The Omega No-Date Seamaster In Bronze Gold And Burgundy Is Here; Charlie Paris' Sporty Duo; BA111OD Updates Chapter 7; Hermès Has New Arceau Watches; The First Mixed-Color Ceramic On A Hublot

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. What a wild lineup of watches today. From €307 to €255,000… That’s why I love watches. There’s something for everyone and it’s all pretty impressive.

In this issue:

• Omega Continued Developing The No-Date Seamaster Diver 300M, Now In Bronze Gold And Burgundy

• Charlie Paris Releases Great Looking And Most Sporty Version Of Their GR Watches, The GRX EVO-III

• BA111OD Updates Their Chapter 7 Sports Watch With A Chronometer Movement

• Hermès Has New Watches In The Arceau Collection With Meteorite Moonphase And Precious Metal Worldtimer

• The New Hublot Big Bang Unico Magic Ceramic Is The First Multi-Colored Ceramic Watch

👂What’s new

1/

Omega Continued Developing The No-Date Seamaster Diver 300M, Now In Bronze Gold And Burgundy

When Omega released the new Seamaster Diver 300M No-Date, a lot of people poo-pooed it for being a boring release, wondered who needs a black and silver diver, and overall hated it. But it was obvious that this was Omega just starting a brand new collection. Not only did we see Daniel Craig wearing a previously unseen gold and burgundy Seamaster at the Governors Awards, Omega quickly followed up the Diver 300M No-Date with a titanium and gold version with a lovely green dial. Well, Omega and Craig are in this cycle of him wearing new releases about four or five months before they are actually releases, which means that Omega just released the Governors Awards watch, the new Seamaster Diver 300M Bronze Gold with a burgundy bezel.

The first release in the line was a steel monochromatic duo, the second was a bit of a surprise as it came in titanium and gold, and now the third version comes in all gold. But this is Omega, so it’s not just regular gold. Actually, it isn’t gold at all. Despite Omega calling it Bronze Gold, it’s 9k gold, an alloy of bronze, 37.5% gold, palladium and silver. It gives you the warm look of bronze, without the oxidation. The rest remains fairly the same, and strongly inspired by the 2020 No Time To Die Seamaster Diver 300M. That means you get the twisted lugs, the helium escape valve at 10 o’clock and the same size — 42mm wide, 13.8mm thick and with a 50mm lug-to-lug- On top is a domed sapphire crystal surrounded by scalloped bezel that’s also made out of Bronze Gold. The insert is once again made of aluminum, and I happy to see it as its burgundy color will certainly patina in a way that ceramic couldn’t. Water resistance is, quite obviously, 300 meters.

The dial is done in a matte black and has a rough texture to it. The layout is the same as previous versions, with the prominent skeletonized sword-shaped hands getting a bronze gold PVD coating. The applied markers have blackened surrounds and are filled with beige colored Super-LumiNova, just like the hands. And like the previous few releases, there is no date at 6 any more.

Inside, the same thing as the release two weeks ago. It’s the Calibre 8806, which has been used in several previous versions of the Seamaster. It’s, of course, a METAS Master Certified Chronometer, beats at 25,200vph, and has a 55-hour power reserve. The rotor is finished with Arabesque Côtes de Genève and blackened screws. You can have the watch on either a black rubber strap closed by a Bronze Gold pin buckle or you can opt for the quite bold Bronze Gold mesh bracelet with a foldover clasp.

The new Seamaster Diver 300M Bronze Gold and Burgundy is part of the regular collection and is priced quite boldly. On rubber, it will set you back €15,200, while on the bronze bracelet it is priced at €30,500. See more on the Omega website.

2/

Charlie Paris Releases Great Looking And Most Sporty Version Of Their GR Watches, The GRX EVO-III

I’ve always liked Charlie Paris Watches. They make great looking pieces that don’t break the bank. The majority of their watches I’ve been looking at have been more towards the conservative or dress side. But they’ve also always had a few more sporty pieces. Now, we are getting their most sporty one yet, in either a chronograph or three-hand setup, with some great colors and a very hardcore ice-climbing campaign behind it. This is the new Charlie Paris GRX EVO III duo.

Both of these watches come in very similar cases. They are both made out of steel, with a black PVD coating, and they both measure 39mm wide and have a really comfortable 45mm lug-to-lug. The short lug measurement is immediately obvious when you see how stubby those lugs are. The only difference between the two models is the thickness — the three-hander measures 9.5mm thick and the chronograph 10.9mm. On top are domed sapphire crystals and water resistance is 100 meters.

The dials are quite a departure from Charlie’s regular dials. Actually, while the details are the same as the rest of the GR field watch collection, it’s the colors that give the watches a ultimately sporty look. The base of both watches is white, with an outside minute track that’s painted in a gradient blue color. The chronograph version has a bi-compax setup with a yellow and gradient blue sub-dial and a date aperture at 6 o’clock. The three hander has a 24-hour sub-dial at 6 o’clock with the same blue gradient. They both feature black hands, large black Arabic numerals and yellow central seconds hands — be it for the running seconds or for the chronograph seconds. Also, the dial features their new Charlie Paris logo. When writing about the brand on previous occasions, I said that I didn’t like their old logo which was a pretty classy flying stork at 12. I thought it was a bit old-fashioned. Charlie Paris has since changed their logo and… oh boy… do I wish they brought the stork back. Their logo now is an oversized C which just looks a bit… uninspired.

Inside, you’ll find quartz movements, which is quite appropriate for sports watches. The chronograph gets the Seiko VK64 meca-quartz chronograph which uses a quartz movement to keep track of the time, and a mechanical movement to run the chronograph. The three-hander gets the Seiko VH60 which is a pure quartz with a 24-hour indicator, the most useless of complications. There’s a choice of straps to be had — off-white or grey nylon, black or orange rubber, or black leather.

The new Charlie Paris GRX EVO III duo is available now, with the three-hander priced at €307 and the chronograph at €411 (I think both of these prices include my 25% VAT). See more on the Charlie Paris website.

3/

BA111OD Updates Their Chapter 7 Sports Watch With A Chronometer Movement

Hey, here’s a brand I haven’t mentioned in a while! BA111OD was founded with the idea that Swiss watches can be made for a much lower price. And they were pretty successful at that. They have introduced the cheapest Swiss-made tourbillon, their CHPTR_Δ gives you a watch the level of multi dozen thousands of € for under €3,000 and their Chapter 7 sports watch came with decent stats and a very nice price tag of CHF 495. Now, BA111OD is releasing an update to the Chapter 7 with a slightly different look and a much upgraded movement.

The cases look very much like the previous editions of the Chapter 7, with But with a smaller size. While the previous version came in at 42mm, this new one measures 40mm wide, 10.5mm thick and with a 47mm lug-to-lug. Speaking of the lugs, they are tiny, as the edges of the case are integrated into the bracelet. On top is a flat sapphire crystal with a scalloped 10-sided bezel surrounding it. Finishes are a nice vertical brushing with polished edges. An oversized crown sits at 4 o’clock and water resistance is 100 meters.

Aside from the new size, this version gets an all new dial. Gone are the intricate patterns of the old versions. Instead you get a super interesting guilloché that extends from the top of the dial to the bottom, but in irregular lengths like, water droplets flowing down the dial. There are four colors to choose from — ice blue, dark blue, forest green or jet black. All four get applied indexes and polished hour and minute hands, all filled with white Super-LumiNova. There’s also a simple date opening at 3 o’clock with a white date disc.

Inside, you’ll find the new movement. Actually, it’s not a new movement. It’s the same Soprod P024 that the older versions use, but now the movement is certified chronometer by the Timelab Chronometry Observatory of Geneva, with a tested accuracy of +6/-4 seconds per day. The movement still beats at 4Hz and has a 38 hour power reserve. The watches can be had on either an integrated steel bracelet or on a color matched rubber strap.

The original Chapter 7 came out in 2023 and since then we’ve seen quite the hike in price in the entire industry. That, combined with the fact that the movement is now chronometer certified by an outside agency, have increased the price of the Chapter 7 as well. On rubber, the watch is priced at CHF 760, and on steel it’s CHF 820. See more on the BA111OD website.

4/

Hermès Has New Watches In The Arceau Collection With Meteorite Moonphase And Precious Metal Worldtimer

Hermès makes some pretty watches, but the most breathtaking of them has been the Hermès Arceau line. It’s not a line in which they show off their métiers d'art or what they can do with silk dials. It’s a way more traditional collection, one that shows that Hermès can truly make a high-end watch. Now, the brand has introduced the meteorite versions of the Hermès Arceau L’heure de la lune and updated renditions of the Hermès Arceau Le temps voyageur.

Starting with the Arceau L’heure de la lune Meteorite, all three of the newly introduced watches share the same basics. It’s a 43mm wide case that comes in three variants — a white gold with blue DLC titanium bezel (Blue Grey Moon), a rose gold with grey DLC titanium bezel (Vesta) and a white gold with rose gold bezel (Erg Check). All three have the same case shape which includes regular, albeit very short and rounded lugs on the bottom of the case and horseshoe shaped lugs on the top. Water resistance is suprisingly present at 30 meters.

Then, there’s the dials, which are an integral part of the movement. There’s a base of the dial that features a meteorite, over which you’ll find two rotating displays, one for the time, the other for the date. As the displays move, they cover and uncover the moon printed on the base, showing the exact phase. The Blue Grey Moon features a base made out of lunar meteorite, with dark grey dials with blue numerals and blued hands. The Vesta has a base from the Vesta asteroid with black grained subdials that have purple colored numerals and gold hands. Last is the Erg Chech, named after the meteorite found in the Saharan region of Erg Chech.

The watches are powered by the calibre H1837 with the lunar module attached above. It beats at 4Hz and has a 40 hour power reserve. The watches come on color matched alligator straps. The watches will be available only as a set of three watches, limited to 12 sets. Priced at €255,000.

Then, there’s the Arceau Le temps voyageur. While the original came in a platinum case, this new version of the Hermès worldtimer comes in a 41mm wide case made out of gold. The Le temps voyageur Or blanc comes, as expected in white gold, while the Le temps voyageur Or rose et diaments gets a pink gold case with diamonds. That second version comes in a 38mm wide case, with 78 diamonds set in the bezel.

Both dials feature a small dial placed over a map of the world, surrounded by world cities internal bezel. However, if you look closer, you’ll see it’s not actually a map of the world on the base. It is actually a map from Jérôme Colliard’s Planisphère d’un monde équestre silk scarf. The white gold version features a white enamel hour dial, while the rose gold version features a mother of pearl.

The watch is powered by the calibre H1837, which beats at 4Hz and has a 45 hour power reserve, and has a world timer module attached to it. The watches come on alligator straps and are both priced at €45,000. See more on the Hermès website.

5/

The New Hublot Big Bang Unico Magic Ceramic Is The First Multi-Colored Ceramic Watch

Hublot catches the most flack from people who (sometime rightly) point out that their watches are not always the best bang for your buck. And sure, that’s sometimes true, or at least it was in a time when Hublot was much more willing to use slightly modified Sellita movements. But what is often forgotten is not just that Hublot makes some pretty incredible movements of their own, they also push materials to the very cutting edge. Sapphire cases, scratch resistant gold and wild things done with ceramics are all just some of the things that Hublot is doing. Now, they are introducing a new version of the Big Bang Unico called the Magic Ceramic which is showing their new technical achievement — the first multi-coloured ceramic material. It may not be the best looking thing in the world right now, but imagine the possibilities.

The new Unico keeps the same dimensions as the models before it. That means that it comes in a black ceramic case that measures 42mm wide and 14.5mm thick. The case has a matte finish with polished details. On top is the main attraction, the screwed in bezel made out of magic ceramic. The way it’s presented here is a dark grey case with blue ceramic circles that have a white glow around them. The cool thing is that the edge of the bezel intersects the circles in places and you can see that the blue color is not just on the surface of the bezel, but runs right through it. You might ask what the big deal with multi-colored ceramic is and the answer is — many have tried to do it. None have managed. Rumor has it that Rolex can’t produce a modern “Coke” variant of the GMT because they can’t get black and red ceramic to work together. They even filed a patent for the tech to lay those two colors one next to the other. But Hublot takes it a step further and has developed an intricate pigmentation, moulding, and baking processes that allows them to exactly that, have any shade mixed with any other in a stable way. The bezel still has the six H-shaped screws and water resistance is 100 meters.

The rest of the watch is well known — the dial is matte black and fully skeletonized. The baton hands have been coated in Super-LumiNova, as have the luminous Arabic numerals hour markers. A large cutaway section, combined with a date aperture, resides at 3 o’clock inside the 60-minute counter, while the running second sub-dial sits at 9.

Inside is the in-house automatic Unico 1280 which we’ve seen before. It has a flyback functionality, silicone escapement and a column wheel and double horizontal clutch. The movement beats at 4Hz and has a 72 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a black lined rubber strap with a black ceramic and black-plated titanium deployant clasp.

The new Hublot Big Bang Unico Magic Ceramic is a limited edition of 20 pieces and priced at $33,000. See more on the Hublot 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

• A fatal race thrust Tracee Metcalfe into a surprising position: the closest to becoming the first American woman to summit all of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks. But to claim the record, she’d have to face both the public’s scrutiny and her personal demons.

• Lisa Schiff became the country’s leading art consultant, and drew her clients close. Then she stole millions from them. Now facing up to 20 years in prison, is she ready to repent?

• H5N1 avian influenza wasn’t developed in a lab, but that doesn’t mean humans aren’t somewhat responsible for the growing prevalence of the disease—and the continued chance that it crosses over and kills more people. Poultry packed together in sprawling facilities are not just serving as food for humans, Brandon Keim reports, but “food for flu.”

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

If you spend any time on YouTube, there’s no way you haven’t seen one of the dozen or so clips from the 50th anniversary special show of Saturday Night Live. And a show that’s been around for 50 years has resonated with many, many, generations, each having their own favorite period. I liked a lot of them, but The Lonely Island era was my time of SNL.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk