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- New Richard Mille RM 21-02 Tourbillon Aerodyne Is Nuts, Breitling Brings Back Chronomat South Sea, Code41 Celebrates 8th Anniversary Of Affordable Horology, New From Union Glashütte And Horage
New Richard Mille RM 21-02 Tourbillon Aerodyne Is Nuts, Breitling Brings Back Chronomat South Sea, Code41 Celebrates 8th Anniversary Of Affordable Horology, New From Union Glashütte And Horage
Two out of five watches today bring high horology to the masses, which is my favorite watch genre
Vuk Radic
November 23, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 18 minutes
Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the US. For the rest of us, this means very few watch releases and no turkey dinners. I had some fun with the RM, but the Code41 is not to be skipped.
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:
The New Richard Mille RM 21-02 Tourbillon Aerodyne Tones Down The Colors To Show Off Cutting Edge Materials
Breitling Brings Back The Colourful Chronomat South Sea Collection
Union Glashütte Unveils The Belisar Chronograph Speedster Limited Edition
Code41 Celebrates 8th Anniversary Of Affordable Horology With The Anomaly-01 Collector Edition
Horage Slaps An Affordable Price Tag On A Micro-rotor Tourbillon With The Autark Tourbillon
Today’s reading time: 7 minutes and 44 seconds
👂What’s new
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These news updates, almost without fail, start off with a watch from a major manufacturer that’s usually accessibly priced and has the widest possible appeal. But today is Thanksgiving in the United States and pretty much everyone is taking the day off, so no major releases. No matter, this gives us an opportunity to try something new. Like focusing on a brand that doesn’t release as many watches, but when they do, the rich pay attention. Richard Mille is introducing a new RM 21-02 Tourbillon Aerodyne which cuts down on the crazy colors the brand is known for and puts all the focus on the materials which are, as you would expect it, quite out there.
The watch comes in the RM signature tonneau shaped case that measures 42.68mm wide, 14.3mm thick and has a lug-to-lug of 50.12mm. The case is made out of a combination of Carbon TPT, Quartz TPT and titanium, with the TPT standing for a composite material created by taking masses of tiny fibres taken from carbon (for Carbon TPT) or silica (for Quartz TPT) threads that are then trapped within a composite matrix and forged together at 120 °C and 6 bar of pressure. This, RM claims, makes a tough, durable and lightweight material that can then be easily processed. By ditching the bright colors, RM focuses on these materials. The black portion around the bezel is Carbon TPT while the white sections around the periphery are Quartz TPT.
But those are not the only interesting materials on the watch. The mainplate - that’s the piece that serves as a base for the movement and to which everything is bolted down to - is made out of a highly specialist material called HAYNES®214®. That’s an incredibly niche nickel-chromium-aluminium-iron alloy used in incinerators, turbines and catalytic converters because it has incredibly high heat tolerances, in excess of 1,300 °C. Why would you need a material like that as you mainplate? You wouldn’t, we’ve been making watches for centuries with regular materials, but I guess it’s cool.
You can see that mainplate through the sapphire crystal on top and bottom thanks to the skeletonized display. You get hours and minutes as well as a power reserve indicator, a torque indicator and a function selector. You can also see the titular tourbillon at 6 o’clock and the entire watch is powered by the Calibre RM21-02 which has a 70-hour power reserve.
The new 2023 Richard Mille RM 21-02 Tourbillon Aerodyne in white Quartz TPT, Carbon TPT, and titanium will be accompanied by an official retail price of $928,000 and will be made in only 50 pieces. This is a completely unnecessary watch. The more lenient among us will say it’s an exploration of material possibilities, while the more cynical might call it a neat way to extract almost a million dollars from the overly rich and overly gullible. I say I’m almost as glad something like this exists as that Timex collaboration with Keith Haring the other day. See more about the watch on the RM website.
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Back in 2020, Breitling revamped one of their collections that was loosing its steam. They reached into one of the lesser-appreciated decades of watch design, the 1980s, and redesigned the Chronomat, turning it into one of their quirkiest and most exciting models. The new design included the iconic interchangeable rider tabs on the bezel and a super-cool Rouleaux bracelet. The model proved to be equally as popular among women in smaller sizes and pastel colors, which led to a very nice gem-set South Sea collection. Now, Breitling is bringing it back with a new trio of Breitling Chronomat South Sea Capsule watches which they unveiled at Dubai Watch Week last week.
The three new watches all come in the same stainless steel case that measures 36mm wide, 10mm thick and has a lug-to-lug of 43.3mm. The rider tabs of the bezel remain, but are no longer interchangeable, replaced with gemstone decoration and the bezel is fixed into place. Despite having a non-screw down crown and is set with precious stones, you still get 100 meters of water resistance, which is cool.
The three references refer to three colors which are all designed to mimic tropical places, so it’s all a combination of deep greens, pinks and light blues. The dark green sunray-brushed dial comes with white, gold, green and blue gemstones on the 18ct rose gold bezel and with a light green, almost pistachio, alligator strap. Then there’s the also sunray-brushed almost pastel blue which has dark blue, light blue and purple gemstones on an 18ct white gold bezel and comes on a light blue alligator strap. Finally, there’s the pink mother of pearl dial that’s paired with a white gold bezel and a rainbow of coloured gemstones.
Inside all three is Breitling’s Calibre 10 automatic winding movement which is based on the ETA 2892-A2. It beats at 28,800 vph, has a 42 hour power reserve and is COSC certified meaning you get accuracy of -4/+6 per day. While I mentioned the watches come on the fantastic colored leather straps, you can also get it on the Rouleaux bracelet.
The watches are not limited, but are part of a capsule collection so don’t expect them to be around for very long. All three are priced at €10,500, at least where I live with my high 25% VAT. See more on the Breitling website.
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Another day, another 70s inspired racing chronograph. Don’t take it the wrong way, I’m not complaining. Just like with the Richard Mille, I’m glad that there are so many options. And this latest option, the Belisar Chronograph Speedster from Union Glashütte is fantastic with it’s beautiful blue dial and retro feel.
While Union Glashütte makes a wide range of watches, from dress to dive, I would say their design is best sharpened in the Belisar chrono range. The watch is very large, especially for something that’s vintage inspired, and measures 44mm wide and 15.1mm thick. But with the piston-style pushers, diamond crown and a domed crystal, it really does give off 70s vibes.
According to Union Glashütte, “inspiration for the chronograph comes from a legendary 70s vehicle, whose eye-catching paint color is perfectly replicated on the dial”. What the car is we will never know, which is even weirder when you read on and see that they claim “the black radiator grill of the car inspired the Panda dial of the watch”. White mysterious, indeed. But it looks fantastic. On the periphery of the dial is a black tachymeter scale with white markings, and a railway minute track. The sub-dials are snailed, with the 30-minute and 12-hour totalisers for the chronograph at 3 and 6 o’clock rendered in black with white hands, and the running seconds at 9 the same color blue as the dial with rhodium hands.
The numerals. use a very thin art deco font rendered in white and there’s a white date window at 6 o’clock that stands out. The black nickel-plated hour and minute hands are the only elements on the dial with Super-LumiNova, and the small central seconds hand has a white painted tip to match the chronograph hands in the sub-dials.
Inside the watch is the UNG.27.SI automatic movement, based on the Valjoux 7750. However, Uninon claims they buy the movement in pieces, assemble it themselves and manufacture some of their own components. You get a silicon balance spring and a 65 hour power reserve. It comes on a 3-link stainless steel bracelet and a black rubber strap with quick-change spring bars.
The Union Glashütte Belisar Chronograph Speedster is a limited edition of 388 pieces and it’s priced at €3,550. See more on the Union Glashütte website.
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I will never stop being amazed by brands that bring high horology and post-modern ways of displaying time to the masses at incredible prices. With watches from BA111OD, Xeric, Ciga and even some Christopher Ward peices, what would have cost tens of thousands of euros has been democratised to four figures. Among this group is Code41, a brand that launched in 2016 with a Kickstarted campaign and a promise to make interesting and affordable watches. Now, they’re celebrating their 8th anniversary with the Anomaly-01 Collector Edition, a recreation of the watch that started, the Anomaly-01.
The new Collector Edition uses a 41.5 × 48.5mm stainless steel case that’s 11.2mm thick, the same one they use on the current Anomaly-T4. However, it gets a completely new colorway, a sand dial with white, and blue hands. Between 4 and 6 o’clock you get the “Collector Edition” script and it’s all covered with a sapphire crystal.
Inside the watch is the automatic Miyota 82S7. It’s a well known and tested movement which has a 42 hour power reserve. You get hour and minute hands, with a rotating disc for the seconds at 5 o’clock and a 24-hour display at 9. Unfortunately, the 24-hour display doesn’t function as a second time zone, but rather serve as an AM/PM indicator. Like other Code41 watches, this one can be optioned with a variety of straps with the option of upgrading to a stainless bracelet.
Orders for the watch opened yesterday and will last until November 30th and the watch is priced at CHF 1,398, which seems way lower than you would expect from such an avant-garde watch. See more on the Code41 website.
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While it would have made perfect sense to include Horage with the group mentioned just above, brands like BA111OD, Xeric, Ciga and Code41 who make haute horology-adjacent watches for sub 5 figures, it seems that Horage stands on it’s own. With less adventurous designs (but still extremely striking), they have one goal with their entire lineup - they provide an incredible level of value for money to watch enthusiasts. Now, they’re introducing a Swiss-made micro-rotor tourbillon for under CHF 10,000 called the Autark Tourbillon.
The new watch is housed in a Grade 5 titanium case that measures 39.5mm, is just 8.8 mm thick and has a lug-to-lug of 48.3mm. The top and bottom have sapphire crystals and water resistance is 100 meters. The watch also has an integrated bracelet that tapers down from 22mm to 16mm and the clasp has a 10mm micro-adjustment.
But this watch is all about what’s inside. As Horage point out, micro-rotor movements are great as they allow you to make a slim movement, but they have a major drawback in having to have smaller balance wheels, which doesn’t really work with traditional tourbillons. To fix this, Horage made the micro-rotor out of dense platinum and to aid power usage they built a tourbillon cage out of titanium. The escapement and hairspring are made of silicon and you get 72 hours of power reserve form the K-TMR caliber.
As you might have noticed, these aren’t photos of the watch, but renders. That’s because they are still put the finishing touches on the design of the watch as they open it up for orders. So things might change. The current prototypes show a power reserve indicator at 10 o’clock and this might change, just like the possible colors for the dials, which currently include red, blue, anthracite, and silver fumé.
Pre prders are now open and deliveries are expected in the first quarter of 2025. Pricing is great, but then gets worse. It starts at CHF 9,990, which is really something else, but it will increases by CHF 100 each week until it reaches a final retail price of CHF 14,990 in around 42 weeks. See more on the Horage website.
🫳On hand
Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon
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⚙️Watch Worthy
A look at an off beat, less known watch you might actually like
ochs und junior dials are often a mixture of complexity and simplicity. Aside from the characteristic dial cutouts, the watch is simple but warm. The white hour and minute hands are similar in width with rounded tips, and the orange seconds hand matches the day or the week indicator in color and, at its base, in shape. There are no indices or other dial markings, which will understandably be a deal-breaker for many. Yellow has long been underused in watches, but always looks good. Breitling and Doxa are two of only a small number of brands who have been using the color successfully for some time, and it’s only in the last few years that Rolex and a clutch of microbrands who can afford to be a little braver with their color palettes have also jumped on board. That said, the paler shade of yellow seen here is still uncommon and immediately drew me towards the watch. Read the whole article on Worn & Wound.
⏲️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
Inside an OnlyFans empire: Sex, influence and the new American Dream. The fast-growing platform represents the creator economy at its most bluntly transactional, where sex is just another unit of content to monetize. Washington Post goes in depth with OnlyFans star Bryce Adams.
In the past few days you might have seen the story of Richard Moore, an avid outdoorsman, who vanished this past August while hiking with his dog on Blackhead Peak, a 12,500-foot mountain in Colorado. Miraculously Finney, his Jack Russell Terrier, survived and was rescued 72 days later. For Outside, Frederick Dreier tries to figure out what happened.
The US has a number of trade laws that were designed to pressure foreign governments into complying with various civilisational norms. But these pressures don’t work if the US breaks it’s own trade laws. Like they do by purchasing millions of dollars of seafood for the military and school lunches made by Uyghurs and North Koreans who are forced to work in Chinese seafood processing plants.
👀Watch this
One video you have to watch today
There was a meme going around on TikTok and Instagram in which women asked their husbands, boyfriends, brothers and fathers how often they think of the Roman empire and would be shocked when they the inevitable answer came back as: very often. Just as other men think of the Roman empire all the time, I think of Anthony Bourdain. He was an incredible writer with unique insight into the human condition and every now and again I play the episode of Parts Unknown in which he goes to Quebec. It is, perhaps, the best piece of non-fiction television ever aired. I though of him this morning, so here you go, watch the episode.
💵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
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