JLC Adds Stunning Black/Gold Grand Complication To Master Control, Christopher Ward Release Summer Ready C60 Atoll 300 And Micromilspec Launches Official Watch Of The U.S. Space Force

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In this issue:

• JLC Adds Stunning Black/Gold Grand Complication To Master Control

• Christopher Ward Release Summer Ready C60 Atoll 300

• This Crazy Skeletonized Rado DiaStar Original Is Something Elese

• HYT Adds Two Ridiculous LEs To Moon Runner Collection

• Micromilspec Launches The Official Watch Of The U.S. Space Force

Today’s reading time: 7 minutes and 30 seconds

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👂What’s new

1/

Jaeger-LeCoultre Introduces Black And Gold Grand Complication To Master Control Family

This is not a new watch. In fact, it was introduced back in 1992, as a callback, homage or tribute to all the best Jaeger-LeCoultre creations. It looked like the alarm equipped Memovox, but also boasted a classic combination of complications – a chronograph and annual calendar with a moonphase. It did all that in a thouroughly modern interperatation. Now, JLC has a new version of the Master Control Chronograph Calendar, executed in a stunning black sunburst black dial that contrasts against its red and gold colour scheme.

I’ll come out and say it up front - I’m a Jaeger-LeCoultre fanboy. While I disagree with their more recent pricing decisions, I still believe they might be my favorite watchmaker and the only one I could choose if I were to wear only one brand for the rest of my life. That said, I also like the size of this Master Control Chronograph Calendar - 40mm wide and 12.05mm thick. It’s substantial, but not chunky. Pair this with the fact that the case is made out of solid 18k pink gold, this is a stunning watch.

But while the case makes you pause, the dial is even better. It’s black sunburst with circular-grained finishing on the counters at 9 and 3 o’clock, contrasted by gold Dauphine-shaped hands and faceted indices, including sporty red printed highlight colors. Despite showing hours, minutes, small seconds, day, date, month, and moon phases, a chronograph with a 30-minute counter, and a pulsometer it doesn’t look overstuffed.

Inside the watch is JLC’s caliber 759, which has 358 components, and 37 jewels, measures just 6.85 mm thick, and offers a 65-hour power reserve. It might not be the most technologically advanced movement in the world, but it is absolutely stunning, which you can see through the clear caseback - Geneva stripes, blued screws, and a skeletonized gold rotor. It’s delivered on a glossy black alligator strap.

While the solid gold case somewhat justifies the price, it’s still up there - $32,500. I could see JLC having a runaway hit of a watch if they would make one in steel.

2/

Christopher Ward Release Summer Ready, Indian Ocean Inspired, C60 Atoll 300

Here we go, we’re now on a steady roll of summer ready watch announcements. And Christopher Ward is not going to miss out on the fun. So, a capable and fun colored diver would most definitely be the appropriate summer watch. Lucky for Christopher Ward, they already have the C60 Trident, an accessible diver with 300 meter water resistance. So, take that watch and slap on some great colors and you get the Christopher Ward C60 Atoll 300.

The C60 Trident stainless steel case, which is used for the Atol, measures 40mm wide and a relatively thin (for a sporty diver with 300m water resistance) 11.4mm thickness. It has was CW calls a Lightcatcher silhouette, which just means that the case is designed to show of the finishes best. And there are some new finishes tot he Atol model. First off, the 120 click bezel has been sandblasted for a matte effect with raised polished numbers, unlike the Trident Pro which has a glossy ceramic bezel.

The main difference with the C60 Atoll 300 is the dial. Available in two variations, it lives up to its namesake – the atolls of the Indian Ocean in either a cool shark white or a gorgeously tropical Reef Blue. Both gradient dials are lighter in the middle, transitioning to dark around the edge. That shift is more obvious in the Reef Blue, much more subtle in the white. You also get a colour matched date window.

Inside is the Sellita SW200-1, an often seen workhorse of a movement that doesn’t impress with it’s design or features, but keeps good time and is fairly reliable. The watch comes on the steel bracelet that comes with the Trident Pro, but it also gets a new tapered black, orange or blue rubber strap, depending on the dial color you get.

And just like most Christopher Ward watches, the price is very accessible. Priced at £750 on strap and £915 on bracelet, the C60 Atoll 300 also offers some of the best value for money to come out this summer.

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If You Ever Thought Watches Are Starting To Look Alike, Then This Crazy Skeletonized Rado DiaStar Original Is For You 

Think of Rado and I’m betting ceramics are the first thing that pop to mind. They have innovated in the field of ceramics more than any other brand, and, fortunately for watch enthusiasts, they love taking some of their old watches and stuffing them into high-tech ceramic cases. They last did this with their Captain Cook diver, a watch first introduced in 1962. Today, it’s an almost unrecognisable avant-garde piece with an open worked dial. Now they’re doing the same with their DiaStar watch. Take a good look at the new DiaStar above before I tell you what’s happening. That case, that’s not a case. And that’s not super highly polished stainless steel. That’s a bezel, made out of mirror-polished Ceramos and that watch also has a skeletonized dial to show off the R808 movement.

In 2022, the DiaStar turned 60, and Rado produced four editions using shiny, high-tech Ceramos, their proprietary composite with the hardness of ceramic and the lustre and resistance of a metal alloy that is lighter than the original tungsten-carbine case and even more scratch-resistant. The DiaStar Original Skeleton is faithful to the helmet-shaped case of its ancestor and has a diameter of 38mm, a length of 45mm and a height of 11.9mm. Slightly darker than the 2022 quartet, the sleek polished Ceramos bezel has a grey tone to match the movement. The middle case, caseback, bracelet and crown are made of stainless steel, and the case is water-resistant to depths of 100 metres.

The watch gets the same skeletonized movement as the open works Captain Cook High-Tech model, with just a few small changes - the golden train bridge is no longer golden but grey. Rado relies on the calibre R808, an automatic movement. Fitted with a Nivachron hairspring, the movement is regulated in five positions and delivers a robust power reserve of 80 hours.

The new Rado DiaStar Original Skeleton comes on a polished and brushed stainless steel bracelet with H-links and a triple-folding clasp. The retail price is CHF 1,950.

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HYT Adds Two More Ridiculous Limited Additions To The Moon Runner Collection

Love it or hate it, HYT is a brand that stirs up emotions. After some dark times, they are back and it seems that they’re ready to put out a new watch almost every month. This time, they are focusing on the Moon Runner collection, and putting out two new limited colorways called the Moon Runner Ghost and Moon Runner Desert.

Just like every other HYT you would recognize, the Moon Runner uses a capillary tube containing two fluids that can’t mix, one coloured and one clear. A bellows system then moves the liquid around through the tube and this very complex system of maintaining the exact pressure in the tube ends up showing the correct time. It fact, the system is so precise it can move the fluid by 1.5 microns per minute. Oh, and don’t forget this is a liquid, so it expands and contracts with changes in temperature. That’s why one of the bellows incorporates an internal thermal compensation system to accommodate temperature changes and protect against fluid expansion and contraction.

The coloured fluid works as a retrograde hour display. There’s a track on the dial’s inner flange for reading minutes via the triangular pointer. Two concentric and rotating titanium disks around the moon phase display are engraved to show the date and month next to the 6 o’clock index. However, the standout feature of the Moon Runners is the central 3D moon phase display, with an aperture showing Moon’s illuminated portion.

The highlight of the Moon Runner Ghost and Desert models is the hand-painted hemisphere representing the Moon, a first for the series. The miniature artist meticulously paints the half-sphere in the dark under UV lamps, taking a full day to complete. Each model showcases different patinas, with white-coated craters and Super-LumiNova for luminescence. The Moon Runner Desert features beige pigments for a sandblasted effect, while the Moon Runner Ghost boasts a sleek and minimalist aesthetic inspired by twilight.

The watches will be delivered with a black rubber strap with either beige or black microfibre embossed decoration. Only 15 pieces of each edition will be made and just like it’s hard to comprehend how complicated the bellow system is, it’s hard to understand the price - CHF 125,000. Without tax.

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Micromilspec Launches The Official Watch Of The U.S. Space Force

You can’t exactly buy MICROMILSPEC watches. Since 2019 they have been making watches in Norway for military and first responders, and the only way you could buy one was to commission a special project from them for your team. However, now they are releasing their first watch that will also be available to the general public, as a variant of the watch they are making for the US Space Force (USSF). MICROMILSPEC will be making two variants of the watch - one that will be available only to current and former members of the USSF, with extensive customization options, and one that will be available to civilians, but only those who have a US shipping address.

In the military version, the stainless steel case has a black PVD coating and an integrated sports watch look. There’s also a unidirectional rotating diver’s bezel with a 15-minute scale, and a water-resistance rating of 100 metres. It’s also sized like one would expect a military watch to be sized - 42mm diameter and height of 12.5mm. The matte black dial sits behind a sapphire crystal and has a pattern representing Earth’s orbit with stars inspired by USSF unit emblems, and an applied USSF logo at 6 o’clock. A detailed track is printed on the flange with SEMPER SUPRA at the top (Latin for Always Above). It comes with a 20mm integrated steel bracelet with a black PVD coating or an optional leather or rubber strap.

The Civilian counterpart is very similar but comes in uncoated stainless steel. Other than the finish, the main difference involves the caseback. The USSF personnel model has a solid caseback engraved with the Space Force Delta unit and additional personalized engravings. The civilian model has a sapphire exhibition display back that can also be engraved. Also, the civilian model does not have the USSF logo on the dial.

Inside the watch is the familiar Sellita SW200, a favorite of microbrands, that comes with a 38-hour power reserve. Functions include central hours, minutes, hacking seconds and date. This proven workhorse is accurate to +/-12 seconds per day on average as a Standard grade. The military version of the watch can be had on a black rubber, steel or textile strap, while the civilian version comes on black rubber, textile, or a silver stainless steel bracelet.

If you are a civlian, you can buy the limited release MICROMILSPEC U.S. Space Force Watch right now, but only if you have a shipping address in the U.S. Also, the watch is not limited in quantity, but will only be available for a limited time - for the next 24 days. The price is EUR 1,500 for either of the two.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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Hands on with the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Lamborghini Countach

2/

A review of the Nezumi Voiture Norinder Edition — full throttle in Swedish racing colors

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

Spinnaker Cahill 300 Automatic MCS Limited Edition looks like a Lovecraftian nightmare

To produce the dials of the new MCS series, Spinnaker and the Marine Conservation Society teamed up with acclaimed wildlife artist and scientific illustrator Rachel Brooks, who created the animal images that are showcased on both the dials and casebacks of the new watches. The dial fitted to the new Spinnaker Cahill 300 Automatic MCS Limited Edition features a deep red central section with a radial gradient effect that darkens towards the outer edge, and this is surrounded by a light blue chapter ring that contains the minute track.

⏲️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

• We all love a good crime story. A risk-it-all undercover sting that brings down a crime syndicate. But this only happens in movies, right? Wrong. There’s a gutsy sergeant in Chicago who was the only one willing to take on a risky FBI mission targeting drug-dealer-extorting cops. He reveals how he did it for an outlet I don’t follow too often but should - Narratively.

• Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio & Robert De Niro sit down with Deadline and go into detail on how they found the emotional handle for their epic ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’

• OK, this is a completely bizarre story, but they are usually the best. The New York Times goes deep into investigative journalism to find out why so many Asian American are named Connie. Bizarre, I told you.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

I wish I could just as casually climb Mount Whitney and then ski down it. Looks like fun.

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