Logines Releases New Conquest Chrono With Ski Prodigy Odermatt, Hamilton Expands Boulton Line With Pastels, Unimatic And Disney Make Mickey Watches, New From Norqain, Girard-Perregaux And De Bethune

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I dig the Longines, the Hamilton and the Unimatics, but the Norqain is a complete puzzle to me. Are there any owners out there? Can you tell me what drew you to the watch you got?

If you like this newsletter, you might consider supporting it directly through Patreon. If you were subscribed, you could have already read my lengthy piece on Only Watch and it potentially being the biggest scam of the watch world. Other subscriber-only articles include the Completely Sterile Secret Watches Of MACV-SOG and my choice of 11 vintage Heuer watches that would make the perfect basis for new TAG Heuer recreations, including a possible MoonSwatch type watch that could actually break the internet.

In this issue:

• Longines Teams Up With Ski Prodigy Odermatt For A Really Nice Conquest Chronograph

• Hamilton Expands The Elegant Boulton Line With New Pastel Colors

• Norqain Introduces First Solid Gold Wild ONE And A New Blacked Out Version

• Unimatic And Highsnobiety Team Up With Disney For A Trio Of Mickey Mouse Watches

• The New Girard-Perregaux Neo Bridges Aston Martin Is Exactly What You Expect: Full Of Bridges And Aston References

• De Bethune Introduces A Beautiful Green Version Of The DBD Digitale Called The Evergreen

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 49 seconds

👂What’s new

1/

Longines Teams Up With Ski Prodigy Odermatt For A Really Nice Conquest Chronograph

I come from a slightly odd country. Croatia has less than 4 million people here and yet the national football team managed to win two bronze and one silver World Cup medals. Also, we have two, maybe three, ski… resorts? I wouldn’t call them resorts, because that would mean there’s something built around the ski slopes. So we have three places to go ski, they are all between 1,000 and 1,300 meters high, so they barely ever get good snow and in total there’s probably less than 20 kilometres of slopes in the entire country. And yet, one family, brother and sister pair Janica and Ivica Kostelić have dominated alpine skiing for years. Ivica has four Olympic medals and three World Championship medals, while his sister Janica is a true legend with six olympic medals and five World Championships.

Why the long intro? Well, being from a small country where a few people break out into the pinnacle of a sport, it’s hard to not be inundated by it. So I would follow skiing on and off. And while my personal GOAT will forever be Bode Miller, there’s a new generation coming up and among them is Swiss wunderkind Marco Odermatt. And finally we’re getting to watches. Longines has been time keeping ski races for almost a hundred years and most recently they have been the Official Timekeeper for the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup and FIS World Championships. So their involvement in the ski world is pretty heavy and they have signed Odermatt as an ambassador. Now, they are releasing a limited-edition Conquest Chronograph in collaboration with him and I like it!

Like most such collaborations with ambassadors, the watch retains the basics and just adds a couple of new details. This means you still get the regular Conquest Chronograph brushed stainless steel case that measures 42mm wide, 14.3mm thick and with a mysteriously absent lug-to-lug. No, really, Longines doesn’t say what the lug-to-lug is and none of the dozen or so reviews of the watch ever mention it. So, if you can help me out with this measurement, do reach out. You also get a fixed stainless steel bezel with a ceramic insert and tachymeter scale, as well as 100 meters of water resistance.

You’ll find the same blue sunray dial with matte silver subdials as the regular version. What’s new here are really tiny details, but ones that do freshn up the design a bit. There’s a new snailed finish on the silver track outlining the counters and the red hands are used for the chronograph. The faceted and slightly tapered hour indices at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock, and the central hour and minute hands, are treated with Super-LumiNova

Inside the watch is the Longines L898.5 calibre, an adaptation of the ETA 2892 modular chronograph. It has a silicon balance spring to fight of magnetism and it beats at 28,800 bph and has a power reserve of 59 hours. Also new for the Odermatt version is the choice of band - instead of the stainless steel bracelet, this version comes on a beautiful blue fabric strap with white top-stitching and four red stitches to match the colour of the chronograph hands, closed by a folding clasp that has a micro-adjustment system. You also get a beautiful blue nylon NATO strap.

The Longines Conquest Chronograph Marco Odermatt is not for everyone - you either need to be a huge ski fan or like these particular style choices (I happen to be the latter), but I’m sure they will move the limited number of watches easily. 2,042 will be made in honor of the record breaking number of points he amassed in the 2023 season. The watch retails for CHF 3,800. Also it seems that Longines has not yet updated the website with this piece, but keep an eye out here.

2/

Hamilton Expands The Elegant Boulton Line With New Pastel Colors

The Field, the Murph, the Aviation, the Jazzmaster and even the Ventura are most likely the most popular and successful watches from Hamilton. But the brand has an incredibly wide and deep catalog. And thanks to their ingenious collaboration with Hollywood, every now and again one of their models gets brought up and revitalized after staring in a movie. This actually happened to a slight and elegant watch, the lesser known Hamilton Boulton, which got a LOT of press this year after showing up in the new Indiana Jones movie. Now, Hamilton is giving new life to the 40s inspired, quartz powered, Boulton with a line of new pastel colors that the brand claims, for some reason, are inspired by macarons.

While the original Bolton actually did come out in the 1940s it disappeared in the 80s and was revived in 2009 to be as faithful to the original as possible. This means you get a tonneau shape stainless steel case that has funky measurements. It’s 23.5mm wide and just 8.64mm thick, while the lug-to-lug measurements stands at 37mm. This makes it a truly small watch, with dimensions similar to the smaller version of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso.

The dials get dramatic Roman numerals and a small seconds hand display with alpha style hands for the hour and minute, which is very similar to the original watch. Four new pastel versions are introduced. Two references have white dials, one with lemon yellow and the other with pistachio green numerals, while two have colored dials, one a peppermint blue and the other vanilla beige. Each version comes with a specific colour-matched leather strap.

Inside the watches is the ETA 980.163 quartz movement. I’m not sure what to think about this. Would this watch be much better suited with a mechanical movement? Sure. Would it dramatically increase the price? Very likely. So, is the quartz a fair tradeoff to have a fun, somewhat dramatic tonneau shaped watch at a great price? Yea, I guess so.

The Hamilton Boulton Macaron collection is part of the regular Hamilton collection and can be purchase worldwide. Pricing is set at $645. See more on the Hamilton website.

3/

Norqain Introduces First Solid Gold Wild ONE And A New Blacked Out Version

To be hones, I don’t completely understand Norqain. The brand received huge attention ever since it was started, mostly due to the involment of a lot of former Breitling people and under the mentorship of Jean Claude Biver. They make rugged sports watches with a very distinct style you either like or you don’t, with some interesting materials, mostly Kenissi movements and prices often higher than the most popular offerings from Tudor. A puzzling brand for sure, but with obviously enough fans for them to expand quickly. Now, they’re introducing a fully gold version of their Wild ONE watch along with a new blacked out version.

The Wild One is their sports watch, made out of alternative materials like the proprietary Norteq, carbon fibers, plastics, and uncommon metals and alloys. Norqain claims that the Wild ONE can survive up to a 5,000G shock. So, to release a gold version of such a watch is interesting, to say the least. Both new watches come in the same case with a 42mm wide case that’s 12.3mm-thick with a 49.4mm-long lug-to-lug distance and 200 meters of water resistance.

But they obviously differ wildly in materials. Fist up is the Wild ONE Gold which has the top part of the case made out of polished 18-carat red gold, with the base section made of black Norteq. The middle features the Wild ONE’s now familiar rubber shock absorber, and the dial is laced with gold accents to match the case. Rendering a sports watch in gold has always been weird, but here it’s even weirder as the Wild ONE has been specifically engineered to withstand the worst of worst.

The other new release is a complete opposite of the gold one and keeps up with the sporty character of the Wild ONE collection. According to the brand, the inspiration here is a moonless night in the desert. This means it’s fully black. The black three-level dial is adorned with the characteristic laser-cut pattern but it won’t mean much as you won’t be able to see it most of the time.

Inside is the NN20/1 calibre made by Kenissi. The bridge proudly showcases the NORQAIN statement, the possibly cringey “Adventure, Freedom, and Independence”, while the oscillating weight bears the brand’s logo. NN20/1 is a chronometer-certified movement and proudly displays its quality on the dial. It operates at 28,800vph, with a nice power reserve of 70 hours. Both watches come on black rubber straps

The Wild ONE Gold is a limited edition of 99, with the 100th piece auctioned off next year for charity, and has a retail price of $12,990 or $14,690 if you upgrade from the Norteq buckle to solid gold. The Wild ONE All Black is priced at $5,290. See more on the Norqain website.

4/

Unimatic And Highsnobiety Team Up With Disney For A Trio Of Mickey Mouse Watches

Unimatic is an Italian microbrand that has made a name for itself with simple military-inspired watches that are offered at really fair prices. Highsnobiety is a global fashion and lifestyle media brand. And Disney, of course, is the leading global pop-culutral powerhouse, the company behind so many of our favorite cartoons, but now also the owner of the Star Wars and Marvel franchises. The three have come together to release a a trie of limited edition watches that feature Mickey Mouse on the dial and celebrate 100 years of Disney.

Each of the three comes in a different Unimatic case. There’s the 1929 Mickey U3-HS which comes in the 40mm wide U3 model stainless steel case and with a chronograph function, the 1947 Mickey U2S-T-HS which comes in the 38mm wide titanium case of the U2 model’s field style case and the 2023 Mickey U1S-HS2 which comes in the 40mm wide stainless steel case of the U1 model.

Each watch features a Mickey Mouse illustration on the dial, with each design from a different Mickey Mouse design era, and are engraved with its series number on the caseback. The 2023 Mickey U1S-HS2 and 1947 Mickey U2S-T-HS come equipped with the Automatic Caliber Sellita SW200-1 b which provides hour, minutes and seconds functions, while the 1929 Mickey U3-HS, the chronograph diver, is equipped with a Meca-quartz movement (Seiko VK64A). All three watches are 300m water resistant.

Each model comes with a choice of two straps in either red, gray, or black, all presented in custom packaging.

All three versions are numbered releases limited to just 100 pieces and all three go on sale today at 3PM CET. Price is set at €1,150 for the 2023 Mickey U1S-HS2, €1,300 for the 1947 Mickey U2S-T-HS and €850 for the 1929 Mickey U3-HS. All three can be found on the Highsnobiety website.

5/

The New Girard-Perregaux Neo Bridges Aston Martin Is Exactly What You Expect: Full Of Bridges And Aston References

Collaborations between car companies and watch brands are almost always horrible. Breitling/Bentley and IWC/Mercedes come to mind as particularly garish. However, just a few days ago, Girard-Perregaux released their latest Neo Bridges Aston Martin Edition and instead of horrible branding everywhere you seem to get a nice haute horology watch with references to Aston coming in with the fantastic shade of racing green Aston Martin uses on their Formula 1 cars.

The watch is based on the GP Neo Bridges which is instantly recognizable by its open dial revealing the twin mainsprings at 12 o’clock and a pair of visible bridges, one holding the balance spring in place. It’s a large watch that comes in a 45mm wide black DLC titanium case and despite looking like a very sporty watch you only get 30 meters of water resistance.

The two signature central bridges have been given an emerald-coloured overhaul that gives you the Aston reference. They’re the focal point of the watch and what’s ostensibly a small change dramatically highlights them against the otherwise anthracite colouring of the other, background components. The green is matched on both the minute track and the contrast stitching of the textured rubber strap. The only other Aston Martin brandin shows op on the tops of the barrels and is barely noticable.

Inside the watch is the in-house GP084000-2164. This automatic movement measures 32mm in diameter and just 5.45mm thick. It contains 208 parts, operates at 21,600vph, and has a 48-hour power reserve. The watch comes on a black rubber strap with a fabric effect, green stitches, and a DLC titanium folding buckle.

Girard-Perregaux will produce 250 pieces of this limited edition for a price of €39,800. See more on the GP website.

6/

De Bethune Introduces A Beautiful Green Version Of The DBD Digitale Called The Evergreen

Yes, I’m still catching up on watches from Dubai Watch Week. One of the more stunning, but easily overlooked release was the new release from De Bethune, another addition to their stunning DBD line, this time in a color they call Evergreen.

The watch comes in an instantly recognizable 42.6mm titanium case which has very distinct looking lugs. On top is a single bow attachment at 12 o’clock, while the bottom has - let’s all learn a new word today - ogivale lugs. It’s by no means a sporty watch so water resistance is set at 30 meters.

There is no traditional dial to speak of, as it is covered by a dial plate that features De Bethune waves and is rendered in a deep green colour. Close to 12 o’clock, just under the brand name, you’ll find an opening for the jumping calendar complication, the center of the plate has an opening for the minute display, while the hour one sits at 6 o’clock.

Visible via the exhibition caseback is the beautiful, distinctive hand-wound calibre DB2044 beating at 4Hz. It features a silicon escape wheel and De Bethune’s patented triple pare-chute shock absorbing system. Thanks to two barrels it has a solid 5-day power reserve. The watch comes on a beige fabric or extra-supple alligator strap with a titanium pin buckle.

The De Bethune DBD Evergreen is limited to 20 pieces and price is set at CHF 105,000. See more on the De Bethune website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

1/

A review of the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M Dark Grey GMT

2/

Hands on with the IWC Pilot’s Watch Performance Chronograph 41

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

Mine At Last: The Vintage Zenith 143-6 Yugoslavian Air Force

I usually reserve this section for a link to a review to a lesser known watch brand or something that I think you should pay more attention to than the regular reviews linked to just above. But today, something completely different. I’m linking to a fantastic story on Fratello about a forgotten vintage Zenith that was used by pilots of the Yugoslav Air Force. It was too good to pass over.

⏲️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

• Regardless of your personal feelings towards the pandemic. there were clear missteps made by those in charge. One of the most egregious ones is still active today, with officials adamantly claiming that there was absolutely no way that the virus originated out of the Wuahn lab that studies novel corona viruses. Or, as Jon Stewart so eloquently put it: “Oh my god! There’s a novel respiratory coronavirus overtaking Wuhan, China, what do we do– Oh, you know who we could ask? The Wuhan novel respiratory coronavirus lab. The disease is the same name as the lab!” Anyway, it was only a matter of time we started reading reports like this one from Vanity Fair that detail how many issues the lab had prior to the world being taken over by a virus that shares the name with the problematic lab.

• This weekend we saw the Las Vegas Formula 1 race. It promised to be a complete debacle with the track not being ready, but turned out to just be OK. Not the spectacle many were expecting, but not the disaster pretty much everyone else knew it was going to be. One of the crucial corners in the race was just in front of the Spehere, a new venue in Vegas. And many people had many questions. This alien looking building is completely covered in displays and really looks like nothing else on this planet.

• Scientific American takes you inside the $1.5-trillion nuclear weapons program you’ve never heard of

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

One of the wildest documentaries I’ve ever seen, at least wildest documentary not directed by Werner Herzog, is Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau. It is an incredible account of the attempt made by cult director Richard Stanely to adapt the Island of Dr. Moreau as a big-budget Hollywood movie. The shoot falls completely apart with natural disasters, mental breaks, egos clashing and just incredible weirdness that gets Stanley kicked off of the movie, him going wild and spying on the shoot form the jungle and making his way back onto set as an extra dressed as a monster. If you can’t get your hands on the documentary, The Critical Drinker, a YouTuber that usually gets drunk and then rants about pop culture did a great and NSFW account of the shoot.

💵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 

• NEW WATCH FOR SALE: 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

Want to let us know what you think about the newsletter? Go to our survey and fill it out.