Breitling Shrinks Funky Endurance Pro; Panerai's Gold Luminor Quaranta BiTempo; Certina Saves Turtles While Being A Great Deal; Marathon Celebrates Canada Day; The Grey Hublot Classic Fusion

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. People will have a field day with that Hublot at the end, and they deserve it here. But on another note, I’m starting to really like the Endurance Pro.

In this issue:

• Breitling Shrinks Down Their Funky Endurance Pro To 38mm, Adds Bunch Of New Colors

• Panerai Introduces The Luminor Quaranta BiTempo In Their Very Pretty Goldtech

• The New Certina DS Super PH1000M STC Edition Saves Turtles While Being A Great Deal

• Marathon Celebrates Canada Day with a New Limited Edition GSAR

• Hublot Gives The Monochromatic Essential Grey Treatment To The Classic Fusion

Today’s reading time: 11 minutes and 21 seconds

👂What’s new

1/

Breitling Shrinks Down Their Funky Endurance Pro To 38mm, Adds Bunch Of New Colors

The number of people who want a watch from a high-end brand that is light, sporty and can stand up to hours of rigorous beating while doing said sport - be it riding a bike down some rocky terrain, playing tennis or even just golfing without worry - is pretty small. But it’s also way bigger than zero. And this is where Breitling’s Endurance Pro line is making its bread and butter. It’s a lightweight watch made out of an interesting material and powered by a quartz movement to be as durable as possible. But its main problem was the fact that it was pretty large at 44mm wide, great for legibility, not so great if you have a normal sized wrist. Well, now, Breitling is fixing this with a new smaller size and more colors for the larger one.

The Endurance Pro, both sizes, is made up of a carbon composite material that Breitling calls Breitlight and claims is three times lighter than titanium and nearly six times lighter than stainless steel, while being nonmagnetic, thermally stable, hypoallergenic, and highly resistant to scratches, traction, and corrosion, all very important things to consider if you will be knocking this watch around. The larger watch measures 44mm wide, 12.5mm thick, has a lug-to-lug measurement of 52.4mm and a lug width of 22mm. The new smaller one measures 38mm wide, 12.1mm thick, has a lug-to-lug of 45.7mm and a lug width of 18mm. Other than that, they are virtually identical with a bidirectional bezel with a compass scale, a sapphire crystal and a rugged and protected rubberized crown in the highlight color of the watch for easier manipulation when wet. The crown doesn’t screw down, but you get 100 meters of water resistance.

The dials on both versions are also virtually identical, aside from the size difference. This means you get black dials with a tri-compax setup, a central chronograph hand in red, as well as a chapter ring that surrounds the dial in the highlight color of the watch and a pulsometer scale, something that’s actually useful on a sports-oriented watch. The numerals are large, applied and Arabic and there’s a tiny date window at 4:30 that almost completely blends into the watch. There are five colors for the larger one - navy, orange, white, and light-blue - and five for the smaller one - purple, pink, white, light blue, or red.

Inside the watches you’ll find Breitling’s Caliber 82 or 83 (depending on the side) thermocompensated quartz movement, which features a 30-minute chronograph that is capable of measuring times down to 1/10th of a second. Based on the core architecture of an ETA movement design, the battery-powered Breitling Cal. 82 offers standard chronograph functionality, although it also features a split-timing feature. It’s also a COSC-certified chronometer, which means that it is accurate to within approximately ten seconds per year. All of the watches come on chunky rubber straps that match the highlight color of the watch.

The new Breitling Endurance Pro models are on sale right now and are priced at $3,400 for the 44mm and $3,250 for the 38mm model. See more on the Breitling website.

2/

Panerai Introduces The Luminor Quaranta BiTempo In Their Very Pretty Goldtech

The last Panerai I wrote about was that completely bonkers Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID PAM01800 which used mechanical power to run a microgenerator that lights up the LED lume of the watch. It is a marvel of engineering and material science. The Panerai I’m writing about today is on the exact opposite end of the Panerai spectrum. It’s the Panerai Luminor Quaranta BiTempo Goldtech which is their GMT model dressed all in gold.

The watch comes in the instantly recognisable cusion-shaped case with the short straight lugs and prominent crown shroud. The case measures a not-too-terrible-for-a-Panerai 40mm, but I assume it wears much larger if for nothing than the sheer immense weight thanks to the case being made out of Goldtech, Panerai’s proprietary alloy of rose gold, platinum and copper. While not as water resistant as other high-tech Panerai models, this one at least bumps it up to 100 meters, unlike some other shameful models from the brand.

Contrasting the gold case is a black sunray brushed sandwich dial. There’s a small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock, while the second time zone is indicated with an additional central hand that has an arrow tip. While most watches with multiple time zones have a 24 hour scale for the second time zone to make it easier to discern between day and night in the other zone, the BiTempo, or dual time, just gives you a 12 hour scale. There’s lume in the 12 and 6 numerals as well as stick markers, all of which are cut into the top dial.

Inside is the Panerai P.900/GMT automatic calibre. This somewhat controversial movement that loses and gains a hacking function with every iteration gets the GMT complication and keeps the 72 hour power reserve, or three days. There’s also a date window at 3 o’clock. The watch comes on a black crocodile leather strap and you get an additional rubber strap.

Thanks to the gold case, the Panerai Luminor Quaranta BiTempo Goldtech is not a cheap watch at €25,900. See more on the Panerai website.

3/

The New Certina DS Super PH1000M STC Edition Saves Turtles While Being A Great Deal

It is so incredibly easy to overlook Certina. It’s almost as if they are the forgotten part of the Swatch Group. Looking at their catalogue, there are a few question marks about some models, but you can’t deny them one thing - they can make a really nice dive watch at a pretty unbeatable price. One of the peaks of their development capabilities is the 1970s inspired DS Super PH1000M, capable of going down to 1,000 meters. Now, that model gets a new colorway to mark Certina’s long-term collaboration with the non-profit Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC). This is the DS Super PH1000M STC Edition.

When I say 1970s inspired, I actually mean a real watch from the era. Back then Certina made the DS-2 and DS-3 Super PH1000M and it’s from them that the new version takes the c-shape stainless steel case with the characteristic short lugs which allow it to have a lug-to-lug of just 47mm, despite being 43.5mm wide. That short length also helps with wearability since the watch is 14.15mm thick. But you need a chunk case if you want to go down to 1,000 meters. You will also benefit from a helium escape valve, which this watch has at the 9 o’clock position. On top is a strange-but-interesting unidirectional bezel that has a conical shape and heavily notched sides. To make sure the bezel doesn’t budge by accident, you need to push it down agains the case to turn.

New for this edition is the colorway. Both the aluminum bezel insert and the dial come in a teal coloway. The bezel gets a white fully-graduated 60-minute scale, while the dial has applied and lumed square markers. The hour hand is sword shape, the minute one looks to be obelisk shaped and is outlined in orange. More orange is present on the hour markers and there’s a date aperture at 3 o’clock.

Inside is, no surprise, a Powermatic 80 movement. This is the working horse of the Swatch Group, with Certina getting a higher grade of the movement than what other brands might get. It’s particularly well known for it’s 80 hour power reserve and the anti-magnetic Nivachron balance spring. The watch comes on a black rubber strap with orange stitching.

Despite this watch being a special collaboration with the Sea Turtle Conservancy, it’s not limited and you can go out and buy it now for a pretty amazing price of €1,035. Pretty much any other 1,000 meter capable diver I can think of is at least twice that price. Oh and a portion of the proceeds will go to the STC to protect sea turtles. See more on the Certina website.

 4/

Marathon Celebrates Canada Day with a New Limited Edition GSAR

Monday, July 1st, was Canada Day. And to mark the 157th birthday of the country, the quintessential Canadian watch brand Marathon released a special limited edition of its 41mm GSAR dive watch with a bright white dial, a red maple leaf and a pretty cool waster egg on the side of the case. Oh, and they also have a non-limited version that loses the interesting detail on the case.

Based on the GSAR, the watch is a rugged piece of steel. This makes sense as GSAR stands for “Government Search and Rescue,” so you expect it to stand up to a lot. The case measures 41mm wide and 14mm thick and there’s a sapphire crystal on top, surrounded by a unidirectional bezel with a black insert and a fully graduated 60 minute scale. On the side is the recognisable heavily knurled oversized crown, protected by two guards. Interestingly, a lot of the case is polished, not something you see on rugged watches. Water resistance is 300 meters.

The limited edition has one addition to the case, and that’s the engraved word “ADANAC” on the side of the case. “ADANAC” is Canada spelled backwards and it’s an important part of Marathon lore. Back in t he 1980s, Canadian government contracts frequently prohibited any branding on the watch dial, so “ADANAC” would be printed instead to note that the watch was Canadian made.

The dial on both versions is white, and features a very prominent red maple leaf right under the 12 o’clock marker. The dial is super simple, but very legible, with high contrast black Arabic numerals, and an interior 24 hour track. Lume is not painted on, but rather generated by tritium gas tubes on the hour markers and the hands.

While the Marathon SAR watch can be had with a quartz movement, this one gets the well known Sellita SW200. It beats at 28,800vph and has a 38 hour power reserve. The watches come on a black rubber strap, and the non-limited version can be had on a stainless steel bracelet.

The regular Arctic Red Maple GSAR will be made in unlimited quantities, while the ADANAC Arctic Red Maple GSAR is limited to 157 pieces, to mark the 157th anniversary of Canda. Price is set at US$1,600 on rubber at US$1,900 on the bracelet. I always thought Marathon watches were pricy, but they do have a rabid fan base. See more on the Marathon website.

5/

Hublot Gives The Monochromatic Essential Grey Treatment To The Classic Fusion

Well, here’s a watch that will attract all the flack. Hublot has had a lot of criticism levied against them, and justifiably so. The only issue is that this has become a meme that overwhelms any new Hublot release, even the ones that show the brand is capable not only of innovation in material science, great design and putting together incredible movements. This new watch is not one of those watches. This is exactly what people love to hate about Hublot. The most iconic of Hublot models, the Classic Fusion in both 42 and 45mm, is getting the Essential Grey which turns the watches into completely monochromatic silver pieces.

This is not the first time Hublot has used Essential Grey, the colorways previously appeared on the Big Bang Unico and the Spirit of Big Bang, but it seems to make the most sense with the Classic Fusion. Made out of titanium, the smaller case measures 42mm wide and 10.4mm thick, while the larger case measures 45mm wide and 10.95mm thick. The case has a combination of brushed and polished finishes, and on top is a satin-finished bezel attached with six visible and functional - and that means misaligned - screws. Water resistance is a mediocre 50 meters.

The dials continue the monochromatic grey theme, with a sunburst finish and faceted applied indices. There are matching, baton-style hour and minute hands and the seconds hand has Hublot’s logo as a counterweight. It looks very much like something early Hublot might put out as a limited edition.

Inside, things completely fall apart. The smaller model is powered by the HUB1110, while the larger gets the HUB1112. The only difference between the two is a slight variation in movement thickness, as both beat at 4Hz and have a 42 hour power reserve. Those movements are, of course and famously, based on the Sellita SW300-1 automatic, a movement you’ll often find in sub €1,500 microbrand watches. The watches come with integrated grey rubber and fabric straps with a stainless steel deployant buckle.

And now for the worst part. Both watches are priced at €8,800. I’ll leave it at that. See more on the Hublot website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

1/

A review of the Hanhart Red X Blue chronograph

2/

Five Years With The Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 In Moonshine Gold, A Long Term Review

3/

Hands on with the Chopard L.U.C XPS and L.U.C Qualité Fleurier

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Canopy Wake One is a traditionally designed watch that doesn’t cost a fortune and aims very high

Of course, the Canopy Wake One’s most outstanding feature is its forged carbon bezel. It’s not just the material of the insert itself, which is polished to a glossy finish that makes it appear both high-tech and strangely organic at the same time. It is also the contemporary markings with their fat font and chevrons at 15, 30, and 45 — all lumed for maximum utility. It’s the smooth, solid, flawless action through its 120-click unidirectional rotation. It’s the way the bezel and crown mirror each other in their coin edging and insert material, Yes, that’s right. The signed crown wears a forged carbon cap.

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

• You have undoubtedly been watching the new season of The Bear. If you haven’t, I assume you are my wife who thinks the show is boring. Goes to show you who I married. Anyway, you surely liked cousin Richie, because why wouldn’t you? The actors name is Ebon Moss-Bachrach and this year he won an Emmy for playing Cousin Richie, the cranky loose cannon in The Beef’s kitchen. Next year he’ll be Ben Grimm in Marvel’s Fantastic Four. Some actors wait their whole lives for a moment like this. Moss-Bachrach isn’t one of them.

• You’ve probably heard somewhere that crazy things are happening in Ecuador. The president has started turning ships into jails and faced a huge siege in one of the jails in which narco gangs faced off agains teh guards. Does President Daniel Noboa’s campaign against drug gangs imperil the democracy he claims to defend?

• About a decade ago, when his mansion in upstate New York started feeling too cramped for all his grandkids, Jules Kroll, the world’s most famous private detective, set out to build a bigger one on a neighboring parcel of land. The owner of the plot sensed an opportunity and tried to jack up the price. So Kroll looked into the neighbor’s past, he recalls with a smile as we stood at the back of the property one morning last spring. “The guy didn’t know who he was dealing with.” In the end, Kroll got the price he wanted. Now, that sounds like a pretty good start to a story about a private detective that has a couple of more things to say.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Architecture is one of the things we like over here. And this is an interesting documentary on how architectural studios shape architects in both good and bad ways.

💵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

Want to let us know what you think about the newsletter? Go to our survey and fill it out.

-Vuk