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- Longines Recreates Beautiful Conquest Central Power Reserve, Bremont Releases Argyle Pattern Watches, New Eska Is Suspect, Nomos Has The Ultimate Tuxedo Watches And New From Farer and Moser
Longines Recreates Beautiful Conquest Central Power Reserve, Bremont Releases Argyle Pattern Watches, New Eska Is Suspect, Nomos Has The Ultimate Tuxedo Watches And New From Farer and Moser
What do you think would be a fair price to pay for a Seiko NH38?
Vuk Radic
January 26, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 22 minutes
Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. What an incredible lineup we have today. Every single watch is just fantastic. I even like the Eska, but come on, that price for that movement? I hate calling things cashgrabs, as it’s a lazy term to use, but I can’t really think of a better way to describe it.
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In this issue:
Longines Recreates A Rare But Beautiful 1959 Watch With The New Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve
Bremont Teams Up With The Movie Argylle For An Argyle Pattern Inspired Collection
The Legendary Diving Brand Eska Is Being Revived With The New Amphibian 250
Nomos Once Again Prove Their Are The Kings Of Subtlety With Three New Black Orion Watches
Farer Releases Aqua Compressor Endeavour Ocean White and Hecla Carmine Red
H. Moser & Cie. Introduces Streamliner Tourbillon Concept Wyoming Jade with Stone Dial
Today’s reading time: 11 minutes and 9 seconds
Number of dragon-themed watches this Year (so far, and including today): 17
👂What’s new
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While not the first watch company ever, Longines currently holds the longest watch brand trademark, having been around since 1889. When you make watches for more than 130 years, you tend to have a rich back catalogue from which to pick and choose great designs you can use in your. modern watches. And when you have been around for so long, you tend to celebrate big moments. Like, for example, the introduction of the Conquest collection, which came around 70 years ago in 1954. To mark this occasion, Longines is releasing the beautiful Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve in three colors, based on the Conquest Central Power Reserve model introduced in 1959.
Being a recreation of an almost 70 year old watch, you expect it to be very vintage and it is. Starting from the case, which is not a direct copy of the 50s watch, but it serves the rest of the watch perfectly. The stainless steel case measures 38mm wide, has short lugs and a round shape with a polished small fixed bezel. On top is a very retro looking box sapphire crystal. There’s nothing particular that stands out about the case, which is just fine, as it’s all about the dial.
The Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve comes in three dial colorways - champagne, anthracite and black, all looking very retro, just like the rest of the dial decorations. It’s a sector dial with applied and finely faceted hour markers, there’s a trapezoid opening for the date at 12 o’clock and the skyscraper hands give off a very Art Deco inspired style. The most interesting part of the dial is the titular central power reserve complication, which is a power reserve unlike any you have seen before.
The power reserve is styled after the original from the 50s and it’s quite difficult to explain how it works if you haven’t seen it happen. This video might help, but even that’s not enough. The power reserve is made up of two discs, an inner with the power reserve indicator and an outer with the scale printed on it. As the watch ticks on, the inner disc rotates clockwise to indicate the decreasing power reserve. Then, when you wind the clock, the outer scale also rotates clockwise, eventually catching up with the indicator. However, what I find a bit confusing, and I might be wrong, the discs then don’t proceed towards 12 o’clock but they rather remain wherever they meet. I suspect this could drive me a bit crazy to have the power reserve be full, but not point to the same place all the time, but I guess it works.
This complication, of course, can’t be powered by a regular movement so ETA developed the automatic calibre L896.5 for Longines. It has a silicon balance spring for magnetic resistance, it beats at 25,200 vph and has a power reserve of 72 hours. Also, with the interesting power reserve complication, I can’t resist the feeling that the watch would be better as a manual wind so the rotor doesn’t keep the reserve pegged to the max.
Visible through the transparent area of the screw-down caseback is the automatic calibre L896.5 developed by ETA exclusively for Longines. The silicon balance spring offers superior magnetic resistance (10 times greater than the ISO 764 benchmark), the balance wheel oscillates at 25,200 vibrations/hour, and the mainspring can store up to 72 hours of power. The watches come on a black or grey alligator leather straps with a steel pin buckle.
The Longines Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve is available now and at CHF 3,650 it’s not the cheapest watch in the world. At that price it’s starting to compete with much more established watches, but it is incredibly gorgeous. See more on the Longines website.
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Just the other day I was writing how Bremont is quintessentially British, with their link to famous British institutions. Equally as British is Matthew Vaughn, the director of movies like Layer Cake and the Kingsman series, as well as producer of essential British movies like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. Vaughn is well known for his movies that drill down to the essence of British culture and, lately, feature impeccable British style from handmade umbrellas to impeccable suits. Now, the two British icons are teaming up to produce a trio of Bremont watches that are inspired by Vaughn’s new movie Argylle.
The new Bremont Argylle Limited Edition Watch Collection consists of versions of the Solo 43, U-2, Solo 34 models, each inspired by one of the characters of the movie - Agent Argylle (played by Henry Cavill); Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard); and Aidan (Sam Rockwell).
Starting off with the Bremont Argylle, based on the Bremont Solo 43, this is an elegant GMT watch that comes in the familiar Bremont Trip-Tick case that measures, of course, 43mm wide. It’s quite chunky with a 15.8mm thickness and it has a 49mm lug-to-lug. The watch has a black metal dial with a diamond argyle pattern, a running seconds subdial at 9 o’clock and a date aperture at the 6 o’clock position. This watch come son a leather strap with yellow stitching.
Next up is the Argylle Jet, based on the U-2, which has a slightly different case that measure 43mm wide, 14.5mm thick and has a 50mm lug-to-lug. It’s also treated with a black DLC coating. The Jet has an internal rotating timing bezel, the same black dial with argyle pattern, tan colored lume and blued hour and minute hands. Comes on a black leather strap with black stitching.
Lastly, there’s the Elly, based on the Solo 34 whcih measures 34mm wide, 10.7mm thick and has a lug-to-lug of 41mm. This one comes with a white metal dial, alternating Arabic numerals and applied indices, blued hands and a yellow diamond-tipped seconds hand. This one comes on a yellow leather strap with matching stitching.
All three versions are limited, with the Bremont Argylle being produced in 200 pieces and priced at $5,700, the Argylle Jet made in 75 pieces and priced at $5,200 and finally, the Elly will be made in just 30 pieces with a price tag of $3,850. Interestingly, none of these watches were made to be worn by the characters in the movie, which is a bit puzzling because they really do look nice. You can see more on the Bremont website.
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In one of my paths down a rabbit hole of divers, I found the Eska Amphibian 600, a beautiful 60s vintage diver that’s a sort of grail watch for vintage dive watch aficionados. It was obviously inspired by the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and featured fantastic oversized radium numerals and indices and a reverse black Bakelite bezel insert under acrylic. Very few of these watches were made, hence the popularity among collectors and I remember thinking at the time that someone should bring back that watch. Since Eska went out of business in the late 80s, that allowed two French watch enthusiasts to recreate it. The new Eska Amphibian 250 an almost 1/1 remake of the legendary watch with a pretty scandalous decision that practically ruins the watch. But more on that later.
The new Amphibian comes in a 40mm wide and 13.5mm thick stainless steel case that has a lug-to-lug of 46mm, so pretty decent dimensions when it comes to chunky divers. While the unidirectional bezel is no longer bakelite, it does keep a vintage look with large numerals rendered in beige and a coin edge. To continue with the vintage aesthetic, the new Amphibian also has a double domed sapphire crystal. With the screw-down crown you get 250 meters of water resistance.
The dial also sticks pretty close to the original. With a sandwich design, it gets oversized Arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock printed directly on the dial and cutouts on the hour indices between with cream colored lume filled in. Triangular markers on the seconds track are cutouts as well. The hour and large arrowhead minute hands also closely resemble the originals.
And now we’re getting to the scandalous part. Inside the watch is Seiko’s NH38 automatic. It’s a simple and very cheap movement that beats at 3Hz and has a 41 hour power reserve. Being a very cheap movement, don’t expect it to be accurate since Seiko rates it at -20/+40 seconds per day. And the biggest issue is the price. Of the watch, not the movement. The watch will sell for €1,050. This is just an absurd price for a NH38 powered watch, a movement so cheap that most watchmakers don’t even bother fixing it - they just throw it out and replace it, as most watches with that movement rarely go over €500. Without disclosing any confidential information that has been shared with me, a watch like this can likely be produced for under €100. In fact, I was just holding a prototype with better specs, same sandwich dial, made in the same Chinese factory but assembled in the EU and powered by the vastly more expensive, better made and more accurate Sellita SW200. That watch will retail for about €600 and it cost just under €150 to make.
The new Eska Amphibian 250 comes with three strap options including a black tropic rubber, a sand-coloured canvas and a two-piece black NATO and is currently on Kickstarter asking for about €300,000. They met that goal in one day, so I guess my criticisms of the cheap movement are unfounded. The Kickstarter price is €740 with a final retail price of €1,050. You can see more on their mystery website, or seek out their Kickstarter (I don’t like linking to these campaigns).
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Imagine, for a second, that you spend a lot of time in situations that require a very formal suit. Maybe even a lot of tuxedoes. Your watch options are pretty limited if you want a simple, elegant watch without having to spend in tens of thousands to get something like a Calatrava. You could, however, look at Nomos Glashütte and their dressy Orion collection. Especially the new version of the Orion called the New Black.
The Orion New Black collection comes in three sizes and very subtle changes to each of the models. All three have the lens-shaped case design, with a soft central case, minimal bezel and elongated, slim lugs and a polished finish. All three also have a matte black galvanised dial with thin central hands and small seconds sub dial at 6 o’clock.
First up is the Orion Neomatik New Black, which comes in a stainless steel case that’s 36.4mm wide and 8.5mm thick. The black dial has gold-coloured hour markers, with all hands treated in silver. Inside is the calibre DUW 3001 which beat at 3Hz and has a 43 hour power reserve. Followed by the Orion Neomatik 39 New Black which is slightly larger at 38.5mm wide and 8.7mm thick and lacks the gold decorations other than the Neomatik text on the dial. Inside is the same DUW 3001. And lastly, the Orion Neomatik 41 Date New Black in a 40.5mm wide cast that’s still comfortably slim at 9.4mm. It has a date at 3 o’clock, with gold accents on the hands and date disc, while the hour markers are silver. Inside is the calibre DUW 6101 which adds the date feature.
All three of the watches come on black leather straps and are available for puchase now. The Orion Neomatik New Black is priced at €3,040, the Orion Neomatik 39 New Black at €3,180 and the Orion Neomatik 41 Date New Black at €3,500. See more on the Nomos website.
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Oh come on, it’s not even fair any more. Farer has taken upon itself to take chronos, field watches, tonneau-shaped watches, GMTs, pilot’s watches and moonphases and turn them into beautiful works of art with the use of color. It’s simply incredible how one brand can use color so much better than everyone else. Now, they’re runing dive watches for everyone else as well, with the release of two versions of the Titanium Series Aqua Compressor, one in white and the other in red.
Both come in the same case as the Endeavour Titanium Series II that measures 41mm wide and it’s made out of grade 2 titanium, meaning it’s super light at under 70 grams. Being a diver, it has a water resistance rating of 300m and it the case is a compressor style construction.
But it’s never about the cases with Farer, despite them making some really lovely watches. It’s all about the dials and colors. First up is the Hecla Carmine Red, named after the HMS Hecla, a military ship that was converted into an Arctic explorer and which was itself named after the volcano called Hekla in Iceland. The red is inspired by the volcano, and it’s an incredibly rich red tone that covers both the dial and the inner bezel, and the rubber strap it comes with.
Then there’s the even more interesting Endeavour Ocean White. It’s not often than a white watch is more interesting than one in color. This one has a subtle wave texture to it, so it looks very dynamic despite being completely devoid of color. Then, you’ll notice that this version has solid black indexes and matching solid black hands, without any lume. Yeah, of course it doesn’t. Because this is a lumed dial and it looks freaking amazing.
Inside both watches is the Sellita SW200-1 Elaboré movement with 38-hour power reserve and both versions come on rubber bracelets. Red on the Carmine and black on the Endeavour. You can add a titanium bracelet for an extra cost.
Both the Hecla Carmine Red and the Endeavour Ocean White can be purchased now, with shipping starting February 22. Price for both versions is €1,210. See more on the Farer website.
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Despite being “just another luxury sports watch with an integrated bracelet”, the H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner is so much more. It just might be the most beautiful and unique luxury sports watch with an integrated bracelet. And now it gets a little bit more unique, with the Streamliner Tourbillon Wyoming Jade which gets a semi-precious stone dial.
The new watch comes in the same 5N red gold 40mm wide, 12.1mm thick case inspired by Art Deco trains with a beautiful integrated bracelet. The watch has a mix of brushed and polished surfaces. On top is a slightly domed sapphire crystal and despite being made out of gold and extremely expensive, it’s actually usable as a sports watch with 120 meters of water resistance.
The dial is incredible. Sourced from Wyoming, the jade stone that they used for the dial is completely untreated, meaning you get to see al the natural imperfections in it. After cutting, it’s hand polished before it’s attached to a brass base. The dial has im red gold baton-shaped indices, featuring a single marker at 3 and 9 and a double marker at 12. The hands are skyscraper shaped and lumed.
At 6 o’clock is an opening for the flying tourbillon with skeletonised bridges and the tourbillon rotates once every minute so it doubles as a running seconds dial as well. Inside the watch is the HMC 804 automatic movement that beats at 21,600 vph and has a power reserve of 72 hours.
The watch is a limited edition of 100 pieces and the price is CHF 109,000. See more on the Moser website.
🫳On hand
Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon
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⚙️Real Time Reviews
A new segment in which we feature reviews from real users reviewing their personal watches
High expections have been met and exceeded! First impression is the the dial isn't as white as expected, it is a creamy silver that has a ton of depth and shades. The small touches of colors of mint green, orangeish/red, and black, are perfect touches. Overall the design seems to play in between mostly the German famous Bauhaus style that Nomos has been deeply influenced by and a touch of Mid-century with the color palette used. Finishing is very elevated for anything in this price point.
The movement has been very impressive! Manual hand wind with a very unique power reservse indicator. Watch has been running around -1sec a day, which has been fantastic. Nomos specs list it as +/- 10secs a day, so this is running even better. It has a beautifully decorated caseback that really catches light from any angle and reflects in any angle that really makes it pop!
⏲️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
This is a slightly older piece, but still incredible reporting, the type only Vice could do in its heyday. Estrella Vista is the West taken to its logical extreme—the land of no parents, where a person is just a person, not the sum of his history. This is the sanctuary for kids who killed their parents
Frenchman Bruno Crastes seemed like the smartest of investors, until he met Germany’s take on Jordan Belfort. In this captivating page-turner, FT Magazine dissects Crastes’ incredulous friendship with wunderkind Lars Windhorst—a relationship so bad for Crastes’ company, it made his partner physically suffer. “Bruno was fascinated by Lars,” sums up one person who observed their relationship. (If you hit the paywall, a free Financial Times account will allow you to read the piece.)
A booming global construction industry means a soaring (yet hidden) demand for sand, which is one of concrete’s main ingredients. Sand mining is the world’s largest extraction industry; after water, sand is the most widely consumed natural resource. For Scientific American, David A. Taylor offers a fascinating look at sand-smuggling mafias and the devastating impact of sand trafficking on ecosystems and communities.
👀Watch this
One video you have to watch today
Have you ever heard of the Blackwing pencil? With wax in its core, the Blackwing pencil was said to write faster than its competitors on the market, quickly earning a coveted status among creatives. Disney animators, artists and writers like Steven Sondheim and John Steinbeck added to its reputation. So why did these pencils reselling for anywhere from $40 to $200 almost go extinct?
💵Pre-loved precision
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LOOKING TO BUY: Here’s a crazy request. One of you is looking to buy the Ōtsuka 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.
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-Vuk
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