Oris Knocks It Out Of The Park With New LE Big Crown Pointer, Bell & Ross BR 05 Looks Great In Green, This Mühle-Glashütte Is The Actual Best Summer Watch Of The Year And New Watches From Fears And Avoirdupuis

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. The last email you got from me had the subject “petak”. Petak means Friday in Croatian. And boy, was it a petak for me. I’ll try to do something so that these glitches don’t happen again.

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In this issue:

• New Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Hank Aaron Limited Edition Is A Great Looking Honor To The Legendary Baseball Player

• Bell & Ross Keeps Expanding Their BR 05 Collection With Fantastic Colors, This Time It’s A Green Chronograph

• Please, Ignore The Other Contenders For The Best Summer Watch Of The Year, This Mühle-Glashütte 29er Big Might Be The Winner

• Fears Introduces New Brunswick Boutique Editions In Mallard Green

• Avoirdupois Is Putting A Lot Of Focus On Being Made In Mahnattan, But The More Interesting Thing Are The Looks Of The Force Majeure

Today’s reading time: 8 minutes and 51 second

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👂What’s new

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New Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Hank Aaron Limited Edition Is A Great Looking Honor To The Legendary Baseball Player

It took me years of watching the NFL to finally get into the game of football and realize that it is one of the best sports in the world. Unfortunately, even with all the time in the universe, I couldn’t understand baseball. Despite not knowing anything about the sport, I could probably name more famous baseball players than any other sports. They carry so much star power. In 2020, Oris released the Big Crown Pointer Date Roberto Clemente Limited Edition – a tribute to the great baseball player and humanitarian. Now, they’re releasing another limited edition dedicated to another legendary player - the Big Crown Pointer Date dedicated to Hank Aaron, who died in early 2021.

This watch is very similar to the Clemente watch with its recognizable dial layout of the Oris Big Crown collection generally, but with a distinct colorway change. The Clemente was themed in yellow and black which plays on the color scheme of the Pittsburgh Pirates where he played his whole careers. This version takes inspiration from Aaron’s Atlanta Braves color scheme of blue and red. The dial is white, while the numerals have a vintage look to them with red and blue surrounds. The tip of the pointer date hand is a deep red.

For those unfamiliar with the 40mm Big Crown Pointer Date model entirely, it is one of the core pieces in the broader Oris collection with distinct historical callbacks to early-century Oris tool watches. This vintage appeal can be seen from the style of the numerals to the cathedral-style hands to the pointer date function generally.

The watch comes fitted either on a blue leather strap or a NATO-style blue and red strap in a commemorative box. Inside the watch is Oris’ caliber 754 with 38 hours of power reserve. While the Clemente was limited to to 3,000 pieces in honor of his 3,000 career hits, this new Hank Aaron model is limited 2,297 which honors his 2,297 career runs batted in. I have no idea what “runs batted in” is 😄 

The Big Crown Pointer Date Hank Aaron is priced at $2,500 and is available for purchase now. While no details were given on what percentage of the proceeds will be donated, Oris says this watch “supports the work of the Chasing the Dream Foundation”. That’s the foundation Aaron and his wife founded, which awarded millions of dollars in scholarships to youth with limited opportunities. As of today is has helped 800 kids reach higher education opportunities, leading to their careers as athletes, musicians, doctors, scientists and educators.

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Bell & Ross Keeps Expanding Their BR 05 Collection With Fantastic Colors, This Time It’s A Green Chronograph

The whole circle in a square, aviation inspired, philosophy that Bell & Ross is pushing could have become a bit stale if they did not branch out into other areas. I’m not saying that the BR 05 collection, launched in 2019, is revolutionary. It still follows the recognizable shape B&R is known for, but now with a less plane-instrument and a more streetwear oriented style. Bell & Ross is, after all, headquartered in Paris, the capital of streetwear, so it’s no wonder this style rubbed off on them.

Now, Bell & Ross is introducing a new version of the BR 05 chronograph, the Chrono Green Steel. The base remains the classic design of B&R, with a squarish case that measures 42mm wide and 14.2mm thick, secured by 4 functional screws and a round aperture for the dial in the middle. It has nicely defined surfaces either satin-brushed or polished. The screw down crown ensures a 100m water resistance.

Already available in black or dark blue, white (limited edition) or in a version paying tribute to the partnership with Alpine F1 Team, the new green dial seems to be the same shade as that used on the time-only bronze BR 05. It has a deep emerald color and a sunray-brushed effect, with subdials that are shaped like the case of the watch. Hands and markers are polished metal and filled with white luminous material, and the inner flange features a 60-minute track.

There’s also a new movement in the watch. Compared to previous BR 05 Chonos, which were powered by the BR-CAL.301, based on the ETA 2894-2, this new watch gets the calibre BR-CAL.326, which is based on the Sellita SW510, which is an evolution of the Valjoux 7753 architecture. Like other Bell & Ross watches it can be purchased on either an integrated steel bracelet or a textured green rubber strap.

You can get the BR 05 Chrono Green Steel right now, priced at $6,700 for the version on the bracelet or $6,200 on the rubber strap.

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Please, Ignore The Other Contenders For The Best Summer Watch Of The Year, This Mühle-Glashütte 29er Big Might Be The Winner

The list of best summer watches has been long this year. It’s a wild mix of materials, bright colors and a range of prices. Major brands as well as indie and microbrands have had their contenders. But despite the fact that the summer is not only strongly underway, but also almost over, there are still interesting new watches that are going after the title. Cristopher Ward, for one, will be releasing two new shades of the Sealander, and the teaser looks very summery.

But way out of left field is a brand that might just rule them all - Mühle-Glashütte. They just updated their 29er Big with two new very aquatic colors. The name 29er is a reference to a particular class of sailing boat, a two-person skiff that’s used in junior racing. So, can it get more summer appropriate?

This is a 42.4mm wide case that has a very sporty, very blocky looks with pronounced straight lugs that surprisingly broad and flat with angled ends. Completing the design are the sapphire crystal, large crown guards and combination of brushed and polished finishing across the metal surfaces.

The new dials are very light an airy. The first has a sand colour with a darker blue flange around the periphery paired with steel applied indices, steel hour and minute hands and a red seconds hand. The second is the pale blue dial and petrol blue flange, both of which really contrast to the same red seconds hand and make it stand out.

Inside is the trusty and well known Sellita SW 200-1 automatic movement, but slightly modified by Mühle-Glashütte with their branded rotor and an upgraded woodpecker neck regulator that helps to improve the accuracy and reliability to -0/+8 seconds per day. It also has a very reasonable 41-hour power reserve. Both versions can be had on a three-link steel bracelet, but look so much better on the canvas straps that come in either a sand or blue color.

Pricing is, not great. but also not horrible. Watches that come with the SW 200-1 can be found as low as EUR 500-600, but as expensive as several thousand dollars. The Mühle-Glashütte 29er Big will set you back EUR 1,750 for the bracelet version and an even better EUR 1,600 for the canvas. Check out more on their website.

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Fears Introduces New Brunswick Boutique Editions In Mallard Green

British watchmaking was huge at one point. From large companies to independent watchmaker, this the pride of the country. in 1800, Britain made more than half of all the watches in the world. However, the main issue of the industry was the hand-made nature of English watches. The Swiss and the Americans were much quicker and more successful in adopting mass production techniques. Mass manufactured watches were soon able to compete directly with hand-made ones, and eventually surpass them in performance despite only costing a fraction of the price. As a result the watchmaking industry in Britain collapsed.

In the past decade, a number of brands have popped up, attempting to bring back the greatness to British watchmaking. Among them is Fears, one of the biggest success stories of the industry. The brand is now coming up to their one-year anniversary of their flagship showroom in Bristol, their hometown, and to mark this anniversary they are launching a pair of Fears Brunswick Boutique Editions that are exclusively available from the showroom and Fears Owners’ Club.

There are two sizes to choose from - the Brunswick 38mm and Brunswick 40mm. The Brunswick 38mm has a stainless steel case in a cushion shape measuring 38mm x 38mm that comes on an Alcantara strap and houses the top-grade ETA 7001 manual movement with a 40-hour power reserve. The Brunswick 40mm has the same case only 40mm wide, comes on a five-link steel bracelet and houses the ETA 2824-2 automatic with a 40-hour power reserve.

That’s all traditional fare. What’s different are the dials, painted in a Mallard Green color, inspired by the green-blue colour of a mallard drake duck’s head, one of the most prevalent birds in the British countryside. The Brunswick 38mm features sunray brushed finishing across both the main dial and small seconds subdial. The Brunswick 40mm also features a sunburst pattern but it has a much more matte appearance. The 40mm also doesn’t have a subdial and instead uses a central hours, minutes and seconds hands and a raised disc for the hour scale.

While they are not limited editions, the only way to get them will be through the Fears Bristol Showroom and the online Fears Owners’ Club. The Fears Boutique Editions of the Brunswick 38mm and 40mm are priced at £3,350 and £3,750 incl. VAT, the same as the regular Brunswick watches.

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Avoirdupois Is Putting A Lot Of Focus On Being Made In Mahnattan, But The More Interesting Thing Are The Looks Of The Force Majeure

There seems to be a rather exhausting debate going on in the U.S. about who makes watches in the United States and can claim to do so. The U.S., unlike Switzerland, has very strict rules about what can be called a “Made in America” watch and requires watchmakers to make all, or virtually all, components of the watch in the U.S. This was a problem for a long time as there was no way to make some things in the U.S., like the hairspring, but recently, brands started claiming in the media that they were, in fact, the only ones that make their watches in the U.S.

The fact is, not very many people care. It’s nice to see the U.S. watch industry grow again, but this whole thing about whether 99.98% or 99.99% of the watch was made in the U.S. is just exhausting. Now, another brand has joined this fray - Avoirdupois claims their Force Majeure watch was designed and manufactured in Manhattan, New York City with an in-house movement comprised solely of domestic parts all the way down to the hairspring.

I won’t blame you if you haven’t heard of Avoirdupois. Neither have I. So, naturally, I checked out their website. The Force Majeure is their first watch. Up until now they have been making furniture and lamps. Absolutely stunning furniture and lamps, but still - a weird background for a new watch brand, if they even plan on becoming a full time watch brand. What will help them, however, is the fact that they make all of their furniture in house. They obviously know how to make stuff.

The Avoirdupois Force Majeure is an integrated stainless-steel watch with dimensions that much more mature watchmakers can’t get - 38.5mm wide, 48.5mm lug-to-lug and a pretty incredible 5.95mm thick. You will have a hard time confusing this watch with something else - it’s shape, it’s dial, it’s bracelet, even the look through the backside sapphire crystal is unique. It looks to have a radially brushed brushed case and bezel with accents of mirror-polishing on the edges. It has an interesting geometry as well, with a conical bezel that then steps down to a cushion-meets-octagonal form that then seamlessly flows into its ridged integrated bracelet. The glossy black dial uses screws to indicate hours. Cool.

They call their movement the AVDP.130.LB and it’s a micro-rotor automatic. According to them, this is the “first contemporary in-house movement from the USA” and is made of “zero Swiss or foreign components and all components of the Force Majeure are of domestic origin – including the hairspring.” Again, impressive. But do we really care? The calibre offers 60 hours of power reserve, has a distinct 17,280 vph beat rate, and a 22K gold micro-rotor.

The watch will be limited to 550 pieces. This limited nature, completely in-house production and limitation of having everything made in the U.S. comes at a price. $12,950. It could have been much higher, as many in-house indie manufacturers command higher prices, but also know that this watch has not been seen by anyone, it’s a made by a first time watchmaker, we don’t know anything about the performance of the movement or the warranty/how it will be serviced. Interesting. See more on the Avoirdupois website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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Hands on with the Mido Ocean Star Tribute Special Edition with a blue gradient dial

2/

The New Baltic HMS 003 & Bicompax 003 are Smaller but Bolder

3/

A review of the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Minute Rattrapante

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The March LA.B Mansart Automatic is a statement watch without ostentation

The March LA.B Mansart Automatic’s minimalist dial may prove to be its most divisive component. The polished stick hands and matching applied indices are elementally simple, and without minutes scales or an abundance of dial text, the dial surface itself is left to do much of the visual heavy lifting. The matte forest green dial is attractive enough on its own, but a sense of texture (a sunburst finish, for example) would likely elevate the entire package. Likewise, the 3 o’clock date is likely to divide community opinions. While it is nicely framed, the date wheel itself is rendered in black rather than dial-matching green.

⏲️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 January 6th Capital invasion was an all around shitshow, for lack of a better word. Now, there are many reasons why people found themselves there. Some out of malice, some because they were naive. But what happens to a family that five of its members end up indicted for participating in the insurrection. This is their untold and very crazy story.

• Speaking of weird stories, Lara Love Hardin was a felon, identity thief and former heroin addict who turned her background as a pet cemetery owner into a lucrative publishing career.

• And speaking of insurections, Ethan Melzer plotted to attack his platoon with strangers online. But he might have been the only conspirator who was real. Turns out, he was majorly catfished.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

I’m not posting this video because it’s our favorite Teddy. It’s the Mido. I’ve been looking at this watch for a couple of weeks now. I can’t get it out of my head. So you’ll have to suffer with me.

💵Pre-loved precision

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• 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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