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  • TAG Heuer Releases Racing Green Titanium Monaco; Mido Pays Homage To Día de Muertos; Union Glashütte's New Belisar Chronograph Sport; Victorinox Puts Tool Watches On Smaller Wrists; New De Bethune

TAG Heuer Releases Racing Green Titanium Monaco; Mido Pays Homage To Día de Muertos; Union Glashütte's New Belisar Chronograph Sport; Victorinox Puts Tool Watches On Smaller Wrists; New De Bethune

Victorinox has the only right approach to creating watches that women would like to wear

Author

Vuk Radic
September 20, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 19 minutes

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Not a huge release today, but I really want to hear your thoughts on the Mido. I am split right down the middle on it being genius and a complete tacky mess. What do you say?

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:

  • The TAG Heuer Monaco Embraces Racing Heritage With Racing Green Colorway And Titanium Case

  • Mido Pays Homage To Día de Muertos With A Wildly Lumed Commander Big Date Círculo de Luz

  • Union Glashütte Launches New All Black And Very Sporty Belisar Chronograph Sport

  • Victorinox Brings Super Capable Tool Watches To Very Small Wrists With The 32mm INOX Small

  • De Bethune Shows A More Compact Version Of The Steel Wheels Reference With The DB28XS Steel Wheels

Today’s reading time: 8 minutes and 23 seconds

👂What’s new

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The TAG Heuer Monaco might be one of, if not THE, most controversial watches in history. Its very strong link with car racing, the iconic appearance on Steve McQueen’s wrist in the movie Le Mans and instantly recognisable shape make it a dream watch. And yet, so many people just can’t stand the way it sits on their wrist. It’s a thick watch, and its square shape makes it sit there somewhat strangely. So you either love it or hate it, there are very few people in the middle. I’m in the love category, as I’m usually just a sucker for a good story. And the Monaco has the best story. However, even people who hate it should seek out to try the new version, as it not only comes in the most iconic racing color of all time — racing green — it’s also made out of titanium, making it a bit more wearable. I really like the Monaco Chronograph Racing Green Calibre 11 in Titanium despite its wild price.

We’ve seen a watch very similar to this last year when TAG introduced the Racing Blue titanium Monaco. This is basically the same watch, but green. This means that it comes in the same grade 2 titanium case with a sandblasted finish and measuring 39mm wide, 14.35mm thick and 47.5mm from lug-to-lug. Being powered by the slightly disappointing Calibre 11 (more on that later) means that you get the interesting crown positioned on the left side of the case, while the pushers remain on the more traditional right. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial follows the same recipe as the blue version from last year, meaning you get a sunray brushed silver base with two sub-dials that come in green, contrasted with a yellow central seconds hand and the 12 o’clock marker. You also get the somewhat silly, but also very cool horizontal applied markers with small luminous dots on the minute track.

So, the movement. The Calibre 11 is essentially a Sellita SW300 with a Dubois-Depraz chronograph module. There’s nothing wrong with this movement, but maybe not at this price point. Especially since TAG has the Heuer 02, which is an in-house creation. But they you don’t get the funky 9 o’clock crown and it’s somewhat thicker. The watch comes on a wild strap. It’s a rally-style perforated green leather strap, with a bright yellow lining and a titanium folding clasp.

The TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph Racing Green is limited to 1,000 pieces and priced very enthusiastically at CHF 9,100. See more on the TAG Heuer website.

 

2/

While the majority of their releases are a sea of relatively conservative watches, we should all stand up and applaud Mido when they allow the designers to go crazy. You might not like all of their wild designs, like you might not like this new release, but it’s undeniable that they are a good thing for the brand. It makes it feel fresh and unpredictable. Since 2020, Mido has been paying tribute to one of Mexico’s oldest celebrations. This year, they are taking on the Día de Muertos, the day of the dead, with a Círculo de Luz version of the Commander Big Date that has quite the eye catching dial. Not only is it illustrated with the iconic skull that’s a worldwide symbol of the Día de Muertos, but it also has some incredible use of lume and an easter egg hidden in the teeth of the skull.

On the outside, the watch remains largely unchanged. Based on the Mido Commander, it comes in a 42mm wide stainless steel case that has a satin black PVD coat. It’s topped with a polished black bezel and a faceted and domed sapphire crystal. Out back is a transparent caseback and water resistance is 50 meters.

But who cares about the case when you have a dial this wild. The base of the dial is black, with a white illustration of Aztec Sun Stone, one of the most famous Mexican sculptures, over which they superimposed the skull you instantly recognise. The dial is then decorated with red, blue, green, purple, yellow, pink, orange accents, and these colors also show up on the applied hour markers. The entire white part of the illustration lights up at night, but also some of the colored parts as well, making for a great sight. But best of all, the watch makes use of the Big Date of the Commander by making cutouts in the teeth of the skull and other parts of the dial and using colors on the date disc instead of numbers. Sure, you lose the ability to tell the date, but the colors of your watch change daily, which is just cooler.

Inside the watch, no surprises. It’s the MIDO automatic Caliber 80, which beats at 21,600vph and has an 80 hour power reserve. Yeah, you recognised that right — it’s the Powermatic 80. The movement features a decorated with Côtes de Genève and engraved with the Mido logo. The watch comes on a pretty straightforward stainless steel bracelet that matches the case finish.

The new Mido Commander Círculo de Luz is limited to 777 pieces and priced at CHF 1,400. See more on the Mido website.

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I see you Union Glashütte. I know what you are doing and I approve of it. The German brand has stopped adding collections to their lineup and instead of expanding horizontally, they are going vertically, adding new variants of each of the collections. This is exactly what we just got with the Belisar Chronograph Sport, which drops the vintage feel of the Belisar and takes on a much more sporty feel. I just wish they didn’t think that sporty means all-black.

OK, to be fair, the new Belisar Chronograph Sport doesn’t come in an all-black case, but it’s very close. The stainless steel case gets black DLC coated flanks that you can see sticking out beneath the lugs. It measures 43mm wide and 14.65mm thick, with a domed sapphire crystal on top, surrounded by a glossy black ceramic bezel with a tachymeter scale. On the side you’ll find a polished crown and rectangular pushers, with a third pusher at 10 o’clock to adjust the date. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The black theme, however, extends to the dial, made slightly more interesting with the inclusion of deep embossed horizontal grooves. It’s a fairly traditional tri-compax otherwise, with at 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock, 12-hour totaliser at 6 o’clock and small seconds at 9 o’clock. The only color comes from the yellow tip of the central chronograph hand, as well as the hands of the chronograph counters that have a yellow lacquered strip. I like the execution of the date aperture in all black within the 12 hour sub-dial.

Inside is the UNG-27SI, a cam-operated automatic based on the Valjoux 7750 and equipped with an anti-magnetic silicon hairspring. It beats at 4Hz and has a 65 hour power reserve. The watch comes with a black rally-style leather strap and a black textile strap with a yellow lining.

The Belisar Chronograph Sport joins the regular Union Glashütte lineup and retails for €3,900. See more on the Union Glashütte website.

4/

There’s no easy way to say this other than to say it. Women are criminally underrepresented in the watch world. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t any watches made for women. There are, and they are aggressively pushed as watches for women. This means that brands shrink them down to fit smaller wrists, and then slather them with pinks and purples, and a whole bunch of diamonds. And sure, it works. But then you get the very large and increasingly vocal group of women who just want a normal watch, but smaller. And, interestingly, it seems that Victorinox is stepping up to deliver exactly that. The new Victorinox INOX Small takes everything that makes their tool watches good, but just shrinks it down a bit. Of course, these are not made just for women, they are here for all people with smaller wrists, but it’s great to see such a capable watch in this size.

The cases of the INOX Small are just as chunky as the larger ones, with a faceted bezel, flat sapphire crystal and angular lugs, but measuring 32mm wide, 9mm thick and with a 41mm lug-to-lug. Victorinox does slip in a bit of color here, as two variants of the watch come with silver colored dials with either a black or blue dial, and a rose gold PVD finish with either black or white dials. The INOX Small does lose just a tiny bit of functionality — the screw down crown is gone, so you get 100 instead of 200 meters of water resistance. Still good enough.

The dials, which come in black, blue or white, continue the design language of the larger models. They have a grained texture, applied lumed hour markers, a date window at 6 o’clock and traditional Victorinox hands that have small skeletonized frames extending from the tips of the hour and minute hands. The tip of the seconds hand get a bright red paint job.

While it would have been awesome to see these watches with automatic movements, a quartz movement matches the intended tool-watch even better. Inside is the Swiss-made Ronda Caliber 775 quartz movement which has a three year battery life and is accurate to -10/+20 seconds per month. The rose gold watches come with rubber straps that match the color of their dials, while the silver-cased ones get three-link bracelets.

The new Victorinox INOX Small is a great addition to the collection and it’s priced at $700 for the rose gold PVD models on strap and €750 for the silver version on the bracelet. See more on the Victorinox website.

5/

I would like to share something a bit embarrassing with all of you. I’ve been reading and writing about De Bethune for years. It’s been only a few weeks since I figured out that the iconic case that they use actually articulates. I could see that the top and bottom lugs connect at the side of the case, but I always thought this to be a stylistic choice, I had no idea that this was a pivot point that allows the lugs to move and better conform to your wrist. Which is just genius. And kind of silly to not realise earlier. Well, now De Bethune is releasing a new version of their compact DB28XS, once combined with the transparency of the DB28XP Steel Wheels.

The DB28, with the floating lugs, crown at noon and delta-shaped mainplate on the dial, is De Bethune’s flagship watch. It’s also quite large at 43mm wide. That’s why De Bethune came out with the DB28XS last year. This DB28XS Steel Wheels comes in a Grade 5 titanium case that measures 39mm wide and 8mm thick. You still get the floating articulated lugs and the crown at noon, as well as the domed sapphire crystal. There’s even a bit of water resistance, even if it is just 30 meters.

You still get the titanium delta-shaped barrel bridge as well, decorated with slightly curved grooves. This being the Steel Wheels edition means that you can see parts of the movement, like the twin barrels underneath the top part of the bridge and parts of the interlocking wheel train that drive the hands and other wheels in the movement. The titanium balance wheel with grey gold weights is heat-blued to match the blued, polished, skeletonised hour and minute hands. The periphery of the dial features small spherical blued-titanium markers and a series of depressions between the hour markers for the minutes.

Inside is the manual-winding in-house calibre DB2115V13. It has a pretty awesome 6-day power reserve while also beating at 4Hz. The watch comes on a black alligator strap, but De Bethune also offers a large number of strap options.

The new De Bethune DB28XS Steel Wheels can be bought now and it’s priced at CHF 82,000, without tax. See more on the De Bethune 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

It’s impossible not to have an opinion on the Super Sea Wolf Compression Diver in its 18K-gold-plated attire. It made me laugh when I first saw it, slightly uncomfortable when I put it on my wrist — I don’t think I can/will ever own/wear a yellow or rose gold watch on a matching bracelet — and also a bit giddy. Yes, after the initial mental discomfort, a grin appeared, and I slowly but surely began to understand this watch’s appeal. It could be great for people who want something a bit loud, outspoken, slightly obnoxious, and good fun but also a well-made watch they can wear everywhere.

⏲️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

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Even though I watched it through maybe two years ago, I think it might be time to revisit The Wire once again. The Wire is the best example of the Great American Novel in television form, while also having the special touch of a world-class journalist. I love listening to the creator of the show David Simon talk about America as he has perhaps the clearest view of what is wrong with the country.

💵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

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-Vuk

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