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- Seiko Updates Fan-Favorite SPB143 With Smaller Case, New Movement; Marathon Gives The Steel Navigator An Auto; Lebond Works With Architecture Legend; And New From Mr Jones And Louis Vuitton
Seiko Updates Fan-Favorite SPB143 With Smaller Case, New Movement; Marathon Gives The Steel Navigator An Auto; Lebond Works With Architecture Legend; And New From Mr Jones And Louis Vuitton
How do you make an already amazing watch better? With incremental updates
Vuk Radic
March 07, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 19 minutes
Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Hey, we’re back in Seiko season! And I don’t mind it, as there are always some interesting watches being released. However, my favorite today has to be the Lebond.
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In this issue:
Seiko Updates The Fan-Favorite Prospex SPB143 With A Smaller Case And Better Movement
Marathon Introduces New Automatic Steel Navigator And It’s Still Indestructible
Lebond Is Back With Another Architect Collaboration, This Time With Pritzker Prize Winner Eduardo Souto de Moura
Legendary British Graphic Designer Margaret Calvert Releases Street Sign-Inspired Watch With Mr Jones
The Louis Vuitton Voyager Flying Tourbillon “Poinçon de Genève” with a Plique-à-Jour Dial Is Just Incredible
Today’s reading time: 8 minutes and 25 seconds
👂What’s new
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Arguably one of the favorite dive watches from Seiko in recent years has been the SPB143, released in 2020 as part of the 1965 Diver's Modern Re-Interpretation line. It was one of Seiko’s many homages to their legendary 62MAS diver, an ideal blend of features, proportion, and price. Now, Seiko is releasing an update to this already legendary watch in the form of the SPB453, SPB451 and SPB455. The last one is a special edition that falls under the 100 year celebration of the Seiko name on dials, a celebration that started last year and is now made up of 4 models with 5 more coming by the end of this year.
Instead of just being new dials for the SPB143, these three new watches get so many updates they could be considered a new model line. The most significant update comes in the size of the case - the three new ones measure 40mm wide, 13mm thick and with a 46.4mm lug-to-lug, while the old one measured 40.5mm wide, 13.2mm thick and had a 47.6mm lug-to-lug. It doesn’t seem that much, but that lug-to-lug reduction will surely mean a much more comfortable wear. Also, the new watches get a sturdier caseback which allows for 300 meters of water resistance, compared to the 200 of the older model. Pretty much everything else on the case remains the same.
The three references are differentiated with their color - black on the SPB453, blue on the SPB451 and charcoal grey on the SPB455. On top of the watches is a curved sapphire crystal and a unidirectional rotating diving bezel with a colored aluminium insert. The diving scale on the inserts is laser-engraved and filled with either white lacquer on the blue or black dials, or gold-coloured lacquer on the special edition
Depending on the color of the dial, you get either white, silver or gold-coloured raised indices and hands, all of which have Seiko’s great LumiBrite. But the dial gets one major update that will likely drive some people mad - the date has moved from three o’clock to four-thirty, the worst place to place a date window. The good thing is that the aperture is small, circular and the date disk is color matched, so it’s not that horrible.
Inside, the trio gets and upgrade from the 6R35 to the 6R55. It beast at 21,600vph and gets a slight update in running time to 72 hours from 70. The watches come on an updated bracelet that has smaller links and a smaller clasp, and the SPB455 also comes with a grey textile strap that is made from recycled plastic and features a weave that is inspired by a traditional Japanese technique called Seichu.
Seiko says that the SPB455 is a special edition, but makes no note whether it will be limited, so all three will be available at Seiko Boutiques and selected retail stores worldwide from June 2024. Pricing is set at $1,300/€1,400 for the black or blue models, while the special edition is priced at $1,400/€1,600. See more on the Seiko website.
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Despite what you might expect, not a lot of watches are instantly recognisable on a wrist from 10-15 meters away. You will likely recognise a Cartier Santos from pretty far away due to it’s unique shape and colors, but a black Submariner can easily be mistaken for a Sea-Dweller or one of the dozens and dozens homage watches out there. But one watch you will spot at any distance - if you’re familiar with it, that is - is a Marathon Navigator. With it’s rugged, very asymmetrical case, and simple numerals/hands, it should look like a bunch of other watches, and yet, it’s special. Now, Marathon is releasing an update to the Navigator, the one in steel and measuring 41mm, in the form of an automatic movement.
If you think that the Navigator looks like a military issue field watch, you’re not far off. It was developed in the 1980s for use by pilots of the Kelly Air Force Base in Texas, and the military DNA is present to this day. It’s a very robust watch that’s not that huge, measuring in at 41mm wide and 11mm thick, all of which is dedicated to function. The asymmetrical steel case protrudes heavily to the right in order to act as a crown guard and the entire case is brushed, as you would expect. On top is a sapphire crystal, surrounded by a 12 hour bi-directional bezel to track a second time zone. Marathon prides itself on making watches that they say still meet the needs of pilots, meaning they are shock proof and won’t fail with sudden pressure changes.
The dial is equally as utilitarian. The markers are clear, legible and completely white, with a 12 hour scale and a 24 hour one on the inside of the dial. To make it really useful, all the markers and hands have tritium tubes, making night legibility equally as easy as they are constantly illuminated. There’s a date window at four-thirty, a place I don’t like, but it works on this crowded dial.
While Marathon watches are primarily known for their quartz watches, which is understandable as quartz is more reliable for the intended purpose, this version comes with an automatic version. It’s nothing special, the Sellita SW200, but it’s easily servicable around the globe and fairly robust. It beats at 28,800vph and has a 38 hour power reserve. The watch can be had on a choice of straps - a three piece rubber, DEFSTAN Nylon or ballistic nylon.
The prices on these pieces are a bit high for what you might get, but then again this is a niche product that’s interesting to the nerdiest of watch nerds. Also, from what I gather, the price in the US starts around $1,050, but I can’t get the website to switch from the EU one, so the prices I see are €1,260 for the ballistic nylon, €1,296 for the DEFSTAN and €1,536 for the rubber. See more on the Marathon website.
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I think I made a mistake last year. In the many editions of the best watches of the year, I forgot to mention one that could easily make it up to the top 10 of 2023. It was an unusual watch from an upstart brand called Lebond. For their first watch they worked with legendary architect Álvaro Siza who shaped the case after one of his signature square swimming pools, and then attached the straps to one of the corners. It looked amazing. Well, Lebond is back, and this time they’re working with another world-renowned architect, 2011 Pritzker Architecture Prize winner, Souto de Moura.
And just like with Siza, Lebond asked Moura to design a wristwatch that is reflective of his architectural style. Moura is well known his highly recognizable use of abstract minimalism. The watch comes in a 38.5mm wide and 7.6mm thick stainless steel case. The micro-sandblasted finish resembles Moura’s materials and also helps keep the fingerprints away and on top is a domed sapphire crystal.
Underneath the crystal are super simple dials rendered in two colors: Original, a light cream one, and Dark, a matte grey dial. Eager to give a new spin on familiar things, Souto de Moura drew a round watch and turned the dial, movement, and crown 30 degrees clockwise. The result is an architect’s take on a driver’s watch. In line with his minimalistic approach to architecture, de Moura kept the dial very simple with stick hands, a genius use of a bold hour marker at 12 to make up the 1 in the 12, and there is a lack of any other numerals, you only get matching markers at the three, six, and nine o’clock positions.
Inside is the very familiar ETA 2892-A2 automatic movement which beats at 28,800vph and has a 50 hours of power reserve. You can see the movement through the caseback, but it’s not much of a looker. The Original comes with a navy blue Top Nappa leather strap, while the Dark gets a black strap.
The two variants of the Lebond Souto De Moura timepieces are available to order now for the price of €2,700 EUR. They don’t appear to be limited. See more on the Lebond website.
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No introduction is needed for the UK based watch brand Mr Jones. Partnering with incredible artists, they release not just beautiful watches, but also watches that challenge the notion of keeping time. For their latest release, they teamed up with graphic designer Margaret Calvert for the M1.
The least interesting thing about the watch is its case and internals, as it’s pretty much the exact same as every other Mr Jones watch, so let’s get that out of the way first. It measures 37mm across, it’s made out of stainless steel and has a 46mm lug-to-lug. Water resistance is 50 meters and inside is a Swiss made single jewel quartz mechanism. The watch comes on a 18mm seatbelt nylon strap.
What’s best about the watch is the striking dial. The watch is named the M1, after ne of the UK's first motorways, which was opened between 1959 and 1968. All the signs on this motorway were designed by the now 87-year-old Calvert, who served as head of signs for Britain's roads and oversaw the redesign of the road signage system in collaboration with graphic designer Jock Kinneir. The dial has a bright blue background and fat minute and hour hands that match the direction arrows you find on motorway signs in the UK.
The M1 from Mr Jones is available for purchase now at a price of £225, but don’t expect it to be there for very long. Mr Jones watches usually sell out pretty fast. See more on their website.
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There are many debates online and offline about whether fashion houses like Louis Vuitton and Hermès can ever create great watches, or will their pieces always be considered fashion watches. I heard someone settle this debate in a very simple way: Louis Vuitton makes incredible bags, and it would hurt their reputation greatly if they were to offer a sub-par watch that has been outsourced to china. Hugo Boss, which sells at a range of price points can afford to cut some corners with their watches. For Louis Vuitton to sell something that is below their standards would ruin the story LV is built on. That’s why Louis Vuitton makes some amazing watches. And their latest release, the Voyager Flying Tourbillon "Poinçon de Genève" Plique-à-jour, confirms it.
Based on the modern Voyager line, LV infuses traditional techniques to an avant-garde look. The watch comes in a platinum case that is 41mm wide and 11.68mm thick. It has a decievingly simple case that looks to be a square circle, with no bezel and almost no lugs. Water resistance is not bad at 50 meters and there is a display caseback.
The dial is just incredible. It has an incredibly intricate and complicated application of a specific type of enamel work called plique-à-jour that resembles stained glass in its look. You get the look trough a special enameling process, which allows for a specific range of colors while preserving partial transparency. It's rendered without any sort of plate or backing and is thus translucent, like glass. The end result is formed by five to six distinct applications of enamel, each with its own firing. All told, LV says it's around 100 hours of work for each dial. And perhaps even more importantly, within the framework of the dial you’ll see the Geneva Seal, aka the Poinçon de Genève, proudly anchoring the model to its home in Geneva while also signaling a specific focus on craftsmanship and fine finishing.
Visible through both the front and the back is the fully skeletonized white gold movement called the LV 104 and developed by La Fabrique du Temps. Time is read in a small dial at 12 and the flying tourbillon in a balanced position at six. The movement beats at 3Hz and has an 80 hour power reserve.
The Louis Vuitton Voyager Flying Tourbillon “Poinçon de Genève” Plique-à-jour is avialble now, if you can afford the price of €330,000. See the Louis Vuitton website for more.
🫳On hand
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⚙️Watch Worthy
A look at an off beat, less known watch you might actually like
The dial of the Navi Single Hand gets its inspiration from the art of navigation, capturing the essence of the ocean and its many colours. As with those traditional timekeepers, it embraces a single-handed design, with the dial segmented into 15-minute segments that offer somewhat accurate time-telling. Vario themselves admit punctuality wasn’t the primary goal here, saying that the Navi Single Hand “shows you time that generally matters, so you can live in the moment and not sweat the small stuff.” Just to make sure the watch is still running while the Breguet hour hand slowly creeps, you can glance at the compass-like seconds hand that kind of gives off Apple’s Safari logo vibes.
⏲️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
It was a mild winter day in 1974 when six climbers set out on a route no one had ever attempted. Then came Pamola’s Fury. David Goodman recounts a terrible night on Pamola’s Fury and the difficult decisions a group of climbers had to make. It’s a fast-paced adventure, which also tackles the undercurrent of animosity felt between climbers and rangers as climbing culture developed in the seventies.
I was lucky enough to live in New York City for four years. It was an incredible time in a city I still consider to be in the top two cities in the world. There’s just one ridiculous thing I could never understand - why does New York just accept trash being dumped on its streets every nigh? The New York Times has an interesting answer why this is happening and how it could be fixed.
This is a pretty entertaining look at the incredible excess you get to see at Formula 1 races. Or, to quote the subheading of the article: “If you wanted to turn someone into a socialist you could do it in about an hour by taking them for a spin around the paddock of a Formula 1 race. The kind of money I saw will haunt me forever.”
👀Watch this
One video you have to watch today
A bit of an older video, but really interesting. Have you ever wondered why so many alien planets in movies tend to look the same? The obvious answer would be that they are shot on very similar locations around Los Angeles where the majority of the U.S. film industry is concentrated. But why? Why would they film in such a small geographic location, actually a 30 mile radius, when they could easily just drive half an hour longer and get something different. Well, it turns out it has a lot to do with
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-Vuk
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