This Frederique Constant Is THE Rolex Oyster Alternative At 1/5th The Price, Porsche Design Celebrates First Porsche, Norqain Is Summer Ready With Ice Blue Dial And A Miffy The Rabbit Watch Is Perfect

Hey friends, big day for It’s About Time - we just crossed the number of subscribers I hoped we will have after a year of publishing. I also thought I would be happy with this number of subscribers if I hit it after two years of publishing. It’s only been three months. So thank you, every one.

Also, congratulations to Stephen S. from London and Wally B. from the US on winning the Seiko Alpinist. The watches are already on their way to them, but I’m still waiting on the third winner to get back to me, so check your mailboxes, I will be sending a new email today to inform you you won.

And finally, we have a new giveaway! This time, it’s four watches. Four Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic’s. I hope you like them. The ways to enter are the same as before, be subscribed, invite five friends, and you are all eligible. I made a survey to find out what you think about the newsletter, and a random person who fills it out will also be eligible to win. So, increase your odds of winning and click here to fill out the survey.

In this issue:

• Frederique Constant’s New Highlife Automatic Is An Interesting Rolex Oyster 36 Alternative At 1/5th Of The Price

• Porsche Design Chronograph 1 Celebrates 75 Years Of First Porsche

• Chopard L.U.C. Full Strike Gets An Update In Full Blue Sapphire

• The Norqain Freedom 60 Chrono 40mm Ice Blue Limited Edition Is A Summer Ready Baby Blue Watch

• A Whimsical Miffy Watch With A Sapphire Dial And Great Price

• And… invite your friends to win a Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic

Today’s reading time: 7 minutes and 37 seconds

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👂What’s new

1/

Frederique Constant’s New Highlife Automatic Is An Interesting Rolex Oyster 36 Alternative At 1/5th Of The Price

Ask on a forum what would be a great alternative if you weren’t ready to spend about $10.000 on the really nice and colorful Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36, and the two most likely answers you will get are the Tissot Gentleman (which lacks the range of colors) and the Casio Tsuyosa (which is all about color). And these are two mighty fine watches. But they are also sub $500 (depending on where you shop). And it’s very clear that they are not luxury watches. Now, if you want a great alternative to the Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36 that is trying to make a break towards the luxury watch market, take a look at the new Frederique Constant Highlife Automatic. Not only are they introducing a bunch of great colors, they also have a very interesting dial. And they’re almost 1/5th of the price of the Oyster Perpetual.

Frederique Constant might be a watch that’s not on your radar every day, but they offer great value for money, entry level luxury - especially in the Highlife Automatic - with some pieces that can get up there in price. Their entry into the same realm as the Oyster Perpetual comes up a bit short, at 34mm, but with the trend of customers wanting smaller and more vintage-looking watches, this is a great option. Most of the case is brushed, with polished links on the integrated bracelet. The watch also comes with a white rubber strap.

Where the watch majorly differs from any competition would be the dial. It comes in ice blue, champagne gold, and blossom pink, with a subtle pattern which looks like the grid around a globe. This is a pattern found on many FCs. Inside the watch is the FC-303, based on the Sellita SW200.

The Frederique Constant Highlife Automatic watches in the new colours are unlimited and available now, priced at $1,895.

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The Porsche Design Chronograph 1 Celebrates 75 Years Of Porsche’s First Car

75 years ago, Ferdinand “Ferry” Porsche built one of the most influential cars to ever exist - the Porsche 356 Roadster. Not only did that car change the car world by itself, it also set the groundwork for one of the greatest sports car brands in the world. 24 years later, Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche (yeah, they weren’t all that creative with their names, Ferry’s dad who constructed the Beetle was also named Ferdinand) created a company called Porsche Design, a production design studio that will take the Porsche ethos and apply it to stuff that isn’t cars. One of the things Porsche Design perfected is watches, and to celebrate the anniversary of the 356, Porsche Design is releasing a new version of their Chronograph 1 – the 75 Years of Porsche Edition

The original Porsche Design Chronograph 1, manufactured by Orfina, wasn’t just popular because of its looks, but also because of its technological advancement. It was the watch that pioneered the use of PVD treatments on watch cases, making a fully black watch. It also appeared on the wrist of Tom Cruise in Top Gun. The new model isn’t a replica of the old one, but look at them side by side and you see a clear evolution.

The Chronograph 1 – the 75 Years of Porsche Edition is made out of titanium, 40mm wide, once again gets a matte black finish and paired to a textile leather strap with light-blue decorative stitching and a central red stripe or the included black leather strap with matching black stitching. The anti-reflective, matte-black dial was inspired by the dashboard in the cockpit of the Porsche 911, but the case has been updated to titanium instead of the original stainless steel used in 1972

Interestingly, the old Chronograph 1 was powered by the Valjoux 7750, and the new one has the WERK 01.140 which is, in essence, a modernised version of that movement. Very modernised, very upgraded. It has a flyback chronograph functionality, black-coated decoration and COSC certification that ensures accuracy within +6/-4 seconds per day. Also, the automatic winding rotor has taken the shape of the legendary Fuchs wheel with a Porsche crest

The watch is limited, frustratingly to 475 pieces. Yes, I get you would like to sell more watches, but 475 doesn’t mean anything. 75 means something. 356 means something. Anyways, sale starts June 8 and it’s priced at $11,000.

3/

Chopard L.U.C. Full Strike Gets An Update In Full Blue Sapphire

The Chopard L.U.C Full Strike is an award winning watch, and it’s no wonder why. Introduced in 2016, it was the brand’s first minute repeater and just look at it. It’s a perfect blend of tradition and innovation, exhibiting exceptional construction and decoration. Now, Chopard is releasing a new version of the watch - this time in a blue sapphire case. So, if you ever wanted to get the Hublot Big Bang Integrated Tourbillon Full Blue Sapphire, but wanted an actually fantastic watch, here it is!

To use the biggest cliche of them all - this is not a revolution, it is an evolution. But it really is an evolution, as it is a color update to last year’s Full Strike Sapphire, with the 42.5 mm case, and crown with its integrated minute repeater pusher made of sapphire. It still has the same insane sapphire crystal gongs, machined from a single sapphire block.

The dial is made of sapphire, too, with the movement in full view. For easy reading, the railway-type minutes track was engraved and painted on the crystal, and eight rhodium-plated, shaped hour markers, positioned from 12 to 7 o’clock, were applied to make the chapter ring.

The L.U.C 08.01-L hand-wound movement is COSC certified and bears the Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark. It comprises 533 parts, beats to the frequency of 28,800vph and has a power reserve of 60 hours.

Unlike the Hublot, which comes on a full sapphire bracelet which many watchmakers have called an impossible dirt trap, the Chopard L.U.C Full Strike Blue Sapphire is offered on a blue alligator leather strap and it’s limited to just five pieces. The price is on request, but last year’s clear sapphire version was rumoured to cost $450.000

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The Norqain Freedom 60 Chrono 40mm Ice Blue Limited Edition Is A Summer Ready Baby Blue Watch

Norqain is only five years old and yet, it currently has more than 50 different watches in their lineup. Started by Ben Küffer who brought over a bunch of people from Breitling, where he worked, one of their early successes was the Freedom 60 Chrono, housed in a 43mm case. People loved the watch, but they loved the 40mm version launched last year even more. Norqain is now releasing a limited edition of the 40mm chronograph with an ice blue dial.

It’s the same old watch as it was last year - 40mm in diameter and 14.9mm thick, with a box-type AR sapphire crystal and 100-metre water resistance rating. There are three strap options and Norqain is proud that they are all animal cruelty-free - a stainless steel bracelet, a black Perlon rubber strap and a linen Nortide strap made of recycled plastic recovered from the ocean.

The dial has a tri-compax layout and gets a new color palette with a sunray brushed ice blue dial, with black subdials and silver applied indices. There’s a colour-matching angled date at the unfortunate position between 4 and 5 o’clock. Inside the watch is Norqain’s calibre NN19, based on the Sellita SW510, a cam-operated chronograph with 27 jewels, 28,800vph (4Hz) and a power reserve of 62 hours. This is an update last year’s 40mm model, which had an ETA based movement.

The Norqain Freedom 60 Chrono 40mm Ice Blue Limited Edition is limited to 300 pieces and retails for CHF 4,250 with the steel bracelet, CHF 4,150 with the rubber strap and CHF 3,990 with the Nortide strap.

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Revolution’s Latest Collaboration With De Rijke & Co. Gives Us A Whimsical Miffy Watch With A Sapphire Dial And Great Price

If you are by chance, like me, a parent to a little girl, you know all about Miffy. If you are not, all you need to know is that Miffy is cult Dutch cartoon bunny created by Dick Bruna, whose books have sold more than 100 million copies since 1955. Miffy being Dutch is appropriate, since this watch is made by De Rijke & Co, a relatively young Dutch watch brand that was started after it’s owner Laurens de Rijke in 2013 took his fifty year old Vespa scooter for a trip on the Silk Road, covering a distance of 11.000 kilometer, he past countries like Azerbaijan. Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Born from this trip was an inspiration to create a watch, and it’s very interesting. While many brands want to create a fully modular watch, it always ends up being cumbersome. De Rijke went another path - he created a two part case that allows you to spin the internal part that holds the dial, crystal and movement, up to 90 degrees, allowing it to be positioned wherever you wanted for comfort. The lugs of the watch are also unique, solid and made for straps to pass through them. All of this gives the watch almost as much modularity as a modular watch, while still being a good watch.

Also, this is not the first time you will find Miffy on a De Rijke & Co. watch. They have a completely sold out collection of four Miffy watches differing only in color and limited to 25 pieces per color. The watch is powered by the Sellita SW 288-1, a movement that has been seen modified for the MING 37.05 Moonphase and unmodified in the Farer Moonphase. All of this makes sense, as the De Rijke & Co. Miffy watch is a moonphase watch, where the moon is replaced with an illustration of Miffy.

And now, here comes Revolution magazine with their special edition of the De Rijke & Co. Miffy, but this time it’s the Double Moonphase. This version of the watch has a translucent sapphire dial, which allowed them to add a second Miffy, which turns the watch into a dual-hemisphere moonphase indicator.

Production will be limited to 100 pieces and the watch is priced at EUR 3,100, which is EUR 400 higher than the already sold out Miffy’s which don’t have the sapphire dial. Available for purchase on 6 June 2023, 10pm SGT | 4pm CET | 10am EST

6/

The Romain Gauthier Introduces The C Titanium Edition Four In Black And Blue

There’s a certain type of watch one expects from an independent watchmaker. Serious, classical, with all the watchmaking talents on display and highly personal. Romain Gauthier took all of those characteristics and applied them to his watches. Then he decided to create the Continuum, which is, in fact, an independent’s version of a sports watch, filled with Gauthier’s trademark touches. The model was later renamed C by Romain Gauthier, but the series retained the essential idea and continued to evolve aesthetically. The brand has just revealed the new edition of the C by Romain Gauthier Titanium in a Grade 5 titanium case coated with black ALDC.

If you follow the work of Romain Gauthier, the new C by Romain Gauthier Titanium Edition Four will look very familiar to you, for the watch sports the same 41mm x 9.55mm, 50m water-resistant case crafted from Grade 5 titanium, with a black diamond-like carbon coating, as the Edition Two from last year. All of the titanium used also gives the watch incredible lightness and the whole thing weighs just 55 grams.

The new reference is distinguished mainly by coloured elements. The crown at 2 o’clock features a blue rubber ring. The main dial plate in black Grade 5 titanium received a straight-graining finish; the slightly off-centred hours and minutes are indicated with the white Super-LumiNova-filled 18k white gold hands and applied numerals and hour markers.

But all of this is secondary to the movement. It is a contemporary in-house calibre, manually wound, with exceptional decoration and finishes. The movement with signature Gauthier-reinterpreted historically typical finger-style bridges in natural titanium and rhodium-treated gears is the same as in the previous Continuum editions. It beats to a frequency of 28,800vph and has a power reserve of 60 hours.

The C by Romain Gauthier Titanium Edition Four is a limited edition of 38, and comes on a black textured rubber strap with satin-finished and polished Grade 5 titanium pin buckle coated with black ADLC. It’s priced at CHF 38,000 and while this is an insane amount of money for a watch, I can think of many mass produced watches with less impressive materials and movements that will ask you for much more money.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

1/

A review of the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days watch, ultra-thin and all-titanium

2/

Hands on with the very controversial Patek Philippe Calatrava 6007G

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

Classy, With A Touch Of Sportiness; The Moritz Grossmann Power Reserve Vintage

Made out of solid silver, the finishing is outstanding. The elongated black Roman numerals exude elegance and are embraced with a very fine minute track. Look closely and you can see small blue markers at every five-minute increment, a touch of colour that ties in with a key element on the dial: the power reserve indication. This simple little horizontal display is very practical on a day-to-day basis when dealing with a hand-wound watch (which this is).

⏲️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

• Most of us have forgotten about the pandemic and moved on. But it’s fallout is felt today and in ways you wouldn’t expect. Like the fact that in March 2020, the FDA relaxed its regulations on hand sanitizer to meet unprecedented demand in the face of a new pandemic. In Wired, Amy Martyn details the environmental nightmare that includes poisonous air in a town in California and spontaneous explosions.

• Just the other day a tech bro made international headlines claiming he plans on living forever since he’s spending something like $2 million per year and gets transfusions of blood from his son to reverse aging. Well, best of luck to him, but actual longevity specialists say that we might not be able to meaningfully extend human life. Interesting read.

• Snopes used to be one of the best websites on the internet. A fact-checker before we even knew we will need so many factchecking online. Then it all imploded in a very intriguing story that you might want to read as Snopes try to build back it’s reputation.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

In a former life, a couple of friends and I got together and started Telegram, a publication unlike any other in Croatia. We had great ideas and big dreams. One of those big ideas was that we could do awesome Vice-style video documentaries. And they were great. One of them was a show on urban exploration with a couple of great guys. They went on to continue making awesome videos on YouTube and this is one of them - the exploration of Zeljava, an abandoned airport dug into a mountain in Croatia. It’s fantastic, check it out.

💵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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