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  • Grand Seiko Revives One Of Their Most Important Watches; Junghans Takes 50s Inspiration; Micromilspec's First Civilian Watch; A Stunning Debut From Albishorn; And New From Trilobe And Speake Marin

Grand Seiko Revives One Of Their Most Important Watches; Junghans Takes 50s Inspiration; Micromilspec's First Civilian Watch; A Stunning Debut From Albishorn; And New From Trilobe And Speake Marin

How you launch a new watch brand is very important. I would say Albishorn won that game

Author

Vuk Radic
September 05, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 21 minutes

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. There’s a bunch of new releases streaming in and I’m still dealing with watches from next week. Sometimes I wonder if I should do two newsletters per day. Don’t worry, that won’t happen. Just keep in mind that there might be a new release missing right now, but it will be covered!

For now, It’s About Time is a fully reader supported publication. If you like this newsletter, want to continue getting it and want even more of my writing, I would love if you could hop on over to Patreon and subscribe. You give me $6 a month, I give you 5 additional longform posts per week which include an overview of interesting watches for sale, early access to reviews (it’s the Seiko x Giugiaro SCED035 "Ripley"), a basic watch school, a look back at a forgotten watch, and a weekend read that looks at the history of horology.

In this issue:

  • Grand Seiko Revives One Of Their Most Important Watches, The Hi-Beat 45GS With Elegant Duo

  • Junghans’ Latest Meister Pilot Chronoscope Grey and Green Editions Are Inspired By 50s Legend

  • Micromilspec Debuts Their Fantastic Looking New Milgraph GMT Chronograph

  • Albishorn Has Spectacular Launch With Massena LAB Collaboration On A Regatta Chronograph

  • Trilobe Contrasts Night And Day With The New Nuit Fantastique Ombre and Lumière Duo

  • Speake Marin Adds A High Beat Movement To A Skeletonized Version Of The Ripples

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 55 seconds

👂What’s new

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Earlier in the year, at Watches & Wonders, Grand Seiko released their caliber 9SA4, a manual hi-beat (36,000 bph) movement with an 80 hour power reserve and a in-house dual-impulse escapement, and two watches to house it in — the SLGW002 and SLGW003. It was a hint that Grand Seiko was preparing a new line of high-end dress watches that would house the new movement. And boy, did they deliver. The new SLGW004 and SLGW005 take the hi-beat movement and put it into a case that is a revival of the now legendary 45GS and collector favorite, a late 60s model that was a perfect embodiment of Grand Seiko’s Grammar of Design principles that dictate the aesthetic of every visible component of a watch. It too was powered by a hi-beat manually wound movement, so this revival is really truthful.

The SLGW004 and SLGW005 share the case footprint, measuring slightly larger than the original 45GS, at 38.8mm wide and 10.4mm thick. One watch gets a stainless steel case, while the other is made out of yellow gold. But both get sharp facets as a majority Zaratsu polished finish with a couple of brushed details. On top is a polished bezel holding a box-shaped sapphire crystal. There’s also a transparent caseback. This is a dress watch, but even so, a higher water resistance than 30 meters would have been great.

The dials are incredibly similar, with one getting a silvery-white dial and the other a creamy white dial. Both have diamond-cut, faceted polished indices, as well as faceted hands. The hardware also matches the case material, meaning one gets stainless steel and the other is 18k gold. Both have an applied Seiko logo and a double index at 12 o’clock, something that old GS watches were famous for. The dial also has the text “Hi-Beat” and “36000” at 6 o’clock.

Inside, like I said, is the hand wound 9SA4 movement. When they introduced, Grand Seiko made sure to point out that this was their first hand wound hi-beat movement in 50 years. It beats at 5Hz, has an 80 hour power reserve and is quite accurate with a rating of -3/+5 seconds per day. You can see it through the caseback, decorated with stripes, perlage on the mainplate, bevelled bridges, golden engravings, and a finely finished ratchet wheel, with a power reserve indicator. Both watches come on crocodile straps, one brown the other black, and with case matching buckles.

In an expected, but infuriating move, the Grand Seiko SLGW004 and SLGW005 models are limited production, with the steel being limited to 1,200 pieces and the gold to 200 pieces. The steel version is priced at €10,400, while the gold one is priced at a more hefty €32,000. See more on the Grand Seiko website.

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Being known for their Bauhaus-inspired Max Bill watch that just oozes mid-century style, it’s easy to forget that Junghans has had a storied past with military watches. After World Ward II, to avoid the mistakes made after the first war, Germany was allowed to form a new army and it needed equipment. The industry that was operational before and during the war was still there and ready to deliver. One of the pieces of equipment that was needed were watches, especially for military pilots, and Junghans was ready to deliver. In the 1950s they made the Bundeswehr Chronograph, a pilot’s chronograph, that is the root of the modern Junghans Meister Pilot Chronoscope. Now, this watch is getting two new variangs, one in grey and one in green.

Being a pilot’s watch, it’s pretty large. Made out of stainless steel, it measures 43.3mm wide and 14.4mm thick. On top is the very recognisable bezel that has 12 points that make up swooping positions to grab onto and twist it. It’s bi-directional and has a 60 minute scale engraved into it. Interestingly, despite being a tool watch that should have a brushed surface to stand up to scratches, this entire thing is fully polished, including the bezel on the grey-dial version. And this polished aspect is the direct connection to the 1950s Bundeswehr Chronograph.

There are two dials for this edition. One is matte grey, with a slight gradient from a lighter grey in the centre to a black on the outskirts, and it gets beige Arabic numerals. The other one is matte green, agin fading to black, and with white numerals. Both dials have a bi-compax setup, with a 30 minute counter and a running seconds. Both also have the historic Junghans logo in cursive at 12 o’clock.

Inside both watches is the calibre J880.3 and automatic chronograph that beats at 4Hz and has a 42 hour power reserve. The watches come on riveted leather straps, green on the green dial and brown on the grey dial.

Interestingly, the watches aren’t priced the same. The green dial with the brushed bezel is priced at €2,490, while the fully polished grey case comes in at €2,590. See more on the Junghans website.

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There’s a pretty good reason why I wrote about Micromilspec watches only once or twice in this newsletter. It’s not because I don’t like them (I mostly love them), or they don’t put out as many watches (they do). It’s the simple fact that you can’t buy them. You see, Micromilspec is a Norwegian watch brand that specialises in making watches for the military and first responders. And not just slapping a cool logo on an existing watch. They would work with units and organisations to create one of a kind watches that would never be available to the public. If they’re not available to the public, there’s not much to write about. They did offer a few of these watches to the rest of us, but rarely. Their new watch, however, is their first model made for civilians and boy is it cool. The Micromilspec Milgraph comes in a blasted titanium case with a GMT and a very cool monochrome colorway.

Starting off with the case, like I said, it’s made out microblasted Grade 5 titanium and it measures 42mm wide and 15mm thick. Interestingly, despite having minimal lugs for an almost integrated bracelet look, it has a rather long lug-to-lug measurement of 50.3mm. The crown and pushers for the chronograph are moved to the left side, but with a military-inspired watch this is less to fit people who wear their watches on the right hand and more to do with the crown not digging into your hand while doing military things. On top is a flat sapphire crystal surrounded by a bezel with an elapsed time scale that matches the case material and has what Micromilspec calls QuadGrip — four indents to help rotate the bezel. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial is super minimalist, while showing a lot of information. The base of the dial is a dark grey heavily grained surface. It is divided into sub-dials and a periphery scale with slightly extruded circles. It’s a pretty awesome look that you don’t see often. On the periphery is a 24-hour scale, while the three sub-dials are used for the running seconds, 12-hour counter and 30-minute counter. Interestingly, the sub-dials don’t have any numerals, which would make it hard to guess which is which, but each is marked with a tag next to the dial for easy identification. They also vary in size in accordance to the importance of information they show. Everything is filled with Super-LumiNova X1 and the second time zone is indicated with an orange arrow tipped hand.

Inside is the La Joux-Perret calibre L121, a column-wheel-operated automatic chronograph movement with a 60-hour power reserve. It beats at 4Hz and is fairly accurate at ±4 seconds per day. I couldn’t find much info about this movement, but it sure seems very interesting. I wish more brands would use it. The watch can be had on either a titanium bracelet with a butterfly clasp or a rubber or leather strap.

Despite this being a civilian issue watch that’s easier to buy, don’t expect this one to be wither plentiful or really cheap. Only 50 pieces will be made and price is set at €3,500 on rubber. I assume that the leather and titanium bracelet will cost more, but I couldn’t get their website to show me any of the other options. Deliveries will start in Q2 of 2025. See more on the Micromilspec website.

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If you’ve been reading these for a while, then you know my obsession with regatta timers, watches that have a very specific set of features that make it easy to participate in a sailing race. I love not just the way that they serve such an important task, but also the ways that they arrive at the final result. Some use just simple sub-dial markings, while others involve a bit more complex mechanisms of apertures in the dial. Well, have you ever wondered what a regatta timer might have looked had one been made in the 1930s? Albishorn has. Albishorn a new independent brand born to create “imaginary vintage” watches, ones that could have existed at a time in history, but never did, and their launch watch is the Maxigraph, a hypothetical 1930s wrist chronograph that might have been commissioned by a competitor in the 1939 Bol d’Or regatta on Lake Geneva, made in collaboration with studio Massena LAB.

The watch comes in a stainless steel fully round case that measures 39mm wide at the case and 41mm at the oversized bi-directional rotating bezel, 13mm thick and with a 47.7mm lug-to-lug. It’s a curious looking watch, fully round — almost like a sporty disco volante — with a crown at 10 o’clock and a wide red aluminium chronograph pusher that sits almost flush with the case at 9 o’clock, making it easy to operate with your thumb. On top is a box sapphire crystal surrounded by a flat and wide silver brushed bezel that has both a 60 minute and 12 hour scale. On the caseback is an engraving of the Ylliam IV, the six-meter sailboat that won the first edition of Le Bol d’Or regatta.

The dial is just a cornucopia of sectors. A silver and cream color combination for the base of the dial are combined with tracks for the 60 minutes, 12 hours as well as 24 hours (but in a 12 hour setup). The colors are bright, blue and black, and you’ll find a 10 minute regatta countdown positioned at 7 o’clock, along with a small round aperture at 4 o’clock that serves as the running indicator for the timer. The brand also uses lume in a very creative way. Sure, those blue hands are well lumed, but then on the dial it features lume on the central scale from 12 to 6 and then on the innermost scale from 18 to 24, which just looks cool.

The watch is powered by the calibre ALB01 A, which is a heavily modified 7750. And it comes as no surprise that the movement has been heavily modified, as Albishorn is headed by Sebastien Chaulmontet, a known chronograph specialist who has worked as Head of Innovation and Marketing at Sellita and head of innovation and product development at Manufacture La Joux-Perret SA, while also in charge of the revival of Arnold & Son and Angelus. This movement beats at 4Hz and has a 64 hour power reserve. It also has that unique regatta countdown that stops once over, unlike other regatta timers. The watch comes on a red rubber strap with an additional white calfskin strap.

The Albishorn Maxigraph will be made in 25 pieces per batch, with first deliveries coming next week. Price is set at $4,995 and I don’t doubt they will be able to sell a lot of them. You can see more on the Massena LAB website.

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The Parisian indie Trilobe is known for their seemingly simple watches that are perfect representations of quiet luxury, regardless of how played-out that term is after kids discovered that rich people wear expensive clothes from brands they never heard of. Their two new watches from the Nuit Fantastique collection, the Editions Ombre et Lumière, are exactly that — super simple and beautifully elegant time pieces that just ooze cool.

The case remains largely unchanged from the previous Nuit Fantastique watches, meaning you can get them in ether 38.5mm or 40.5mm sizes. Both are made out of Grade 5 titanium, a slightly unconventional material for a dress watch, with brushed and polished surfaces. On top is a simple domed bezel and a sapphire crystal (same on the back). Water resistance is 50 meters.

The Nuit Fantastique — actually Trilobe itself — is best known for their alternative way of telling time, separating the hours, minutes and seconds into three discs that rotate independently. On these two Editions Ombre et Lumière, the dials get a grained base in black or white, with the discs for the minutes and seconds are done in white or black to contrast the dial.

All of this is powered by the Calibre X-centric, a movement that has been developed for Trilobe and made by Le Cercle des Horlogers. It’s a micro-rotor automatic movement that beats at 4Hz and has a 48 hour power reserve. The watches come on a black alligator leather strap.

The Trilobe Nuit Fantastique Editions Ombre et Lumière is priced at €10,800, regardless of case size and dial color. See more on the Trilobe website.

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The 2000s were an interesting time for watches. Following large consolidations in the 90s, along with the emergence of new brands and experiments with new(ish) materials, it seemed that there was a proliferation of independent brands on the horizon. One of these brands was Speake Marin, founded by Peter Speake-Marin in 2002, formed with the idea of making high-end, different and special watches. But even Speake Marin follows trends, albeit in their own way. That’s why they launched the Ripples collection, an integrated bracelet sports watch. Now, they’re releasing a skeletonized version with a brand new movement.

On the outside, things remain largely the same, with a stainless steel case that measures 40.3mm wide and in incredible 6.3mm thick. The watch keeps the funky circle within a square shape of the Ripples collection, with a bunch of brushed surfaces and polished details. Despite being a sports watch with a screw down crown, water resistance is only 50 meters. But then again, it’s only 6.3mm thick.

As for the dial, there’s not much left. It’s heavily openworked, with most of the movement on display. But even as such, it’s very recognisable as a Speake Marin, with double-horizontal lines serving as bridges that hold the micro-rotor, balance and barrel. The only traditional dial to speak of is the small seconds display at 1 o’clock which has a dark grey PVD treatment.

The movement you see through the dial is the newly developed calibre SMA07, made by Le Cercle des Horlogers, Speake Marin’s in-house manufacture and a supplier of many high-end brands. It’s incredibly thin at just 3.25mm, a feat achieved with the use of a micro-rotor, and it beats at 36,000vph with a 52 hour power reserve. It’s also quite accurate with a rating of -/+ 5 seconds per day. The watch comes on a 3-link stainless steel bracelet with polished and satin-finished surfaces.

The Speake Marin Ripples Skeleton is not a limited edition and it is priced at CHF 29,900 without tax. See more on the Speake Marin website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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⚙️Watch Worthy

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

Despite being a proper four-handed GMT watch with “flier” style functionality, the Nodus Contrail GMT offers a more slender case profile than its three-handed predecessors. While its surgical-grade 316L stainless steel case still features contrasting brushed and polished surfaces, the lugs now have much larger bevels to mitigate the perceived height of the watch. This style of middle case first made its debut appearance on the Nodus x Raven TrailTrekker that was launched earlier this year, and in our coverage of that collaboration model, we mentioned that Nodus would be using this same middle case as the foundation for the next generation of the Contrail. With that in mind, rather than featuring a matte gray DLC finish and a fixed 24-hour bezel, the Nodus Contrail GMT opts for more traditional brushing and polishing, and it also features a rotating 24-hour bezel with a luminous sapphire insert to create a more elevated overall package with even more comprehensive multi-timezone capabilities.

⏲️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

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One video you have to watch today

You know I love a good Porsche. But it’s all about 911s lately. How about some love to the 944, and the incredible Swiss Alps.

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