Oris Releases Shimmering Green Aquis Dat Watt Limited Edition II, New Nomos Tangente Made With Revolution Is Fantastic, An Incredible Glow-In-The-Dark Daytona And New Watches From Wempe and Hanhart

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. There’s some interesting releases today, but that story about the Omega x33 fixed in the International Space Station just warms the heart.

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In this issue:

• Oris Releases Shimmering Green Aquis Dat Watt Limited Edition II with Tungsten Bezel and Noble Mission

• The New Nomos Tangente neomatik 41 Update ‘Resilience’ Made With Revolution Might Be The Best Variant Yet

• Wempe Adds a Trio of New Watches To Their Diver Iron Walker Collection

• Hanhart Diversifies From Just Fliegers And Introduces The Pioneer Silva, A Compact And Simple Everyday Watch

• This Daytona Made For Adam Levine By Artisans De Genève Looks Incredible In The Dark, But You Won’t Get One

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 8 seconds

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👂What’s new

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Oris Releases Shimmering Green Aquis Dat Watt Limited Edition II with Tungsten Bezel and Noble Mission

Back in 2021, Oris released one of their many limited-edition watches that promote awareness of various environmental conservation efforts around the globe. It was the very attractive Dat Watt Limited Edition, made in partnership with the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat and promoting sustainability in the Wadden Sea area. Also known as Dat Watt, the Wadden Sea is a UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of the world’s largest unbroken intertidal flats system, salt marshes and areas of conservation importance located along the north of Europe spanning from Denmark to the Netherlands.

Now, Oris is announcing the second instalment in this collaboration, the Dat Watt Limited Edition II. At its core, this is a diving watch that’s designed for use by conservationists working in aquatic areas. As such there are certain adaptations that have been made compared to the standard Aquis that have more of a focus on practicality and tool watch utility. Being a tool watch, it makes sense that it’s quite large at 43.5mm and has a water resistance of 300 meters.

To be an effective tool watch, it has to be tough. So, the case is made out of steel, but the bezel insert is made out of tungsten, a relatively uncommon material in watches, but one that is exceptionally resistant to scratches and dings. It also happens to have a nice dark grey colour.

The previous Dat Watt had a very unique dial. It displayed the lunar cycle and tidal range in the Northern Hemisphere to help professional divers keep track of the tides. It used a central white pointer hand that once aligned with the correct day in the 29.5-day lunar cycle, showed the corresponding tidal range via the white outline on the dial. The same hand indicated the waxing and waning of the moon, and it all looked very unique.

The Dat Watt II uses the entire dial to display the date of the month. It has an internal ring with a rotating indicator that circumnavigates the central hands, and Oris says this helps with legibility underwater as the hour markers don’t have to be disrupted by a date window. There’s also a running seconds counter at 9 o’clock, meaning that the main two hands are free to be used while diving. The dial is also a fantastic shimmering green color, a reference to the characteristic colour of the water in the Dat Watt salt marshes.

Despite Oris having an in-house Calibre 400, this watch is powered by the Oris 743 automatic movement with 38-hour power reserve, which is based on the Sellita SW 220-1. It also comes on a steel bracelet and a teal rubber strap.

This will also be a limited edition, with only 2009 being made. This is a reference to the year with the Wadden Sea became a UNESCO site. The watch is priced at $3,200. While not a horrible price - in fact, it’s actually a lot of watch for the money - it would have been an amazing deal if only they used the Calibre 400. See more on the Oris website.

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The New Nomos Tangente neomatik 41 Update ‘Resilience’ Made With Revolution Might Be The Best Variant Yet 

We all know why we love Nomos. It’s their super simple, yet highly unique, design that caught our eye, and it’s their incredible use of color that has us coming back. Be it the stark contrasts of the baby blue and blazing orange of the new summer inspired Ahoi Neomatik 38 Date, or the deep pink dial of the Club Campus, it’s undeniable that the folks at Nomos are experts at using color. So it means a lot when one of the best uses of color does not come from them alone, but from a collaboration - the Tangente neomatik 41 Update, made in collaboration with the international watch magazine Revolution, and inspired by the Fibonacci sequence of numbers is an absolutely stunning watch.

The watch features minute markers corresponding to the first ten numbers of the sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55. Named after the mathematician who discovered them in the 13th century, Fibonacci numbers represent a kind of natural growth sequence: the spiral arrangement of the scales of pine cones, the seeds which emerge under sunflower florets or the growth rings of a snail shell.

The Tangente neomatik 41 Update – Revolution watch displays the hour, minute, second, and date through a harmoniously proportioned dial. It is powered by the patented NOMOS ring date and features the DUW 6101 caliber, a triple-patented engineering marvel.

While the Tangete neomatic originally comes in white, this special model for Revolution has a midnight blue dial with a rhodium plated seconds subdial and patented date display with Yves Klein blue indicator. It comes on a dark gray textile strap.

The watch is, unfortunately, limited to just 55 pieces (which aligns with the highest Fibonacci number that fits on a 60-minute dial) and the watch will go on sale on August 16th. You can learn more from the Revolution website, where it will be sold.

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Wempe Adds a Trio of New Watches To Their Diver Iron Walker Collection

A lot of people know Wempe. Not as many people know that Wempe has been making watches for the past 20 years. One might say that it’s a bit cynical, maybe even low brow, for a retailer to make watches as if they were making a brand-name cereal that, but people who have had a chance to handle these watches say these are high-quality pieces. It’s to be expected since they are made in the legendary Glashütte in Germany. Now the brand has released three new dive models in their Iron Walker collection and they might be an interesting option if you are in the market.

First up in the new Iron Walker collection is the Diver. It’s a robust watch at 42mm, but it doesn’t look too bulky in photos. It also serves as the basis for all three new watches. It’s no slouch when it comes to performance, since it fulfills all stringent criteria of the ISO and DIN standards for diver’s watches. It’s water-resistant to 300 meters, features a center seconds hand and an internal rotating bezel, while the hands and hour markers are coated in Super-Luminova. The watch is powered by self-winding caliber SW300-1a and comes in two colors - blue and black - with a color coded rubber strap.

Next up in the Iron Walker collection is Tide. Same case, similar look, it’s also certified to 300 meters. The movement inside is the ETA 2892-A2 automatic, which fulfils all strict ISO standards for German chronometer certification. It has a center seconds hand and date display, while the internal rotating bezel is marked in blue hashes to keep easier track of the tides.

Last, the Iron Walker GMT completes the series with its bright profile and everyday functionality. Like Tide and Diver, the GMT is a 42-mm stainless steel watch. This watch is equipped with an internal adjustable 24-hour bezel to quickly display a second time zone and comes in either orange-and-black or silver-and-black. The GMT is powered by a SW330-2 movement with an independently set 24 hour hand, which provides roughly 42-hours of power and is water-resistant for up to 10 bars.

All three of these watches are now available on Wempe’s website with prices starting at $4,150.

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Hanhart Diversifies From Just Fliegers And Introduces The Pioneer Silva, A Compact And Simple Everyday Watch

The release of the new Hanhart Pioneer Silva must have been the most reported on release I have seen in some months. There were no notes of ecstasy for the release, but pretty much every relevant media source covered it the second it was announced. While I don’t particularly like the watch, it’s very much clear why the Silva is such a big deal for Hanhart. You see, the German watch brand with Swiss roots, has been producing Flieger chronographs and stopwatches since 1938. The brand has almost exclusively focused on pilot watches, with the 2011-launcher Pioneer collection focusing on vintage-inspired pieces, so a tool watch that has nothing to do with pilot’s watches is a big deal for them!

The latest models of the Pioneer collection come with compact 38.5mm cases and the no-frills design without the aeronautical link. They are a pretty straightforward three-hander, that borrow certain design features from a model in its museum, reinterpreted in a more modern, Spartan spirit and accompanied by an affordable price.

While the Pioneer collection is associated with reissues of the legendary 417 ES chronograph produced for the German Armed Forces, the collection is also home to simpler, three-hand models like the Pioneer One. The name of the two new references, Silva (Latin for forest), alludes to the origins of Hanhart’s manufacture in the Black Forest, Germany. Using the Kal 36/39 as a template, the new Pioneer Silva watches have compact old-school dimensions.

The polished 50m water-resistant stainless steel case has a thickness of 10mm and a lug-to-lug measurement of 44mm. Like other models, the crown bears the H of the Hanhart logo. A sapphire crystal on both sides protects both the dial and movement, and the top crystal is framed by a slim polished bezel. The dial, available in black or white, is as basic as they come. Punctuating the Arabic numerals at 12, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 o’clock are six applied dots. A bold minutes track, narrow pencil-style hands and the brand’s historical logo complete the picture.

The watch is powered by the simple but affordable Sellita SW 200 automatic which has a 38h power reserve and a customised black rotor. The two new Pioneer Silva models can be ordered with a black ox leather strap with Alcantara lining and a pin buckle or a stainless steel Milanese mesh bracelet.

The watches will retail for EUR 890, which is not a bad deal if you like the look. See more on the Hanhart website.

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This Daytona Made For Adam Levine By Artisans De Genève Looks Incredible In The Dark, But You Won’t Get One

I don’t think Adam Levine was particularly upset by Perezscope’s Instagram post on his Daytona from the Hodinkee Talking watches episode. In the post, the famous watch sleuth Jose Pereztroika dismantles Levine’s Rolex Daytona as being a frankenwatch that uses a fake bezel, fake pushers and a likely relumed dial. While embarrassing, Levine was likely distracted with his new watch, which was also features in the video, a bespoke Neon Daytona made by Artisans de Genève that glows in the dark like no other.

The Swiss atelier Artisans de Genève is famous for their incredible transformations of Rolex Daytona models and the one they did for Levine might be their most extreme transformation so far. A lot of work has been done to it. It’s partially skeletonized, so you can see the 4130 caliber through the subdials. Most of the unusual sapphire dial is off-white and slathered with lume, while the registers and minute track are clear crystal. Interestingly, the dial is even held in place by three very visible screws. The Neon is the only Daytona out there with a white sapphire bezel insert, but that’s because the entire bezel glows in the dark with an equally 80s glow as the dial.

This will for sure be a very polarizing watch. I for one, love the look of it in the dark. On the other hand, when the lights are on, I find it to look horrible. However, when you have pretty much every other relevant Daytona (frankensteined or not), I completely understand why you would get something like this. Neither Artisans de Genève nor Levine have said how much this watch costs, but keep in mind that just a regular 116508 is a $40k+ watch, without any modifications. You can see more details on how the watch was built on the Artisans de Genève website.

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Astronaut Don Pettit Casually Becomes Coolest Watchmaker Outside This World

Reddit, like all the other social networks, is full of stuff the majority of people will not see. Folks like showing off their collections, sharing their thoughts. Even this newsletter, from time to time, gets some traction on r/Watches subreddit when there’s something interesting to report on. But then, there are people like Don Pettit who goes by the username u/astro_pettit who makes one post and goes down in history as THE coolest post Reddit has seen.

On Friday, astronaut Pettit posted a simple three picture post titled: [OMEGA] Repairing my watch aboard the International Space Station. Not much more needs to be said. Pictured was the NASA issued Omega X33 taken completely apart in zero gravity, with duct tape holding the case down to a work surface and a bunch of screws right next to it, not being held down at all. I hate to think what happens when if you lose one of them in the precarious environment of the ISS.

AS Pettit become the coolest watchmaker outside of this world, it turned out that he actually did this a couple of years ago and was not, in fact, a new thing. It was done during a 2002/2003 mission, but is still incredibly cool and had to be shared here. He even took a video of the repair, so make sure to check that out.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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Hands on with the Hamilton Khaki Aviation Converter Auto Chrono

2/

A review of the Zenith Defy Skyline in black ceramic

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Monta Goes Green To Say Farewell To The Triumph

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Vesuviate Attivo Chrono is a dapper, square-cased, three-hand tool watch

The Attivo-Chrono’s stainless steel case is similar to that of the three-hand. It measures 39mm wide and just over 42mm long. This is slightly larger than a TAG Heuer Monaco, so it is squarely in the realm of the sports watch. It is also about 14mm thick. That is a 3mm increase from the original Attivo and one one necessitated by the fatter movement. Still, that bulk has plenty of surface area over which to spread, so it was not really apparent. I had no hesitation wearing the Attivo-Chrono on my 6.75″ wrist and found that it even slipped under a buttoned shirt cuff without fuss. This is a good thing because it’s a pretty watch. The polished and brushed surfaces are well executed and serve to it dress up nicely.

⏲️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

• Having only lived in New York in the US, I’m often shocked by stuff you would find outside of the big city. For example, I find it pretty barbaric that it’s quite normal in parking lots to just empty your shopping cart into your car and leave the cart there for others to crash into. Are you guys ok? Thankfully, you have Sebastian Davis, who’s built an empire of weaponized righteousness on YouTube based on a simple idea: Putting your shopping cart back is a test of your character. That guy has an amazing sense of humour and might civilise thousands of people.

• Haven’t had the chance to read this yet, but sounds amazing. Locals in Edmonton, North London knew Boombox as the hip-hop shop with a recording studio in the back. It was also part of a Met Police sting codenamed Operation Peyzac.

• Let’s end on a bizzare note today. Meet an amazing man who has dedicated his entire adult life to stone skipping, sacrificing everything to produce world-record throws that defy the laws of physics. To hear him tell it, he has no choice.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

A one watch collection is possible. I know I could pull it off if I wanted, as there’s truly only one important watch I own. Could you do it?

💵Pre-loved precision

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