Swatch Releases The Pinkest Watch With New Scuba Fifty Fathoms; Zenith's Skeleton Defy Skyline Chrono And Rainbow Chronomaster; TAG's Weird Chronosprint; Great New Farers; And A New Gerald Genta

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. There’s more watches from LVMH week, but they’re kind of overshadowed by Swatch and Farer. Or am I wrong? I know that the pink of the Swatch is a bit much, but I like it.

In this issue:

• The Latest Swatch x Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms Pink Ocean Is The Very Pinkest Watch

• Zenith Releases New Defy Skyline Chronograph Skeleton Duo And A Kind Of Familiar Chronomaster Sport Rainbow

• TAG Heuer Brings Back Their Weirdest Movement For Two More Vintage-Inspired Carreras

• Farer Relaunches Their GMT Bezel Collection, Now Available In Two Sizes And Great Colors

• The Newly Revived Gérald Genta Brand Announces The Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal

👂What’s new

1/

The Latest Swatch x Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms Pink Ocean Is The Very Pinkest Watch

Just a month after they introduced the extremely blue Scuba Fifty Fathoms Blue Lagoon, Swatch x Blancpain is back with a new release and it’s… quite something. The new Scuba Fifty Fathoms is called the Pink Ocean and, as you would guess, it’s pink. But when I say pink, I mean completely pink. The dial, the hands, the numerals, the bezel, the case, the strap… Everything comes in a shade of pink. This has to be the pinkest watch in the world, right?

The case is the same as the existing models - 42.3mm wide, 14.4mm thick and still made out of bioceramic, a material that is made up of two-thirds zirconium oxide ceramic powder, with one-third biosourced material derived from castor oil. But most people just call it plastic because that’s exactly what it feels like. You get 91 meters of water resistance (50 fathoms). The Pink Ocean has a dark pink case that is on the verge of magenta, with a lighter pink on the bezel with lumed darker pink numerals and minute markers for the first 15 minutes. The dial has a gradient pink color, brighter in the middle and fading to a darker pink on the edges. The indices and hands are finished with luminous material and pink edges.

Inside, and seen through the transparent caseback, is the mechanical Sistem51 movement. It beats at 21,600vph and has an impressive 90 hour power reserve. The rotor is again decorated with a nudibranch, a shell-less type of Gastropod, this time features the Ceratodoris rosacea, with an illustration of a pink waters. Of course, there’s much debate over this movement as it’s unlikely to be serviced due to it’s fused components, but it’s still a nifty piece of engineering. The watch no longer comes on a NATO-style strap, instead you get a two-piece nylon strap with two shades of pink and white, made of recycled fishing nets removed from the oceans.

The Swatch x Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms Pink Ocean goes on sale on February 1st and will once again be priced at €400. See more on the Swatch website.

2/

Zenith Releases New Defy Skyline Chronograph Skeleton Duo And A Kind Of Familiar Chronomaster Sport Rainbow

As part of the LVMH week, Zenith had some interesting releases as well. We’re getting a new take on the Defy Skyline chrono, their relatively new model line, which now gets a skeletonized version. But we’re also getting something way different — a new Chronomaster Sport in white gold with a rainbow gem-set bezel. Let’s not waste any time.

The Defy Skyline chronograph is a relatively new watch for Zenith, released only last year for the first time. It’s a more edgier take on a classic chronograph, with harsh angles, an octagonal case and dodecagonal bezel. Very futuristic, very aggressive, packed into a 42mm wide and 12.7mm thick stainless steel case with brushed and polished finishes, as well as sapphire crystals on top and bottom. Water resistance is 100 meters.

New for this model line is the dial, or the lack thereof. This is the first skeletonized version of the Defy Skyline Chronograph. The skeletonization is done in the same sharp manner as the rest of the case, inspired by the brand’s star-like double-Z logo. You can get the watch in two colorways — black or blue — and the color is applied not just to the top plate of the dial, but also to parts of the movements, the rotor and the chapter ring that surrounds the dial. Both versions get grey azuré sub-dials, and faceted hour markers and hands, both filled with Super-Luminova.

Inside is the skeletonized version of the El Primero 3600 which has been around for five or six years now. It beats at the fast rate of 36,000 vph, which Zenith uses to make the central chronograph hand complete a full rotation in 10 seconds, making it practical to measure down to 1/10th of a second. It has a 60 hour power reserve. The watches come on either a 3-link steel bracelet or a star-patterned black or blue rubber strap that has a folding clasp.

The Zenith Defy Skyline Chronograph Skeleton is priced at CHF 14,900 and you can see more of the watch on the Zenith website.

Then, we have the other watch. Zenith Chronographs have a storied history with the Rolex Daytona, since their El Primero movement was used for years in the Daytona. This hasn’t been the case for decades, but parallels between the two models are drawn to today. So, it came as no surprise as Zenith started introducing more precious materials to their Chronomaster Sport line. And it’s certainly no surprise that they now have a white gold version with rainbow baguette sapphires, very reminiscent to one of the most desirable Daytonas — the Rainbow Daytona.

The case of the Chronomaster Sport Rainbow measures 41mm wide and 13.6mm thick, with a bezel on top that’s set with 40 sapphires in the colors of the rainbow, and an additional 10 baguette-cut diamonds after every four sapphires. This is technically not the first rainbow version of the Chronomaster, as they had a rose gold limited edition for the Japanese retailer Yoshida. The dial is black lacquer with 12 baguette-cut sapphires for the hour markers, and the recognizable tri-colour overlapping sub-dials in the center. Inside is the same El Primero 3600, only this time not skeletonized, but with the same 5Hz beat rate and a 60 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a 3-link white gold bracelet.

The watch will be available exclusively through Zenith, priced at $112,100. I can’t wait to see how this watch does. Will it come close to the desirability of the Rainbow Daytona, which is now complete unobtainium and sells in the half million dollar range, or will it be a niche product for Zenith die-hards. See more on the Zenith website.

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TAG Heuer Brings Back Their Weirdest Movement For Two More Vintage-Inspired Carreras

So, we’ve already established the fact that the Glassbox version of the TAG Heuer Carrera is one of the prettiest watches on sale right now, regardless of its configuration. But of all the variants they’ve done so far, by far my favorite has been the one they have done with Porsche two years ago. The TAG Heuer Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche was not just a beautiful watch, it also had a delightfully useless complication on the movement. The two brands paid homage to the 9.1 seconds that it took the original Porsche 911 to get to 100 km/h and in an act of mad brilliance modified the chrono movement so that the central chrono hand starts out very fast, completing a third of the full rotation in 9.1, only to then slow down so that it can finish the rest of the revolution in 60 seconds. Completely crazy, but incredibly cool. Now, that Chronosprint model is getting two new variants which are inspired by the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally, available in either steel or yellow gold.

The new Chronosprint, just like the old one, comes in a larger Glassbox case, one that measures 42mm wide, 14.9mm thick and with a 48.6mm lug-to-lug. You know all of this from Glassbox cases we’ve seen before — a huge domed sapphire crystal on top that extends to the edges, a brushed finish and polished details, along with piston-style pushers. The same finishes can be found on both the steel and the 18k yellow gold versions.

The dial features a lot of the elements of the old Chronosprint, but now in a new color. The base is all black, with the rhodium or rose gold sub-dial surrounds, applied indexes and faceted central hands. On the edge of the dial is a seconds track with a red colored first third, with the internal bezel that features a large Porsche logo between 10 and 12, and numberings between 1 and 10 that sit between 12 and 4 o’clock. While the previous version paid homage to the 9.1 seconds to 100 of the original 991, this one counts up to 8.4, standing for the 8.4 seconds that it took the 1965 Porsche 911 “147” to accelerate to 100 km/h during the Monte Carlo Rally. Additional nods to Porsche heritage include the red-highlighted segment between 50 and 55 on the running seconds subdial, referencing 1970s Porsche dashboards that emphasized the 50 km/h city speed limit.

That cool gimmick with the fast start of the chrono hand is handled by the calibre TH20 which is an evolution of the Heuer 02. It’s an integrated column-wheel chronograph movement with a vertical clutch and bi-directional winding. The power reserve is 80 hours. The steel watch comes on a steel three-link bracelet, while the gold version comes on a black perforated calfskin leather strap.

The new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche Rallye is, of course, very limited. Only 911 pieces will be made in stainless steel and 11 gold, both numbered. The stainless steel version is priced at CHF 10,000 and can be seen here, while the gold version is priced at CHF 24,000 and you can check it out on the TAG Heuer website.

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Farer Relaunches Their GMT Bezel Collection, Now Available In Two Sizes And Great Colors

I mean… How do they do this? How is Farer this good at the use of colors? If you look at them, you’ll see these are not revolutionary combinations of colors. They’re just perfect. Well, now their colorful approach is being applied to the GMT Bezel collection, which is a big deal among Farer fans. Farer used to make a great GMT watch, but it’s been missing from the catalogue for what must be more than two years now. Good to see them back.

While the four new watches have completely different dials and bezels, which is very often used in Farer watches, but these four also have different cases. Sure, the difference is just in size, but still, that’s a lot of combinations. There are two sizes, one that measures 40mm wide, 12.5mm thick (10.75mm without without the crystal) and with a pleasant 44.8mm lug-to-lug; and the other measures 38mm wide, the same thickness and with a 42.25mm lug-to-lug. They all share steel as the material, with brushed and polished surfaces, and a bi-directional serrated bezel that surrounds a box-style sapphire crystal. You also get new lugs that have a concave curve to them, with a slight flick at the end. Water resistance is 200 meters.

The four models are called Maze III and Crooms III, which come in 40mm, and Maze Blue and Charlton Green, which come in 38mm. The Maze III features a bright white dial with a grid pattern, applied circles, rectangles and Farer’s arrow at 12 o’clock for the hour markers filled with light blue lume. The sapphire insert on the bezel features a light blue and black combination with a 24-hour scale for a day/night split, and a bright orange arrow pointing to the scale. Then, there’s the Crooms III which has a sunray brushed dial with a burgundy color. You get bar indices and Arabic numerals at 9 and 3 o’clock. The bezel is completely black and only displays every other hour as a numeral in the 24-hour scale. The Maze Blue has a honeycomb pattern on a white dial, with bright orange hands, orange lume on the same indices as the Maze III, and blue and white inserts on the bezel, with a blue GMT. Last is the Charlton Green, which has the same honeycomb pattern as the Maze Blue but now on a cream dial. The GMT bezel has dot markers between the Arabic numerals and a cream and teal colorway. The hour markers are faceted and have blue strips down the centre.

All four of the watches are powered by the familiar Sellita SW330-2 Top Grade movement, which beats at 4Hz and has a 56 hour power reserve. The watches come on rubber straps that contrast or match the primary and secondary colorways of the respective watches. You can also buy a three link stainless steel bracelet or a whole slew of other rubber and leather options.

The new Farer GMT Bezel collection is available for purchase right now and priced at €1,575, regardless of size. See more on the Farer website.

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The Newly Revived Gérald Genta Brand Announces The Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal

When he wasn’t defining the entire watch industry with design icons like the Patek nautilus and the AP Royal Oak, Gérald Genta led his own eponymous brand since 1969. This is the place where he was free to explore his creativity to its limits, with some wild watches as a result. However, the brand was sold to Bulgari, where it stagnated, only to be sold to LVMH two years ago. The conglomerate since announced they will revive the brand as part of their high-end manufacture La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. We’ve already seen them release the prickly Gentissima Oursin which is now getting its sequel with the — Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal, with the same prickly construction, opal gemstones and a yellow gold case.

Genta designed the prickly watch in the 1990s, after being inspired by sea urchins he sketched on holiday in Corsica, making it perhaps one of two watches being inspired by the sea urchin. The other, of course, being the Croatian-based Marnaut, which is certainly not as expressive as this. The Gentissima Oursin comes in a 36.5mm wide and 9.6mm thick yellow gold case. On top is a frosted glass-blasted finished doughnut-shaped bezel, which then has 137 Mexican fire opals placed on it. The crown is also set with a fire opal and decorated with eight rounded gold studs matching the heads of the yellow gold pins securing the gemstones. Oh, and on top is a really pretty faceted octagonal sapphire crystal.

More orange can be found on the dial, which is made out of a bright orange semi-precious carnelian stone. The minutes are tiny indentations in the stone, with yellow gold dots every five minutes. The hands are made out of yellow gold, with lumed inserts.

Inside, you’ll find the automatic Zenith Elite movement, which features an octagonal yellow gold rotor. The movement beats at 4Hz and has a 50 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a black alligator strap.

There’s not much info on the Gérald Genta Gentissima Oursin Fire Opal. We know that it will be limited release available in May of this year. Price is on request. See more on the Gerald Genta website. 

⏲️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

• On the final night of the 2024 Republican National Convention, Dana White, president and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, introduced and repeatedly hyped the evening’s main speaker, Donald Trump, as “a fighter.” White, who claims a role in connecting Trump and podcaster Joe Rogan, was at Trump’s side again a few months later, at the latter’s election-night party, and featured at Trump’s pre-inauguration rally last week, where the language of recreational battle flecked White’s praise. For Rolling Stone, Jack Crosbie details the slow ascent of one of the world’s most popular sports, the brand that conquered it, and how White–recently appointed to Meta’s board of directors–gained power and influence through blood sport.

• We haven’t had a great portrait in a while. So here’s one on Norman Foster, the iconic architect.

• The other day I had to fill out a form. Perhaps the first one in five years. And I realized I completely forgot how to write. We are far more likely to use our hands to type or swipe than pick up a pen. But in the process we are in danger of losing cognitive skills, sensory experience – and a connection to history.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Have I ever shared any Trackstar videos before? I doubt it because most of the best ones are on Instagram (and I assume TikTok), where he interacts with regular people, but the videos on YouTube are more celebrity oriented. The premise of the show is he plays you music, if you guess the artist you get $5. With every next guess, the prize money doubles. I can’t tell you how much amazing music I discovered watching Trackstar. So, here’s an episode with David Duchovny, who obviously has amazing taste.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk