Blancpain Releases 42mm Fifty Fathoms Collection In Titanium And Rose Gold; New MoonSwatch Embraces Snoopy And Moon Phases; Citizen Celebrates 100 Years; New Elka x Ace Jewelers, And Maurice Lacroix

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I know this is no controversial opinion, but the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms is the best looking dive watch out there. Now, if they would make this version in green, it would be perfect. Slightly more controversial is the fact that I love the new MoonSwatch.

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In this issue:

• Blancpain Brings Back Their Best Watch, The 42mm Fifty Fathoms, Now Available In Titanium And Rose Gold

• The New MoonSwatch Mission To The Moonphase Finally Gives Us The Snoopy Watch We’ve Been Wanting

• Citizen Celebrates 100 Years Of Watchmaking With Beautiful Limited Edition Pocket Watch

• Elka Watch Co. And Ace Jewelers Add A Fantastic Green Dial And Hebrew Numerals To Their Diversity Series

• Maurice Lacroix Teams Up With Label Noir Once Again For A New Watch In The Masterpiece Collection

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 46 seconds

👂What’s new

1/

Blancpain Brings Back Their Best Watch, The 42mm Fifty Fathoms, Now Available In Titanium And Rose Gold

When the Swatch Group decided that they will team up Omega and Swatch to create the MoonSwatch, a plastic and much lower priced version of the Omega Speedmaster with fantastic colors, it was clear what they were doing. Not only were they getting ready to sell millions of MoonSwatches, but they were also drumming up attention for the original Speedmaster. And after this exact scenario played out, all eyes were on other Swatch Group brands to see who will get the plastic treatment next. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the choice fell to Blancpain to create a more affordable version of their legendary Fifty Fathoms. While those watches didn’t draw as much hype as the MoonSwatches, they clearly brought more attention to Blancpain, a somewhat niche brand, despite their importance in horological history.

As Swatch cranked out the Scuba Fifty Fathoms, a couple of people noted that Blancpain had an issue that Omega didn’t - they didn’t have a lot of watches that would attract the average buyer. The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms line was filled with chunky watches (45mm) at really high price points. What would have been amazing for Blancpain is a smaller diver at a slightly more affordable price point to match the interest from the plastic counterparts. Blancpain hinted at that possibility when they were celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms last year and introduced the stainless steel 42mm “Act I” Now, Blancpain is bringing back the 42mm Fifty Fathoms, this time in titanium and 18k rose gold.

The fact that the watch has shrunk down from 45mm doesn’t mean it’s not a chunky watch any more. Only that it’s more manageably chunky. The new watches measure 42.3mm wide and slim down from 15.5mm to 14.2mm in thickness. Other than the size change, pretty much everything remains the same. On top you get a domed sapphire crystal that’s surrounded by a unidirectional rotating bezel with the instantly recognisable domed sapphire crystal insert that is color matched to the dial. Water resistance is 300 meters, as you would expect from a diver of this caliber.

The new, smaller, Fifty Fathoms line comes in a number of color combinations, but the most important one to know is you can get the case in either titanium or rose gold, with an either blue or black dial, and a number of strap options. The dials also remain largely unchanged. You get Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9 and 12, along with triangular markers for the rest of the hours. The sword hands remain the same, as does the date aperture at the worst possible position (4:30). The only difference from the 45mm versions is a completely flat dial as opposed to a slightly stepped one on the larger watch.

Even the movement is the same, and it’s the in-house calibre 1315. It beats at 28,800bph and has a really nice 120 hour power reserve, which is achieved through three series-coupled barrels. You also get an antimagnetic silicon hairspring and a stop-seconds mechanism, along with decent decorations that include snailed bridges, polished chamfers and an 18k gold rotor inspired by the rotor of the historical 1950s timepieces. The watches can be had on either a sail canvas, NATO or tropic strap, or a titanium bracelet. The bracelet is, of course, only available on the titanium model as the gold comes only on straps.

The pricing depends on the material, strap and closure for the strap and seeing how there are 14 possible combinations, lets just keep it as simple as possible - the titanium on strap will set you back CHF 15,300, the titanium on bracelet CHF 17,800 and the red gold on strap sells for CHF 28,500. See more on the Blancpain website.

2/

The New MoonSwatch Mission To The Moonphase Finally Gives Us The Snoopy Watch We’ve Been Wanting

Two years ago, Swatch broke the internet - not just the watch part of the internet, the entire internet - with their plastic version of the legendary Speedmaster. It was a one of a kind project that brought the silhouette of a much more expensive watch to a low price point, along with pretty amazing color variations of the plastic cases. The watches were an instant hit, selling millions of pieces over the two years they’ve been on sale. The first 11 MoonSwatch models in 2022 were followed a year later by the MoonSwatch Moonshine Gold, a pretty cringey take on the watch, made only during a full moon to soak up all the energy and… oh, whatever. It was a disappointment to many, but still did OK numbers. However, Swatch is back in the game with a new watch, one that just might be the best yet- This is the all-white MoonSwatch Mission to the Moonphase, featuring the legendary Snoopy.

Let’s get Snoopy out of the way here. What’s the big deal with this cartoon dog on Speedmasters, you might ask? After the completion of the Mercury and Gemini projects, NASA wanted a publicly recognised mascot to help them spread awareness of their work, just like the United States Forest Service had Smokey Bear. Al Chop, who was director of the public affairs office for the Manned Spacecraft Center, wanted to use Snoopy and then institute an award featuring the cartoon character given by astronauts in recognition of outstanding contributions by employees. Charles M. Schulz, who was an avid supporter of the U.S. space program, welcomed the idea of using Snoopy for the award and the Silver Snoopy award was instituted. Snoopy has also become a staple of limited edition Speedmasters, hence it’s apperance on the MoonSwatch.

You get the same 42mm wide and slightly thicker (13.75mm) case made out of Bioceramic, a material that is made up of two-thirds zirconium oxide ceramic powder, with one-third biosourced material derived from castor oil. Sounds fancy, but feels a lot like plastic. On top is the domed plastic crystal and water resistance is 30 meters. This one gets an all-white colorway that looks absolutely fantastic in pictures. I hope this translates to real life.

Matching the white case, you get a white dial with sunken-in tri-compax subdials. The running seconds are at 6 o’clock, the minute totaliser at 10 o’clock, but at 2 o’clock is somethign really interesting - a moonphase indicator that features an image of Snoopy laying on the moon graphic of the moonphase disc. Another nod to this actually being a moonphase indicator is the fact that it goes up to 29.5 days, the actual length of a lunar month. You still get the lumed hands and hour markers, along with the lumed moonphase display that makes it look very cool. Additionally, on the display you’ll also find the text “I can’t sleep without a night light!” but printed in UV-reactive ink.

As with previous versions, Swatch doesn’t say what movement is inside, but it’s most likely to be a variation of the ETA Caliber G10.962 quartz chronograph moonphase movement. The watch comes on a white Velcro strap with white Bioceramic hardware, and the strap has traditionally been the weak point of this watch, so plan ahead accordingly if you want to get one.

Unlike the Moonshine Gold editions which were bizarrely available for purchase during one day in the month only, the new Snoopy MoonSwatch Mission to the Moonphase will not be a limited edition in any way, other for the fact that only one per customer will be available for purchase to limit reselling as much as possible. Price is set at €315 / $310. These watches were introduced very late last night Europe time, so a lot has been said about them online already. Despite all the hate that the MoonSwatch got for its high price and plastic body, I don’t see it for this one. The colorway, the inclusion of Snoopy and the moonphase indicator all seem to be met with enthusiasm. I know I like it. See more on the Swatch website.

 3/

Citizen Celebrates 100 Years Of Watchmaking With Beautiful Limited Edition Pocket Watch

Seiko has made a big deal of their 100 anniversary. They are releasing a number of more or less impressive watches, covering an array of models and homages to many years of watchmaking. But Seiko is not the only Japanese brand that’s celebrating a centenary. Citizen’s first watch was produced back in 1924 and they have a slightly different approach to this celebration. While they are most known for their hyper-advanced quartz movements and very tech-forward cases, they’re reaching back and recreating their first watch in the form of the 100th Anniversary of the First Citizen Watch Special Limited-Edition Pocket Watch.

While it may look old, it’s really not. The case is made out titanium and measures 43.5mm wide and 13.4mm thick. It’s as traditional a pocket watch shape as you can get, with a fully round case in which the dial extends all the way to the edges, a domed sapphire crystal on top and a crown at 12 o’clock, protected by a large guard that serves as a harnesing point for a chain or string to fish it out of your pocket easier.

The dial is equally as advanced. It has an electroformed dial finished with clear coating and polishing to produce a wonderful three-dimensional texture, and the color fluctuates from white to cream. The layout is true to the original pocket watch, with blued hands and a sub-seconds register at 6 o’clock.

Inside is an equally interesting movement. While Citizen doesn’t give a name for it, they do give some interesting details. It uses a free-sprung balance wheel, it’s hand wound, with a power reserve of 55 hours and an accuracy of -3/+5 seconds/day. The movement is finished with gentle curves and features Côtes de Genève and diamond-cut edges, which you can see through the transparent caseback. Each watch comes with a pure Japanese silk braided cord that’s dyed an indigo charcoal color for easy carry.

The Citizen Watch Special Limited-Edition Pocket Watch is limited to 100 pieces and priced at $9,000. See more on the Citizen website.

4/

Elka Watch Co. And Ace Jewelers Add A Fantastic Green Dial And Hebrew Numerals To Their Diversity Series

There are so many good watches in a single year it’s almost impossible to make a completely fair top 10 or even top 20 list. I know I had to make some very hard cuts in my favourites list. And right there, almost making my favorites list, was the collaboration between Amsterdam-based luxury watch retailers Ace Jewelers and Elka Watch Co., a legendary brand revived by industry veteran Hakim El Kadiri, called the Diversity Series. It was a fantastic quartet of watches that used simple cases and beautiful blue dials, with each of the four versions getting different numerals - Western Arabic, Eastern Arabic, Chinese and Hebrew - to represent the diversity of all the numerals we can find on our watches. Now, Ace and Elka are reaming up once again to release a green-dialed variant with Hebrew numerals.

The watch comes in a stainless steel case that measures 40.8mm wide and 10.8mm thick, with a 46.5mm lug-to-lug. In fact, the watch is based on the Elka X-Series from 2022., meaning you get a box-shaped sapphire crystal on top and a solid caseback. Water resistance is 30 meters.

Whereas the previous versions came with a deep blue sunray brushed dial, this one new model gets a beautiful green dial that also has a sunburst finish, but also a subtle gradient to it, with a brighter green in the center and almost black towards the edges. There’s a white printed minute track on the outside of the dial, followed by white Hebrew numerals. Hands are Dauphine-shaped with a luminous insert and a white lacquered central seconds hand..

Inside the watch is the Calibre G100 automatic movement by La Joux-Perret, which is also found in the X-Series and D-Series watches that relaunched Elka as a brand in 2022. It runs at a frequency of 28,800vph and has a power reserve of 68 hours when fully wound. The watch comes on a dark brown leather strap with a stainless steel pin closure.

Just like the original Diversity Series, this watch is limited to 25 pieces and it’s available from either Ace or Elka. Price is set at €1,966. See more on either the Elka or the Ace Jewelers website.

5/

Maurice Lacroix Teams Up With Label Noir Once Again For A New Watch In The Masterpiece Collection

I have a love-hate relationship with Maurice Lacroix. While I’m not a fan of several of their model lines, I absolutely adore the plastic Aikons. And, of course, there’s no denying that their Masterpiece collection offers several really special pieces. And it’s with this line that Maurice Lacroix teams up with Label Noir, a Geneva-based customisation atelier, to create the Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Skeleton X Label Noir.

The watch comes in a 43mm wide and 13mm thick stainless steel case that has an anthracite DLC coating. On top is a sapphire crystal, held down with a smooth rounded crown that gives the watch a look like it’s perfectly round, with short lugs sticking out. Water resistance is set at 50 meters.

Things get more interesting when you move away from the case and towards the dial. It’s an extremely skeletonized watch which, thanks to the transparent crystal on the backside, allows you to see all the way through the watch, as there’s not much in the way. The entire movement is almost entirely black, with a white hour and minute hand and a floating small seconds at 9 o’clock. The openworked spring barrel reveals the mainspring in various states of tension, while the balance wheel oscillates near 12 o’clock.

Inside is the manually wound calibre ML134, which beats at 18,000 vph and has a 45 hour power reserve. The movement is decorated with Grand Colimaçon and sand-blasted finishing on its bridges and polished edges. The watch comes on a black nylon strap secured with a folding clasp.

The Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Skeleton X Label Noir is limited to 288 pieces and priced at CHF 6,900. See more on the Maurice Lacroix website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

1/

A review of the Zenith Chronomaster Sport Titanium

2/

Hands on with the Louis Vuitton Escale Cabinet of Wonders Koi’s Garden, Snake’s Jungle, and Dragon’s Cloud

3/

A review of the Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Venturian Wildsider an imaginative take on the field watch that’s loaded with personality and little details

The Wildsider is a compact 38mm, and it feels even smaller thanks to its light weight. It looks chunky thanks to tall, stubby lugs, the flat-sided barrel case and flush bezel, and the small but pronounced crown guards. Despite its squat appearance, it’s only 10.5 mm in height and easily fits beneath a shirt cuff. The gear-toothed crown is small but easy to grip. The engraved crown cap is adorned with a scaled-down version of the brand’s mountain peak logo that also dominates the screw-down caseback along with the usual text specifications.

Read the whole review on The Time Bum

⏲️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

• Since the rise of QAnon, much has been made of “conspirituality,” the alchemical process that turns new-age thinking into MAGA-inflected conspiracy theories. But you’d be hard-pressed to find a better analysis than Frederick Kaufman’s profile of Jacob Angeli-Chansley, better known as “the QAnon Shaman” from everyone’s favorite 2021 insurrection. By mapping Angeli-Chansley’s personal brew of beliefs to the (surprisingly woo) history of science, Kaufman teases out a discomfiting truth dating back to Isaac Newton himself.

• In an epic feat of reporting and storytelling*, a team of Boston Globe journalists examines the legacy of one of Boston’s most infamous crimes: the 1989 shooting of Charles and Carol Stuart. Carol, who was pregnant, died of a gunshot wound to the head; her baby was delivered via emergency c-section and lived only a few days. Charles survived a bullet to the back and claimed that a Black man had attacked him and his wife, setting of a racist manhunt across Boston. But Charles was the person behind the crime, and as this project reveals, he may not have acted alone or pulled the trigger. Certainly, other people were complicit in keeping his secret—nearly three dozen, in fact.

• This one is a bit inside baseball if you like the media business. Up front is a profile of Jay Shetty, a self-help guru that has enthralled celebrities and has his fans pay thousands for seemingly nothing. And, as it turns out, he has fabricated a bunch of things from his past and often plagiarises other people. But behind the scenes, an even more interesting story is developing. The profile on Shetty was initially commissioned more than a year ago by Esquire. As the author, John McDermott, started uncovering more and more dubious things about Shetty, Esquire started getting cold feet, saying they are not interested in the story. McDermott then offered it to Hollywood Reporter who just said “lol, no way”. It’s actually a story about the media slowly turning into publishers of puff pieces, refusing any sense of controversy, and the dangers of SLAPP lawsuits which are used by shady people to prevent journalists publishing a story on them. The story ended up published by The Guardian and it’s the first time that I have seen a story that has this disclaimer: “This article is the subject of a legal complaint made on behalf of Jay Shetty”. Pretty wild.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

I just love these short docs from Patagonia. They have such a unique vintage feel and you always learn something new. Now that my kid is getting a bit bigger, I’ve been thinking that I need to get back into snowboarding and bring her along. Nothing like this backcountry life in Scotland, yet.

💵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 Ōtsuka 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