Breitling Releases A Smaller, Navitimer For North America; Seiko Expands Techy Astron; MeisterSinger Makes Sporty Moves With A New Integrated Model; Urwerk Revisits The Watch That Started It All

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Watches and Wonders better be good with how all the brands are withholding their releases. That MeisterSinger really shouldn’t work, but it’s kind of hilariously cool.

In this issue:

• Breitling Solidifies Its Expansion In North America With A Very Dark, Very Exclusive Limited Edition

• Seiko Expands The Techy Astron Line With New Sapphire Bezels On Titanium Cases

• MeisterSinger Makes Sporty Moves With A Brand New Integrated Bracelet Model

• Urwerk Revisits The Watch That Started It All With The Bronze UR-100V T-Rex

👂What’s new

1/

Breitling Solidifies Its Expansion In North America With A Very Dark, Very Exclusive Limited Edition

Before we begin, just a very quick note on Breitling. The company is obviously positioning itself to become a multi-brand conglomerate. Only, instead of buying up the competition, they are buying up defunct brands. First, we got the announcement that Breitling bought Universal Geneve, and we’re still waiting to see their first models. Now, just a few days ago, Breitling announced they have bought the rights to the name Gallet, a Swiss watch brand that was famous for their chronographs. This sent watch nerds into a frenzy, just like with UG, but it remains to be seen how buying these very niche brands will move the general public. Now, to our regularly scheduled programming.

Last year, Breitling scored out of the blue with a very unexpected release — the Breitling Chronomat NFL Collection, a really funky crossover of the iconic Breitling model and NFL fandom. They made 32 unique watches, all in very limited quantities, each with branding of one of the 32 NFL teams. It was all part of Breitling’s expansion and rising popularity in the United States, something that the company is obviously taking seriously. Because they’re back with a new Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 North American Limited Edition.

Interestingly, some six months ago, Breitlign released a NA limited edition built on the Navitimer platform. Only, that one was housed in a very North-American-sized case, their larger 46mm version. This one, however, comes in the more manageable 43mm format. The stainless steel case measures 43mm wide, 13.69mm thick and has a lug-to-lug measurement of 49.07 mm. Despite the smaller size, it still has a large 22mm lug width. On top is a domed sapphire crystal, that’s surrounded by a bezel made out of solid 18k red gold. Don’t expect much of water resistance here, you get just 30 meters.

The dial gets a antracite base with black sub-dials at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. The 6 o’clock sub-dial has an integrated date window and there are red details all over — on the central chronograph hand, as well as part of the blue and darker anthracite slide rule bezel that surrounds the dial. The hour and minute hands, as well as the sub-dial hands and the applied hour markers are all made out of red gold.

Inside the watch is the Caliber B01 automatic chronograph, a familiar movement equipped with a column wheel and a vertical clutch. It beats at 4Hz, has a great 70 hour power reserve and is COSC certified. The watch comes on a black alligator leather strap with white stitching.

The new Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 North American Limited Edition will be made in only 300 pieces and is available only in, you guessed it, North Armerica. Priced at $12,300. See more on the Breitling website.

2/

Seiko Expands The Techy Astron Line With New Sapphire Bezels On Titanium Cases

There’s a really good reason why Seiko is a favorite among enthusiasts. Even if we set aside their rich history, great designs and capabilities. You can even disregard their price hikes without much added value. The main reason why Seiko is still an ever present force is the incredible size of their catalogue. From super simple mechanical watches that you can have for a few hundred dolars, all the way to hyper high-tech pieces from the Astron line, you can really find something for everybody. Now Seiko is updating the Astron line with four new watches that carry the usually ephemeral Seiko names - the SSH175, SSH177, SSH179, and the limited SSH180.

All four watches come in titanium cases with ultra hard coatings and measure 43.3mm wide and 13.4mm thick. The lugs curve down and have an almost integrated bracelet. Two versions, the SSH175 and SSH177, come with a silver-colored case, the limited SSH180 gets a silver case and a black mid-link and the SSH179 gets an all black case. On top is a double-domed sapphire crystal, and all of them are water resistant to 100 meters. New are the colored sapphire bezels that come in either black or blue, depending on the model.

The dials are different on all of the models. The SSH175 has a blue dial, the SSH177 a grey dial, the SSH179 a black dial, while the limited edition has a dark, dark blue dial with gold accents. The limited edition also gets gold main hands, and the edges of the of the bezel.

Inside you’ll find the 5X83 which features subdials at 6, 9, and 12 o’clock and is solar powered. Since it has GPS capability, it connects to satellites twice daily to sync the time, and the watch also displays an additional time zone at 6 o’clock, in the same subdial that turns into an hour totalizer when the chronograph is running. At 12 is a sub-dial that displays chronograph elapsed time in 1/20th of a second. The dial at 9 o’clock shows chronograph engagement, charging status, in-flight mode, and the day of the week. Lastly, you will find an AM/PM indicator and a date window between 4 and 5 o’clock.

The new Seiko Astrons will be available in May and are priced at $3,100 for the SSH175 and the SSH177, $3,300 for the SSH179 and $3,300 for the SSH180 which will be limited to 1,500 pieces. See more on the Seiko website.

3/

MeisterSinger Makes Sporty Moves With A Brand New Integrated Bracelet Model

MeisterSinger has had a really good run of releases since the start of the year. And in almost every one of the articles on those releases, I wrote how much I love them for sticking to their one-hand time indication principle, without succumbing to modern trends. Well, it seems that MS has buckled, because they just introduced the new Kaenos Collection, a string of watches built on the very-hot integrated steel bracelet sports watch principle. And one would almost think MeisterSinger has sold out. Almost. Because the exact opposite is true. This is the coolest of combination of a modern-retro case with a disctinct character and a a very old-timey dial that comes in two configurations. Oh, and there’s an Alain Silberstein collaboration to boot.

Sure, the steel integrated bracelet sports watch is not a new concept, but it is very modern to replicate this trend from the 1970s. But it’s brand new for MeisterSinger. The new watches have a barrel-shaped central case with squared off ends to accept the integrated bracelet. The measurements are seemingly very good — 40mm wide, 11.26mm thick, with a still unknown L2L but that’s bound to be good since they are short lugs. The finishings look great — a fully brushed body gets broad polished edges. This is a sports watch, so you get good water resistance of 100 meters.

There are two lines of these watches, both with the same four colorways for the dial — on line has a circular date opening at 6 o’clock and the other has a pretty dramatic sunken and exposed date wheel that’s visible around the entire perimeter of the dial. It’s very cool and the one I would get. The available colors on both are matte black or light gray, ice blue, or petrol blue which come with a sunray-brushed finish. You still get all the MeisterSinger singature details, like the double digit hour markers and the one hand to tell the time. Only now the hand is redesigned and comes lumed in black or brushed grey.

Silberstein also designed one of each of the Kaenos models. Both get black dials, with printed hour numerals and applied gold indexes at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock. Silberstein has replaced the quarter-hour markers with fine dots. The open date version remains largely the same, save for the colors, but the other version gets a square date window and a golden, recessed inner circle. But perhaps most importantly, Silberstein messed with the original formula. This is no longer a one-hand watch, as they now have a seconds hand. And I’m going to say that’s a big no for me.

Inside, you’ll find movements by Sellita. The classic version gets the SW400, a larger take on the SW200 needed to push the date as close to the edge of the dial as possible, while the open date gets the SW200. Both beat at 4Hz and both have a 38 hour power reserve. The watches come on a H-shaped bracelet, with a brushed fnish and polished rectangular central links.

The new MeisterSinger Kaenos collection goes on sale starting April 1st, at a price of €2,650 for the classic version and €2,950 for the open date. See more on the MeisterSInger website.

4/

Urwerk Revisits The Watch That Started It All With The Bronze UR-100V T-Rex

In 1997, Urwerk’s co-founders Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei set the foundation of one of the more innovative watch companies in the world with the introduction of the UR-101 and the UR-102 at that year’s Baselworld watch show. It was an impactful release that featured a special wandering hours displays. That was the watch that started it all. Since then, Urwerk has relaunched the UR-102 model. But now the time has come for the UR-101 to be brought back as well. This is the new Urwerk UR-100V T-Rex in a really great bronze case.

When launched almost 30 years ago, the UR-101 was a shocking watch by itself. But things have changed since, and there are plenty of watches that look similar. So, for the relaunch, Urwerk gives this watch a striking bronze, hand-painted case that looks like a dinosaur’s skin or tough scales. It’s everywhere — on the top of the case, the sides, the lugs… The case measures 41mm wide and 11.86mm thick, with the crown set at 12 o’clock. Water resistance is 30 meters.

What hasn’t changed, however, is the time display. It still has the wandering hour complication, featuring two satellites, each with 6 hours, and a 180-degree display for the minutes. The time display sits under a curved sapphire crystal, with a black snailed display and bright green lumed numerals.

All of this is powered by the new calibre UR-1.01V which is build on a Vaucher automatic movement, with an added in-house wandering hour mechanism. It beats at 4Hz and has a 48 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a black rubber strap with textile effect and black calfskin lining.

The new Urwerk UR-101 T-Rex Edition is limited to 100 pieces and is priced at CHF 38,000, without taxes. See more on the Urwerk 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

• In this piece for Garden&Gun, Lindsey Liles spends time with the team trying to save the red wolf. Only 17 remain, on a peninsula in North Carolina, and trying to keep them alive is an emotionally harrowing experience. Liles lives through the triumphs and sorrows of the people with the “crushing burden of holding the fate of a species in [their] hands”.

• For Men’s Health, Erika Hayasaki recounts the journeys of two men seeking to understand, navigate, and treat their Long COVID symptoms: Dr. Light, a pulmonologist battling chronic fatigue who has found some relief with naltrexone; and Levi, a long-hauler who has tried experimental and alternative methods (such as red light therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and ice baths). At first, Hayasaki alternates between the men’s stories, describing how both have dealt with a debilitating condition that is often misunderstood—and has no definitive treatment. As they search for answers, the two men eventually meet at a Long COVID support group in Colorado, led by Light.

• Lauren E. Oakes considers what it means to, and how to start the process of ecological recovery in the aftermath of the most recent California wildfires. While utter devastation may be too difficult—emotionally and financially—for some to overcome, Oakes suggests that we need to apply a climate-informed approach, one that uses a diversity of species that can withstand drier conditions. “It’s not enough to rebuild,” she writes. “We must rebuild in a way that withstands the future we’ve created.”

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Ladies and gentlemen, rocketpoweredmohawk is back and better than ever.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk