Jaeger-LeCoultre Makes The Master Ultra Thin Date Even Sleeker; MING Releases 37.02 Minimalist With Very Cool Lume; FC's Stunning Dress Watch; Hanhart's First Actual Diver; Lange 1 Celebrates 30th

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Looks like today is all about dress watches. It’s nice to see them in the spotlight once in a while. It can’t all be stainless steel divers with black dials.

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In this issue:

• Jaeger-LeCoultre Makes The Master Ultra Thin Date Even Sleeker With A Grey Sunburst Dial

• MING Releases 37.02 Minimalist With What They Claim Could Be The Only True White Glowing Lume

• Frederique Constant Introduces The Classics Premiere Salmon Dial, A Handsome And Affordable Dress Watch

• The Aquasphere FreeFall Blue Is Hanhart’s First Traditional Dive Watch, A Good Start To The Collection

• A. Lange & Söhne Celebrates 30 Years Of The Lange 1 With Black Onyx And Pink Gold Limited Editions

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 8 seconds

👂What’s new

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Jaeger-LeCoultre Makes The Master Ultra Thin Date Even Sleeker With A Grey Sunburst Dial

It easy to hold a grudge against Jaeger-LeCoultre. They absolutely shredded their old price lists during the pandemic years and emerged with new prices that were, in some cases, doubled over the course of one year. And despite that, and despite some questionable moves in sports watches, there’s no denying that they likely make the world’s best dress watch. The Master Ultra Thin line is exactly what you want when you think dress. Now, they’re updating the Master Ultra Thin Date with a really beautiful blue-gray sunburst dial.

It’s safe to say that the defining quality of a dress watch is its thinness, as that will determine how easily it will sit underneath a shirt cuff. And the Master Ultra Thin is really thin. It comes in a stainless steel case that measures 39mm wide, with a 46mm lug-to-lug, and measures just 7.8mm thick. That’s cool. The case is as simple as can be, with gently swooping lugs, determined facets and a very thin concave bezel on top. A small crown on the right side pushes in to give you a decent water resistance of 50 meters.

Another important aspect of a dress watch is that it doesn’t draw too much attention to itself, and this dial delivers on that as well. At least from a distance, where it looks like a blue-grey watch. Up close, you’ll see how crisp that sunburst texture is and how much it reflects the light. This is matched by the thin, high-polished and beveled indexes and dauphine hands, while the date window sits right above the 6 o’clock marker.

Inside, you’ll find the in-house caliber 899. The most impressive thing about this movement is the fact that it’s an automatic wound with a centrally mounted rotor. Really impressive for a 7.8mm thick watch. It’s a bit of an old-school movement with its 38 hours of power reserve, but it does its job quite well. The watch comes on a black alligator leather strap with a folding clasp.

The new Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Date is pricy for a steel time-and-date watch, and there are surely many other great options out there, but this one might be best. It’s priced at €10,400. See more on the Jaeger-LeCoultre website.

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MING Releases 37.02 Minimalist With What They Claim Could Be The Only True White Glowing Lume

What started as a cleanly designed watch with a few cool details has expanded into a whole catalogue of pieces that experiment in materials, colors and finishes. MING has grown from a small brand led by Ming Thein into one that is getting a whole lot more professional, despite there still being some growing pains. As the collection is growing, it only makes sense that MING would go back to their roots. This is the MING 37.02 Minimalist, a super simple, but still recognisably MING-like watch, that features a very cool detail in its lume.

The watch retains the compact case of the 37-series watches. Made out of stainless steel, it measures 38mm wide, 11mm thick and has a rather short 44.5mm lug-to-lug. Looking at photos you wouldn’t say it’s that short, seeing as how you still get those recognisable curved lugs that give it a lot of visual heft. Surrounding the double-domed sapphire crystal is a brushed, unmarked and fixed bezel. Water resistance is good at 100 meters.

Then, the dial. While I was always a huge fan of MING’s signature printing of lumed indices on the underside of the crystal, this watch does something else entirely. The base of the dial is a pitch black sapphire crystal, into which MING has carved channels to serve as hour indices. Into those channels MING has then placed indices that are liquid-filled with MING’s proprietary luminous material "Polar White”. So, what’s Polar White? Well, MING has been asking their suppliers for years to get them a fully white glowing lume, but have been met with rejection after rejection, saying that it’s impossible. All white glowing lumes have an underlying hue to them, usually blue. MING claimed that it should be possible, as white is just a combination of all the colors. They gave up on the suppliers and finally developed their own lume formula. Therefore, this is one of the very few, if not only, true white lume.

The rest of the dial is appropriately minimalist. The two hands are spectacularly finished with blue glowing Super-LumiNova X1 lume — the hour hand is fully painted in it, except for the tip, while the minute hand has it’s edges painted in the lume. Apart from that, the only other thing is the tiny MING logo integrated into the indices around 6 o’clock.

MING watches have always been very much about the styling and technical advancements in materials, and less so about movements. Which makes perfect sense. But still, you get a very decent movement in this. It’s the very familiar Sellita SW300-1 automatic, which beats at 4Hz and has a 45 hour power reserve. But MING cusomizes the movement for their watches — all the bridges and plates have been finished with an anthracite coating, and you get an openworked rotor. The watch comes on a FKM rubber strap.

The new MING 37.02 Minimalist doesn’t seem to be a limited edition and, even more importantly, they are in stock and ready to ship right now. This has long been a known issue with MING, as their lead times between ordering and production tended to be very, very long. Price is set at CHF 3,250, without tax. See more on the MING website.

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Frederique Constant Introduces The Classics Premiere Salmon Dial, A Handsome And Affordable Dress Watch

OK, so you’re on the hunt for a dress watch that isn’t all that conservative like the JLC I wrote about above, but also, you don’t have 10K to drop on a dress watch. Well, you know who always has your back when you want a watch that looks ridiculously expensive, but is actually quite affordable — it’s Frederique Constant. And the new Constant Classics Premiere is both a great dress watch and has a bit of flair with the salmon dial and quirky Breguet-like numerals. This is a fantastic update to the regular Constant Classics Premiere which while fin, is a bit boring and old-fashioned. There’s just one issue with the watch — it’s an European exclusive.

The case of the watch remains the same across all of the Classics Premier collection. It’s a simple thing made out of stainless steel, with a fully polished finish, and measures quite right for a dress watch — 38.5mm wide, 10mm thick and with a 43.5mm lug-to-lug. On top is a domed sapphire crystal, surrounded by a thin plain bezel. Water resistance is decent at 50 meters.

But who cares about the case. It’s all about that dial. First of all, great choice of color. salmon always looks right. But it’s made even better with their choice of textures. The base of the dial has a rough grain to it, with a chapter ring — framed on both sides with a printed railway track — that has a circular brushed finish. Super cool. But even cooler are the applied and polished numerals that look like Breguet style, but have a bit of flair to them. These are by far my favorite version of Breguet numerals I’ve seen so far. That’s paired with polished Breguet hands and a thin central seconds hand.

Inside, a bit of a surprise for FC. The brand is best known for their in-house movements, but they also come at a higher price. To keep things sub €2,000, Frederique Constant based this new Calibre FC-301 on the La Joux-Perret G100. This is becoming an increasingly more popular movement that matches the dimensions of the ETA-2824 variants. It beats at 4Hz and has a very nice 68 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a brown nubuck calf leather with a crocodile pattern embossed into it, not something you see every day.

So, a bit of good news and a bit of bad news. The Frederique Constant Classics Premiere Salmon will be available only in Europe, so sorry about that. Then, there’s the price — €1,995. It’s a significant amount for a LJP-100 based movement (although not egregious), but then again… you’ll be hard pressed to find a dress watch under €2,000 that looks this good. The watch is still not on the FC website, but should be soon.

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The Aquasphere FreeFall Blue Is Hanhart’s First Traditional Dive Watch, A Good Start To The Collection 

That title is a bit misleading. I mean, it’s technically true, if you take the modifier “traditional” into account. The German brand Hanhart is best known for their pilots watches. But they’ve made divers before. There is the pretty wacky Primus collection that looked nothing like a regular dive watch, as well as the Fly Navy Aerosphere which looks like a diver, goes down to 300 meters, but is a homage to Germany’s Naval Aviation Command — so pilots again — and it is also a very limited edition. That’s all changing now, with the introduction of the Aquasphere FreeFall Blue, the first watch in their very traditional dive collection, the Aquasphere.

And when I say traditional, I mean traditional. A stainless steel case, brushed finish, 442mmx12.95mmx49mm measurements, as well as a chunky unidirectional, 60-click fluted bezel with a matte blue ceramic insert that’s fully graduated for the first 15 minutes all scream diver. The same can be said for the liberal amounts of Super-LumiNova C1 on all the bezel markings, and the slightly retro domed sapphire crystal. But nothing says hard-core diver like a helium escape valve at 10 o’clock and a water resistance rating of 300 meters.

The dial is a dark matte blue, with contrasting white details. The minute track is white, as are the indices that are surrounded with a silver border. All of that white on the indices is also C1 lume. The watch uses the familiar handset from other Hanhart watches, and a red-tipped central seconds hand.

Inside, a super familiar movement, the Sellita SW200-1. You will recognise its 4Hz beat rate and 38 hour power reserve, but you’ll also be glad to hear that Hanhart regulates the watch to 0/+8 seconds per day. The awatch can be had on either a stainless steel bracelet that has a folding clasp with fine adjustments, or on a very cool blue textile strap that closes with a hook and loop patch.

The Hanhart Aquasphere FreeFall Blue is available now and priced at €1,390 on the strap and €1,590 on the bracelet. See more on the Hanhart website.

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A. Lange & Söhne Celebrates 30 Years Of The Lange 1 With Black Onyx And Pink Gold Limited Editions

There are many German watch brands, but it’s one brand that defines the entire industry. A.Lange & Söhne is the epitome of German watchmaking. And among their many, many, beautiful watches, one stands apart as THE watch that everyone would love to have in their collection — the Lange 1. The iconic watch is celebrating its 30th anniversary and to mark the occasion, the brand has just released the Lange 1 30th Anniversary Limited Edition series featuring four watches in two sizes and two materials.

So, if you’re able to get one of these watches, you will be able to choose between the standard Lange 1 edition and a smaller Little Lange 1. The standard measures in at 38.5mm wide and the Little is just a hair smaller at 36.8mm. The thickness of the two is a slim 9.8mm and 9.5mm, respectively. The material you choose will also determine the dial you get. If you go for one of the two watches in 950 platinum, you will get a black onyx dial. This is the first time a Lange 1 gets a onyx stone dial. Go for the pink gold case and the dial will be made out of 925 silver, with a deep blue color to it, which perfectly matches the gold case and gold hardware.

But regardless of what material or size you go for, the basic setup will always be the same, and always instantly recognisable as the Lange 1. At the 9 o’clock position is the hour and minute display with Roman numerals at cardinal positions, at 2 o’clock is the iconic large date, below which are the power reserve and small seconds. The hands are supremely elegant alpha shaped and made out of platinum or gold, depending on the version.

Inside all four watches is the same movement you would find in the regular Lange 1. It’s the L121.1 calibre, a manually winding movement that beats at 3Hz and has a 72 hour power reserve. Assembled by hand, it’s finished with Lange’s signature untreated German silver plate with Glashütte stripes. The watches come on black or blue alligator leather straps.

The new A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 30th Anniversary watches are limited. The two larger ones will be limited to 300 pieces each, while the smaller ones will be made in only 150 pieces each. The 38.5mm models are priced at €60,000 in platinum and €50,300 in gold, while the 36.8mm models are priced at €56,500 in platinum and €46,400 in gold. See more on the Lange website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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A review of the Bulova Super Seville

2/

Hands-On with the Omega “Speedy White”

3/

A review of the Timex x Pan Am Waterbury GMT

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Fleux FLX003 is a well-executed, affordable take on the classic skin diver

Skin divers were created for amateur divers and meant to be worn directly on the skin, not over a wetsuit. They used to be smaller and lighter, with less water resistance (though plenty of it for most adventurous people). Fleux preserved their spirit in the entire FLX collection, and I’d say even more so here. Although the FLX003 is 14mm thick, it sits well on smaller wrists like mine (16.5cm/6.5”). Its thickness is due to the domed acrylic crystal, the Seiko NH38A movement inside, and the bulbous case back. Nevertheless, it does wear well, and having it on my wrist reminds me of the sensation of wearing vintage skin divers. The spirit of the old ones is also preserved in the simple design of the case and the legibility of the dial. After all, skin divers were no-fuss tool watches. One of their key design elements was the horizontal cut between the lugs to keep the strap neatly tucked in. We find that here too.

Read the whole review on Fratello

⏲️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

• Over the decades, cheerleading has evolved from a sideline activity at a sports game into a televised main event. Audiences see smiling and exuberant faces, incredible acrobatic maneuvers, and talented, high-spirited teams showing their stuff. David Gauvey Herbert’s deep dive into the cheer world, however, reveals a dark side: a culture that encourages families to overspend; very alarming injury statistics; and toxicity and sexual abuse. At the heart of it all is a billion-dollar company, Varsity Spirit, that controls the cheer industry, and one man, Jeff Webb, who “pioneered the gravity-defying acrobatics of modern cheer” and grew the sport into what it is today.

• A stunning investigation reveals how deceptive political fundraising—urgent appeals in texts and emails that seem to come directly from candidates, pre-checked boxes for recurring donations, promises of inclusion at non-existent VIP events—has misled elderly Americans into giving away millions of dollars. More than 1,000 reports have been filed with federal authorities about the matter. One of them concerned Richard Benjamin, 81, who believed he was in personal communication with Donald Trump.

• In this Vanity Fair investigation, Katherine Eban examines the US federal government response to the growing H5N1 outbreak in the nation’s dairy cows. The virus has infected dairy herds across multiple states, and the more time it has to spread and evolve, the more scientists warn it could mutate into a human pandemic threat. Rural veterinarians have been silenced or fired for speaking out, and the USDA—which oversees cows and farms—has decided to protect Big Milk at the expense of public health. Have we learned anything? “As one White House health official tells Vanity Fair, ‘Not only have we not learned, we have regressed.'

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

In case you forgot about Hot Ones, this is a good one.

💵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

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• 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

-Vuk