Grand Seiko Celebrates 100 Years Of Disney With SE Green Birch, Norqain Introduces Two New Skeletons, Brellum Adds A Summery Blue GMT And Parmigiani Fleurier Has A New Tonda PF Sport Line

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I’m back in the city from the coast, so it’s not a great day for me. I preferred to sit by the sea and sip cocktails. But watches wait for no man, so let’s get on with it.

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In this issue:

• Grand Seiko Celebrates 100 Years Of Disney With SE Green Birch

• Norqain Introduces Two New Skeletonized Versions Of The Wild ONE

• Brellum Adds A Summery Blue GMT To Their Pilot Inspired Watch Line

• Parmigiani Fleurier Unveils The New Tonda PF Sport Line

• Glashütte Original Seventies Chronograph Fab Green Is Very Green

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 26 seconds

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1/

Grand Seiko Celebrates 100 Years Of Disney With Special Edition Green Birch

Here’s a bit of a different opener for today’s edition. I usually like opening up with a widely available watch from a major brand that is accessible to a wide range of people - something that will be of interest to the largest number of readers. But here we have a limited in numbers (most likely), limited in market availability and just plain unusual collaboration between Grand Seiko and Disney, slated only for the Japanese market. I just thought it was weird enough to mention right off the bat.

The watch, as it is often the case with these collaborations, remains the same and is a SLGH011 “Green Birch” Grand Seiko. The only difference comes on the transparent caseback which has the commemorative etching of Mickey Mouse and the “Disney 100” emblem. It’s not invative at all. But it’s still a beautiful Green Birch Grand Seiko. So, if you can, why not get it with an engraving of Mickey Mouse?

The watch is priced at 1,430,000 yen which amounts to $9,951 or EUR 9,100. If you read Japanese, you can find out more here.

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Norqain Introduces Two New Skeletonized Versions Of The Wild ONE

It was only just recent that the relative newcomer to the watch game Norqain introduced their Wild One line, and now they’re updating it with a summer look and a skeletonised dial. What they did is fairly simple - they took their best selling Norteq case of the Independence Wild One, fused it with the skeletonised movement of the Independence Skeleton and gave it two new summery colors: bright turquoise and warm burgundy.

Both models share the same 42mm wide and 12.3mm thick marbled-effect Norteq case. Norqain claims this super-light, ultra-resistant, proprietary carbon fibre composite can withstand up to 5000g. It also saves weight, watch weigh 50% less than the steel model, at 74 grams. The case also gets 200 meters of water resistance. Even more weigh is saved with the skeletonized movement.

The turquoise Wild One has a black marbled case with bright turquoise rubber accents on the left lateral shock absorber, crown guards, rubber seals, and its matching rubber strap with a black border. The burgundy model, a limited edition of 300 pieces, is mellower and has a burgundy-coloured marbled Norteq cage with black rubber shock absorbers, crown guards, rubber seals and strap. Both feature the signature Norqain plaque screwed in on the left side of the case.

The applied and luminous indices suspended over the dial are placed on the peripheral chapter ring with its five-minute markings. The burgundy model plays with skeletonised red gold-plated indices and hands with white Super-LumiNova, while the Turquoise model uses silver indices and hands with turquoise Super-LumiNova material. The central seconds hand has an arrow-shaped tip, also filled with lume.

Inside the watch, visible through the dial, is the brand’s proprietary skeletonised NN08S based on the Sellita SW 200-1S. It is COSC chronometer-certified and delivers a 41-hour power reserve. The turquoise model comes on a turquoise rubber band with a black outline while the burgundy model comes on a plain black strap.

The Wild One Skeleton Burgundy is a limited edition of 300 pieces and retails for CHF 5,450; the Wild One Skeleton Turquoise joins the Independence collection and retails for CHF 5,250. You can find out more on their website, but I’ll close it off with my thoughts: after five years of Norqain being everywhere, I have to give up and say I don’t get it. There’s no better way to explain it, but it seems as if the crew that left Breitling to start Norqain took all of the worst parts of Breitling with them, and at the same time Breitling got better and better. And they’re damn expensive… Do you own one? Do you know anybody who owns one?

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Brellum Adds A Summery Blue GMT To Their Pilot Inspired Watch Line

Brellum is one of those weird brands like Ball you don’t know where to put. However, unlike Ball whose sourcing provenance is uncertain at best, Brellum was founded by a 4th generation Swiss watchmaker and they make very exclusive watches at very acceptable prices. They do direct sales, make only 299 pieces per year and most of their watches are pilot or racing chronographs. Their newest watch is an addition to the Brellum Pilot GMT Chronometer, now in a great blue color.

The first Brellum Pilot GMT Chronometer was released in an opaline white dial with dark contrasting elements, so this is a reversal of the color scheme. The dark, matte blue dial is paired with a matching nubuck strap, making for a summery, casual look. White accents are present on the hands and markers, all filled with Super-LumiNova. Hands and markers on this collection are satin-finished, bringing a more tool-ish style as well as avoiding reflection. The case hasn’t changed and is here made of uncoated stainless steel, with brushed and polished surfaces, 41.8mm wide and 15.9mm thick (11.7mm without the two domed sapphire crystals).

Inside the watch is the calibre BR-754 GMT, based on a Valjoux 7754 with higher-end specs. The movement is decorated with perlage, blued screws, Geneva stripes and 4N gold-coated rotor and is also chronometer-certified by the COSC.

This will be a very limited edition of 23 pieces, available only through their website, and will set you back CHF 3,150 or EUR 3,590.

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Parmigiani Fleurier Unveils The New Tonda PF Sport Line

It was the unexpected success of the Tonda PF collection that put Parmigiani Fleurier on the map. The brand came to be known as the go-to if you wanted a well made discreet super luxurious watch. But even Parmigiani is not immune to following trends, so it’s no surprise that they are hopping onto the trend of every watchmaker having to have an entire sporty collection. While people will argue what a sports watch actually is, but we can agree that a sports watch has to have decent water resistance and needs to be able to take a hit or two, with bright colors and textile/rubber straps as a welcomed option. So, enter the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Sport.

The new Tonda PF Sport collection will be replacing the Tonda GT collection with the introduction of 4 references that span steel and rose gold within a time and date, and chronograph configuration. The biggest shift from the GT collection is the date migration away from the unique oversized 12 o’clock position, and into the controversial 4:30 position on the chronograph, and the 6 o’clock position on the time and date model.

The Tonda GT watches had plenty of quirks. The Tonda PF Sport cleans things up a bit, offering a near sterile experience in comparison. Some may even find them a bit too sterile when it comes to the personality here. The Chronograph Tonda PF Sport gets high contrast black sub dials within the clou triangulaire guilloché textured silver dials. Each of the hour markers also get a black luminescent coating, which helps each of the relatively small markers pop off the surface of the dial.

The Chronograph comes in a steel or rose gold case, 42mm wide and 12.9mm in thickness. Inside is Parmigiani’s COSC certified PF070/6710 automatic hi-beat movement with 65 hours of reserve. The beautifully finished movement is visible through an exhibition back. Additional sportiness comes from the textile strap that's integrated into the case. The Chronograph is priced at CHF 26,500 in steel, and CHF 46,000 in rose gold.

The PF Sport Automatic ditches the chronograph, but keeps the contrasting date, which moves to the bottom of the dial here. This watch is also offered in steel and rose gold, but measures 41mm in diameter, and 9.8mm in thickness. The PF Sport Automatic is priced from CHF 19,500 in steel, and CHF 35,000 in rose gold. See more on their webiste.

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TAG Heuer Adds Two New Connected Models If You Want Another Alternative To An Apple Watch

I’m not one for smart watches. I wore the Apple Watch when it came out, but found it annoying. Not the Apple Watch, but the actual concept of a smart watch. But there are millions of people out there who want to wear a smart watch. I completely understand that. What I don’t understand is why you would buy anything other than an Apple Watch. Running-dedicated Garmins aside, the Apple Watch just does everything you want in the most streamlined manner.

But, just because there are millions of people who want a smart watch, some might prefer something other than an Apple watch. And TAG Heuer has been the premium Swiss watch brand that is positioning themselves as a leader in the world of smart watches that are not the Apple Watch. Now they’re adding the TAG Heuer Connected 45mm Bright Black Edition and the Connected 42mm Golden Edition watches, both featuring rich black and gold colorways.

The TAG Heuer Connected 45mm Bright Black Edition watch sports a black DLC sandblasted grade 2 titanium case, with a steel crown shrouded in rubber for optimal grip and functionality. The case is topped with a ceramic bezel, which benefits from golden lacquer and PVD. The crown and pushers also include golden lacquered details to match the tone of the bezel and other dial details. The dial is protected by a flat sapphire crystal while the caseback is black DLC titanium.

Accompanying the larger black variant is the new Connected 42mm Golden Edition watch, which is TAG Heuer’s first smartwatch with a full golden PVD watch. Again, mimicking the look of more traditional analog watches, the watch’s rose golden PVD steel case includes alternate polished and brushed finishes. There’s also a rose golden PVD steel crown, domed sapphire crystal, and a black calf-skin leather strap with red lining.

Both smartwatches feature a watch face called “TONOS,” which is available in 10 different colors all designed with golden indices and complications to complement the rest of the watches. Moreover, both watches are water resistant to 50 meters and powered by Wear OS by Google.

And here’s my biggest issue with the TAG connected series - the 45mm is priced at CHF 2,700, while the 42mm is CHF 2,250. That’s a lot of money for a smart watch. But I guess there are people who really want it.

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Singer Reimagined Introduces a Pair of Smaller Chronographs with Updated Movements and Features

It’s not cool for one guy to have so many talents that there’s not much more left over for the rest of us. Rob Dickinson is one such guy. He was a member of the British alternative band Catherine Wheel and had several number one hit singles. He then left music and started modifying old Porsches, which turned into Singer, one of the most respected car modifying companies in the world. That wasn’t enough, so he wanted to tinker with watches. Fortunately, he wasn’t a watchmaker, but he did team up with watch designer Marco Borraccino and owner of Agenhor Jean-Marc Wiederrecht.

From their collaboration came the Singer Reimagined chronographs, beautiful, automotive inspired, vintage watches. But we could all rejoice because they were certainly not perfect. Their biggest drawback was their size - 43mm wide in a cushion case, it took over a lot of space on your wrist. So Dickinson just decided to fix it. Now, with a pair of watches in the brand’s new Singer 1969 collection, they’ve gone a long way toward answering doubters who made the large size of their earlier watches a dealbreaker. They’ve also incorporated new functionality, refining the mechanical piece to make their watches even more intuitive.

The 1969 Chronograph features an updated Agengraphe caliber that’s smaller (to fit the new 40mm case) and also includes a time display. Elapsed time is still read from the centrally mounted hands, but the current time is now displayed in an aperture at 6:00 via a pair of rotating discs. The chronograph incorporates jumping minutes and hours for precision, and the caliber is capable of timing events of up to 60 hours. If I’m not mistaken, correct me if I am, this is the longest timing capability of any watch on the market. Then there’s the 1969 Timer, which incorporate a 60 second timer via the centrally mounted running seconds hand. The pusher at 2:00 resets the seconds hand to zero and starts a timing interval.

The movements themselves, calibers AGH 6365 and AGH 6363 for the Chronograph and Timer, respectively, are the type that beg to be examined with a loupe, and effectively communicate that each watch’s unique features are indeed as complex as they seem. The automatic AGH 6365 is wound by a rotor found underneath the dial, so the mechanism can be enjoyed in full view, including the column wheel and a whole lot of the caliber’s 491 total components. The AGH 6363 is manually wound and shares elements of its construction with the 6365.

The retail price for the Chronograph is CHF 51,000, and it will be limited to 50 pieces in 2023. The Timer is priced at CHF 29,900 and is also limited to 50 pieces.

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The Glashütte Original Seventies Chronograph Fab Green Is Very Green, Very Seventies And Very Cool

Watches hailing from Glashütte, including those made by Glashütte Original, have always put the utmost importance on functionality and precision. Watches made in this legendary German town are the pinnacle of watchmaking, a serious affair, with movements that rival and in cases surpass their Swiss counterparts. And here comes Glashütte Original saying hold my beer, I’ve got a fantastic mechanical watch, but stuffed in a funky, retro, colorful, textured and fun package. Here’s the Glashütte Original Seventies Chronograph 'Fab Green'.

The stainless steel square case of the watch measures 40×40mm, but it’s less important with this watch. It’s all about the dial. In recent years, the firm has produced 70s-inspired timepieces featuring eye-catching retro-themed dials, which is greatly aided by the fact that the the luxury marque has its own dedicated dial facility in Pforzheim. The luminescent hands and indexes contrast with the green tones of the dial. The twin counters are recessed and feature snailing, adding depth and texture. The degradé dial is mid-green at its centre, transitioning to dark green near the periphery of the display. Stunning.

Inside, there’s more stunning stuff - the Calibre 37-02, an automatic movement, which is beautifully crafted in the company’s Manufactory in Glashütte. Next to 70 hours of power reserve and 10 bar water resistance the timepiece offers a view of the exquisitely finished movement through a sapphire crystal case back. The Calibre 37-02 with column-wheel switch has combines the most important chronograph functions in a watch of a pleasing size: chronograph with stop-second, flyback, 30-minute display and numeric 12-hour display, Panorama Date and power reserve indication

You can find out more at the brand’s website or just head over to an AD who sells Glashütte Original. The watch is priced at EUR 15,700.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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Hands-On With Omega’s Latest Seamaster Aqua Terra Worldtimer Models

2/

A review of the the Bell & Ross BR 03-93 GMT Blue

3/

Finally, a closer look at a women’s watch, the Blancpain Ladybird Colors 

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

SYE might have a silly name (SYE stands for Start Your Engines), but their watches are much more serious

The Bullitt Limited Edition is the only SYE to feature a titanium case at this time. Measuring 40.5mm in diameter, it’s essentially a lugless watch and has no flat regions on the case side, making it wear closer to 39.5mm. Matched with a green panda dial (the only nod to Bullitt), it mixed vintage cues with a very modern case design for something that I found very appealing on the wrist. Powered by the Seiko VK64 movement, it is priced at around $650 depending on strap choice

⏲️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

• Remember, an piece of writing is truly great if it can make you care about a topic you have absolutely no interest in. Like, for example, this New Yorker piece on the development of a new bra for the military. The author’s breezy tone whips you through this piece and provides a few chuckles along the way, and you end up caring for military brassieres.

• The SS Edmund Fitzgerald is just one of about 350 ships resting on the bottom of Lake Superior, but it may be the most famous. For Orion Magazine, Martha Lundin recalls the power of Lake Superior, the ship’s many ill-fated omens, and the sometimes foreboding feminine mystique around sailing nomenclature.

• This excerpt —adapted from A Thread of Violence: A Story of Truth, Invention and Murder by Mark O’Connell, published by Granta on 6 July—shows O’Connell’s attempts to uncover the psychology behind two brutal murders. In doing so, he begins to question his own role as the reporter of the story. Beautifully written and a real mind-twister.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

I’m not that into linking to watch content from YouTube here as I imagine you already follow the channels that might be of interest to you. However, this short video on the Seiko Instruments SMW006 is very cool as it shows off a function I have never seen on a watch before. Keep in mind I don’t play any instruments at all, and it’s still fascinating.

💵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: 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

• FOR SALE: Longines Heritage Skin Diver, box and papers. €1400. Reach out to us and we’ll put you in touch

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