Panerai Releases Wild Submersible With A Mechanically Powered Lume; Longines Updates Conquest; Maurice Lacroix’s Summer Aikon; CW’s Blue On Bronze; A Cool Salmon Nivada; Two Classy De Bethunes

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I love it when a watch can really drop your jaw. And that Panerai did exactly that, it’s absolutley incredible. Also, this entire issue was written on an iPad on my lap, so appologies for any typos.

In this issue:

• Panerai Releases Wild Self-Illuminating Submersible Elux PAM01800 With A Mechanically Powered LED Backlight

• Longines Updates The Entire Conquest Line With New Color Combos And Brand New 30 and 38mm Sizes

• Maurice Lacroix Adds Some Very Nice Summer Colors To The Sporty Aikon Quartz Collection

• Christopher Ward Adds A Deep Blue Ombre Dial To The Bronze C60 Pro 300

• The Very Cool Nivada Grenchen Chronoking Gets A Shiny Salmon Dial

• De Bethune Adds Two New Watches, One In Royal Blue And The Other In Chocolate Brown To Its DB Eight Lineup

Today’s reading time: 11 minutes and 36 seconds

👂What’s new

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Panerai Releases Wild Self-Illuminating Submersible Elux PAM01800 With A Mechanically Powered LED Backlight

I can’t remember the last time an innovation in the watch world truly dropped my jaw. Sure the IWC Eternal Calendar that will show a correct moonophase for the next 45 million years is pretty bonkers. The 1.7mm thin Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra 104081 will play with your mind. And it’s always fun to see what kind of advancement in materials Richard Mille can come up with. But what Panerai, a brand already known for pushing the limits of materials and movements, has shown on Saturday really is something special. Developed by the brand’s Laboratorio di Idee (LAB-ID), the Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID PAM01800 uses mechanical power that runs all mechanical watches to power a microgenerator that then powers a lume function. It’s truly incredible.

Just to get the not-so-exciting part out of the way first, let’s start with the case. It’s positively huge at 49mm across and is of an unknown, but surely substantial thickness. But you can’t blame them for having to make it large, as the case has to house a 8 x 2.3 mm microgenerator that turns mechanical power into electricity. The case is made out of a stunning blue Ti-Ceramitech, Panerai’s version of a ceramic coated titanium. There’s two more incredibly fascinating things with the case. First, there’s a lumed pip on the oversized bezel that lights up in the same way as the rest of the lume, at the press of the button and powered by mechanical energy. But the bezel still freely rotates. This is an incredible trick they pulled off. And second, despite all of this complexity, they still have 500 meters of water resistance.

Now, on to more interesting things, the crazy lume. This entire watch is the product of a thought experiment on how to make better and longer lasting lume underwater. Also, it’s practical when you wake up in the middle of the night because even the best lume fades by then. And the solution to this, apart from turning mechanical power into electrical lies in Elux, a material that becomes luminescent when a current is passed through it developed in the 60s for use in instrument panels on ships to offer radiation-free forms of lume. And it was Panerai that produced Elux instruments for the Italian navy in the past.

Of course, the idea of turning mechanical power into electricity isn’t new. It happens in your car every day. And also, De Bethune and HYT already offered solutions very similar to what Panerai is doing. But while De Bethune and HYT lumed only the static parts of the watch, Panerai does that and the moving hands and power reserve. Also, on the two watches before, the light would switch off after a few seconds. On the Panerai when you flip the switch at 8 o’clock the power stays on as long as the movement has power, which is about 30 minutes. Crazy.

With no batteries or active electronics, all of this is achieved via a microgenerator integrated into the traditional clockwork. It incorporates custom-made coils, magnets and a stator, and to generate the lighting, a rotor spins at 80 revolutions per second to produce a 240 Hz electrical signal. All of this is possible thanks to the P.90190/EL calibre which has an incredible six separate barrels. Four of them are dedicated to the 30-minute power light function and the other two are used for the normal time keeping functions, which give you a 72-hour power reserve. If it matters, the watch comes on a blue rubber strap with a titanium buckle.

The Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID PAM01800 is limited to 150 pieces, with 50 being made every year for the next three years and it’s priced at CHF92,800. A lot of money, but check out this video of the watch in action and you’ll see why it’s so expensive. You can see more on the Panerai website.

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Longines Updates The Entire Conquest Line With New Color Combos And Brand New 30 and 38mm Sizes

If you were forced to chose just one watch brand to wear for the rest of your life, you could pick a much worse one than Longines. Because if you do choose Longines, you’ll be pretty much covered for any genre of watch you might need. A diver? Longines makes one of the best out there. There’s more GMTs than you can count. Exquisite dress watches, or tough GADA pieces. And pretty much at the core of all of those watches is the Longines Conquest, a collection that Longines started back in the 1950s. This sporty, elegant, all around watch just got a bunch new colors at sizes that include 30, 34, 38 and 42mm. This lineup is significant because the Conquest line got a huge update last year, with 34, 41 and 42mm. Now, Longines is introducing a new 30mm for women and a unisex version that measures 38mm and will likely be a blockbuster for the brand. But let’s go through them in order.

This means that we start with the new and smallest collection in the Conquest line, the 30mm. Sure, this is marketed as a women’s watch, but just look at them and tell me these are not unisex watches. I assume this watch will be particularly popular among women who don’t want what the watch companies ideal “women’s watch” is. Sure, here are two mother-of-pearl dial variants with diamonds as hour markers and an option for a diamond-set bezel, but the sunburst dials in olive green, royal blue, and silver with rose gold indices work on pretty much any wrist. Water resistance is 100 meters and inside is the calibre L592.5 which beats at 28,800vph and has a 45 hour power reserve. Prices start at €2,040.

As far as the 34mm version is concerned, most of the changes come in the form of colors. Sure, there’s a new two-tone edition that gets a steel case and a rose gold cap on the bezel and a rose gold crown, but there’s also a bunch of new dials. New are the pastel blue, pink and pastel green dials, while the two-tone versions come with silver, green, blue or purple dials. All of them are powered by the calibre L888.5 with a 72h power reserve. Price is €2,150 on rubber and €2,300 on the steel for plain versions, and €3,200 on rubber and €3,350 on the bracelet for the two-tone version.

Then we get the brand new 38mm version, which is essentially a shrunk down version of the 41mm, encroaching into the perfect GADA territory. The stainless steel case measures 38mm wide, 10.9mm thick and is as classic as it gets. Water resistance is 100 meters and the watches are powered by the same calibre L888.5 with a 72h power reserve. You van have it with five sunray brushed dials - silver, black, blue, green and champagne, making it work for all genders. All of them come on a steel bracelet with a triple-safety folding clasp. Price is set at €2,300.

And last, we have an update to the 42mm Conquest Chronograph, which now comes with new panda versions. The new colors are either a matte silver dial with green or blue sub-dials and accents or a gold dial with black subdials. The watches are powered by the calibre L898.5 based on the ETA 2892 which has a 59 hour power reserve. You can get the watch on a stainless steel bracelet or a rubber strap that matches the sub-dials. Priced at €4,200. See more about all of these watches on the Longines website.

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Maurice Lacroix Adds Some Very Nice Summer Colors To The Sporty Aikon Quartz Collection

While they do often release a couple of watches in the non-summer seasons, often matching the season in color (brown dial and strap in the fall), it seems that summer is the perfect season for Maurice Lacroix. Two weeks ago they introduced the pretty nifty Pontos S Diver in a black DLC or bronze case, perfect for the summer. Now, they have something a bit less fussy, the Aikon Quartz Colors collection, which is exactly what it sounds like - their sporty Aikon model equipped with a quartz movement and some Miami-summer colors.

The new Aikons come in two wildly different sizes - 35mm and 40mm. It might not sound like that much of a difference, but just look at the details for a second and these two look like two completely different watches. The 35mm version comes in a stainless steel case that comes with either a Sunset Pink or Deep Sky Blue dial, paired with diamond-set indexes. The 40mm version comes with the Deep Sky Blue dial, but lacks the diamond indexes. All three versions have a date window at 3 o’clock.

All three watches are also powered by a quartz movement, but ML doesn’t reveal any details about what the movement is. All three come on a 5-row stainless steel bracelet that’s well known from other Aikon models.

These are regular additions to the Maurice Lacroix lineup and you can get the 40mm version for $1,200 and the 35mm for $1,350. See more on the Maurice Lacroix website.

 4/

Christopher Ward Adds A Deep Blue Ombre Dial To The Bronze C60 Pro 300

People online can be very critical of new releases. Pretty much every incremental update will be met with skepticism, criticism and harsh words, but for no real reason other than the release not being 100% what they wanted that particular version to be. Christopher Ward has been on the receiving end of such criticism, with people often poking at them for the brand releasing just incremental updates to their watches. So CW decided to poke back a bit and announced their latest release, a new variant in the popular Trident Bronze collection - C60 Pro 300 Bronze with a Blue Ombré dial - with the title: “another dull watch from us.” This is just as much a reference to the slightly dull finish of the bronze, as it is self-referential to their methodical release of new colorways.

This is a very familiar watch, as Christopher Ward has already released a bronze version of the C60 Trident Pro 300, one with an ombre brown dial This is a case that measures 42mm wide, 11.5mm thick and has a 49.3mm lug-to-lug. Surrunding the domed sapphire crystal is a bronze and highly serrated bezel with a blue ceramic insert that has a 60 minute timing scale. The crown screws down and the caseback is solid, helping with the 300 meter water resistance.

According to Christopher Ward, they use an interesting process to achieve the deep blue color on the dial. They spin the dials at a high rate when applying the blue paint and the centrifugal force pushes the paint evenly away from the center, leaving it with a lighter center and a darker outside. Once this is done, they seal the dial with clear lacquer and apply bronze indexes and hands.

Inside is the very familiar and well known Sellita SW200-1 which is COSC certified here. This means that you get accuracy of +4/-6 seconds a day. Other than that, you still get the 28,800 vph and has a power reserve of 38 hours. The movement is decorated with a Colimaçoné finish, and the rotor is engraved with Christopher Ward’s twin-flag logo. The watch comes on either a distressed leather strap or a

, you’ll find a Sellita SW200-1, which is COSC-certified (+4/-6 seconds a day) and visible through a display caseback. The 4Hz movement also offers a 38-hour power reserve. The movement is decorated with a Colimaçoné finish, and the rotor is engraved with Christopher Ward’s twin-flag logo.

The new C60 Pro 300 Bronze Blue Ombré is not a limited edition and it’s priced at $1,290 on rubber and $1,300 on leather. See more on the Christopher Ward website.

5/

The Very Cool Nivada Grenchen Chronoking Gets A Shiny Salmon Dial

There’s this Swiss dial maker based in La Chaux-de-Fonds called Jean Singer which has had their say in some of the most amazing dials ever made - the Sppedmaster Racing, Heuer Skipper or the legendary blue Universal Geneve Nina Rindt. They also made the dial for the Nivada Grenchen “Paul Newman” named so for its use of the same numeral as the ‘Paul Newman’ Rolex Daytona. A bit under a year ago, Nivada recreated that watch to great success, but now they’re building on the popularity of the Chronoking line that uses that dial and are releasing a vintage inspired salmon dial for the Chronoking Mecaquartz.

Made out of stainless steel, this Chronoking has amazing proportions - 38mm wide, 12.95mm thick and with a 46.5mm lug-to-lug, it will fit most wrists comfortably. On top is a double domed Sapphire Glass and the entire case gets polished and brushed surfaces. Water resistance is a pretty standard 100 meters.

The new update comes in the form of a salmon-hued sunburst dial. It gets Super-LumiNova markers and black baton hands filled with lume. The watch looks positively retro, at least until you take a closer look at the snailed sub-dials. It’s a tri-compax layout with a 60 minute totaliser at 9 o’clock, a running seconds at 6 o’clock and the sub-dial that gives it all away is the 24 hour indicator at the 3 o’clock position.

That last sub-dial reveals that inside you’ll find the TMI VK63A mecaquartz movement. This means you get quartz-based timekeeping with a mechanical chronograph. Nivada says they use this movement not just to keep costs low, but also to allow for a much slimmer case. This being Nivada Grenchen, you can have the watch on one of nine bracelets.

The salmon dial Chronoking Mecaquartz opened up for pre-order on June 12 and the window will be open until 4 July. After that day passes, no more will be made. Price is set at $479, without tax. See more on the Nivada Grenchen website.

 6/

De Bethune Adds Two New Watches, One In Royal Blue And The Other In Chocolate Brown To Its DB Eight Lineup

If there’s one thing you can always rely on is the fact that De Bethune will always venture far into the avant-garde aesthetic. So, when they release what looks to be a fairly regular watch, people pay attention. This release, of course, is not brand new, just an expansion of the DB Eight line, their mono-pusher chronograph that comes in a round case. The addition are two new pieces, both in gold and both with beautifuly colored dials.

The original DB Eight came in a fully polished Grade 5 titanium case, unlike the two new one that come in either yellow or white gold. They still retain the round case that measures 42.4mm wide and 9.2mm thick. But while the watch might seem normal at first glance it still has the funky three-part case and the amazing bullet lugs. On the right side is the crown with an integrated pusher to operate the chronograph.

The dials are also new. Still engine turned, the yellow gold gets a brown dial, while the white gold comes with a deep blue dial. Both watches have titanium hands, which are heated to a gold color on the yelow gold version.

Inside is the same in-house caliber DB3000 which has a centrally mounted 60-second counter and a 60-minute chronograph subdial at 6 o’clock, and which features De Bethune’s proprietary blued-titanium balance wheel and a silicon escape wheel. The watches com one alligator straps that match the color of the dial.

While De Bethune doesn’t say how many, you can be sure that not a lot of the DB Eight will be build and the brand doesn’t even give the price. But keep in mind that the previous version that came in titanium was priced at CHF 85,000. This one can only go north of 100,000. See more on the De Bethune website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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Hands on with the new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Date And GMT

2/

A review of the King Seiko KS1969

3/

Hands on with the New MoonSwatch Mission On Earth Models

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Certina DS Chronograph Automatic 1968 is niche in application, but fun and easy to appreciate in general

Accordingly, the Certina DS Chronograph Automatic 1968 watch has a larger, cushion-style steel case that is 43.5mm wide, about 15mm thick and features a modern 43.5mm lug-to-lug distance. The case doesn’t wear as thick as it sounds, but that also depends on the strap. Certina designed the case to have a rounded caseback and box-style sapphire crystal. Both of these design features contribute to a lessening of visual mass. We also have an extremely thin bezel structure.

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 men who leaped from planes into the world’s greatest battle tell their harrowing story, in their own words. This is the true story of d-day, as told by paratroopers.

• Mystic Lipstick, a.k.a. Danielle Johnson, was one of the most popular astrologers on Twitter before she took the life of her partner and child. People blamed an influencer’s murder-suicide on the eclipse. What really happened?

• Some people who wanted to improve their lives and careers through coaching found themselves trapped in what they described as a pyramid scheme. They spent their life savings on life coaching.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

While not as iconic as the Conan O’Brien episode, Hot Ones just put out a video with the hottest comedian in the world right now - Shane Gillis. It’s a weird episode, but at least you get to see a man attempt to hide a full blown panic attack for 16 minutes. And proves once again why Sean Evans is one of the best interviewers in the world.

💵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