Jaeger-LeCoultre Introduces New Ultra Thin Moon, The Montblanc 1858 Minerva Monopusher Chronograph “Blue Arrow” Is Incredible, Citizen Releases New Attesa Hakuto-R, New From Horage And IFL

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. The Montblanc could, possibly, be the best watch released this year. Shame they will make only 30 pieces, and shame that it’s priced like it is…

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In this issue:

• Jaeger-LeCoultre Introduces Master Ultra Thin Moon in Pink Gold & Blue

• Montblanc Teams Up With Collective Horology For The Incredible 1858 Minerva Monopusher Chronograph “Blue Arrow” P.05

• Citizen Releases The New Attesa Hakuto-R Celebrating Partnership With The Ispace Hakuto-R Space Program

• Horage Is Back To Mess With The Tourbillon Market With Their Updated Tourbillon 2 Watch

• IFL Watches Instantly Sell Out Fantastic Trio Of Haloween-Themed Seikos

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 48 seconds

👂What’s new

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Jaeger-LeCoultre Introduces Master Ultra Thin Moon in Pink Gold & Blue

The nickname ‘the watchmaker of watchmakers’ did not start out as a marketing slogan for Jaeger LeCoultre. It was a fact. Way before they started making their own watches, and even after they did, JLC made some of the most legendary movements of all time for other watch brands. Today, LeCoultre makes a bit fewer movements for outside clients, but their own pieces? Their pieces are spectacular. Like the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Moon in pink gold & blue.

This is as classic as you can get in a watch. Despite being a dress watch, it’s fairly large at 39mm wide. While wide, it does live up to it’s name of being ultra thin at just 9.3mm, despite the complication of displaying a moonphase. The case is made out of pink gold with subtle and short lugs. The pink gold is contrasted with a deep blue dial with a very subtle gradient of deep blue on the periphery to a barely noticeable lighter blue at the center.

At 6 o’clock JLC positioned the moon phase indicator, a mirror-polished disc with a golden moon and stars. This has to be one of the best executions of a moon phase indicator in the entire watch industry. Around the indicator is a small subdial that displays the date with a subtle gold hand. Speaking of gold hands, the main three hands are also executed in the same pink gold, just like the sharp indexes.

Inside the watch is the Calibre 925, JLC’s in-house automatic movement that gets 70 hours of power reserve and the kind of finishing you’d expect from a watchmaker of this calibre. The watch comes on a deep blue alligator leather strap which echoes the blue of the dial.

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Moon in pink gold & blue is not a limited edition and it is priced at $23,000. See more on the JLC website.

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Montblanc Teams Up With Collective Horology For The Incredible 1858 Minerva Monopusher Chronograph “Blue Arrow” P.05

The last time I mentioned Collective Horology here in the newsletter, it was for their impeccable collaboration with Czapek. The California-based members-only collectors club and retailer that has brought independent brands with limited distribution to the US has, at the time, given a very California-inspired wavy blue dial to Czapek’s first luxury sports watch - the Antarctique. It looks like the people at Collective Horology have some impeccable taste, because their new collaboration with Montblanc not only looks incredible, it is equipped with a lot of history inside it, as it features a gorgeous Minerva movement. This is the 1858 Minerva Monopusher Chronograph “Blue Arrow” P.05.

There is very little to compare this watch to and yet, it has so many recognizable vintage cues that it’s just wonderful. The watch comes in a 42mm steel case and includes two of the most iconic chronograph design features of Minerva, the incredibly historic watchmaker purchased in the early 2000s by Montblanc. These would be the Minerva logo on the dial, a really special treat for horological nerds and only the second the Minerva arrow logo has returned on a modern Montblanc watch, and the rotating blue timing arrow seen on the dial and controlled by the 18K white gold fluted bezel. These functions, both the arrow and the fluted bezel, were made for pilots for easier timing and easier handling when wearing gloves.

The dial is painted with a white lacquer that shimmers even in photos, and features more design cues from vintage Minerva stopwatches like yellow subdials and details noticed by Gabe Reilly, co-founder of Collective, in an exhibition case of watch dealer Eric Wind. In particular, the P.05 draws on the design, colors, materials and finishes of Minerva’s mid-century stopwatches. The thermally-blued hands, rotating blue timing arrow, and steel case also nod to those legacy watches. Even the textile strap evokes the nylon cords affixed to sporting stopwatches.

The chronograph can track up to 30 minutes via the minutes register at the 3:00 position, and the dial is also set up with multiple scales that add a level of authenticity to its Minerva heritage as well as plenty of visual interest. Most prominently, there’s a snailed tachymeter scale in blue at the dial’s center. At the dial’s perimeter, there’s a telemeter scale in a matching shade of blue.

Inside the watch is the hand-wound MB M13.21 movement – the current-day descendent of the Minerva Calibre 13.20 – visible through a display caseback. Nearly every component of the movement – with the exception of jewels and a handful of screws – was made in-house in Villeret. With a 60-hour power reserve, the movement has a screw balance with Philips curve, Rhodium-coated German silver bridges with Côtes de Genève, circular graining on both sides, and hand-chamfered edges.

The new Montblanc 1858 Minerva Monopusher Chronograph “Blue Arrow” P.05 is a limited edition of 30 pieces and is now available for preorder, with deliveries expected in December. The price is set at $34,500. It’s not cheap, but it’s also an incredible looking chronograph that brings together Montblanc and Minerva heritage in a way that’s not often seen and at a very low production number. It would be an instant buy for me if I was in the market for a 35k watch. See more on the Collective Horology website.

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Citizen Releases The New Attesa Hakuto-R Celebrating Partnership With The Ispace Hakuto-R Space Program

More than 35 years ago, Citizen introduced their Attesa line, focusing on high-tech materials. The first Attesa was made out of titanium, and it has remained so to this day, with Citizen filling it with it’s best tech - Eco-Drive light-powered battery, radio-controlled functionality and GPS module. The newest model to join the lineup is the limited edition Citizen Attesa Hakuto-R watch, which looks to the stars for design inspiration. Why the stars? Because Citizen has been the official partner Hakuto-R, a commercial lunar program run by the Japanese lunar robotic exploration company ispace, since 2019.

The two have worked before on three different watches so this new one is just a continuation of great collaboration. The new watch comes in a 42mm wide case made out of Super Titanium, the same material that Hakuto-R also uses on the legs of the project’s lunar lander. Citizen then treats the case and the matching Super Titanium bracelet with Duratect DLC to both darken and protect them.

The glittery dial on the new Attesa underscores the watch’s galactic theme. Citizen has given it a beautiful purple and blue color, which it created from recycled polycarbonate printed with structural color ink developed by the FujiFilm Corporation.

You will, of course, never find yourself in need of more functions with this watch. First, there’s the chronograph, complete with a central chronograph hand, chronograph minute counter at 12, and chronograph hour counter at 6 o’clock. Then there’s the perpetual calendar with a date window at three and a day of the week indicator on the right side of the bottom subdial. Next, is the 24-hour hand at 9 o’clock, marked with A and P for day and night. The world time function can indicate the time and date of any of the 26 pre-programmed cities and even includes a Daylight Saving Time on/off switch (displayed on the right of the upper subdial). Citizen calls the easy world time adjustment that’s done with a twist of the crown Direct Flight.

Only 2,700 pieces of this watch will be made, with price set at $1,495. See more on the Citizen website.

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Horage Is Back To Mess With The Tourbillon Market With Their Updated Tourbillon 2 Watch

Just a few years ago, tourbillons - the very useless, but very attractive complication - were considered a luxurious addition to any watch and instantly brought the price of a piece way beyond the means of a casual watch buyer. Then the Chinese discovered they could replicate the tourbillon at a much cheaper price and the tides started turning. In 2020, the watch world was shaken up by the small watch brand Horage after they introduced the most affordable Swiss-made tourbillon watch at the time. The Tourbillon 1 was developed in house, COSC-certified, had a 120 hour power reserve, a silicone escapement and made in only 260 pieces, it cost CHF 7,490. Now, Horage is back with the Tourbillon 2.

When I called Horage a small watch brand just a few lines ago, I didn’t mean it as any kind of put-down. In fact, Horage is one of the most interesting brands in the watch world. In 2014, after seven years of development, Horage introduced the automatic K1 movement, a contemporary, versatile, and aesthetically appealing calibre with a silicon escapement and a 65-hour power reserve. Soon after, they introduced the K2 micro-rotor movement. These were moves much larger companies than them wouldn’t make. And personally, I adore their Lensman watches.

Back to the Tourbillon 2. It keeps the same 41mm case as the Tourbillon 1 and comes in 904L stainless steel, 18k 3N yellow gold, and 18k white gold. If you get the steel version, you will get the same original blue dial adorned with a unique pattern, while the two gold cases get a Grand Feu enamel dials. Against the white surface you will see blued hands and black Arabic numerals. The blue dial comes with white markings and hands that are made out of polished steel.

Along the hour indices Horage printed the little illustrations of the silicon components of their movement, which is just a very cool detail. There’s a power reserve at 2 o’clock which will surely be useful since it’s likely you will forget to wind the watch with it’s 5 day power reserve. The tourbillon can be seen through the opening in the dial at the 6 o’clock position. This 60-second tourbillon completes a full 360-degree rotation in one minute and incorporates a blued screw serving as a seconds indicator

All three versions of the watch are powered by the K-TOU movement which is rated to -4/+6 seconds per day. Along with the 5 day power reserve, you might want to know that the watch operates at 25,200 vibrations/hour, or 3.5Hz. The updated version of the K-TOU tourbillon calibre incorporates a silicon mainspring, pallet fork, and escape wheel. You can see the movement through the sapphire crystal caseback, which is a good thing since it looks amazing with Horage’s signature grid structure with a black PVD treatment and brushing. The gold versions of the Tourbillon 2 come on a black patterned salmon skin leather strap while the steel version comes on a steel bracelet.

Preorders for the watch start October 10th and will be open for 7 days. After the window closes, price will go up CHF 2,000 for each model. Prices start at CHF 8,990 for the Livre de Durrow blue dial and 904L steel case with a bracelet, while the white gold enamel dial sells for CHF 20,470. See more on the Horage website.

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IFL Watches Instantly Sell Out Fantastic Trio Of Haloween-Themed Seikos

In 2019 a group of friends came together and decided to turn their passion into reality. They collective became known as IFL watches and they are most well known today for their customized Casio G-Shock, Tissot PRX, and Oris watches. With every watch, they have shown that they have an incredible sense of humor, but also an interest in horror. Like, for example, their Oris Divers 65 Candyman which was painted with a cute pink bear, until you realised that the pink figure was actually a crazed killer chasing children. For this Halloween, IFL is introducing a trio of custom, hand-painted, Seiko 5 Sports watches.

I’ll start with the bad news - like most great painted IFL watches, this is also a limited release. Only 100 pieces of each were made, and like all IFL watches, they instantly sell out. I only mention them here in the newsletter because they look so incredibly cool.

IFL uses the 42.5mm Seiko 5 Sports as a base with the 4R36 movement inside. These are robust workhorses of a watch and it’s kinda funny to see such meticulous paintings in such a hard-core watch.

There’s three different versions of the watch - the FrankN, the GhoulZ and the CountD. The FrankN, obviously, features Frankenstein’s monster with incredible detail paid to rendering the green face of the monster on the dial. The GhoulZ features zombies that are climbing out of a graveyard with the moonlight shining on them from the 2 o’clock marker. Lastly, CountD is, naturally, Count Dracula with a very gruesome rendition of the legendary character.

It’s a shame that these watches are all sold out because even at a price point of €990, a huge markup over the regular Seiko 5 Sports, they are an incredible buy. Keep in mind that these are hand-painted dials. See more of the watches on the IFL website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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Hands-On With The Cuervo Y Sobrinos Historiador Historic Endurance

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A review of the Armin Strom One Week First Edition

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Ultramarine Albatross is just a well-made attractive blue watch that doesn’t dissapoint

The 40mm case here is straightforward and the epitome of slab-sided. While the polished lugs slope down towards the outer edge, it does nothing to make this 12mm-thick case wear any thinner. To be sure, I found myself pulling out the calipers to double-check the case’s height, but sure enough, it was right at 12mm (and 48mm lug-to-lug). One of the issues, I found, was the included blue leather strap. It’s padded, which makes the watch sit slightly off the wrist unless tightened to an uncomfortable level, and even with the padding, it’s rather thin against the thicker case. That juxtaposition emphasized the case’s height. When I put this on a thicker strap that better suited the case dimensions, the watch looked far better on my wrist (I had success with a mahogany-colored leather strap and a bright yellow rubber strap). I should also mention that when setting and winding the watch, I found the crown’s polished ridges a bit smooth and the grooves shallow, making it hard to get an ideal grip. Read the whole review on A Blog To Watch.

⏲️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

• Yesterday people in the watch world were all abuzz with one article - the Los Angeles Times feature on Anthony Farrer, a supposedly respected watch dealer who’s watch dealing scam (or, rather, theft) reverberate through watch socials a month ago. A truly wild story.

• I really won’t get tired saying how much I like the Atavist magazine. They publish one story a month, and this time the story carries the amazing title of “Who Killed the Fudge King”, and an even better subtitle: “How I (possibly) solved a cold case on my summer vacation”

• Engineers at the tech giants built tools years ago that could put a name to any face but, for once, Silicon Valley did not want to move fast and break things. This is the technology Facebook and Google didn’t dare release.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

You might know Saul Bass as the author of incredible posters for movies like Vertigo, The Man With The Golden Arm and Anatomy of a Murder. You also likely know that he was a brilliant logo designer. You might even know that he won an Oscar for a short documentary film called Why Man Creates. But did you know he sometimes created video pitches for his clients? Here’s an almost half hour film on his vision of the legendary Bell System logo redesign.

💵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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