Seiko Brings Back Popular Seiko 5 Kamen Rider Duo; TAG And Porsche Team Up For Le Mans; Citizen Continues Celebration; Rado Gets Zesty; New Crafter Blue Is A Great Deal; And Singer Is Epic

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I very much looked forward to this weekend because I’m still missing the letter “I” on my keyboard and my finger is starting to bleed from hitting the little nub. Thankfully, the new keyboard just arrived so it should be installed Monday.

In this issue:

• Seiko Brings Back One Of Their Most Popular Late 60s Models With The Seiko 5 Sports Heritage “Kamen Rider” Duo

• TAG Heuer Teams Up With Porsche For The Carrera Chronograph x Porsche 963 Just Ahead Of Le Mans

• Citizen Adds A Sky And Land Model To Their Celebration Of 35 Years Of The Promaster

• Rado Gives The Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton A Couple Of Citrus Flavored Bezels

• The New Crafter Blue Bon Voyage Macaron Super Chrono Is A Very Affordable, Very Good Looking Everyday Chronograph

• Singer Introduces New Colours And Materials For The Reimagined 1969 Chrono And 1969 Timer

Today’s reading time: 11 minutes and 9 seconds

👂What’s new

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Seiko Brings Back One Of Their Most Popular Late 60s Models With The Seiko 5 Sports Heritage “Kamen Rider” Duo

It’s not all about excessively expensive dive watches and questionable interferences into some of the best looking dials in the industry over at Seiko this week. They also released a new watch (two watches, actually) in the other genre they do so well - recreations of their legendary watches. They did so fantastically with the recreation of the original Seiko 5, the SRPK17, and the very cool SPB411 Navigator Timer. Now, they’re taking inspiration from a 1968 model that carried the reference number 5126-8090. This might have been another sports watch from Seiko, had it not been worn by Kamen Rider, the superhero in the cult Japanese TV show of the same name. Allow me a brief detour into the show. Kamen Rider is a grasshopper-like mutant cyborg who went rouge from Shocker, a mysterious worldwide terrorist organization formed mostly by remaining members of the Nazis who now kidnap people and turn them into their minions, and wages a one-man war against them. How awesome is that? Being worn by the main character led to huge popularity for the 5126-8090, which got the Kamen Rider nickname, and Seiko is bringing the watch back with the new SRPL03 and SRPL05.

Both of these watches come in the same case, of course, one made out of stainless steel that measures 38.5mm wide, 12.4mm thick and with a lug-to-lug measurement of 44.8mm. Like so many Seiko 5 models, on top is a Hardlex crystal surrounded by a silver bezel with no numerals, just thinner and thicker markings every five minutes and a detailed scale for the first 15 minutes. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The SRPL03 has a silver brushed dial while the SRPL05 relies on a matte black surface. Like the original, there’s a graphic minute track with baton markers with lume insert, straight hands and a red lollipop seconds hands. More references to the original can be found on the day-date window and a Sports mention in light blue. Even the original Seiko 5 logo comes in the old, much preferred by many, style.

Inside is one of Seiko’s biggest weak points. The very familiar 4R36 automatic movement is fine, with a 41 hour power reserve, but with a stated accuracy of +45/-35 seconds per day, which is really not great. The watch comes on a single-link stainless steel bracelet that closes with a push button tri-fold clasp. You also get an additional black leather rally-style strap, a much appreciated bonus at this price point.

The new Seiko 5 Sports Heritage Kamen Rider SRPL03 and SRPL05 go on sale globally in July with each color limited to 9,999 numbered pieces. Both are priced the same at €460. See more on the Seiko website.

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TAG Heuer Teams Up With Porsche For The Carrera Chronograph x Porsche 963 Just Ahead Of Le Mans

Porsche doesn’t just make portly SUVs that demolish track records. They have been known to run very successfully in a number of race series around the world. But their name is perhaps most synonymous with the most famous of endurance races, the 24 Hours of Le mans. They have by far the most wins at the race with 19, and they are planing on taking another podium with the Porsche 963, a prototype-class race car that has been mopping up the competition all year. Porsche also makes the 911 Carrera, putting it at an intersection with TAG Heuer, which not also makes the Carrera watch, but has a storied past in racing. The two brands have now teamed up together to release the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Porsche 963 ahead of the Le Mans race that starts tomorrow.

When you see a photo of the Porsche 963, it seems like a huge race car, but it’s not. At just 1 meter and 6mm tall, it sits lower to the ground than the original Ford GT40. The watch, on the other hand, looks huge and is pretty huge. It measures 44mm wide, 15.1mm thick and has a 49.7mm lug-to-lug measurement. Made out of stainless steel, it’s sharply faceted, and topped with a forged carbon bezel with a tachymeter fixed bezel, with white Super-LumiNova. The sides of the case are hollowed out, PVD coated, heavily grained and with the Porsche logo applied to the left side of the case. The case also has an unusual look with the integrated rubber strap that has a metal mid-link with 963 engraved. On top is a beveled domed sapphire crystal.

The dial is partially openworked so you can see the sandblasted construction and part of the date wheel. There are three black sub-dials for the chronograph function, a bright red central chrono seconds hand and simple silver baton hands to tell the time with. A small section of the printed track and the 4 o’clock index have been coloured red, indicating the countdown to the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans at 4pm.

Inside is the TH20-00, the latest iteration of the Heuer 02 movement. It beats at 4Hz and has an 80 hour power reserve. Decorations include a red-coated column wheel and a automatic winding rotor is shaped like a Porsche steering wheel. The watch comes on a black integrated rubber strap, closed by a folding clasp with micro-adjustment.

The TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Porsche 963 is limited to, of course, 963 pieces and priced at CHF 9,000. I know that I’m a bit jaded by writing about all of these watches, but this seems like an OK price to me. See more on the TAG Heuer website.

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Citizen Adds A Sky And Land Model To Their Celebration Of 35 Years Of The Promaster

On Monday I wrote about the new Promaster Mechanical Diver that Citizen released to mark the 35th anniversary of the Promaster line and lauded it for being a great alternative to overpriced Seiko divers. What I missed at the time was the fact that this was a part of a trio of watches they introduced for the anniversary, with the other two being an Air watch, part of the Skyhawk A-T watches collection, and a Land model, which is a Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary Eco-Drive Combination Watch, both of which are pretty cool.

Let’s start with the Air model, the Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary JY8146-54E. It comes in a stainless steel case case that measures 46.7mm wide and 13.8mm thick, with no lugs as the bracelet integrates right into the case. The case and bracelet have a Duratect coating which gives it a dark anthracite look, while the crown, pushers, and the inner section of the slide rule bezel have a Sakura Duratect finish which is almost like a rose gold color. On top is a flat sapphire crystal and water resistance is 200 meters. The difference from regular production Skyhawk A-T models comes in that rose gold colorway, which appears on the case and dial. This means that the functions are the same, including the analog/digital display with a quartet of sub-dials and two LCD screens, with a chronograph, perpetual calendar, countdown timer, radio-controlled global atomic timekeeping, two programable alarms, world timer functionality, and an LED backlight.

Then there’s the Land series, represented by the Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary Eco-Drive Combination Watch JV1008-63E. Also made out of stainless steel and with the dark grey Duratect coat, it measures 43.9mm wide and 14mm thick. Again, you get a flat sapphire crystal, 200 meters of water resistance. On the right side are the expected crown and pushers to operate the functions, while at 8 o’clock you’ll find an additional bezel to control the internal compass bezel. The watch also has a hybrid analog/digital display that consists of a trio of centrally-mounted hands, two analog registers on the lower half of the dial, and a large memory in pixel (MIP) LCD screen that sits above the main hands. Functions include a chronograph, alarm, countdown timer, world timer, and an LED backlight. The watch comes on a stainless steel bracelet that has the same Duratect finish and you get an additional Cordura fabric strap.

The Air series Citizen Promaster JY8146-54E will be a limited edition of 5,600 examples while the Promaster Combination Watch JV1008-63E will have a run of 5,900 examples. Both of these models will be priced at $995. See more on the Citizen website.

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Rado Gives The Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton A Couple Of Citrus Flavored Bezels

I noted yesterday that summer is obviously here with all the brands releasing their multi-colored watches. Now, Rado, the experts in subdued colors and high-tech materials, are joining the pack with a colorful update to the Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton which gets two new bezels. Oh, and Rado really needs to stop calling their ceramic High-Tech. We know it is (or was).

Not much has changed with the basic shape of the watch, which means that it still measures 43mm wide and 14.6mm thick. Made out of deep matte blue ceramic, it’s scratch proof, if a bit fragile. On top is a box-shaped sapphire crystal. The new addition to the collection comes on top, from the two new bezels. They still have the pronounced concave construction with a 60 minute scale engraved and lacqured into it. The two colors are a yellowish-green lemon color and a burnt orange, both of which pair perfectly with the blue of the case.

On the dial side, not much has changed. It’s a skeletonized dial that’s actually a blue-tinted sapphire crystal with a flange that holds the minute track and the polished hour markers with thick inserts of Super-LumiNova suspended over the movement. At noon is Rado’s signature anchor symbol, and you can see parts of the movement through the transparent crystal.

The movement you can see is the calibre R808, which is a modified Powermatic 80, which makes sense seeing as how Rado is part of the Swatch group. It beats at 3Hz and has the famous 80 hour power reserve. The calibre has an anchor-shaped rotor. The watches come on a navy blue rubber strap with a polished ceramic cover that hides the extendable steel folding clasp.

The new Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton models are limited to 262 pieces each and priced at CHF 4,300. See more on the Rado website.

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The New Crafter Blue Bon Voyage Macaron Super Chrono Is A Very Affordable, Very Good Looking Everyday Chronograph

I wish I could write about Crafter Blue more. This Hong Kong-based company first appeared on my radar with their straps and it took me a while that they make their own watches. And boy, are these watches pretty cool. Take, for example, their latest release, the Bon Voyage Macaron Super Chrono which gives you a very stylish retro look at a pretty unbeatable price.

The watch comes in a case that has a very old-school feel with faceted and sharp lugs. It’s a bit larger than a vintage watch, though, at 42mm wide and 13.4mm thick. I’m hoping the sloped lugs help here. On top is a serrated bezel that has a 12 hour scale engraved into the silver surface, allowing you to track a second time zone. Protecting the dial is a domed sapphire crystal, which is quite a feat at this price. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial looks just amazing. It’s dark blue with a heavily grained texture, with two sub-dials in a very pale yellow and pale blue, which work fantastically. The same pale yellow is used for the numerals and the dots at every hour. At 6 o’clock is a date window framed with the same pale yellow with a color matched date disc.

A sharp eyed viewer must have already seen the slightly bizarre 24 hour sub-dial, which would tell you that the watch is powered by the legendary Seiko VK64 meca-quartz movement. This is a movement that uses quartz for timekeeping and a mechanical movement for the chronograph. The watch comes on a light brown leather strap.

Now, for the best part. The Crafter Blue Bon Voyage Macaron Super Chrono is priced at $299, but right now I see it discounted to $250. Come on! Tell me that’s not great value for money! See more on the Crafter Blue website.

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Singer Introduces New Colours And Materials For The Reimagined 1969 Chrono And 1969 Timer

There’s no way that one person can do more than one or two things at the very top of the global game, right? Well, there is a way. First, Rob Dickinson was a global rock star with his band Catherine Wheel. After leaving music, he started Singer Vehicle Design and basically thrust the word resto-mod - the process of restoring and modernising old vehicles - into the modern vernacular with his brilliantly crafted Porsches. Sure, others did resto-mods before, but nobody did it on a scale and quality of Singer. But being a car lover, of course Dickinson was a watch lover, so he started Singer Reimagined to make watches. But instead of just putting together pieces from available parts, his watches are works of art with high-end movements designed by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht of Agenhor. Now, Singer Reimagined is updating the 1969 Chronograph and Timer models with new colors and a bronze case.

The 1969 models were the smaller watches in their lineup and they measure 40mm wide and 13.8mm thick. They come in a very characteristic helmet-shaped case, and the orignals came with black dials. The updates come in the form of a bronze case paired with a green dial and a steel case with a silver dial. While the combo of green dial and bronze case always looks great, I actually like the silver-on-silver look very much. All of the 1969 models come with a 100 meter water resistance.

The differences in models come on the dials and functionalities of the movements. The 1969 Chronograph uses the same Agengraphe base movement as the Track 1 big brother, with the hours, minutes and seconds indicated centrally on a base-60 scale, but the time is displayed below on two black discs rotating beneath the dial with luminous golden numerals and a triangular indicator. The Agengraphe automatic beats at 3Hz and has a 72 hour power reserve.

The 1969 Timer is even more interesting, as it looks like a regular traditional three-hand watch. But it’s a zero-reset timer with flyback function. By activating the pusher at 2 o’clock, the central sweeping seconds hand can be used as a flyback chronograph hand to time one-minute events without going through the start-stop-reset sequence. This is incredibly cool and made possible by a simplified variant of the Flytrack calibre, this sophisticated hand-wound movement has a proprietary clutch that disassociates the central seconds hand from the movement and reengages it when the pusher is released.

The bronze models are paired with khaki textile straps with Velcro fastening, while the stainless steel ones come with the newly designed tapering steel bracelet with H-shaped links. All four variants of the 1969 models will be limited in production to 25 pieces in 2024. The 1969 Chronograph is priced at CHF 53,500 in steel and CHF 55,000 in bronze, while the 1969 Timer will set you back CHF 31,500 in steel or CHF 32,500 in bronze. All of the prices are without tax. See more on the Singer Reimagined website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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A review of the Doxa SUB 300 Beta

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Hands on with the Timex x The James Brand GMT

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A review of the Ollech & Wajs M-110 AS

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Kollokium Projekt 01 is a horological UFO where form precedes function, but doesn't counteract it either

This watch tricks you and puzzles you in a rather artistic way. In reality, the dial of the Kollokium Projekt 01 is highly complex. It is composed of a subtly textured black base set with 468 individually hand-applied cylindrical elements, which come in six different diameters and heights, positioned precisely to create the effect of a “normal” display. Each of these cylinders is sandblasted, then filled with white Super-LumiNova with a blue emission – this is the first difference with the Variant A, which has orange emitting SLN. The second main difference is the seconds hand, now matching the monochromatic theme of the dial, while the Variant A featured a red-coloured hand.

Read the whole review on Monochrome watches

⏲️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

• Jonathan Haidt is surely positioning himself as the most important scholar of our modern society. I’ll read pretty much anything he writes. Especially when it has a title like this: Why the past 10 years of American life have been uniquely stupid. Now come on!

• “Go to Las Vegas to compete in the Excel World Championship” is the sort of assignment any tech-adjacent journalist dreams of getting. But few could pull it off the way David Pierce does for The Verge—with descriptive reporting, humor, and more than a little insight into how a spreadsheet program became arguably the most important piece of software since the dawn of personal computing. Add some of the best design in an online feature this year, and you’ve got a winner.

• At 15, Darlene Stubbs walked away from a polygamous cult—then discovered a new life and community through running. But this is not an escape story. But this is not an escape story.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

You might not know his name, but you have surely seen his unique work somewhere in the wild. That’s because Aaron Draplin has quietly become one of the most influential graphic designers in the US. These Studio Tour videos are always corny, but this one will show you three things - how good Draplin’s work is, how great his personality is and what an amazing collection of drawers he has.

💵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