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- Bell & Ross Celebrates Elite French Air Force Unit With Gorgeous Blue Watch, Yema Updates Superman With Cool Green, Farr+Swit Is A Very 80s Video Game Watch And Union Glashütte Has A New Chrono
Bell & Ross Celebrates Elite French Air Force Unit With Gorgeous Blue Watch, Yema Updates Superman With Cool Green, Farr+Swit Is A Very 80s Video Game Watch And Union Glashütte Has A New Chrono
The french independent watch scene is mighty strong these days
Vuk Radic
May 24, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 16 minutes
Hey friends, welcome back to a very French edition of It’s About Time, the watch-themed newsletter that's always on time. Let’s get it on!
In this issue:
Bell & Ross Celebrates Elite Unit Of French Air & Space Force
Yema Updates The Superman 500 With Date And Gorgeous New Dials
Farr + Swit Vice Edition Is A Fun 80’s Future-Retro Affordable Watch
Union Glashütte Introduces Noramis Chronograph Gaisbergrennen
And… invite your friends to win a Seiko Alpinist
Today’s reading time: 6 minutes and 32 seconds
Everybody needs a green faced watch in their life. That’s why we have a new giveaway - it’s the Seiko SPB121J1, aka the Seiko Alpinist in a wonderful shade of green. In fact, we’re giving away two of them!
All you have to do is click the button below and have five of your friends subscribe. Both you and one of your friends will be eligible to win one of the watches
We only have two conditions when entering this giveaway - invite 5 of your friends to subscribe and live somewhere were you can buy the Alpinist, so we can get this for you and ship it to your address. That’s it!
👂What’s new
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While the French brand Bell & Ross makes some very nice vintage-inspired watches, as well as somewhat avant-garde ones in their Urban line, they are primarily known for their blocky watches that resemble cockpit flight instruments. So, it comes as no shock that they have worked with French special forces, squadrons, astronauts, the French Naval Air Force or elite squads such as the GIGN and the RAID. So it comes as no surprise that in 2021 Bell & Ross announced it’s partnering with France’s precision aerobatics demonstration unit, the world-famous Patrouille de France. In order to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the elite unit, Bell & Ross is now releasing the limited edition BR 03-92 Patrouille de France.
As part of the 2021 deal, Bell & Ross produced two special watches for the unit. First was the BR 03 Type A with digital display, a specific request of the pilot, and the second was the BR 03-94 Patrouille de France Chronograph. The third special edition model has now been released and pairs traditional Bell & Ross codes with flamboyant French colours and unique design elements to celebrate 7 decades of precision aerobatics.
The special edition is based on the most classic B&R model, the BR 03-92. Also known as the instrument line, it comes in the signature case (the circle within a square) with 4 functional screws, directly modelled after vintage dashboard instruments. Measuring 42mm x 42mm, 10.40mm thick, the Patrouille de France version comes in a matte microblasted ceramic case. It also has one of the coolest casebacks, decorated with the silhouettes of the 5 aircraft that have flown since the creation of the Patrouille de France in 1953 – Thunderjet, Ouragan, Mystère IV, Fouga Magister and Alpha Jet.
The dial of this BR 03-92 Patrouille de France also pays tribute to the acrobatic patrol, with a particularly bright shade of blue, almost the same as the Alpha Jet of the Patrouille de France. The matte background is home to multiple highly contrasting white elements, such as the large luminous Arabic numerals and markers, as well as oversized white-SLN-coated hands. The insignia of this elite display team and the specific logo of its 70TH anniversary appear at the heart of this dial, which unfortunately still retains its date window…
Inside is the Calibre BR-CAL.302, a Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement. The watch comes on two straps - a tone-on-tone leather strap with French stitching and a steel PVD-coated pin buckle, and a black synthetic canvas fabric strap.
Limited to 999 pieces, the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Patrouille de France 70th Anniversary is now available for orders, with deliveries scheduled for mid-July 2023. It is priced at EUR 4,200.
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The French are on a tear. But that’s to be expected from Yema, who seem to release a new watch every few weeks. And each of their releases is just mighty fine. Yema is now announcing two new versions of the Superman 500, adding new colors and a date to the model initially introduced last year.
The Superman has been Yema’s star watch since it’s introduction in 1963 as basic skin diver that rivalled Rolex, Blancpain and Omega, but at a lower price. It was an instant hit, as it had great looks, 300 meter water resistance and an interesting bezel locking device. The reissued Superman 500 was an equal success for the brand.
The Yema Superman 500 upgraded the model and corrected some of its internal flaws. While keeping the design intact, Yema beefed up the specs with a revised bezel-locking system (an emblematic feature of the collection) and more precise adjustments. The watch was beefed up and is now rated to 500 meter depths and all the improvements made the watch water resistant to 30 meters even with the crown unscrewed.
Following the classic time-only and GMT models, it is now time for the third iteration, the Yema Superman 500 Dato. The date window is where you would expect it, at 3 o’clock. You can get it in two sizes, 39 or 41mm, and the Dato collection comes with two dials that are not available on the no-date models. There’s the strikingly vivid sandblasted white with black accents, or a semi-matte khaki green with beige-toned markers and hands. On both versions, the date disc matches the dial.
Inside, you won’t find a ETA or Miyota movement. Instead, the watch comes with their proprietary calibre YEMA2000, which delivers a 42h power reserve, a 4Hz frequency and has been adjusted in 4 positions for an accuracy of -10/+10 seconds/day. You can wear the watch on a steel bracelet or a black FKM rubber strap.
Available for pre-order from today, with deliveries scheduled for the end of June 2023, the Yema Superman 500 Dato will retail for EUR 1,249 on a steel bracelet and EUR 1,329 on an FKM rubber strap.
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Just to save you some reading time, if you dig 80’s Future-Retro, video games of the era and disco noir color schemes and are looking to spend about $500 on a watch, just go buy the Farr + Swit Solar Chrono Vice Edition.
If you need to know more, here we go. Farr + Swit is a Chicago-based brand that’s very into the 80s. You see this instantly in the three-dimensional teal grid pattern that gives the feeling of racing West in an 80s video game, while a neon pink and yellow sun goes down. It’s a busy dial, but with a purpose and looking at it for some time, I imagine that there won’t be much issue with legibility.
You definitely won’t have issue with legibility at night. Click through to the article to see the watch at nigh. Farr + Swit is known for their fun lume applications on other models and they sure gave it their best here. Absolutley everything - the hands, markers, logo, chronograph hands, subdials, a teal ring outside the dial and even the date aperture are covered in fantastic Super-LumiNova C3 green Grade X EF.
The Solar Chrono case is mostly brushed, with a polished bezel that appears to be a separate piece. Although the bezel is not extremely thin, this watch is mostly dial. It also leads to the case looking a bit bigger visually than its 42mm diameter. Also, it’s 12.5mm thick, which is not bad when you consider everything that’s crammed inside.
As the name implies, the Solar Chrono is powered by a solar quartz chronograph and Farr + Swiss say it is a Seiko meca-quartz movement. They say it will run for six months after only five hours of sunlight. It has running seconds at 6 o’clock, and a 60-minute counter at 12 o’clock. The watch comes with two two quick-release StrapHabit straps - a teal FKM rubber strap and a black sailcloth strap with magenta accents.
The Farr + Swit Solar Chrono Vice Edition is limited to 85 units which will be numbered. They are now available for pre-order and are priced at $535 USD. Deliveries are expected in mid-June 2023.
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Glashütte is an amazing place. The population of the german town is just under 6,700 people. And yet, there are 10 active watchmakers there at the moment. One of them is Union Glashütte, a slightly lesser known brand, but still more than capable to stand toe to toe with the bigger Glashütte boys. And in line with this is their retro-inspired chronograph with a panda dial known as the Noramis Chronograph Limited Edition Gaisbergrennen 2023.
The watch is named after the Gaisberg race, first organized by Baron Von Preuschen in 1929, as cars raced around Salzburg’s scenic mountain routes. It was Interrupted by the war, but resumed in 1952 until in 1969 a string of fatal accidents forced the organizers to close it down. It was revived in 2003 and the Union Glashütte’s chronograph was designed to measure elapsed times for the drivers. So it makes sense that the inspiration comes from 1960s and 1970s stopwatches with mushroom pushers, a panda dial and a pronounced domed sapphire crystal over the dial. The polished 100m water-resistant stainless steel case has a diameter of 42mm and a thickness of 14.5mm.
Union Glashütte is known for not going crazy with their prices. In order to keep the watches somewhat affordable, they don’t develop an entire in-house movement. Inside the watch is the UNG-27.S2 automatic movement, a cam-activated chronograph beating at 28,800vph, which is based on a modified Valjoux 7750. Yhe calibre has a beefed-up power reserve of 65 hours and is fitted with an anti-magnetic silicon hairspring. The rotor has cut-out letters forming the word UNION and is decorated with thick Glashütte stripes.
The watch comes on two straps - a dressy cognac-coloured calfskin strap and a traditional aerated black rally strap.
The Union Glashütte Noramis Chronograph Gaisbergrennen 2023 is a limited edition of 200 pieces and retails for EUR 3,600.
🫳On hand
Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon
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⚙️Watch Worthy
A look at an off beat, less known watch you might actually like
The HMS is a bit of an eyeful at a glance, with no clear focal point emerging between the ornate detailed structures that comprise the lugs, the case, and the dial, with each of those areas offering plenty of details to discover and appreciate. The most densely detailed area is the heart of the dial, which is open to reveal a bespoke center wheel that moves with the hour hand. This opening is surrounded by a guilloché section that dominates much of the dial real estate. The two sections are quite literally bridges with a horizontal bar that underpins the hand stack, lending further to the steam-punk vibes that emanate from the entire design.
⏲️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
ChatGPT this, ChatGPT that. It’s everywhere, the chatter on how AI will replace humans by the end of the year, if you trust the tech pundits. So, as an experiment in work-life balance and personal productivity, Maxwell Strachan gave ChatGPT complete control over scheduling his day-to-day household, personal, and work tasks. At first, the bot’s cheery veneer seemed to help take the guesswork out of creating a personal schedule, however its complete lack of emotional intelligence made for some awkward if not potentially damaging interactions.
This is a cool title: The Untold Story of the 2018 Olympics Cyberattack, the Most Deceptive Hack in History. Why wouldn’t you want to read it?
Remember Quadriga, the $250 million crypto ponzi scheme? I just caught up with the Netflix doc on that insane story, which led me to this piece from Vanity Fair about it. It’s a good read.
👀Watch this
One video you have to watch today
Some 13 years ago I was on the editorial team of the best Sunday edition of the best selling daily paper in Croatia. We featured a story about a kid who built an electric supercar in his garage and talked about manufacturing cars in Croatia, an insane proposition.
Today, that kid - Mate Rimac - is building the fastest supercar in the world just a few miles from where I’m writing this, owns Bugatti and has attracted hundreds of millions of euros of investments from Porsche. Locally, he’s criticised for every move he makes. Internationally, people like Chris Harris, the legendary car journalist, see what Rimac is about. Check out this crazy video they made for Top Gear.
💵Pre-loved precision
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Everybody needs a green faced watch in their life. That’s why we have a new giveaway - it’s the Seiko SPB121J1, aka the Seiko Alpinist in a wonderful shade of green. In fact, we’re giving away two of them!
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