Longines Releases New Spirit Flyback Chronograph In Titanium, Zenith Chronomaster Sport Gets A Pink Dial, Seiko Reintroduces The Landmaster, New Watches From Laco And Torsti Laine

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Longines might have solved the main issue of their Spirit Flyback collection - instead of going full retro, they embraced modern materials and created a great sports watch.

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In this issue:

• Longines Makes The Spirit Collection Even Better With The New Spirit Flyback Chronograph In Titanium

• An Incredible Pink Dial On The Zenith Chronomaster Sport Pink Is Helping Fight Breast Cancer

• For It’s 30th Anniversary, Seiko Reintroduces Prospex Landmaster with The SLA071 Limited Edition

• Laco Reissues Cuxhaven and Bremerhaven Navy Watches In Two Sizes

• Torsti Laine Teams Up With Revolution To Release 12 ‘One Love’ Unique Pieces

Today’s reading time: 7 minutes and 27 seconds

👂What’s new

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Longines Makes The Spirit Collection Even Better With The New Spirit Flyback Chronograph In Titanium

Very few watch brands are as successful as Longines at utilising their amazing heritage to it’s full potential. Just look at their lineup. Among the more modern and somewhat boring offerings, Longines has carved out an incredible niche of vintage recreations. And they really have enough heritage to fall back on. For example, the brand invented the flyback chronograph in the 1930s, a useful complication for pilots of the era, allowing them to stop, start, and reset the chronograph with the press of one pusher, leading to the Caliber 13ZN, one of the legendary movements of all time.

Earlier this year, Longines introduced the Longines Flyback Spirit. And while initial reactions were enthusiastic, it is taking some time for the collection to find it’s footing. It seems like this one specific watch is a bit lacking in the historical connection, other than the flyback connection. It’s decidedly not a vintage watch - it’s large and sporty, with a relatively modern look. However, their laters entry into the collection, the Spirit Flyback in titanium, might be what the collection was looking for.

The new titanium version keeps the same size as the steel version of the Spirit Flyback - 42mm wide, 49mm lug-to-lug and a pretty hefty 17mm thick. The steel version was a chunker. However, by using Grade 5 titanium, Longines has cut down immensely on the weight of the watch making it, essentially, a very modern, very sporty rendition of a watch that has some vintage cues. I think that makes it the best of both worlds. You want to know what else I think? Those five stars on the dial are horrible. There, I said it.

The dial comes with a sunray brushed surface and a very nice anthracite color that stands out against the black ceramic bezel insert. All elements of the dial – hands, applied markers and numerals, rings around the sub-dials and the inner flange – are gold-coloured for a vintage, slightly luxurious feel. And they are all slathered in Super-LumiNova.

Inside the case and visible under the sapphire back is still the calibre L791.4, a movement manufactured by ETA exclusively for Longines. In essence, this is a heavily modified Valjoux 7753, equipped with a column wheel, a flyback function, a silicon balance spring. It beats at 4Hz and has a 68-hour power reserve. It also has COSC chronometer certification.

The Longines Spirit Flyback in titanium is available now, with a retail price of $5,200 on a bracelet, $4,850 on a strap.

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An Incredible Pink Dial On The Zenith Chronomaster Sport Pink Is Helping Fight Breast Cancer

For more than 30 years, October has been known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month with many institutions and brands coming together to raise awareness about the horrible disease of breast cancer. Many institutions and brands come together (something that is often criticised as a publicity stunt, but I won’t go there), put on pink colors and host events and sales to drum up money for cancer research. Joining them is this year is Zenith with a pink version of their Chronomaster Sport, limited to 500 pieces and with a portion of the sales going to Susan G. Komen, the world’s leading breast cancer organisation.

This watch is part of the Pink Dial Project started in 2021, bringing together 19 brands that would apply pink to limited editions of their watches to benefit research. Zenith was one of these brands and released a Chronomaster Original Pink, followed by this new Chronomaster Sport now.

There’s not much unusual about this watch. The Chronomaster Sport was released in 2021 and features a 41mm wide and 47mm lug-to-lug stainless steel case with a thickness of 13.6mm. On the side of the case are pump pushers and on top is a sapphire crystal. Around the crystal is a polished steel bezel with a black-filled engraved 1/10th of a second scale, the first time a steel Chronomaster Sport gets a steel instead of ceramic bezel.

The difference is on the dial, which gets a uniform pink finishing, instead of the tri-colour contrasting sub-dials. The dial is sunray brushed, while the sub-dials are raised with an azurage pattern. Both the hands and applied markers are rhodium-plated and faceted, partially filled in Super-LumiNova and black lacquer.

Inside the watch is the known Calibre El Primero 3600, a modernized take on the legendary automatic chronograph of 1969. Not only the display has been updated to indicate the 1/10th of a second centrally, but many aspects of the movement have been upgraded, such as a power reserve beefed up to 60 hours, a stop-seconds mechanism and a revised decoration. This Chronomaster Sport Pink also comes with a new star-shaped rotor. The watch comes on a three-link stainless steel bracelet.

The Zenith Chronomaster Sport Pink is limited to 500 pieces. 20% of the proceeds from the sale of the Chronomaster Sport Pink will directly be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The price is set at €12,300. See more on the Zenith website.

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For It’s 30th Anniversary, Seiko Reintroduces Prospex Landmaster with The SLA071 Limited Edition

Looks like we’re back in the one-new-Seiko-a-day cycle. Last week it was the Silfra divers and just the other day it was the just incredible Prospex Land Series GMT reference SPB411 which is a recreation of the stunning 1968 Navigator Timer 6117-8000, their first GMT watch with a rotating bezel. This new watch is the new Seiko Prospex Landmaster 30th Anniversary Limited Edition SLA071, a recreation of the Landmaster, Seiko’s original compass field.

The new SLA071 pays direct homage to the 1990s models of the Landmaster. It has a 42mm wide titanium case with pointed lugs and pronounced crown guards. And of course, it features the highly detailed compass scale on its rotating titanium bezel. If you’ve ever wondered why one would have a compass scale on their bezel, then you might be surprised that you can use your watch as a compass. You line up your hour hand with the sun and find the halfway point between that and 12 o’clock. That halfway point is directly south. Then you can use the bezel to align it with south and get precise bearings.

The most important part of the watch is the bezel, which features a highly detailed compass scale. While the Tortoise features just the cardinal points, the Landmaster includes the mid-point directions of NE, SE, SW and NW, as well as including numerical bearings in intervals of 15°.

The dial of the new SLA071 gets a gradient blue pattern and large lumed indexes. Seiko, of course, says that this color is “inspired by the tops of mountains where the light blue of ice meets the darker blue of the high atmosphere”. The Seiko logo and seconds hands get a golden yellow color.

Inside the watch is the Seiko 8L35 automatic movement. It’s a robust movement with a date at 3 o’clock and a 50 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a titanium bracelet.

The Seiko Prospex Landmaster 30th Anniversary Limited Edition SLA071 will be limited to 1,000 pieces and is available now. I’m a bit fuzzy on the price, but I believe it is set at €2,750. See more on the Seiko website.

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Laco Reissues Cuxhaven and Bremerhaven Navy Watches In Two Sizes

You might know Laco as the German maker of some pretty solid pilot’s watches. You might have even seen their amazing Atacama Quartz UTC tool watch that I featured a month ago. What I hope you haven’t missed from them is their Cuxhaven and Bremerhaven, maritime-themed watches. Laco is now reintroducing these two watches inspired by vintage pocket pieces in it’s original size, but also a new, smaller version.

So, there are two versions of the watch, a 42.5mm one that is the same size as the original that was adored by fans and a smaller 39mm version that I assume is going to be even more popular seeing as the entire vibe of the watch is unmistakably vintage. Bremerhaven comes with a black dial while the Cuxhaven gets a glossy white now. The Bremerhaven’s hour and minute hands are painted black, while the Cuxhaven’s hands are thermally blued, which contrasts with the white of the dial. There’s a small seconds window at 6 o’clock and a railroad-style minute track around the perimeter.

Inside, there are two different movements. The larger version gets a hand-wound ETA Unitas 6498.1 movement, a very uncommon movement that you can see through the see-through back. The smaller version gets the Sellita SW261 movement. The Cuxhaven gets a beige calfskin leather strap, while the Bremerhaven comes with a sleek black leather strap.

The watches shouldn’t be limited editions. Both Cuxhaven and Bremerhaven share the same price, with the only difference being size. You can get either model in 39mm for €1,290 starting in November and the 42.5mm for €1,690 starting in October. See more on the Laco website.

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Torsti Laine Teams Up With Revolution To Release 12 ‘One Love’ Unique Pieces

Boy, those Finns really know how to make a watch. With the most prominent watchmaker being Kari Voutilainen, there is no shortage of great artists from the country. One of them is the slightly lesser known Torsti Laine, winner of the Lange Watch Making Excellence Award in 2014 and now independent watchmaker out of Switzerland and makes mostly time-only watches based on a Vaucher micro-rotor movement or a movement based on Unitas gear train.

Now, Laine has teamed up with Revolution magazine to create a series of twelve watches based on the Laine GG3 watch design. All three will come in the same stainless steel case that measures 40.5mm wide and 11.3mm thick. It’s a very simple case, which is a great thing since you will want to focus on the dial, the one thing that will differentiate the twelve pieces. There will be four different forms of the dial, with each being offered in three numeral variations - Western Arabic, a traditional Arabic, and Mandarin numerals.

The first form of the dial features a triple guilloche a main dial in a vibrant purple with a small seconds at the 6 o’clock position. The second is similar, but lacks the inner guilloche ring of the first, making it a double guilloche and a bit simpler. The third features a frosted rather than guilloche outer dial whilst the inner dial is made from meteorite. And the fourth replaces the meteorite with guilloche. If all of this sounds complicated, it’s best to click on over to see the photos, everything will make sense.

Inside the watch is the Unitas 6498-1 based Laine LA18.1, hand-wound, beating at 18,000 vph and with a 46-hour power reserve. It is as highly finished as the dials. The piece de resistance is the baseplate. It has been laser engraved with the word “Peace” in 70 different languages. The effect is to add a 3-dimensional element to the baseplate which adds some shadow and visual depth to the movement.

These twelve watches are perfect for fans of independent watchmaking, as you get an impeccably finished piece unique at a price that is quite reasonable. Unlike most collaborations that up the price of regular pieces, this one sells for CHF 11,000, which is CHF 500 under the regular retail price of a Laine GG3 watch. I believe you can still order one (Revolution doesn’t display sold-out status on their website) but check for yourself on the Revolution website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

I messed up yesterday and accidentally sent you the same two links as the day before. To make up for it, here’s four new links!

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Hands-On With The New Oris Artelier S

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A review of the H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Centre Seconds Vantablack

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Hands on with the Reservoir Airfight Chronograph Black

4/

A review of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo With Metallic Glass

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Titoni Seascoper 300 Color Block Edition is a stealthy black watch that draws all the attention with it’s orange dial

The bright orange enameled dial pops. It is nice and vibrant and is contrasted by applied hour markers with stark white lume. The markers feature black edges and match the black minute track and black hands, which are also filled with white lume that lights up blue in the dark. The date window at 3 o’clock reveals a white date disc with black printing. The execution matches the markers perfectly and reveals a great eye for detail. This is a nice exemption in a world where we tend to love seeing the date disc’s color match the main tone of the dial. 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

• A couple of ex-Googlers set out to create the search engine of the future. They built something faster, simpler, and ad-free. So how come you’ve never heard of Neeva?

• Kids on TikTok think they have stumbled on something that is a well kept secret - quiet luxury. What they believe to be a fashion trend known only by the uber-wealthy is, in fact, just a perversion on actual quiet luxury - brands that rich old-money European families shopped at while gaudy Russian and Midle Eastern millionaires raided Gucci and LV. The modern take on quiet luxury started with billionaires cosplaying as regular people but spending $900 on a grey T-shirt and is now moving to the finance bros thanks to Succession. And in the center of this trend is Loro Piana, a cult Italian fashion house. This is a great piece from New York magazine how Loro Piana lost it’s understated luxury with the influx of new money.

• Brian Donovan, a 51-year-old sociology professor, offers an honors seminar called the Sociology of Taylor Swift at at the University of Kansas. The academic uses the musician as a vehicle to discuss topics across American life, including celebrity and fandom; race, gender, and sexuality; and the culture and creative industries. For Kansas Alumni magazine, Steven Hill shares Donovan’s insights on the importance of studying pop culture, and why a pivot during the COVID pandemic to study joy, happiness, and Swift’s life and career was an effective research move.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

I’m rediscovering the NPR Tiny Desk catalogue, and boy are there some gems in it. Like this Weezer short concert. Whether you’re a fan or just a casual listener, there’s no way this performance won’t blow you away. From songs you might not have heard before, to those you know but have never heard in an unplugged setting. Man, I love Weezer.

💵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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