletonized and hand-engraved movement. The movement features Bovet’s patented double-sided flying tourbillon and features just one oversized barrel that gives it 10 days of power reserve. The hand winding mechanism includes a spherical differential gear, visible at 12, that allows winding the movement twice as fast. The watch comes on a blue alligator leather strap with a gold folding clasp.

The new Bovet Virtuoso XI is priced at CHF 365,400 for the gem-set version and CHF 307,000 for the version without diamonds. See more on the Bovet website.

⏲️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

• Meet Anna-Greta Leijon, Sweden’s youngest-ever female government minister who is the star of this heart-pounding story about a April 1975 kidnapping plot—and the worst terror attack in Sweden’s history—that gripped all of Europe. Read the article before it becomes a hit TV show. Because it will.

• In this exclusive to Vanity Fair first excerpt from All or Nothing, Michael Wolff’s raucous chronicle of the 2024 campaign, MAGA lackeys Boris Epshteyn and Natalie Harp worship at the altar of the will-be president. There are few non-fiction genres that are as good as reporting from the campaign trail.

• In a provocative essay, a major publisher announced that its authors will no longer be required to solicit glowing reviews for their book jackets, arguing that blurbs don’t reflect a title’s true merit. Are ‘gripping,’ ‘brilliant’ book blurbs on their way out?

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

I adore the Peugeot 205 GTI, I like what this dude David Steca has been doing + he has great taste in cars, and also, when’s the last time you have seen a Petrolicious video? Nice to see them back.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk