Seiko's Latest Diver, The Prospex 1965, Is Inspired By Greek Islands; Fears Releases Brunswick Midas II 38; Bulova Adds Blood Moon Dial To Lunar Pilot; Chronoswiss Has A Glacier-Inspired Delphis

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I really like the summery dial of that new Seiko, but I just have to chuckle at their decision to release a summer-themed watch just as the summer ends. They really won’t let anyone guess their next move.

Your reaction to my ask for help has been super humbling. Thank you very much, we are a quarter of the way to reaching the goal. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, read the red part right below:

In this issue:

• Seiko Goes To The Greek Islands With A Summery New Prospex 1965 Divers “Zakynthos” SPB473

• Fears Draws On Their Rich Heritage For The New All Gold Midas II 38 Release

• Bulova Adds Blood Moon Red Dial To The Lunar Pilot Archive Series

• Chronoswiss Looks At Glaciers And Arctic Skies For Inspiration For The Delphis Sub Zero

Today’s reading time: 7 minutes and 18 seconds

👂What’s new

1/

Seiko Goes To The Greek Islands With A Summery New Prospex 1965 Divers “Zakynthos” SPB473

Once the go-to tool for millions, Seiko dive watches have faced quite a lot of criticism. A fair few, including the recreation of the legendary 62Mas model have been priced way beyond what people would expect from Seiko and into brand new Tudor and grey market Omega territory. While a lot of focus has been placed on that, the good thing is that Seiko still has the mid-tier Prospex 1965 Divers line. And while for years these watches a bit stale in their design, Seiko has been playing with a lot of color lately, and it’s great. The latest of these colorful divers is the new SPB473, also called the Prospex Limited Edition 1965 Recreation in Gradation island blue, which is inspired by the blue waters that surround the Ioninan sea islands. It’s also a European market exclusive.

If the case of this watch looks familiar, it’s because it’s based on the very successful SPB143 from 2020. That, in turn, was inspired by the 62Mas from the 1960s, meaning it’s a very classic diver. The stainless steel case measures 40.5mm wide, 13.2mm thick and has a lug-to-lug of 47.6mm. The screw down crown doesn’t have guards but helps with the 200 meter water resistance. On top is a domed sapphire crystal, surrounded by a unidirectional rotating 120-click bezel with a super dark black insert (click on the link to the Seiko website to see a better photo of the watch from the side which shows how dark it actually is, the one on top is not as representative).

The dial is just spectacular. It keeps the hardware of the watches that came before it — rectangular lume plots, faceted baton hands with lume and a date window at 3 o’clock which not gets a small lume plot next to it. The base of the dial has a fine wave pattern with an incredible color gradient over it, ranging from very light blue on top to deep turquoise blue at the bottom.

Inside is the very familiar calibre 6R35, an automatic movement that beats at 3Hz and has a very decent 70 hour power reserve. The watch comes on the well known 3-link brushed stainless steel bracelet, but you get an additional white silicon strap which just looks to be perfect for the summer.

The new Seiko Prospex 1965 Divers “Zakynthos” SPB473 is not only limited to the European market, they are also limited in numbers. Only 1,000 will be made. This looked like a total slam dunk, but leave it to Seiko to mess it all up. This diver, a perfect companion for an August holiday in Greece, will only be released on September 1st. You know, when the summer season is practically over. Price is set at €1,500. See more on the Seiko website.

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Fears Draws On Their Rich Heritage For The New All Gold Brunswick Midas II 38 Release

For a while I flip-flopped on the English watch brand Fears. I just wasn’t sure I like them. The issue was, as I found out with time, I didn’t exactly understand who they were. I was wondering whether they make serious dress watches or funky sports ones. Turns out, the answer is “yes”. Yes to all of that. It all clicked for me last year when they released their collaboration with the California-based retailer Topper. Those watches showed off their entire range of capabilities, from very elegant to super sporty. Their latest release is on the former edge of the spectrum and a followup to the Brunswick Midas that was discontinued in 2021. This is the Brunswick Midas II, inspired by some of the most iconic Brunswick models in history.

Fears is currently run by Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, the great-great-great grandson of Edwin Fears. The family brand went under in 1976 and was revived by Bowman-Scargill in 1976. One of the flagship models of the modern Fears is Brunswick, which was directly inspired by a cushion case watch Fears made in 1924. And this Midas II takes even more inspiration, from an all gold model from the 1970s. All of this, of course, is packed into a much more modern format.

The Brunswick Midas II comes in a brushed and polished cushion-shape case that gets a 22K gold plating. The case measures 38mm wide, 11,84mm thick and thanks to the shape and short lugs, has a great lug-to-lug of 42mm. On top is a domed sapphire crystal and despite the gold case it has a 100 meter water resistance.

The dial is super interesting. Made in Germany, the surface of the watch face features a glass bead blasted finish, resulting in a frosted appearance. The main surface finish is complemented by concentric circle finishing on the sunken sub-seconds at 6 o’clock. The entire thing gets a layer of 18ct yellow gold to match the case. The numerals are applied, extremely proud from the dial and diamond polished to a mirror shine and coated in Black Gold, a special alloy of gold that is black in appearance. The watch features iconic ‘Fears’-shaped hands, skeletonised and finished in blue using physical vapor deposition.

Inside is a a Swiss made, manual winding ETA 7001 movement. This movement was first designed in the 1970s, and it beats at 21,600bph and has a 42 hour power reserve. The movement is decorated with blued screws and Côtes de Genève striping with bridges plated in precious Rhodium. The watch comes with two straps — a dark blue Barenia option and a pale blue Alcantara.

The Fears Brunswick 38 Midas II is not a limited edition watch, but it will be limited production and each will be individually numbered. All of this seems like a compelling package for €3,400. See more on the Fears website.

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Bulova Adds Blood Moon Red Dial To The Lunar Pilot Archive Series

On August 2nd, 1971, as part of the Apollo 15 mission, Commander David R. Scott exited the Falcoln lander on the surface of the moon and became the seventh man to walk on the moon and the first to drive the Lunar Rover. On his wrist was Bulova chronograph watch. Designed specifically for the harsh conditions of space, the Lunar Pilot watch was crucial for tracking time, ensuring astronauts did not exhaust their oxygen, water, or battery power. Additionally, it served as a backup timer for the critical reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. It always lived in the shadow of the big shot Omega Speedmaster Professional, but the Lunar Pilot line — reinvigorated in 2021 on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 15 — has had its loyal fans. Now, they are adding a new dial to the model, rendered in a very stark red color. This is the Blood Moon Lunar Pilot.

The case of the modern Lunar Pilot is very much reminiscent of the original watch. It measures 43.5mm wide and has almost C-type lugs that slope from the fully round central part of the case. The way Bulova integrates the pushers is also very interesting, giving them a very large surface area that makes the case look asymmetric. The entire case has a brushed finish and gets 50 meters of water resistance.

As its name suggests, the timepiece takes on a scarlet dial that nods the reddish tinge as seen on an actual Blood Moon. But the dial is even more interesting when viewed up close, as it has a subtle texture to it. Around the red dial is a silver tachymeter scale, and it’s interrupted with a classic tri-compax sub-dial configuration.

Inside, you’ll find the NP20 High Precision Quartz (HPQ) chronograph movement, boasting an accuracy of 1/20th second. The watch comes on a three link bracelet and an additional black leather NATO strap.

The new Blood Moon Lunar Pilot is not a limited edition and it retails for $895. See more on the Bulova website.

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Chronoswiss Looks At Glaciers And Arctic Skies For Inspiration For The Delphis Sub Zero

The watches that Chronoswiss makes are definitely not for everyone. They are highly decorated and often quite loud, but if you like one of them, you will likely fall in love with all of them. And it seems that their Delphis model, released only in 2023, is quickly becoming their favorite canvas for playing with colors. Only a month ago they gave the Delphis a bunch of new colors, hand-guilloché enamel dials and case materials. Now, they’re presenting a new Delphis Sub Zero in a bright blue case that is inspired by glaciers.

The Delphis case hasn’t changed from the base model. It still measures 42mm wide and 14.5mm thick, made out of stainless steel. All 17 parts of the case get a bright blue CVD coating which, along with a high polish on the bezel, lugs and crown, give the watch a metallic look. Speaking of the crown, it’s very large and onion-shaped. There are sapphire crystals on top and bottom and water resistance is 100 meters.

Blue details continue on the dial as well. There’s the very characteristic Delphis crescent-shaped upper dial which gets the retrograde minutes track and jumping hour window at noon, and that gets a silver galvanic hand-guilloché background. The bottom part of the dial has a black base with two openworked matte black bridges. The bottom bridge holds the small seconds sub-dial which also has a blue CVD coating. The hands for the minutes and small seconds are skeletonised and also blue.

Inside is the automatic C. 6004 which has been developed by La Joux-Perret. It beats at 28,800vph and has a 55 hour power reserve. The rotor is openworked and made out of tungsten, while the rest of the movement has ruthenium-plated components. The watch comes on a blue rubber strap.

The Chronoswiss Delphis Sub Zero is limited to 50 pieces and priced at €18,400. See more on the Chronoswiss website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

1/

A review of the Furlan Marri Disco Volante

2/

Hands-On With The Casio G-Shock G-5600SRF-1

3/

A review of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Monobalancier Titanium and Roger Dubuis Monotourbillon Titanium

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Hamburg DIN 8330 is really what a good analog mechanical tool watch is supposed to be all about

DIN 8330 watches are also designed to be easily legible if wearing night vision goggles and to survive strong magnetic forces. In many ways, the standard takes what is necessary for diving watches (without the need to go as deep underwater), but adds a lot of interesting additional elements and requirements. The watch is known as the “Hamburg” because Hamburg, Germany is where the DIN 8330 certifying agency SEACOTEC is located.

Let’s get back to the watch itself. The Laco Hamburg DIN 8330 case is 43.5mm wide and 13.6mm thick in a gray sandblast-finished steel. The case has a roughly 50mm long lug-to-lug distance and uses 20mm wide straps. Over the dial is an excellent AR-coated flat sapphire crystal, and the steel case is water-resistant to 200 meters with a screw-down and guarded crown. Unlike diver’s watches, the bezel rotates bi-directionally. It was further designed to be operable with gloves. The bezel insert is in matte-black ceramic, and its text is all painted in luminous material.

Read the whole review on A Blog To Watch

⏲️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

• For a couple of weeks now I’ve been researching travel in Switzerland… I might want to organise something for a couple of watch enthusiasts, so keep your eyes open for that (you might want to email me if you’re really interested so we can work on the trip together). But as I’m doing that, I find this article. Frustrated with how predictable traveling has become in the digital era, Ben Buckland decided to walk across Switzerland, relying on the hand-drawn maps of locals and strangers to find his way. The result is a lovely essay accompanied by Buckland’s own photographs on serendipity, unexpectedness, living in the moment, and seeing the world through others’ eyes.

• I see a piece about attending a cryptozoology conference, I read it. Them’s the rules. Thankfully, this isn’t your average “skeptic heads to a convention center to yuck other people’s yum” takedown. Jason Katz believes in Sasquatch down to his bones, and his faith makes this pilgrimage work even beyond the character sketches.

• Most of us aren’t nearly as aware as how amazingly advanced online life is in most of Africa. The continent skipped a couple of steps of communication media and their entire lives are now dependant on the internet. Including religion. Many houses of worship began streaming religious services in 2020; Christian televangelists have sermonized to a distributed “congregation” for decades. But as Vincent Owino reports, livestreaming preachers like Jeffter Wekesa have flourished in Kenya, where plentiful internet access gives them a pulpit—or at least multiple phones and webcams—from which to serve a hungry global audience.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

I love YouTube because it will randomly and for no reason, just throw out a video like this. Come on! Anthony Bourdain and Iggy Pop having lunch? A dream team.

💵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 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