Seiko Recreates One Of Their First GMT Watches, AP Shrinks Down The Code 11.59 To 38mm, Certina Introduces Integrated Bracelet DS-7 Line, New Watches From Union Glashütte and anOrdain

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. This is the 150th edition of the newsletter. Who would have said we would get to this point? That’s awesome, thank you all, and just a quick reminder that I recently started a Patreon where you can get a couple of more pieces of content, including a sixth edition and a digital PDF magazine version of the newsletter.

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In this issue:

• Seiko Recreates One Of Their First GMT Watches With The Prospex Land Series GMT Navigator Timer Reissue SPB411

• Audemars Piguet Shrinks Down Their Controversial Code 11.59 To 38mm

• Certina Introduces An All New DS-7 Line Powered By The Powermatic 80

• Union Glashütte Celebrates 130 Years With A New 1893 Johannes Dürrstein Edition Chronograph

• anOrdain Announces The New Model 3 Method With A Wood-Carved Pattern Enamel Dial

Today’s reading time: 6 minutes and 22 seconds

👂What’s new

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Seiko Recreates One Of Their First GMT Watches With The Prospex Land Series GMT Navigator Timer Reissue SPB411

Way back in 1968, Seiko released one of their best watches. I mean, they made thousands of different watches, so the chances of there being one best Seiko are pretty slim. It all comes down to personal preference. With mine steering towards the 1968 Navigator Timer 6117-8000. It was an incredible sporty watch that had everything a classic Seiko should have - a cushion cased shape, crown at 4 o’clock and a brushed grey dial with applied markers. It was also the first Seiko GMT that had a rotating bezel. Now, Seiko is using their Prospex line, a line that already took inspiration from their most iconic watches, to introduce a recreation of the 6117-8000 and it’s called the Prospex Land Series GMT reference SPB411.

They might as well called it the Navigator Timer, since it looks practically identical, down to it’s size. It’s 38.5mm wide and 45.2mm lug-to-lug, making it fairly compact in the line of large-ish Prospex watches. Once again you get the rotating bezel with an engraved 24-hour scale, with numerals painted black and a lumed pip at 12 o’clock. The finishing is brushed, the crown is at 4 once again and you get 100 meters of water resistance.

The dial also looks incredibly similar with a grey sunray brushed surface and applied markers. The dial is framed by an inner flange with minute scale and LumiBrite dots. Even the half-lenght red GMT hand is the same as the original.

Inside the watch is Seiko’s Calibre 6R54 which runs at 3Hz and has a power reserve of 72 hours. You know and love this movement and your watchmaker will be able to fix it easily. As for the GMT movement, it’s what would be called an office GMT, meaning that you adjust the 24 hour hand independently. The watch comes on a period-correct 5-link stainless steel bracelet with a three-fold clasp with push button release.

The Seiko Prospex Land Series GMT SPB411 will be released in November of this year, limited to just 4,000 pieces. The price will be $1,500. See more on the Seiko website.

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Audemars Piguet Shrinks Down Their Controversial Code 11.59 To 38mm

AP has been criticised for years for being the “Royal Oak” company. There is some truth to that criticism, as they pretty much made their name solely on the RO for the past several decades. So, to combat that, in 2019 the brand introduced a new line called the Code 11.59. And it was an instant flop. The company overhyped and underdelivered on the watch. Since then, AP has refined the Code 11.59 line, adding to it more options, more complications and more finishings and it’s now a decent entry into the brand, with some pieces being truly fantastic. However, the Code 11.59 lineup has mostly shown up in 41 or 42mm cases. Until now, that is, as AP just introduced two downsides options, two new 38mm watches in 18k pink gold.

Aside from the smaller size, this is still the exact same Code 11.59 - a three part case with an octogonal middle, a predominantly brushed finish complemented by accents of hand-beveling and polishing, extra-thin bezel, a round caseback and 30 meters of water resistance, unfortunately. The upper part of the stylized lugs is welded to the bezel, while the lower part leans delicately against the caseback. The watch shrunk down in thickness as well, from 10.7mm to 9.6mm. The two new models have dials stamped by stamps made by Swiss guilloché craftsman Yann von Kaenel and they come in two colors - purple and ivory, both of which compliment the pink gold cases fantastically.

Inside, there might be a bit of bad news. While shrinking the case, Audemars dropped the in-house 4302 automatic calibre in favour of the Vaucher-based automatic 5900. There is a significant drop from 70 hours of power reserve to 60 in the 38mm, but this is still not bad at all. Despite not being an in-house movement, it’s still nicely decorated. Each watch comes on a matching purple or ivory alligator strap.

With a smaller size and a non-in house movement, there has been a decrease in price as well. Compared to the 41mm steel version, this Code 11.59 will set you back $1,200 less and is priced at $33,200. See more on the AP website.

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Certina Introduces An All New DS-7 Line Powered By The Powermatic 80

The Swatch Group has seen what work and they are ready to do it again, again and again. Their Tissot PRX line of steel sports watches with integrated bracelets has proven to be a runaway hit. In fact, it was so successful that they introduce probably some 20 or 30 variants of the PRX only to recently jump the shark when they went too far with their digital PRX. Well, if it worked for Tissot, why not do the same with other Swatch Group watches? That’s exactly what they are doing, with the new Certina DS-7 Powermatic 80 line.

The new watch is yet another throwback to the ’70s and offers another option of a sporty, elegant integrated-bracelet watch. At its core, the Certina DS-7 is a 39mm watch that is available only on an integrated bracelet. Also, it doesn’t come with a quartz movement like the PRX at all. The only way you can get it is with the slightly controversial Powermatic 80 automatic movement. It’s a decent movement that offers up to 80 hours of power reserve, but many have criticized it for being not easily repairable as Swatch technicians just swap movements. Water resistance is set to 100 meters and you can see the movement through the sapphire caseback.

The watches will come in six different versions, all with sunray brushed dials. For the stainless steel cases, there is a green or black dial option for CHF 795, and both feature black PVD intermediate links in the bracelet. An additional stainless variant is offered for CHF 740 in turquoise and has polished center links. A silver-dialed model contains gold PVD center links and is priced at CHF 795. An all-gold PVD piece with matching gold dial lists for CHF 840. Finally, and perhaps most intriguingly, an all-titanium model is available with a blue dial for CHF 860. See more of these watches on the Certina website.

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Union Glashütte Celebrates 130 Years With A New 1893 Johannes Dürrstein Edition Chronograph

Stereotypes are a horrible thing and we should shun them whenever possible. However, sometimes, they are right. Like, for example, when it comes to German watchmaking - it is described as classic, teutonic, of the highest quality and reserved. These are, of course, not negative stereotypes. And Union Glashütte is right here to prove them right. This year they are celebrating 130 years of Union Glashütte timepieces and have released a limited run of the Johannes Dürrstein Edition Chronograph.

The special 1893 Johannes Dürrstein Edition Chronograph is part of the brand’s 1893 collection and it’s an homage to vintage pocket watch chronographs. Specifically inspired by a unique pocket watch from the 1920s, the wristwatch meticulously replicates the original design, down to the reconstructed numbers and hands. This stainless steel model measures 42mm wide and 14.3mm thick and you get 100 meters of water reistance.

Design details include a silver line-ground face with a bi-compax setup, round-brushed totalizers and a date display at 6 o’clock, encased in a domed sapphire crystal. The large white registers contrast the silver dial quite well, and they are finished with circular brushing, creating a nice effect. The blue syringe-style hour and minute hands make the time easy to read, and the central chronograph hand is also blued and contrasts nicely with the silver background.

Inside the watch is the UNG-59.S1 hand wound movement made by ETA for Union Glashütte. It maskes sense since both ETA and Union Glashütte are part of the Swatch Group. The movement beats at 28,800vph and features a 60-hour power reserve and a silicon hairspring. The movement is neatly finished with blued screw, perlage, and vertical stripes. The watch comes on a blue calf leather strap and a folding clasp.

The Union Glashütte 1893 Johannes Dürrstein Edition Chronograph is made in only 300 pieces, so I suspect it will sell out quickly considering the very fair price of €3,600.

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anOrdain Announces The New Model 3 Method With A Wood-Carved Pattern Enamel Dial

The Scottish watch brand anOrdain isn’t creating exquisite cases made out of rare metals. Nor do they have to. Because what they focus on is extremely beautiful watch dials. Their work in enamel is stunning and on par with the best things you might see from Japan or Switzeland. However, their biggest drawback is their size. Not the size of the watches, of course, that’s fine, but rather the size of the operation that requires everything to move a bit slower- For example, their last watch was released over a year ago. Their new watch, however, the Model 3 Method, has been in the making for four years.

Let’s take care of the more mundane stuff first. It comes in a stainless steel case that measures 39mm wide and 10.5mm thick and has a polished bezel. Elegant wire lugs connect the watch to several strap options, including black, brown, teal and ochre leather straps and a grey suede.

What’s special, however, is the dial, which was a collaboration with artisanal woodworkers at Studio Method. The watch features a carved wooden style texture over which anOrdain’s signature Grand Feu enamel is applied. It comes in two colors - Aqua blue or Lichen green, both of them spectacular. The Aqua blue is a rich azure colour with silver baton indexes and blued steel hands. Less traditional is the Lichen green, which is a particularly pale shade of sage green with purple hour markers and purple hands.

Inside the watch is the very familiar Sellita SW300 automatic movement that’s easy to service and provides a 42-hour power reserve.

You can register your interest in the new anOrdain Model 3 Method on their website and expect to pay €4.201,00 + VAT when the watch is ready for delivery.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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Hands-On With The Cuervo Y Sobrinos Historiador Historic Endurance

2/

A review of the Armin Strom One Week First Edition

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Vario Empire True GMT is an Art Deco-inspired travel watch for design purists

The Vario Empire True GMT’s dial is the main event. Available in four vibey colours – Winter White, Spring Green, Summer Blue and Autumn Salmon (which no doubt will be a fan favourite) – it features a guilloched centre section surrounded by a discreet GMT track and an hour track characterised by concentric circles and 2-hour sectors. Thankfully, Vario hasn’t messed with the Empire’s design too much with this GMT variant of the watch. The guilloched centre section is particularly impressive, especially at this price point. Read the whole review on Time + Tide.

⏲️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

• A cop with expensive taste and money troubles. A wealthy woman who loved and supported him. An old man with dementia with a large estate and no next of kin. And a secret girlfriend and a fake will. Mix these elements together and what do you get? Katherine Laidlaw’s latest story for Toronto Life about a romance and financial scam gone wrong.

• Susan Casey’s anger is palpable in this piece for Vanity Fair. She explores Stockton Rush’s reckless approach to building the Titan submersible, the implosion of which cost five lives, including his own. When the media and the public followed the search for the Titan back in June, they didn’t know what was common knowledge in the submersible community: the fear was always that the hull of the Titan would fail.

• When a microbe was found munching on a plastic bottle in a rubbish dump, it promised a recycling revolution. Now scientists are attempting to turbocharge those powers in a bid to solve our waste crisis. But will it work?

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

I’ve said it before and I say it again - I avoid posting watch videos. Not because I don’t like them or don’t want to share them with you, it’s more that I see this part of the newsletter as a distraction from watches. But here’s a watch video. Two reasons for it - it’s absolutely stunning, filmed in the hills of Scotland, I think. Second, I’m really starting to like this Hamilton Khaki Expedition.

💵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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