Orient Releases New Bambino 38 Small Seconds; Rado Expands Ceramic Line With Navy Blue; Nezumi Brings Back Baleine Diver; Union Glashütte Shrinks Belisar Chronograph Moon Phase; New JLC Trio

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. It’s just undeniable that the Orient Bambino is the best dress watch option on a budget. While these might not be my favorite, and Orient really gets on my nerves with their horrible communication strategy, I have to say they are killing it.

In this issue:

• Orient Cements Their Position As The Leading Affordable Dress Watch With Four New Bambino 38 Small Seconds

• Rado Expands Their Ceramic Line With Beautiful Blue Skeleton Captain Cook and True Square Models

• Nezumi Brings Back Their Baleine Diver, This Time With Some Very Trendy Colors And Limited Production

• Union Glashütte Shrinks Down The Belisar Chronograph Moon Phase A Bit, But You’ll Still Know You’re Wearing It

• Jaeger-LeCoultre Adds Three Watches To The Reverso One Precious Flowers Line: Birds of Paradise, Hibiscus Enamel And Hibiscus Diamonds

Today’s reading time: 10 minutes and 54 seconds

👂What’s new

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Orient Cements Their Position As The Leading Affordable Dress Watch With Four New Bambino 38 Small Seconds

A diver here, a pilot’s watch there. A digital one for activities, and a fancy chrono when you want to feel special. Add to that a couple of more divers, and maybe something weird from a microbrand like Autodromo or Brew, and you’re on track for a decent collection. All you need after all of that is a dress watch. But you spent so much money on other watches, and a dress timepiece is not something you’ll wear on the regular. So you need something classy, but affordable, two things that don’t often go together. But one sure option is the Orient Bambino. The legendary model gets even better with the release of the Bambino 38 Small Seconds which gets the relatively new smaller case, four new dials and Roman numerals.

While the Bambino was always a dressy watch, it came in at 40.5mm which was too large for some people. But recently, the Bambino came out in a smaller case. And despite being called the 38, it actually measures 38.4mm. And now the same case is used for the familiar small seconds format. The case is a bit chunky at 12mm, but it’s still manageable, with quite short lugs. You can get the watch in either stainless steel or with a gold colored coating. The sides of the case are brushed, with polished tops. On top is a domed acrylic crystal and water resistance is 30 meters.

Like I said, there are four color options to the watches - silver (which can be had with either the steel or gold colored case), black or ivory. The dial is also domed, with a railway minutes track on the outer edge and with applied Roman numerals. The gold colored watch gets rose gold-toned numerals and dauphine-style hour/minute hands, while the rest have silver numerals. The ivory and white dials have blue hands, while the black dial has silver hands. There’s a tiny date aperture at 3 o’clock and the small seconds counter at 6 o’clock gets its own railway track.

Inside is the in-house Orient automatic calibre F6222 which beats at 21,600vph and has a 40 hour power reserve. Orient points out that the accuracy ranges between +25 seconds and -15 seconds per day. The watches can be had on brown or black leather strap with a crocodile imprint.

All of this doesn’t sound like much. No sapphire crystal, an industrial movement without a lot of precision of power reserve and even a faux-crocodile embossing on the strap. But this watch retails for €265 for the steel and €279 for the gold colored. That’s pretty unbeatable. See more on the Orient website.

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Rado Expands Their Ceramic Line With Beautiful Blue Skeleton Captain Cook and True Square Models

Just when Rado’s insistence on calling their ceramic watches “High-Tech Ceramic” gets a bit annoying - we get it, it’s high tech! - Rado goes and shows what they can actually do with their mastery of ceramics. Sure, they’ve been making very interesting ceramic watches since what, the 70s or 80s, but their largest release shows that they can still pull off a surprising look that melts even the most jaded of hearts. These are the new Captain Cook and True Square models made out of a pretty stunning shade of navy blue.

Starting off with the new True Square, it’s pretty much the same watch we’ve seen before, coming in an interesting square case that measures 38mm wide, 9.7mm thick and thanks to the square shape and almost integrated lugs, a very good lug-to-lug measurement of 44.2m. The case is made out of ceramic which, while brittle, has an exceptional resistance to scratches and it can be mixed with dies to create incredibly vivid colors. Like the navy blue of this one, which joins the white, black and grey ones in the collection. Having a tough case means you get sapphire crystals on top and bottom and you get 50 meters of water resistance. The dial is openworked with blue sandblasted element.

The watch is powered by the Rado calibre R808, which just a rebranded Powermatic 80. Makes sense, seeing as how the Swatch Group owns Rado. This means you get a movement with a anti-magnetic Nivachron hairspring that beats at 21,600vph and has a 80 hour power reserve. Unlike other True Square ceramic models, this one doesn’t come on a fully ceramic bracelet, but rather on a very nice looking ribbed rubber strap that closes with a clasp that’s covered by the same blue ceramic.

Moving on to the Captain Cook Ceramic Skeleton Navy Blue, it’s the same story as the True Square. We recently got a really beautiful olive green version of this blue version, and I have to say that one remains a favorite. But the blue is also a looker. The case measures 43mm wide, 14.6mm thick and has a 49.8mm lug-to-lug measurement. The blue ceramic case gets a matte finish. On top is a polished blue ceramic bezel and blue ceramic insert with a white lacquered scale. The bezel hints that this is a diver, and it really is - water resistance is 300 meters. The dial is also skeletonized and is made of tinted sapphire with a matte blue inner flange.

Inside is the same calibre R808/Powermatic 80, meaning you get the same 21,600vph and has a 80 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a sporty textured rubber strap in a matching blue colour, closed by a stainless steel and blue ceramic extendable folding clasp.

Both the Captain Cook Ceramic Skeleton Navy Blue and the True Square are regular additions to the Rado ceramic lineup and are not limited. The True Square is priced at €2,750, while the Captain Cook will set you back a more significant €4,850. See more on the Rado website.

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Nezumi Brings Back Their Baleine Diver, This Time With Some Very Trendy Colors And Limited Production

Very few brands have shown up in my Instagram feed as much as Nezumi. And not as customer-owned watches, but rather through some really well made video ads. Often in the watch world we look down at excessive advertising by a brand, especially on Instagram, but I can’t shake the feeling that Nezumi is doing things just right. I’ve read a few of the reviews, and they seem to be making very well made watches - especially for the price point - and they sure do know how to design a watch. While they are best known at the moment for their chronograph and GMT watches, they actually hit it big a few years ago with the Baleine, a slightly different take on the dive watch. Now, they’re bringing it back for a limited run of 200 pieces with some pretty amazing colors.

The new Nezumi Baleine goes on sale tomorrow, and the brand hasn’t revealed too much info, so bear with me. There’s a big change on the inside, but on the outside the watch looks to be the same. If it is indeed the same, this means it comes in a stainless steel case that measures 40mm wide, about 12.1mm thick and with a 47mm lug-to-lug. On top is a double domed sapphire crystal, surrounded by a 120 click uni-directional bezel that has a black aluminium insert with off-white markers for the 60 minute scale. Water resistance is 200 meters.

The dial is equally as expected as it is refreshing. The black bay gets off white triangular markers, paired with off-white simple Arabic numerals at the cardinal points. But most attractive is the sloped rehaut with the 60 minute scale and divided into four parts with three colors - yellow, teal and pink. This is a fantastic combination of colors that’s repeated on the hands - teal on the hour, pink on the minute and yellow on the seconds.

Inside the watch is the biggest update. Whereas previous versions came with the Seiko NH35 movement, this new version gets the Miyota 9039 movement, the Japanese alternative to the Sellita SW200. This is a significant update to the NH35. It beats at 28,800vph and has a 42 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a teal rubber strap.

The new Nezumi Baleine is limited to 200 and goes on sale tomorrow, May 21. However, Nezumi hasn’t given a price just yet. But keep in mind that the previous Baleine with the NH35 movement sold for €404, while the current Seiko VK63 mecha-quartz chronograph sells for €519 and the Miyota 9075 GMT sells for €650. So, expect this one to be affordable as well. See more on the Nezumi website tomorrow, when the watch comes out.

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Union Glashütte Shrinks Down The Belisar Chronograph Moon Phase A Bit, But You’ll Still Know You’re Wearing It

The legendary German brand Union Glashütte is on quite a roll. After years of making very teutonic watches that have quite a presence on your wrist, they decided that they will keep making teutonic watches that have quite a presence on your wrist. While manufacturers are probing the small-watch market, many to very little success, Union Glashütte is steadfast in their dimensions. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t slimming down their watches. On the contrary, they just released a new Belisar Chronograph Moon Phase in a revised and smaller case.

The Belisar Chronograph Moon Phase was a chunker of a watch that measured 44mm wide 15.3mm thick. The new version is a bit smaller, but still large, at 42mm wide and 14.8mm thick. It comes with a brushed finish that has a couple of polished surfaces, including the rounded bezel that holds down the sapphire crystal. Despite shrining in size, it hasn’t lost its recognisable screwed case flanks that give the side of the case a bit of character. Water resistance is still 100 meters.

You can have the watch in one of three dial colors - black, white and the new, and perhaps best looking, grey. All three have a sloping inner bezel that houses the date ring, Arabic numerals at the cardinal points and a tri-compax setup of sub-dials. At 12 o’clock is the 30-minute chronograph counter with triangular apertures for day and month indications, at 9 o’clock are the running seconds and at 6 o’clock is the moon phase with a gold-coloured moon on a starry blue sky and a 12-hour chronograph counter. All the indices are applied and treated with Super-LumiNova. The hands are nickel-coloured for the hour, minutes, running seconds, and open-tip date hand and blue for the chrono hands and the 24-hour hand. That’s a hell of a lot of information to convey, but the watch doesn’t seem to be overcrowded. It could, however, be improved by the removal of the huge Union Glashütte logo at 3 o’clock, but that might be a personal preference.

Inside is the automatic calibre UNG-25.S1. It’s based on the legendary ETA 7751 chronograph, but heavily modified by Union Glashütte. Apart from adding the moon phase and pinter date functions, they also decorated the movement with a striped ball-bearing rotor adorned with a logo cut-out, perlage on the main plate and blued screws. You can expect a power reserve of 65 hours. The watch comes on either a leather strap on all three versions or a stainless steel bracelet with a double-fold fastener with two release push buttons which is available only on the grey version.

The Union Glashütte Belisar Chronograph Moon Phase is available now and priced at €3,600 on leather and €3,700 on the stainless steel bracelet. See more on the Union Glashütte website.

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Jaeger-LeCoultre Adds Three Watches To The Reverso One Precious Flowers Line: Birds of Paradise, Hibiscus Enamel And Hibiscus Diamonds

The Reverso is surely one of the most recognisable watches in all of watchmaking. Jaeger-LeCoultre has been making the iconic model since the early 1930s and the reversible nature of the watch - with one serving as a time teller and the other as a canvas for engravings and other interventions - made it a generational hit. But the reverse side of the Reverso wasn’t just made for engravings. It’s also there for JLC to unleash their Métiers Rares atelier on the watch with incredible uses of enamel, precious metals and stones. And since 2021, JLC has been putting out models in the Reverso One ‘Precious Flowers’ series. Now, they showed three new models in pink gold with incredible displays of enamelling, gold-leaf paillonnage and gem-setting, the Hibiscus Enamel, Hibiscus Diamonds and Birds of Paradise models.

All three watches feature the same characteristics, so let’s get them out of the way so we can talk about the amount of work that went into each one. They come in pink gold cases that measure 20mm wide and 40mm long, with a thickness of 9.09mm. These are all time-only pieces with only an hour and minute hand, powered by the manually-wound Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 846. Each comes on an alligator leather strap that matches the prevailing color you can find on the artwork. Each piece is limited to 10 examples.

Now, on to the artistry. Starting off with the Birds of Paradise, you get a new twist on traditional Grand Feu champlevé enamelling to create the geometric shape of the birds of paradise flower. First, the artist have to hollow out the outline of the design on the caseback and then they place tiny pieces of 24-carat gold leaf cut into exact shape and size of certain sections of the flower. Then the enameller begins the delicate process of applying the 19 different colours of enamel pigment, painting it to create nuances of tone. Up to nine layers can be applied before a precious stone setter comes in to snow-set diamonds for the background. Snow-setting uses stones of nine different sizes and the setter mustchoose and place the stones so that not even a millimetre of the metal surface remains. There’s about 331 diamonds for a total of 1.64 carats. This piece is priced at €119.000.

The Hibiscus Enamel sees almost the entire caseback being covered in enamel, including the convex case-sides. The flower require 12 colours of enamel, applied in nine layers and the same gold leaf process is applied here. The beautiful tones of blue and green enamel are enhanced by the sparkle of diamond-set gadroons and lugs – a total of approximately 157 diamonds for 1.25 carats. Priced at €108.000.

Lastly, there’s the Hibiscus Diamonds which unites the crafts of enamelling, paillonnage and diamond-setting. The blue flowers were created in Grand Feu champlevé enamel, the stamens of the flowers are highlighted with 24-carat gold leaf set beneath the enamel and, as on the Birds of Paradise watch, a background of snow-set diamonds creates the dynamic contrast. Together with the grain-set diamonds on the gadroons and lugs – a total of approximately 523 diamonds for 2.02 carats – the gem-setting represents 120 hours of work. Priced at €131.000. You can see more about these watches on the Jaeger-LeCoultre website.

🫳On hand

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A review of the Hanhart 417 ES 1954 Flyback Reverse Panda 39

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Peren Regia X is inspired by ancient European timekeeping history

The case is modest in size but sporty at 39mm wide, with a case thickness of 12.8mm. The lug-to-lug distance is also a modest 45.3mm, while the case is water-resistant to 200 meters with a screw-down crown. The case is produced from steel, with an interesting mix of sandblasting with polished angles and trim. This is slightly uncommon, as polishing is normally mixed with brushed surfacing. The case is also very nicely constructed, with a tall sloping uni-directional rotating bezel. The bezel insert is aluminum, and there are two styles to choose from: the simpler day/night-style Regia and the more instrumental-style Regia X. Over the dial is a flat, AR-coated sapphire crystal.

Read the whole review on A Blog To Watch

⏲️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

• The WSJ has some awesome reporting, but often behind a paywall. Thankfully, this one is here for free. Because you won’t find a better lede than this all week: Switzerland agreed to buy F-35 jet fighters to park on a remote runway. Then the U.S. zeroed in on the Wangs, who owned the rustic hotel next door. This is the mystery in the Alps: a Chinese family, a Swiss inn and the world’s most expensive weapon

• One of the greatest rappers of our time in conversation with one of the most lauded culture writers alive. This is André 3000 and Hanif Abdurraqib on freedom, fame, flutes, and the burning question: ‘You gonna put some beats on that shit?’

• A decade after her son committed a massacre, Chin Rodger is on a quest to help prevent the next tragedy. These are the lessons from a mass shooter’s mother.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

This is an incredible crossover video. Sean and Marley are two pretty awesome dudes with Down’s syndrome who gained quite a bit of popularity online. Now they teamed up on a video with the comedian Theo Von in what might be the most subversive comedy video currently on the internet. Pure gold.

💵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 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.

• 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