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- Seiko Introduces More Grown Up And Sleeker Astron GPS Solar, anOrdain Launches New Model 3 With Crazy Sunburst Dial, W&W Puts 40 NOS Hamilton Khaki Field's On The Market And Charlie Paris Has A Completley Blacked Out Diver
Seiko Introduces More Grown Up And Sleeker Astron GPS Solar, anOrdain Launches New Model 3 With Crazy Sunburst Dial, W&W Puts 40 NOS Hamilton Khaki Field's On The Market And Charlie Paris Has A Completley Blacked Out Diver
The new Seiko Astron GPS is less of a bulky gadget and more of a sleek sports watch that's inspired by all the trends
Vuk Radic
May 11, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 17 minutes
Hey friends, I hope you read this issue of It’s About Time quickly, as there are a couple of watches in it that might be sold out if you are late to the party. So, let’s get to it
In this issue:
Seiko Introduces More Grown Up And Sleeker Astron GPS Solar
anOrdain Teams Up With Hodinkee To Launch The New Model 3 Sunburst
Worn & Wound Finds 40 NOS Hamilton Khaki Field’s From The 80’s
Bravur Unveils a New Cycling Inspired Watch, the La Corsa Rosa III
And… invite your friends to win a Seiko Alpinist
Today’s reading time: 8 minutes and 6 seconds
Everybody needs a green faced watch in their life. That’s why we have a new giveaway - it’s the Seiko SPB121J1, aka the Seiko Alpinist in a wonderful shade of green. In fact, we’re giving away two of them!
All you have to do is click the button below and have five of your friends subscribe. Both you and one of your friends will be eligible to win one of the watches
We only have two conditions when entering this giveaway - invite 5 of your friends to subscribe and live somewhere were you can buy the Alpinist, so we can get this for you and ship it to your address. That’s it!
👂What’s new
1/
Almost every single one of the Seiko Astron GPS models released in the past ten years have been bulky gadgets, with lots of buttons, subdials and indicators. Just look at this Resident Evil-themed Astron they released just two week ago. Cool, as it is very gadgety with the fact that it is solar-powered and GPS adjusted, but not something that will get you a lot of compliments at the office. Now, Seiko has decided to upend this approach and with their new Astron GPS line by cleaning up the dial design and streamlined the case to create the Astron GPS Solar, which sports an octagonal titanium case and matching integrated bracelet.
You could say that the integrated-bracelet, octagonal case (41.2mm wide, 12mm thick) and grid pattern on the dial are Seiko jumping on the trend bandwagon, but even if that were the case, I’m OK with it. It looks like Seiko’s designers took the best parts of all the popular watches out there (can you see the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo?) and jammed it into one watch. And then gave it all the tech in.
The new Astron GPS make its debut in four colourways. Three are regular production: blue (SSJ013), grey with a rose gold-plated bezel (SSJ014), and black (SSJ015) with matching black bracelet. And the last model is a limited edition with a grey, horizontal-stripe dial (SSJ017). All four models share the same concise design. The dial has a solitary sub-dial at eight o’clock that indicates the GPS satellite sync status and power reserve, while the date window is at three o’clock.
The new Astron features Seiko’s latest GPS solar movement, cal. 3X62. Solar-powered with a running time of six months in regular operation (and up to two years in power-save mode). It performs automatic syncing with GPS satellites up to twice per day, ensuring it will almost always be spot on.
The watches will be available starting June 2023 at Seiko boutiques and retailers. The SSJ013 and SSJ017 are priced at €2,100, the SSJ014 is priced at €2,200 and the SSJ015 at €2,300
2/
In very little time, anOrdain became a fan favorite for their well crafter and fun time-only watches. Things started with the Model 1 and vitreous enamel dials, which continued into the more robust and sportier Model 2. They really nailed down the delicate art of making enamel dials. But now they are launching a new model and new style of dial. Partnering with Hodinkee, anOrdain is presenting the Model 3 Sunburst, with a rather special and gorgeous new style of dial!
The round case features wire lugs and is fully polished from top to bottom. At 39mm in diameter and 10.3mm in height, it should war just right. It’s topped with a dome sapphire crystal that follows the curvature of the bezel. But the case is less interesting - the Model 3 is very much all about the dial.
You might ask what’s the big deal, it’s a sunray brushed dial. Well, regular sunray brushed dial are finished with a spinning brass wire brush on a machine. anOrdain had other ideas and decided to hand cut each and every groove in the dial. After the dial is cut, it’s covered by translucent grey vitreous enamel to create incredible depth. It’s a very time-consuming process, as each dial can take up to 100 hours to complete. The white numerals and indices are printed on top of the enamel and seem to float in mid-air. The syringe-style hour and minute hands are polished, and paired with a needle-like central seconds hand.
Inside is an élaboré grade Sellita SW300 automatic movement. Usually, this comes in a time-and-date configuration but in this case, it indicates the time only. The power reserve is 42 hours, the standard for most Sellita movements. The caseback is decorated with a miniature map of New York, Hodinkee’s home base, and the inscription of the numbered limitation of the watch. Around the outer edge of the caseback, you can read anOrdain’s motto; “Old Crafts, New Hands”.
The anOrdain x Hodinkee Model 3 is a limited edition of 25 pieces, all exclusively sold through Hodinkee.com. It comes on a dark grey suede leather strap with contrasting stitching and a pin buckle, but we understand other strap options are available too. The price is set at USD 6,000. But, of course, it’s all sold out already.
3/
Worn & Wound Finds 40 New Old Stock Hamilton Khaki Field’s From The 80’s And Wants To Sell Them To You
Worn & Wound, the online watch retailer with a really good blog, has stumbled on a true goldmine. They managed to purchase 40 new-old-stock, or NOS, Hamilton Khaki Field’s from a surplus store that was closing down. The watches come with everything - boxes, papers and accessories, and you can even have the watch fully serviced before delivery.
The 1980s Hamiltons are 33mm wide, 40.5mm lug to lug, and 10.6mm thick. All the watches come with a pair of single-pass NATO-style straps (green and tan, natch) and all of them are powered by the Hamilton 649 movement. Also known as an ETA 2750. You also get a green canvas pouch with Khaki branding and a user’s manual. The watches are said to be in excellent condition, with some aging and warm tritium lume.
All of the watches are checked and guaranteed to run, but they have not been serviced and come without a warranty. If you would like a service – and a resulting warranty – you can option a full service from Grand Central Watch. This adds 4-6 weeks in terms of delivery but includes a full disassembly, cleaning, lubrication, and regulation of the movement, and a two-year warranty.
Just the watches will set you back $599, which seems like a bargain for a NOS watch from the 1980s, and if you opt for the service, it will cost you $1,099. At the time of writing there seem to be watches still left for sale, but considering there’s only 40 of them, they might sell out fast so hurry up if you want one.
4/
Bravur used to be a microbrand that made watches that were very Scandinavian in their design - restrained and sometimes boring. While there was nothing wrong with that, it seems that the brand founders decided to inject more of their personality into the design of watches. Namely, their passion for cycling.
Of course, not all of the watches in their collection are cycling inspired, but limited edition chronographs released to mark major pro cycling races have become something of an expectation at this point, and it has changed the brand identity in a real way. The latest watch in this vein, the La Corsa Rosa III, continues the trend.
The La Corsa Rosa III is inspired by the Giro d’Italia, a 21 stage race beginning in May and running throughout Italy. This is not the first time Bravur has created a watch to mark this race, and in previous editions it has used shades of pink, as it matches the jersey worn by the race leader in each stage. This is carried on to this year, but framed for the first time in the Grand Tour series by a PVD black coated case. Speaking of the case, it’s stainless steel and measures 38.2mm across and 46.3mm from lug to lug.
The dial is a simple slate grey, while the blue and purple accents in the 3:00 register are borrowed from the “King of the Mountain” jersey worn by the race’s best climber, and the “13” in that same register is upside down, a race tradition to ward off bad luck associated with that number.
Inside the watch is the Sellita SW 511B chronograph caliber, which has up to 62 hours of power reserve and can be seen through the exhibition case back. It’s been decorated with Cotes de Geneve striping, rhodium plating, and blued screws.
The retail price for the La Corsa Rosa III is $2,590. It’s available now through the Bravur website.
5/
A couple of weeks ago I got into a discussion about Charlie Paris. I love pretty much every watch they make. But I have a big problem with them - the logo. For some reason, it just doesn’t work for me. It’s too bright, to large, too abstract and reminds me of much cheaper fashion watches. I can live with it, but would like them better if the logo were a bit less prominent. Looks like Charlie Paris’ new watch was actually made for me. The Concordia Automatic Kraken is a fully black diver. So black, in fact, that the logo blends in with the dial perfectly!
The Concordia line usually uses its names to describe the look - the Concordia Dune has a gradient brown dial, for example. No surprise, then, that the Kraken is head-to-toe dark shades of grey, including the case, dial, lume and strap. The 316L stainless steel case has a PVD coating and versatile dimensions of 40mm in diameter and 12.5mm in height. It also has pro-level water resistance of 300 meters. The unidirectional rotating bezel has a case-matching, anodized aluminium insert with useful yet minimal Arabic numerals and marks.
The dial of the Concordia Automatic Kraken is a sandblasted black with applied round indices. A colour-matching date window occupies the space at 6 o’clock. All indices are filled with black Super-LumiNova X1, along with the hour and minute hands.
Many Charlie Paris watches have Miyota automatics, but the Kraken (and Concordia automatics) feature a Swiss Soprod P024. It has 25 jewels and beats at 28,800vph (4Hz), and the power reserve is a respectable 40 hours. It’s based on the ETA 2824-2 and is accurate to within 14 seconds per day. It comes with a colour-matching 20mm leather or nylon strap with quick-release levers and steel pin buckle, and all Charlie Paris watches have a two-year warranty.
The retail price is EUR 875.
🫳On hand
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⚙️Watch Worthy
A look at an off beat, less known watch you might actually like
The Atelier Holgur Frømand is literally a black dialed diver. But it doesn’t feel like an homage to classic watches of the past. It has a funky case design and little flourishes and details throughout that elevate it aesthetically, and a movement that is surprising and also somewhat confounding. It’s not a perfect watch, but it’s a near perfect example of the type of highly specific, niche oriented watch making that I think is currently the most exciting thing happening in the industry.
⏲️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
Here’s something a bit different. It’s not that much of a read, but more of a photo essay of Shackleton’s expedition to the South Pole. There are some photos in here I haven’t seen before and some of them look so surreal they look like they have been done by an AI generator!
I’m a huge fan of the blog McMansion Hell and in general the McMansion: the uniquely American, 3,000-square-foot-plus, made-to-order home that’s a “durable emblem of our American way of life.” The author of the blog Kate Wagner wrote a new essay on the evolution of this unique aesthetic
In 2007, a designer in Ottawa, Canada dreamed up and made the world’s most valuable coin - 100 kg in weight and made out of the purest gold possible. Ten years later, three people walked into a Berlin museum and stole a coin believed to be to large to be stolen. Crazy story.
👀Watch this
One video you have to watch today
The Porsche 356 is a beautiful car. But it’s not a particularly fast car. And I don’t even mean by today’s standards. It’s kind of slowish even for a car of it’s vintage. Lucky for the world, then, that we have Rode Emory, an insane man that loves to take 356s and hot rod them. If nothing, just listen to the first minute or so of the video.
💵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
Want to sell your watch to a community of passionate horologists? Reach out to us and we’ll put your ad up. $15 per listing without photos, $25 with photos. 10 available slots per day, discounts for multiple slots.
Everybody needs a green faced watch in their life. That’s why we have a new giveaway - it’s the Seiko SPB121J1, aka the Seiko Alpinist in a wonderful shade of green. In fact, we’re giving away two of them!
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