Baltic Introduces Roulette Dial MR; Tudor Changes Mind On F1-Exclusive Black Bay Ceramic Blue; Timex Teams Up With Ghostly; A Sporty Romain Gauthier; Grossmann And Voutilainen Team Up Again

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Since the majority of my readers are from the United States, happy Fourth of July to you all! The rest of us, we are left here wondering if Tudor will make that amazing chameleon Black Bay Ceramic a reality as well.

In this issue:

• Baltic Gives Microrotor-Powered MR A Roulette Dial And It’s As Classy As You Can Imagine

• Tudor Changes Their Mind, Offers The F1 Team-Exclusive Black Bay Ceramic Blue To The Public

• Timex Celebrates 25 Years Of Ghostly International With A Spooky And Purple Limited Edition

• The C By Romain Gauthier Titanium Edition Six Is The Most Sportiest Yet And Also The Last in Series

• Wei Koh’s Grail Watch Brings Back The Moritz Grossmann x Kari Voutilainen Benu 37 In Pink Gold

Today’s reading time: 11 minutes and 21 seconds

👂What’s new

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Baltic Gives Microrotor-Powered MR A Roulette Dial And It’s As Classy As You Can Imagine

In a world full of divers, pilot’s watches and overall large sporty pieces, in 2022 the French microbrand Baltic decided to introduce something different. They unveiled the MR collection, which was a throwback to an older time. The MR was small, elegant and used an extremely interesting movement, all at a really great price. And it came just as smaller, thinner, dressier watches were becoming all the rage again, so no wonder it was a huge hit for the brand. Since then they released a couple of colorways of the model, but what comes today might be it’s biggest update yet - this is the Baltic MR Roulette, built on the same basics but with a very cool roulette-style dial.

Let’s go over those basics again. The MR line has a stainless steel case that measures 36mm wide, 9.9mm thick (just 8mm without the crystal) and has a 44mm lug-to-lug. The case is all brushed, but to create a bit of contrast, the lugs are circular-brushed on top, the side of the case is horizontally brushed, while the bezel gets vertical brushing. That fixed bezel surrounds a highly domed hesalite crystal. Water resistance is 30 meters, just enough to wash your hands.

The dial is equally as familiar as it is new. It comes in four colors - salmon, silver and blue which come with a grained finish; and a black dial with a glossy finish. The dials feature two brushed sectors which house the hour and minute railroad tracks, with the former making up the eponymous roulette-like appearance. The central minute and hour hands are dauphine shaped, faceted and polished. There’s also a small seconds display that’s situated at the 7-8 o’clock position and it has a guilloché finish.

Inside is the interesting movement I already mentioned. It’s the CAL5000A automatic movement made by the Chinese Hangzhou factory. Why is a Chinese movement so interesting? Well, it offers the highly coveted micro-rotor at an unbeatable price. And judging from the success of the MR collection, it’s been working out for Baltic pretty well. The movement has a power reserve of 42 hours and can be seen through the back crystal - it’s not bad looking either. The watches can be had on a choice of an Italian calf leather strap in various colors, a steel Beads of rice bracelet, a steel Flat link bracelet or a steel Beads of rice straight bracelet.

The new Baltic MR Roulette goes on sale today and first deliveries are expected from July 15th. The first 100 watches will be numbered, but this is not a limited edition. Price is set at €545 on leather and €605 on steel, both without tax. See more on the Baltic website.

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Tudor Changes Their Mind, Offers The F1 Team-Exclusive Black Bay Ceramic Blue To The Public

At the very start of this year, before the 2024 Formula 1 season, official press photos were released of racing legend Daniel Ricciardo in his new kit for the Visa Cash App RB Formula One team. On his wrist was something very interesting. A never-before-seen black ceramic Tudor Black Bay with a really intriguing blue dial. People started asking questions about the watch but it was pretty much confirmed that these watches were reserved for the F1 team and would never make ti to the public. Well, things have changed, as Tudor has just announced that the Tudor Black Bay Ceramic Blue is heading to the general public.

This is a well known watch in the Tudor lineup, as the only change comes from the dial. The black ceramic version was introduced in 2021 and housed the first Master Chronometer movement for Tudor. To refresh our memories, this watch comes in a matte black ceramic case that takes up a lot of real estate on your wrist - 41mm wide, 14.4mm thick and with a 50mm lug-to-lug. On top is a unidirectional bezel in PVD steel with an insert made out of brushed black ceramic with a 60-minute scale engraved into it and left unfilled. Water resistance is 200 meters.

So, the new thing is obviously the dial, which comes in blue and is supposed to match the livery of the worst-named F1 team of all time, the Visa Cash App RB. The only issue is, it doesn’t. The VCARB livery is much more purple than this dial, so that’s an interesting choice to make. The handset and applied hour markers are filled with white Super LumiNova.

Inside is the Calibre MT5602-1U which still has the Master Chronometer certification, which in essence means it has both the precision of COSC certificate (-2/+4 seconds per day) and resistance to magnetic fields of up to 15,000 gauss. The movement beats at 28,800pbh and has a very decent 70 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a hybrid leather and rubber strap with blue stitching and folding clasp in black PVD, and you get an additional black fabric strap with a blue stripe.

The Tudor Black Bay Ceramic Blue is part of the permanent collection and priced at €5,200. Now that we’re done with that, it’s worth mentioning that the VCARB team had another exclusive watch, one Tudor made for them for the Miami Grand Prix. It was the absolutely incredible Chameleon Dial Black Bay Ceramic. They also said this one would never be available to the public, so here’s hoping Tudor changes their mind. See more on the Tudor website.

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Timex Celebrates 25 Years Of Ghostly International With A Spooky And Purple Limited Edition

Do I come off as a huge goof if I say that I don’t know who or what Ghostly International is/are? Sure, I googled it since first seeing this watch, so I can tell you that Ghostly International is an American independent record label founded in 1999 in Ann Arbor, Michigan and now headquartered in New York. I can also tell you that they put out music by what seem to be some of the most successful electronic artists in the world, but this is very far out of my scope of knowledge. What I do know is that the watch they made with Timex to celebrate their 25th anniversary is pretty cool.

The Timex x Ghostly model comes in Timex’s Navi case, which is their take on a rugged field watch. It measures 38mm wide and just 9mm thick. On the right side of the case is a prominent crown guard and on top is a flat mineral glass crystal with a beveled edge which is surrounded by a black aluminum bezel which has 24 names of cities written on it, almost as if it were a world timer. But it’s not, as it’s powered by a quartz movement that offers just hours, minutes and seconds. Nevertheless, it gives the watch a good look and at the cardinal position you’ll find the city of Ann Arbor, rendered in Ghostly’s signature purple. The caseback reads “Everywhere, Nowhere,” and water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial is super simple, all black with Arabic numerals at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock, again in Ghostly’s purple. And this combination of black and purple always look very good. The hands and printed markers are lumed while at 12 o’clock you’ll find the Ghostly ghost logo and a Timex logo beneath it.

Like I said, the watch is powered by a quartz movement but not much is known about it. The watch comes on a black nylon fabric slip-thru strap.

And, as always, the price. The new Timex x Ghostly Navi is priced at $179, which is pretty amazing. See more on the Timex website.

 4/

The C By Romain Gauthier Titanium Edition Six Is The Most Sportiest Yet And Also The Last in Series

There are very few better things then when an indie watchmaker who specializes in high-end incredibly finished dress watches takes on the task to create a sports piece. It always ends spectacularly. As was the case in 2021 when Romain Gauthier launched the C, his sports watch. Since then, he has created fice versions of the watch, each as brilliant as the one that came before. Now, he’s introducing the sixth, and final, version, perhaps the most sporty one yet.

The case of the new C is very much in line with the five models that came before it - made out of natural grade 5 titanium, it measures 41mm wide, 9.55mm thick and has a 49.5mm lug-to-lug. On top is the characteristic C bezel which is one circular piece of titanium with six incredible facets cut into the bevelled edge. The crown is positioned at 2 o’clock and rubberized in orange.

The dial also takes on characteristics of previous models. This includes a titanium dial, slightly off-centred handset and running seconds sub-dial at 7 o’clock. But here they get a new colorway. The base of the dial is slate grey with an interesting line texture to it, while the bottom of the dial is partially open and covered in sapphire, revealing the seconds mechanism with the signature Romain Gauthier seconds wheel and the escapement assembly on the right. The minutes track, white gold hands and the tapering lines of the running seconds sub-dial all match the orange highlight of the crown.

Inside is an in-house developed calibre with manual winding. It’s made with grade 5 titanium plates and bridges decorated by hand and has a circular spoked ratchet wheel and gears with bevelled and polished angles. The movement beats at 4Hz and has a 60 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a grey rubber strap with a natural grade 5 titanium pin.

The C by Romain Gauthier Titanium Edition Six is limited to 88 pieces and priced at CHF 48,000 without tax. See more on the Romain Gauthier website.

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Wei Koh’s Grail Watch Brings Back The Moritz Grossmann x Kari Voutilainen Benu 37 In Pink Gold

Just a couple of months ago Wei Koh, the figurehead behind Revolution magazine, introduced the ninth watch in his Grail Watch project in which he collaborates with famous watchmakers to create what he considers the perfect watch. That ninth watch was an incredible collaboration between Moritz Grossmann and Kari Voutilainen. The watch was called the Benu 37 Silver Bullet and came with a sterling silver dial and 18K white gold case. Just a few months later, we got Grail Watch 9.1, which was the same Beny 37, but now rendered with a stainless steel case and German Silver dial. Now, a few months after that, we are getting Grail Watch 9.2, another collaboration between Moritz Grossmann and Kari Voutilainen in a pink gold case.

On the outside, very little has changed other than the material. That means a still super elegant polished rose gold case that measures 37mm wide, a discreet crown and an even discreeter bezel that lets the dial do the talking. And that dial made out of untreated German silver really is something, with guilloché à main crafted by Voutilainen using vintage engine-turning machines. The dial will develop a rich patina over time. A lot of this dial is made in house, including the hands and Moritz Grossmann needs a full day to produce one pair. The result is an exquisitely crafted set of hands that, combined with beveled and polished hubs, creates a stunning three-dimensional effect.

Inside, more in-house stuff, the caliber 102.1. It’s also made out of untreated German silver, features a frosted finish and elaborate hand engraving. It’s an incredible looking movement with flame-treated purple screws and gold chatons to the Glashütte stripes and white sapphires. The watch comes on a brown kudu leather strap.

The previous Grail Watch 9.1 version was made in 20 pieces and they sold out extremely fast. The new Grail Watch 9.2 is even more limited - only three will be made at a price of $46,300. That’s a lot of money, sure, but it seems like a bargain for a almost completely hand-made gold and silver watch that is made by two of the greatest living watchmakers. See more on the Revolution website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

1/

A review of the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional With White Lacquer Dial

2/

Chasing Cancellara and Testing the Tudor Pelagos FXD Chrono Cycling Edition

3/

A review of the Louis Vuitton Escale Automatic

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Islander Port Jefferson GMT is a compelling option for people looking for an affordable travel watch with flier-style GMT functionality

Regardless of their style, all of Islander’s watches aim to deliver strong value for a categorically accessible price point, and they are nearly always less expensive than comparable offerings from other brands within the industry. Among some of the more recent additions to its catalog for 2024 is the Islander Port Jefferson GMT, which pairs a skin diver case with the Miyota 9075 movement, and it represents one of the absolute most affordable ways to get your hands on a well-constructed watch with true travel-oriented GMT functionality.

Read the whole review on A Blog To Watch

⏲️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

• Mitch Barnett is the first of two Boeing whistleblowers who have died this year. Barnett is thought to have committed suicide after years of trying to get someone—anyone—to listen to his deep concerns about potentially devastating quality problems on Boeing 787 jets. Instead of paying attention, Boeing retaliated. They transferred and demoted Barnett, forcing him to retire years early. For New York Magazine, Sean Flynn tries to figure why it all went so wrong.

• A shocking photograph. Blowback from a Trump meeting. Alleged sexual assault. The Kennedys have voiced support for Joe Biden, but certain aspects of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s character are only just now coming to light. RFK jr.’s family doesn’t want him to run. Even they may not know his darkest secrets.

• Joshua Wright cleared a path to domination for the world’s biggest tech companies, keeping regulators at bay while juggling inappropriate relationships and skirting conflict-of-interest standards at every turn. This is the hidden life of Google’s secret weapon.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

The Alps are is one of the harshest environments on the planet. The mountainous terrain is covered by ice and snow all year round, but due to climate change this ice is melting. This is revealing all manner of frozen secrets, perfectly preserved by the ice.

💵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: Here’s a crazy request. One of you is looking to buy the Lotēc No. 7.5. Sure, it’s a big ask, but if any of you have one and want to sell, reach out to and I’ll put you in touch

• SOLD: Well, not really new. It’s a great looking mid-90s Tudor Submariner 75090, offered for sale by a member of the It’s About Time reader crew. I love the way it looks and seems to be in great condition. Check it out over on Chrono24.

• 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

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-Vuk