Seiko Announces Limited Edition Prospex SJE093 Diver, TAG Teams Up With ChronotempsVs Group To Celebrate Carrera 60th Year, And More Limited Editions From Citizen, Bell & Ross, Farer and Unimatic

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. As I was writing today’s update, after like the third watch I noticed all three were limited editions. Then I checked the next three I was going to write up. And yes, this is an entire edition of just limited edition watches. Never happened before, but I guess it was bound to one day.

Also, invite your friends or fill out the survey to enter the giveaway. We’re giving away four Seiko 5 Sports SKX ‘Midi’ in a color of your choice.

In this issue:

• Seiko Announces A Limited Edition Prospex Diver With MLB Star Shohei Ohtani

• TAG Heuer Teams Up With Legendary ChronotempsVs Group To Celebrate Carrera 60th Anniversary

• In Most Unusual Pairing, Bell & Ross Creates Limited Vesper With Bartender Alessandro Palazzi, Revolution Magazine And The Rake

• Citizen Brings Back The Cool 70s Tsuno Chrono For A Limited Edition

• Farer Adds Limited Edition Palmer To Their GMT Watches

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 8 seconds

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👂What’s new

1/

Seiko Announces A Limited Edition Prospex Diver With MLB Star Shohei Ohtani, A Different Take On Athlete-Watch LEs

The recent announcement from Seiko that their new Prospex SJE093 will be a faithful recreation of the legendary 62MAS did not go over too well. People generally liked it, but they could not get over the pricetag - EUR 3,700 - and the fact that for so much money you get a movement that’s accurate between -10 and +15 seconds a day. They might, maybe, make up for it with their newest watch, the SBDC191, made in collaboration with Shohei Ohtani.

For you who don’t follow baseball, you are forgiven for not knowing who Ohtani is. He is, arguably, the most famous baseball player in the world currently (which isn’t saying much) and somewhen who, people say, will one day be mentioned in the same sentences as Babe Ruth. That’s because both Ohtani and Ruth were excellent pitchers and hitters.

Let’s get the bad parts about this watch out of the way first - this will be a limited edition, with only 1,700 being made. This is not so much of a problem. The problem is, this watch will also only be limited to sale in Japan. Normally, I wouldn’t cover it, but there are two important reasons why I am - this newsletter has a strangely large following in Japan (hi, my dear Japanese readers) and this is a great looking watch!

Effectively identical to the SPB14 series lineup, this watch offers all of the upper-level features of the higher-end Prospex divers from Seiko: the 6R35 movement with 70 hours of power reserve, 200m of water resistance, a dial inspired by the 62MAS, the three o'clock date, the three o'clock guard-less crown, and the comfortable bracelet with milled clasp.

Every aesthetic feature from bezel text to applied markers are the same as you'll find on the SPB14 watches. And that's what makes this so good – the SPB143 was something of a smash hit upon its release in 2020. But just a reissue of the SPB14 would be just weird to do. That’s why Seiko has included subtle nods and eater eggs for Ohtani.

The most obvious element is the red accent color, which the SBDC191 takes from the LA Angels' - Ohtani’s team - color scheme. You get it on the seconds hand and the red "Diver's 200m" text. Seiko also, weirdly, engraved the clasp of the watch with Ohtani’s signature. Something that you’d most certainly see on the caseback with other watches.

While the 62MAS caused outrage with it’s price, this one is much more sensible and can be yours for $1,200 when it officially goes on sale July 11.

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TAG Heuer Teams Up With Legendary ChronotempsVs Group To Celebrate Carrera 60th Anniversary With New Colors

While it is completely crazy, I have come to appreciate the bizarre world we live in where brands collaborate with collectors groups on special edition watches that can be purchase by only members of the collectors group. Today, TAG Heuer is releasing one such watch, made in collaboration with the legendary collectors group known as CronotempVs. The open collaboration done with the collector community uses the modern 42mm Carrera case and gives the dials plenty of special details. The watch is called the Carrera CC (CronotempVs Collectors), and it takes inspiration from the 1974 Carrera ref. 1153BN, aka the ‘Yachting’ so named for the orange segments within the minute totalizer.

To keep in line with the vintage homage team, CronotempVs and TAG Heuer decided against using the brand new Glassbox shape and instead kept it vintage-looking with the regular case. The original 1153BN was presented in a cushion case, with a dark blue dial and orange accents, and these are the starting blocks of the Carrera CC. The contrasting chapter ring and orange accents have been put to use brilliantly here, at once honoring the original while taking it into a new direction altogether. The combination creates an entirely unique experience within the modern Carrera range.

The vintage element is continued on the inside, since the watch is powered by the caliber TH20-00. This new-generation automatic calibre offers bi-directional winding, contrary to the anti-clockwise only charging of the earlier versions. This is a significant development as it affects accuracy, as the power reserve influences precision. The new system allows for faster winding, so the power levels are kept high to ensure an even energy flow. When fully wound, the TH20-00 provides the watch with up to 80 hours of function. The watch is water resistant to 100m.

Only 72 units of the Carrera will be made, a nod to the 1974 1153BN. The price is set at EUR 5,250, but I assume CronotempVs members have bought them all up.

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In Most Unusual Pairing, Bell & Ross Creates Limited Vesper With Bartender Alessandro Palazzi, Revolution Magazine And The Rake

Bell & Ross is no stranger to limited and special editions. In fact, some of their best watches have been special editions. What is a bit strange is their latest partnership. The less strange part of the partnership is them working with the legendary Revolution watch magazine as well as respected mens fashion mag The Rake. The stranger part of the collaboration comes from them working with bartender Alessandro Palazzi, one of the foremost experts on the martini.

It only makes sense that this collaboration is named Vesper, as this is Palazzi’s signature cocktail. He did not, of course, come up with it, but it was invented, legend says, at Duke’s in London where Palazzi is head bartender at the moment. The Vesper was popularized by James Bond in the novel Casino Royale who ordered: “three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel” and then named it after the beautiful Vesper Lynd.

I won’t lie, collaborations like these tend to be exhausting cash-grabs attempting to capitalize on the coolness of something unattainable, but despite this I love this watch. I can absolutely imagine someone at Drake’s drinking a Vesper with this on their wrist. Even the press amterial for the watch describing it as “the ultimate martini lovers’ timepiece and community symbol,” won’t deter me from liking it.

The watch is based on the BR V2 Chrono bi-compax, but gets a bunch of very nice updates. First off, it comes in a bronze case and gets a aluminum bezel with a cheeky black Thirstmeter scale. The dial gets a very light champagne color that the makers say is inspired by the hue of the Vesper martini, while the markers on its vintage-style black subdials have been subtly redesigned to emulate the silhouette of martini glasses. There’s also a small circular date display is also located between the 4 and 5 o’clock marks.

Inside the watch is the BR.CAL-301 self-winding movement that gets 42 hours of power reserve. The sapphire crystal that covers it is imprinted with “The Rake” alongside the phrase, “A Cocktail a Day Keeps the Doctor Away” in a matte golden hue. The watch comes on a Horween calfskin racing strap, perforated with circular cut-outs.

The “Vesper” Bellytanker Chronograph has released on Revolution’s website and despite there being only 50 pieces, it still has not sold out. I guess not everybody is as sold on this concept as I am, because the $5,250 price is only a $250 increase from the regular BR V2 Chrono.

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Citizen Brings Back The Cool 70s Tsuno Chrono For A Limited Edition

Back in January of 1973, Citizen released a unique riff on a watch that they’d launched only a few months earlier. The watch was their very first mechanical chronograph. This version had the chronograph pushers situated at the top of the case, rather than on the side, in what’s affectionately referred to as a bullhead configuration called the Citizen Challenge Timer. Fans would soon nickname the “Tsuno Chrono” and its instantly recognizable 70s tones and panda dial layout would make this particular variant a legend.

The watch was mostly forgotten until 2018, when Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood came out. In it, Brad Pitt was decked out in the epitome of late 60s cool clothes, including a watch that was quickly recognized as the Tsuno Chrono. The problem is, the movie was set in 1969, and the watch came out in 1973.

While Tarantino is not as obsessed with the details of his films being historically accurate, one must wonder that just due to the sheer number of them, if such mistakes were done on purpose to denote that all of his movies happen in just slightly off from ours. Other mistakes include having a Boeing 747 which came out in 1970, the Playboy mansion didn’t exist until 1974, and there a whole bunch of 70s cars in the various scenes.

So, with the buzz around the Tsuno Chrono picking up in recent years, it’s no surprise that citizen is celebrating the 50th birthday of the watch, reimagining the concept, form factor, and functionality in the Promaster Tsuno Chrono 50th Anniversary Model.

It’s a large watch at 45mm and comes in a gold-toned, stainless steel case, retaining the bullhead style, with a winding crown at 12 and an alarm-setting crown at 5 o’clock. A luminous sword handset and orange chronograph hands pop against the gold and black dial. Speaking of the dial, it’s the largest change to the original. First, you’ll notice a black tachymeter scale printed with gold-toned numerals. Next, there’s a running seconds display at 3 o’clock, a 12-hour totalizer at 6 o’clock, a handy power reserve indicator at 9 o’clock, and a 60-minute totalizer at 12 o’clock. Finally, you’ll even find an alarm on/off indicator between 4 and 5 o’clock.

Inside is the Caliber E210, an Eco-Drive solar movement powered by ambient light which features a power reserve of eight months and flyback chronograph functionality. The watch comes on a classic leather deployant strap in deep tobacco brown.

Only 3,000 examples of the Citizen Promaster Tsuno Chrono 50th Anniversary will be made, and the watch is available now through authorized dealers. MSRP for this model stands at $1,195. You can read more on Citizen’s website.

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Farer Adds Limited Edition Palmer To Their GMT Watches

When it comes to Farer, you can be sure of one of two things - the watch will be either super simple or it will have an incredible color scheme. However, every now and again they fuse these two design decisions into one watch, and that’s how we ended up with the new, limited edition, Palmer GMT - a simple and colorful watch.

The Palmer case hits a happy medium between the current Farer GMT offerings in 36mm and 41mm. It’s 39.5mm wide and just 10.8mm thick. It has a polished fixed bezel, a brushed case face and polished sides. But the case is less interesting, it’s all about the dial.

Like many other Farers, this one has a white dial, but it’s not a regular white. The brand calls it a “pearlescent opaline” which gives the dial’s surface a slightly creamier tinge. Each hour marker is raised from the dial thanks to the block of SuperLuminova that makes up its construction and is hit with a thick application of black paint on its top surface. The inner 24-hour ring is color-matched by its short teal GMT hand and balanced out by the use of orange on the seconds hand and with the smaller numerals around the dial’s edge.

Just like the other Farer GMT models, the Palmer GMT is powered by the Sellita SW330-2 which gives you a frequency of 28,800 vph, 56 hours of power reserve and a caller GMT complication.

The limited edition Farer Palmer GMT retails for $1,450 and is limited to just 150 pieces. See more on Farer’s website.

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Unimatic Releases Final Edition Of The Series 8, Going Back To Its Roots With Black

Unimatic had a very simple idea for this summer. In May the introduced the Series 8 with the intention of releasing three collections of its four Modello watches in different colorways, all inspired by different locales in Italy. We’ve come up to the last collection, the Series 8: black, a collection that the brand says is inspired by Venice and that feels very much like the Modello Uno that started the brand back in 2015.

The four watches in this last edition of the Series 8 are: Modello Uno (ref. U1S-8B), Modello Due (ref. U2S-8B), Modello Tre (ref. U3-8B), and Modello Quattro (ref. U4S-8B). All four watches feature a matte black dial with gilt accents. Each of the three time-only references uses the Sellita SW200-1 B, while the chronograph Modello Tre is powered by the VK64 MechaQuartz movement.

Gilt accents are included on the metallic surrounds of the hour markers, the hands, and the Unimatic signature at 6 o'clock. Each watch uses an "old radium" shaded Super-LumiNova. All four watches will be produced in a limited edition of 400, and come on a black TPU strap and an extra seatbelt nylon strap. Altogether, the four-watch collection is a nice capstone on the summer Series 8, with the gilt accents tying it to the previous olive green and navy blue editions.

Pricing is in line with the previous two Series 8 releases from this summer: Uno $1,010; Due $815, Tre $680, and Quattro $815. More on their website.

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Hands-on with the two-tone Longines Spirit Zulu Time 39mm L3.802.5.53.2

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

Look Ma, No Hands: The Mesmerizing Trilobe Une Folle Journée

The first thing you'll notice with the Une Folle Journée is that, unlike most modern watches, it doesn't have hands. Instead, the skeletonized dial features three eccentric rings – the largest representing the hours, the middle one for the minutes, and the smallest one for the seconds. They all rotate counterclockwise, which took some getting used to, and they're suspended at different elevations by columns that attach to the wheels underneath.

⏲️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 Titan Submersible Was “an Accident Waiting to Happen”. Interviews and e-mails with expedition leaders and employees reveal how OceanGate ignored desperate warnings from inside and outside the company. “It’s a lemon,” one wrote.

• Police said four very valuable violins went missing after a collector and his daughter were killed. Then a lot of stories began to unravel

• As more and more people board the USS Psilocybin and head into the depths of their consciousness, more and more of them will at some point find themselves in a precarious psychic situation. But riding out the eternal darkness of one’s soul doesn’t need to be a solo voyage—nor, as Chris Colin examines, does it need to be avoided. A new generation of organizations is helping people steer into the chaos, and come out the other side reborn.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Yesterday we had fire lookout buildings. Today we have mountain huts. Do I have a problem with remote buildings or something? Whatever my problem is, I don’t doubt this video will make you want to quit your job and move to the Alps to live like as a climbing bum.

💵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: 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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