Cartier Revamps Tank Cintrée In Platinum, Piaget's New Crazy Thin AUC, Isotope Hydrium California Takes Best Of Dive Watch History And BA111OD Continues To Make Stunning Watches At Mind-Bending Low Prices

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In this issue:

• Cartier Revamps Tank Cintrée In Platinum For A Very Limited Edition

• Piaget Gives A Beautiful Blue Color To Their Impossibly Thin Altiplano Ultimate Concept Midnight Blue Edition

• The New Isotope Hydrium California Draws Inspiration From The Best Of Dive Watch History

• With The New Chapter 4.7 Onyx Tourbillon C. Lémanic BA111OD Continues To Deliver Incredible Timepieces At Mind-Bending Low Prices

Today’s reading time: 8 minutes and 52 seconds

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Cartier Revamps Tank Cintrée In Platinum For A Very Limited Edition

The Tank, the Santos, the Pasha… There is no shortage of iconic watches from Cartier. But the Cariter Tank must be the most significant watch they have ever created. It is so influential, in fact, that every single iteration of the watch has become a cult classic. And there are many iterations. There is the Tank Normale, the original that was introduced 1919 and inspired by tanks used in World War I for the first time, but we also got the Tank Cintrée, Tank Louis Cartier, Tank Américaine and the Tank Française, to name a few. Among these, perhaps the most recognizable is the Cintrée. In 2021, Cartier marked the 100th anniversary of the Tank Cintrée by releasing a gold limited edition. Now, Cartier is introducing a new version of the watch that takes inspiration from its heritage and renders it in platinum.

The platinum case of the new Tank Cintrée measures a familiar 46mm by 23mm, but this new version is even thinner at just 6mm. The long the long brancards are polished, while the horizontal sides are brushed. The Cintrée has always been a very bold Tank model, and this one retains the large, curved case of the original. The cabochon crown gets a ruby in it, something that Cartier likes to do when celebrating anniversaries of watches and this is the 100th anniversary of the Tank Cintrée in platinum.

Inside the watch is the Cartier caliber 9780 MC, which, of course is not a Cartier movement but rather the Jaeger-LeCoultre 849, an ultra-thing marvel that measures just 1.85mm thick. It’s a great movement because it fits practically anywhere, even in the 6mm thick case of the Cintrée, but you lose out some on the power reserve, which is only 36 hours.

This is the fourth launch from what Cartier calls its Les Rééditions, its effort to release re-editions of some of its historically important and collector-favorite watches, which include the gold Cintrée, a Pasha Perpetual Calendar and a new Pebble, all recreations of vintage models in limited editions. This means that this watch will be made in only 150 pieces and will retail for $38,500.

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Piaget Gives A Beautiful Blue Color To Their Impossibly Thin Altiplano Ultimate Concept Midnight Blue Edition

You know how I called the Jaeger-LeCoultre 849 movement in the Tank Cintrée “an ultra-thing marvel that measures just 1.85mm thick” just a few sentences ago? Yeah, we can all have a little bit of a chuckle at that, as Piaget introduced an update tot heir award winning Altiplano Ultimate Concept. While the JLC movement measures 1.85mm, this entire watch - movement, case and crystal - all together measures 2mm. The updates comes in the form of a new color, a fantastic midnight blue.

The Altiplano Ultimate Concept was first introduced in 2018, when it became the thinnest watch in the world. It immediately took home the coveted ‘Aiguille d’Or’ prize at the 2020 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). This watch was a true mechanical achievement, as for the last 65 years, Piaget has tirelessly improved upon its ultra-thin movements – a reputation forged since 1957 when Valentin Piaget presented the 2mm high calibre 9P, followed by the 2.3mm micro-rotor calibre 12P. Since then en made thinner watches, but the Piaget still remains a fantastic thing to behold.

One of the key elements that allowed Piaget to create such a thin watch was the case made out of a cobalt alloy and the fact that they used the internal face as the main plate for the movement. Now they used that case and gave it a coat of new color, a very dark blue that feels just right on the cobalt. The midnight blue theme continues under the ultra-thin 0.2mm sapphire crystal, with the matte main plate, the sun-brushed dial and the complex upper bridge closing the movement all coated in dark blue. Contrasting with this dark base, all technical elements – openworked barrel, balance and escapement, gear train – and the hands are left in silver.

The Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept Midnight Blue is technically not a limited edition, but it will not be produced as a regular edition. Instead, it will made only on request, just like the other Altiplano Ultimate Concept watches. Pricing, of course, is on request, but previous versions have had a price tag of more than CHF 400,000, so expect this one to as well. See more of the watch on the Piaget website.

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The New Isotope Hydrium California Draws Inspiration From The Best Of Dive Watch History

Before the 1950s, dive watches were fairly uncommon for most because there was no market for them. The majority of professional divers, apart from a few scientists and explorers, were in military units and their watches were made by government order. Placing the utmost focus on legibility, as errors could lead to death, watchmakers experimented with various ways of making sure that divers would not be confused about the current time. In 1942, Rolex was awarded a patent that aimed to solve this problem - a dial that would have Roman numerals at the top half of the dial and Arabic ones at the bottom. They advertised them as 'error-proof' dials and they quickly became colloquially known as California dials.

Jose Miranda, founder of Isotope, has a thing for vintage divers and says he has always dreamed of owning one of the original dive watches with a California dial. However, with more fakes than real ones floating around in the market he decided to use the same approach he used when he made the Hydrium and HydriumX models to scratch his itch for a vintage diver - he made his own. Isotope is introducing the Hydrium California, an extension of the Hydrium line with a, duh, California dial.

The base is still the same as previous editions, a 40mm large case made from sand-blasted 316L stainless steel. It’s a strong and robust case, but with interestingly tiny lugs it’s fairly compact and wearable. The watch has a very prominent bezel and a slightly tucked-in crown. This is all pretty much the same. What’s new is on the dial.

The overall vibe of the dial is extremely vintage, with a grainy texture. The Isotope name is printed in bold white letters and the numerals, Roman on top, Arabic on the bottom, have a slightly beige look. The hands have a beautiful brushed finish and are filled with a thin strip of lume. The bezel has been redesigned as well, with a more vintage layout.

Interestingly, Hydrium doesn’t say which movment is inside. They say it’s a Swiss-made Landeron automatic movement that runs at at 28,800 VpH and offers a 40-hour power reserve. Despite them not specifying which movement it is, it’s most likely the Landeron L24, a clone of the ETA 2824-2, making it very servicable. What’s nice with this Isotope is that you get finishings on the movement - blued screws, perlage, and Côtes de Genève - not often seen on watches in this price range. The watch comes on a quick-release FKM strap, perfect for diving, but you can also get it on a tan suede strap which is not water resistant.

This is a limited edition watch and only 200 pieces will be made. It’s available now and comes with a price point of $1,146. See more on the Isotope website.

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With The New Chapter 4.7 Onyx Tourbillon C. Lémanic BA111OD Continues To Deliver Incredible Timepieces At Mind-Bending Low Prices

With every new release, BA111OD is proving that they really are conquering the market on expertly-made, Swiss-produced, highly-advanced watches that are sold at prices that really puzzle the market as they shouldn’t be possible. They have made waves by producing the least expensive Swiss made tourbillon – the Ba111od Chapter 4.1, as well as the Ba111od Chapter 4.5 GMT Tourbillon. Their CHPTR_Δ has one of the most interesting ways of moving hands and displaying time, for a crazy low price, especially compared to brands it competes with with such an avant-garde creation. Now, BA111OD is introducing a super classic watch, the Chapter 4.7 Onyx Tourbillon C. Lémanic, a seemingly simple tourbillon with a stunning onyx dial.

The Chapter 4.7 Onyx Tourbillon C. Lémanic comes in a 40mm polished steel case with a crown at 4 o'clock which has become a staple of the collection. The dial is rendered in a deep black onyx stone and I’m sure photo’s don’t do it justice - it looks almost like a vantablack watch, meaning that it’s likely more impressive when seen live.

At 7 o’clock you’ll find a cut-out that reveals the tourbillon. The movement is skeletonized, hand-wound, has a 105 hour power reserve and BA111OD points out that it was developed by the brilliant watch designer Olivier Mory. And boy did he do a job on it. Please click through to see the backside of this watch, as it’s just gorgeous. It’s a movement that watches in the 50,000+ range would not be ashamed to have. They also added a mirror film on the back of the dial, which is a unique feature that allows you to see the upper face of the movement.

The watch comes on an ethically conscious crocodile-style leather strap and with 2 NFC chips. BA111OD has been on the forefront of integrating these chips into their watches as they don’t interfere with the watch, but offer a ton of functionality to the wearer.

Finally, the name… The watch is named Chapter 4.7 Onyx Tourbillon C. Lémanic. So who is C. Lémanic? I’ve been following what Thomas Baillod, the founder of BA111OD has been doing with his business model and he broke every rule and norm possible, while always making it work. Baillod was in need of financing to bring the company to. higher level, but instead of opting for banks or traditional investors, he put a call out to consumers to help finance growth. In addition to an attractive return, these people were offered the opportunity to sponsor future Chapters, and this is where the name comes from - the name of this Chapter, “C. Lémanic” is in honour of the Clinic Lémanic in Lausanne, whose owners are the sponsors of this new timepiece.

The Chapter 4.7 Onyx Tourbillon C. Lémanic Tourbillon is now available for preorder at an introductory price of €6.150 for the first 10 pieces. Look at that price again. Then look at the watch. And tell me that isn’t a fantastic deal. The initial 10 pieces are expected to be delivered before Christmas this year. See more of the watch on the brand’s website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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Hands on with the Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter 

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A review of the Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Aeronom Aero One BLK is larger than life in every sense of the term

Black-on-black tends to disappear, so the black hands are filled with strips of lume to appear floating when in darkness. In the light, legibility is clearer thanks to the glossy sheen of those black hands above the satin black of the dial. The applied hour markers follow the same philosophy, with those at 3 and 9 removed for the complications. The different lengths of the hands are easy to follow too, with the minute track reserved for the rehaut chapter ring to clean up the dial. Read the whole review at Time+Tide.

⏲️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

• This is the incredible saga of the Henchmen brothers, hip-hop's forgotten moguls, a story full of cocaine, murder and fleeing federal authorities.

• In the late 2000s, Carlos Monteiro noticed something strange about the food that Brazilian people were eating. They were buying way less oil, sugar, and salt than they had in the past. Despite this, people were piling on the pounds. Turns out, this is the biggest mystery of modern nutrition. Scientists are asking tough questions about the health effects of ultra-processed diets. The answers are complicated—and surprising.

• The Phantom of the Allagash spooked Mainers and stumped investigators. Eighty years ago, an act of shocking violence in the Maine woods kicked off a sprawling manhunt that captivated observers all around the country and became a true-crime phenomenon.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Last week, or maybe the one before, I posted a video about a trio of fantastic and somewhat affordable restomods. Since then, my YouTube feed has been ruined by restomod videos and I skip most of them. But I couldn’t skip over this one. Just look at this incredible machine.

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