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  • Montblanc Sucks Out All Of The Oxygen From Their Watches, Eberhart Introduces An Affordable Dress Watch, Norquain Teams Up With The Zürich Marathon and Indie Watchmaker Simon Brette Presents His First Watch

Montblanc Sucks Out All Of The Oxygen From Their Watches, Eberhart Introduces An Affordable Dress Watch, Norquain Teams Up With The Zürich Marathon and Indie Watchmaker Simon Brette Presents His First Watch

A watch with no oxygen seems silly, but there are actual and symbolic reasons for it

Author

Vuk Radic
April 13, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes

Hey friends, welcome to the inaugural edition of It’s About Time, the watch-themed newsletter that's always on time.

In this issue:

  • Montblanc goes above oxygen levels

  • An Eberhart with an 8 day power reserve is a great dress watch

  • Norqain celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Zürich Marathon

  • Indie Watchmaker Simon Brette Presents His First Watch

Today’s reading time: 6 minutes and 10 seconds

👂What’s new

1/ 

It’s hard to believe, but there are still watches announced at Watches and Wonders from two weeks ago that we didn’t get a chance to feature. Two of those watches are the two new Montblanc 1858 models - the 1858 Geosphere Chronograph 0 Oxygen The 8000 Limited Edition 290 and its little brother, the 1858 Geosphere 0 Oxygen The 8000. Putting aside the horrible, horrible names, there is something very cool about these two watches, other than their retro styling - they feature cases that are completely devoid of all oxygen.

Legendary climber Nims Purja wore a prototype 1858 Geosphere 0 Oxygen watch on his ascent of the world’s highest mountain, the 8,848.86m peak of Everest. And to mark that daring climb, Montblanc now launches the 1858 Geosphere Chronograph 0 Oxygen The 8000 Limited Edition 290. It’s a big watch - 44mm, but a titanium case should make it a bit more wearable. Inside is the automatic caliber MB 29.27, a chrono with an in-house world timer module that shows two globes on the dial to track both Northern and Southern hemispheres, as well as a day/night indicator.

Another very cool detail can be seen on the back of the watch, where Purja designed a graphic representing the 14 peaks over 8,000 meters that he managed to climb (there are also 14 orange dots on the globe on the dial to mark the peaks). You can get the Montblanc 1858 Geosphere Chronograph 0 Oxygen The 8000 Limited Edition 290 is US$9,800.

Then there’s the 1858 Geosphere 0 Oxygen The 8000 dedicated to Reinhold Messner, who was the first person to climb all 14 peaks over 8,000 meters. And on the back of this is Messner’s favorite peak - K2. At 42mm, this watch is a smaller, less complicated version of the 44mm chronograph. While the “big brother” comes on a rugged black textile strap with a folding clasp, the 42mm watch is outfitted with an interchangeable titanium bracelet with a taper and fine-adjustment clasp system. It’s also a bit more affordable at US$7,400.

As for the fact that both watches don’t have any oxygen in them, there are two reasons for this. First is as an hommage to Purja and Messner. Purja climbed the 14 peaks without any additional oxygen, while Messner was the first person to climb Everest without supplementary oxygen. Secondly, Montblanc claims that the absence of oxygen is a great feature for explorers and mountaineers. No oxygen means it eliminates fogging and prevents the oxidization of important components. Thus, it prolongs the life of the movement and allows greater long-term precision.

2/

Eberhard might be more known for their sporty chronographs and divers, but they also make some very fine formal watches. Like the 8 Jours Grande Taille collection, in which they just released two refreshes with a white and blue dial, while retaining the crazy 8-day power reserve.

The stainless steel case of the new Eberhard & Co. 8 Jours Grande Taille is identical to what can be found within the existing range, and it offers a classic round form that measures 41mm in diameter by 10.85mm-thick, with 19mm lugs. Both the blue and white dial feature Roman numeral markers and a radial guilloché finish.

Given that these new blue and white Eberhard & Co. 8 Jours Grande Taille watches are essentially novel dial variations added to the existing lineup, the two new models cost the same as existing watches in the lineup, and both are accompanied by an official retail price of 4,380 CHF (about $4,800).

3/

Last year Norquain became the official timekeeper of the New York City Marathon, the most prestigious marathon in the world. Now, they’re pairing up with the Zürich marathon to celebrate their 20th anniversary with a Wild One watch limited to 20 pieces.

It’s easy to recognize the watch because the dial features a map of Zürich, with the marathon route highlighted in blue. The case, which measures 42mm x 12.3mm, is made up of carbon composite, rubber and titanium and weighs only 84 grams. Inside is the Kenissi-developed Norquain calibre NN20/1, which offers 70 hours of power reserve. You can get it on either a white mesh rubber strap or a black rubber strap.

Price, if you can get it, is CHF 5,150.

4/

Simon Brette has spent years coming up with some of the most important modern watches from independent watchmakers like Chronode and MB&F. Now, he is presenting his first solo watch - the Simon Brette Chronomètre Artisans Subscription Edition. It’s time only, it’s overly engineered and ultra decorated. A perfect combo for a first solo watch.

The case will be special, in the sense that it will be made of zirconium (the prototype photographed is grade 5 titanium). Light yet durable and highly corrosion-resistant, it is nevertheless greatly finished with brushed surfaces and polished accents. It’s also a great size - 39mm in diameter, 10.5mm in thickness and only 45mm in length. But the case is the least interesting part of the watch. The dial is stunning - opened, textured, technical and asymmetrical it gives a peek into what the watch is all about - the movement. I would just take too much space here talking about all of its details, so click on through to read more.

This is a fantastic first offering for a completely new brand, and it will be fascinating to see what else they will come up with. The watch is limited to 12 pieces only, all of which are sold out at a price of CHF 50,000 before taxes.

5/

To mark the 200th anniversary of the Compteur de Tierces, the world’s first high-frequency chronograph that came in the form of a stopwatch and that rewrote watchmaking history, Louis Moinet unveiled the whopping 46mm Memoris chronograph in 2016, with the movement proudly revealed on the dial. Appearing in more compact and less ornate versions over the years, including the 40.7mm Memoris Spirit, Louis Moinet now grows again to create the Impulsion Tourbillon Chronograph.

The titanium case measures 42.50mm with hollowed out lugs and is framed with 18k pink gold and a choice of Moinet blue or black accents. The piston-style pusher for the chronograph at 2 o’clock gives the watch a slight steampunk vibe. At the heart of the Impulsion is the calibre LM114, made in collaboration with partner Concepto and incorporating a tourbillon regulator into an already complex Memoris chronograph movement required significant innovations.

The Louis Moinet Impulsion is presented in three limited editions with alligator straps and folding clasps: 28 watches with a black mainplate, 28 with an aventurine mainplate, and 3 ‘Artist’s Proof’ models with blue and orange accents.

There is no denying this is a great watch, it’s super high end, but can it justify the price of CHF 130,000 (before taxes)?

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⚙️Watch Worthy

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

Anchored by a lion, the Astroclock is typical Chanel in style. Almost entirely matte black, it has discreet touches of extravagance in the form of brilliant-cut diamonds on the hands, which form the unusual, planetarium-style time display.

⏲️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

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One video you have to watch today

Try and imagine two different movies than Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List. One is a CGI-filled fun romp, while the other is a harrowing look into one of the worst thing to ever happen to humanity. Now, imagine having to work on both of those movies in the same year, having to be mentally present for both, and fight your inner demons. This is exactly what Steven Spielberg had to go through. 

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