Omega's Final Olympic Watch Is The Gorgeous Paris 2024 CK 859; Unimatic Embraces Tool Watch Status With Military Specs; echo/neutra's Vintage Race Themed Chronos; A First For Laurent Ferrier

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. OK, so we skipped two days this week, but it seems that things might be getting back on track. The Omega is pretty cool, but I actually think that the Unimatic might be my favorite today. Those things are pretty amazing.

In this issue:

• Omega Releases Final Olympic-Themed Watch Is The Gorgeous Paris 2024 Bronze Gold Edition

• Unimatic Fully Embraces Tool Watch Status By Meeting Military Specifications

• echo/neutra Teams Up With Legendary Coppa d’Oro Delle Dolomiti Race For A Limited Chrono

• Sincere Watches Continues 70th Celebration With First Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillon With Guilloché Dial

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 1 seconds

👂What’s new

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Omega Releases Final Olympic-Themed Watch Is The Gorgeous Paris 2024 Bronze Gold Edition

The Olympic Games in Paris start tomorrow, on July 26th and just when it seemed that Omega (and the rest of the Swatch group) has unveiled all of their Olympic-themed watches, here’s a new one. Bringing back the somewhat controversial CK 859, the Omega Paris 2024 Bronze Gold Edition pays tribute to gold, silver and bronze medals of the competition in a package that’s equally as attractive as it is old-school. This is the third release of the Olympic-themed watches, it’s quite one, and perhaps the most attractive and unique one.

When the CK 859 launched in 2022, the retro-styled Omega had quite the reaction. Some called it boring, others admired it’s looks, some called it subtle while others believed it was to over-the-top in it’s retro look. I thought it was a good looking watch. But it seems that the majority of people disagreed, as Omega discontinued the watch quite quickly, something that’s very out of character for the brand. The new Olympic edition revives the model with the same case shape but with new materials. The case is 39mm wide, 11.7mm thick and has a 46.2mm lug-to-lug, with an obvious 1930s Calatrava inspiration. There’s a brushed middle case and a polished bezel on top, along with a mimicked polished caseback with a grained middle and an Olympic logo. The material is what pays homage to the Olympic medals. It’s made out of 37.5% gold, palladium and silver, giving a bronze look but one that’s completely stable and won’t oxidise.

Gold and bronze are covered, but what about silver? Well, it’s the dial. It’s made out of solid Ag 925 silver. It keeps the sector layout of the original CK 859. In the centre of the dial you get a Clous de Paris pattern, while the outside track is wonderfully brushed and holds the minute and hour tracks. There’s a small seconds at the 6 o’clock position. The hands are made out of 18k Sedna gold and coated in Bronze Gold PVD. But the biggest change has to be the Omega logo, which is not the modern logo, but rather the historic one that Omega used somewhere up to the mid-seventies.

Inside is the in-house, hand-wound calibre 8926, an homage to their legendary calibre 30T from the 1930s. It beats at 3.5Hz, has a 72 hour power reserve, two barrels, and features a silicon balance spring, a co-axial escapement and Master Chronometer certification. The watch comes on a brown calf-skin leather strap with a sandblasted Bronze Gold buckle with a polished vintage Omega logo.

The new Omega Paris 2024 Bronze Gold Edition is a special edition, but not a limited one, meaning there will be quite a few made. Price is set at €13,200. See more on the Omega website.

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Unimatic Fully Embraces Tool Watch Status By Meeting Military Specifications

There’s an old saying that you shouldn’t boast that something you have is military-grade as it usually means that it was actually made by the lowest bidder. While certainly humorous and true, it’s not entirely true, as the lowest bidder does actually have to meet certain standards set by the military. In the U.S. this standard is called the MIL-STD and it tries to define standards for every single piece of military equipment. One of the developed standards is the MIL-STD-810 testing standard. It is used to test equipment for its environmental durability and ruggedness. It is specifically created to ensure equipment can withstand potentially harsh conditions, specifically in military applications. And it’s this standard that the Italian independent watch brand Unimatic had in mind when they developed their new Toolwatch series, four watches that had to survive the military testing procedure before being released to the public.

The Toolwatch series is cool for two reasons. First, it just plain cool to have a watch that was dropped 26 timed on industrial concrete from a height of 1.22 meters and walked away unscathed. But second, perhaps more important, it seems to give a new wind to Unimatic. I remember the excitement when I saw their first watches, completely different from everything else, but also so familiar. In the meantime, Unimatic has grown into a cultural powerhouse that does some pretty amazing collaborations, but with not a lot of breakthrough pieces. And sure, these four watches are based on the same four models we know, but the internals — especially on the GMT models — is very interesting.

The Toolwatch collection uses the Modello Uno dive watch and the Modello Quattro field watch, differentiated only by their internals: one gets a regular quartz movement, the other gets a GMT. Let’s start with the Modello Uno UT1 models. On the outside very little has changed. Both versions have a 40mm sandblasted stainless steel case with a 41.5mm 120-click unidirectional bezel on top with a 60 minute countdown scale. The case is 13.2mm thick, has a 49mm lug-to-lug and a 22mm lug-width. Water resistance is still 300 meters. Then there’s the Modello Quattro models, which also measure in at 40mm wide, with a 49mm lug-to-lug, but a bit thinner at 12mm. It also features a unmarked and fixed steel bezel, one that looks right at home on a tool watch.

The dials on the two pairs of the two models are virtually identical. They all have matte black dial, fully graduated minute markers, an inside track of hour numerals and the characteristic Unimatic handset. There is a an orange ring on the rehaut, part of the shock-protection system (more on that a bit later), as well as orange on the tip of the seconds hand. The non-GMT versions are time only, while the GMT versions have a date window at 6 o’clock and a pretty amazing for another time zone at 12.

Inside, things get pretty wild. In addition to opting for quartz movements, which are more shock-resistant than mechanical movement, Unimatic has also designed what they call a 360° protection system that surrounds the movement/dial assembly to absorb harmful impacts. Sitting under the caseback is an orange cup-shaped structure that protects the sides and lower surface, while an orange ring is placed between the dial and the upper part of the case to suspend the entirety of the internals within a rubberized structure that protects it from all angles. Pretty cool. As for the choice of movements, the time-only gets the Seiko VH31 caliber which is a meca-quartz movement that gives you a sweeping seconds hand, accuracy of +/- 15 seconds per month and a two-year battery life. The GMT version gets the Swiss Ronda 515.24D caliber which has an accuracy of +20/-1 seconds per month and a 45-month battery life, along with that cool GMT complication. The watches come on a two-piece black nylon strap.

The Unimatic Toolwatch series is on sale right now for some pretty interestign prices - the Modello Quattro UT4 is priced at €350 and the Modello Uno UT1 at €425, while the GMT models are priced at €425 for the Modello Quattro UT4-GMT (my favorite) and €525 for the Modello Uno UT1-GMT. All of these prices are without taxes, so keep that in mind. See more on the Unimatic website.

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echo/neutra Teams Up With Legendary Coppa d’Oro Delle Dolomiti Race For A Limited Chrono

I’ve said many times that what I love most about an independent or micro brand is their ability to shape a brand for itself. There are many brands out there that make fine watches that are just a bit generic in their branding and will likely see a downfall because of that. And then there’s brands like echo/neutra, which are just dripping with branding from every pore of their being. They are most clearly a Dolomites-inspited watch brand, so it only made sense that they would team up with the Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti race that has been run since 1947 as a pure-speed race. Today it’s a race for vintage cars through the Dolomites. And the echo/neutra duo of watches based on the Cortina 1956 Chronograph is a perfect match.

The Cortina 1956 Chronograph is a large watch — it measures 40mm wide and 14.1mm thick — but it has a curiously short lug-to-lug measurement of 46mm. The finishing on the case is a combination of satin and polished, and on top is a fixed bezel with a sapphire insert that has a tachymeter scale on it. Also on top is a ultra domed sapphire crystal. Interestingly, the crown doesn’t screw down, nor do the pushers, but you still get 100 meters of water resistance, which is always a welcomed sight on chronographs.

The dial of the watch has a bi-compax setup with a 30 minute counted on the 3 o’clock counter and a running seconds at 9 o’clock. There are two versions of the dial one blue with pink accents and the other light peach with blue accents and blue subdials. The colors transfer over to the sapphire bezel as well. Both dials have a prominent 12 hour marker and stick markers for the rest of the hours, as well as a Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti at 6 o’clock.

Inside, a curious choice. It’s the manual wind Sellita SW510M. The movement is a fine movement, but what I find curious is the fact that it’s manually wound. I love a manually wound chrono, but most watches that do opt for that setup do so to cut down on thickness — and these are not very thin watches. Otherwise, you get a 4Hz beat rate and a power reserve of about 60 hours. The blue version will come with a flat Italian natural tumbled blue leather strap, with contrasting light peach stitches, while the light peach version will come with an embossed natural tumbled blue leather strap with light peach contrasting stitching. Both get an additional stainless steel Milanese Mesh bracelet.

The Cortina “Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti” Chronograph is limited to 50 pieces per colorway and priced at €1.690. The website shows that there is only one blue version left in stock (and more of the peach ones), so move fast if you want one. See more on the echo/neutra website.

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Sincere Watches Continues 70th Celebration With First Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillon With Guilloché Dial

This will be a huge year for watch collectors in Southeast Asia. I wrote how one of the most prominent retailers in the region, Sincere Watches, is celebrating their 70th anniversary. And they’re doing so with a bunch of very special watches. Last week they showed off the incredible H. Moser & Cie. Pioneer Perpetual Calendar Concept MD Purple Enamel Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition. Today, we have an equally impressive Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillon Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition that gets a very special dial, a first application of guilloché on the Grand Sport Troubillon.

You know and love this watch. It’s a 44mm wide and 13.4mm thick case made out of 5N red gold. The cushion shape is famously inspired by classic car curves, and the case lack traditional lugs, instead opting for an integrated bracelet/strap situation. On top is a super chunky and angular bezel that gives the watch a sort of circle-within-a-square-within-a-circle look and it’s very cool. This is a sports watch, so water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial is just fantastic. Rendered in a very special petrol green color, it’s, like I said, the first application of guilloché technique on this model. The pattern, the brands say, is inspired by the South China Sea's waves. This distinctive shade symbolises vitality and resilience, reflecting Sincere's 70-year legacy. The hands are Assegai-shaped, filled with white Super-Luminova, while the sharp indexes are rithenium treated.

Inside, an incredible movement. It’s the GPHG-winning LF 619.01 tourbillon movement. Wait, tourbillon, right? So why can’t you see it then? You can, but in the most boss move of all time, Laurent Ferrier gave the movement a transparent caseback, making the tourbillon visible only from the back. I love that so much. The watch comes on an integrated Nubuck strap with Alcantara fabric in matching petrol green.

Only 12 pieces of the Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillon Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition will be made and they are available only from Sincere Fine Watches SHH boutiques. Price is set at SG$314,000, which is about US$234,000. See more on the Sincere website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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A review of the new Furlan Marri Disco Volante

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Hands on with the Tudor Pelagos FXD 'Cycling Edition'

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A review of the Venezianico Redentore Bellanotte

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Tuul Filthy 13 is a very classic, but very different, field watch

The Tuul Filthy 13 has a fabulous wrist presence. Thanks to its 38mm case diameter, it fits wearers with more prominent and smaller wrists. Diameter is not everything, yet the watch’s other measurements are equally satisfying. At 45.9mm from lug tip to lug tip, the Filthy 13 sits nicely on the wrist. It does not feel too large or too long. Thanks to the slim case that is only 11.25mm thick despite the automatic Sellita movement, this “tuul” watch is comfortable, even with long sleeves. Now, I must add that the timepiece feels a tad thicker due to the NATO strap, but swap it for a two-piece strap, and you are good to go. As a comparison, the manual-wind Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanic is 8.5mm thick, so at just less than 3mm more, this automatic timepiece is still fairly slim.

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 hot-headed coder is accused of exposing the agency’s hacking arsenal. Did he betray his country because he was pissed off at his colleagues? This is the surreal case of a C.I.A. hacker’s revenge

• Twenty-seven years ago, not long after Danyel Smith became editor in chief of Vibe, Sean Combs threatened to have her killed. Some of the episode stuck with her, as you’d imagine, but not all of it—and her subsequent realization that she’d redacted details from her own memory prompted a larger reckoning with the legacy of her career. While Combs is undoubtedly the catalyst of this troubling essay, he’s also just a manifestation of a larger system that treats so many as disposable.

• Disillusioned and drained after dancing for a living became too much, Laura Killingbeck packed up her bike and bought a one-way ticket to Alaska. Cycling and the outdoors brought her true solitude. In those she encountered, she found generosity, kindness, and what she needed most: human connection and community.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Every single one of this mans videos needs to be seen, even if you hate Formula 1. Give him a Netflix show instead of Drive to Survive and look at the sport overtake football as the No. 1 global sport.

💵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: Here’s a crazy request. One of you is looking to buy the 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.

• 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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-Vuk