Timex Introduces Great Looking Swiss Made Giorgio Galli S2, Maurice Lacroix Shrinks Down Aikon Urban Tribe, Synchron Military Poseidon Is The Diver We Need, New Watches From Mr. Jones And Armin Strom

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Looks like everybody’s back from vacation, as I suddenly have so many watches coming out I can’t fit them all. So, here’s some, tomorrow we have a whole bunch more.

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In this issue:

• Timex Introduces Fantastic Looking Giorgio Galli S2 Automatic, Their First Swiss-Made Watch In 40 Years

• Maurice Lacroix Shrinks Down The Fully Engraved Aikon Urban Tribe And Gives It A Skeleton Treatement

• The New Synchron Military Poseidon Black Edition Is The Only 70s Inspired Diver You Will Ever Want

• Mr. Jones Expands Mechanical Offering With A Truly Accurate Watch That Tells Us The Inevitable Truth

• The New Armin Strom Gravity Equal Force Maillechort Is Monochrome’s Latest Montre De Souscription

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 21 seconds

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👂What’s new

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Timex Introduces Fantastic Looking Giorgio Galli S2 Automatic, Their First Swiss-Made Watch In 40 Years

A couple of months ago, a silly argument droned online on who was the first watchmaker to make the first fully American-made mechanical watch since 1969. Minutia was discussed, regulations were examined, all to determine two things - how much of which movement was made in the U.S. and do the American regulations say you need to make 99.9% of the watch in the U.S. or can this drop to 98% to get the coveted Made in the U.S.A. designation. The Swiss, on the other hand, know the truth about the “made in” label - the truth is buyers don’t really care that much. It’s more of a “nice to have” instead of “must have” feature of a watch. So Switzerland went the opposite way of the U.S. and it almost seems that it’s enough for the port worker that loads up the Chinese-made movements onto a ship in Shenzen to have once met a person that visited Switzerland and that can get the “Made in Switzerland” designation. It’s nice for it to say that it’s made in Switzerland, but nobody will get overly upset when it turns out to be made in China.

Knowing how lax the “Made in Switzerland” label is even with higher end watches, it’s very weird to see a brand base so much of it’s launch strategy for a new watch on boasting this is their first Swiss made watch in over 40 years. And yet, Timex, the American watch brand, is doing exactly this with it’s new, just launched, Timex Giorgio Galli S2. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a smart looking watch. It’s just a weird strategy.

Named after Timex’s creative director, the Timex Giorgio Galli S2 has an injection-molded, stainless-steel "skeleton" case with a titanium mid-case that measures 38mm wide. Despite this being the most expensive Timex by far, this case actually looks (I say looks, it still remains to be touched to see if it has the same effect) a bit more expensive than the price point. It comes on a bold rubber strap with a buckle signed S2 and the spidery cutouts of the case, along with the austere dial, give of a futuristic vibe.

Speaking of the dial, it has a double-domed crystal above it and a very minimalistic, onyx-black, appearance with applied stainless-steel markers and dauphine-esque hands. Galli's signature is imprinted on the internal steel ring, with the Swiss Made text just below it.

There’s also an exhibition back so you can see that sweet, sweet Swiss made movement. Oh, and just to be clear, for a movement to be Swiss made, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, a watch is Swiss Made if at least 60% of the total production costs originate in Switzerland. So, let say, for example and I’m not saying this is the case here, 60% of you total production cost goes towards the salaries of Swiss workers putting together cheaply produced Chinese produced parts for a movement, you still get a Swiss watch. Not the case here! Most likely. The movement you get to see in this Timex is the very familiar Sellita SW200-1 with 41-hour power reserve.

Now, for that price. It’s $975. A lot of money for a Timex, putting it in Hamilton territory. Now, design wise, it looks amazing, better than a lot of stuff Hamilton has been putting out lately. Is it worth it quality wise? I sure do hope so for that price. You can order the watch now and it doesn’t look to be a limited edition. See more on the Timex website.

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Maurice Lacroix Shrinks Down The Fully Engraved Aikon Urban Tribe And Gives It A Skeleton Treatement

With the Aikon mode Maurice Lacroix has been very successfully carving out a niche for themselves in the more affordable integrated bracelet steel sports watch segment. There are many ways to describe the Aikon line, but let’s not kid ourselves - it’s the entry level AP, and Maurice Lacroix is going all in on it with dozens of variants. One such variant is the extremely bold and equally as interesting Aikon Skeleton Urban Tribe that the brands has just launched and if you like what it stands for, it just might be the watch for you.

As the name says, the Aikon Skeleton Urban Tribe is a combination of the Aikon Skeleton and the Aikon Urban Tribe, a 2021 limited edition with a fully engraved case and bracelet. The intricate engravings, the sort of thing you wouldn’t expect at this price point, are supposed to be a modernized tribal patter that is modelled after “tall architectural buildings that endow a city with its unique skyline.” One might say it’s as classy as a tribal tattoo, but it’s not that bad actually. The Urban Tribe came in a 42mm size, while ML introduced the Aikon Skeleton a year later at a 39mm size. This year they mashed those two together and gave us the 39mm Aikon Skeleton Urban Tribe.

And you exactly what you asked for - a 39mm wide and 11mm thick stainless steel watch with engravings, sapphire crystals front and back, a screw-down crown and a comfortable water-resistance of 200m. The sapphire dial is home to faceted, applied markers filled with Super-LumiNova as well as luminous hands for the time. But you can, of course, also see through the sapphire plate. What’s inside is the Cal. ML115 automatic movement that can be found inside the standard Aikon Skeleton watch. Interestingly, this is basically a Sellita SW200-1, the same one you would find in the Timex above, but this one has been made exclusively by Sellita for Maurice Lacroix, according to the watch brand’s design specifications. The back reveals a matte movement fitted with an openworked oscillating weight.

But unlike the Timex, this one comes at a higher price point. The watch will be limited to 500 pieces and will sell for $4,250. That’s a chunk of change, but I’m sure all 500 pieces will find their owners. See more on the Maurice Lacroix website.

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The New Synchron Military Poseidon Black Edition Is The Only 70s Inspired Diver You Will Ever Want

An article about Rick Marei in Gear Patrol calls this man “the patron saint of dive watches”. And there has hardly ever been a better way to describe someone. Marei has become known for turning Doxa into the diving powerhouse we known now and, over the years, has revived some of the most legendary names in diving watches. In 2020 he revived Aquastar, while in 2021 he brought back Synchron. His first two watches paid tribute to the 1970s Doxa Army. Now Synchron is coming out with the Synchron Military Poseidon Black Edition, a more traditional military model with a black dial.

Synchron’s previous model, the 1,000-piece limited Military Poseidon, was made in partnership with legendary Swedish dive-gear maker Poseidon, and it brought an interesting looking dial and, more importantly, the legendary La Joux-Perret G10 with 68 hours of power reserve inside. But while the previous two versions had interestingly patterned dials, these are not perfect for diving, so it was only expected that a new version would get a highly-legible black dial.

It uses the same case as the previous two versions - stainless steel with very interesting dimensions - 42mm wide, 45mm lug-to-lug and 14mm thick. The thickness makes it chunky, but the lug-to-lug and width aspect ratio makes it almost square. The Poseidon-adorned screw-in case back and signed screw-down crown help assure water resistance to 300 meters.

The black dial has a glossy finish and, unlike the previous versions that had a black outer ring that runs along and through the printed luminous hour indices is a continuous black color. The watch contains signature yellow elements from Poseidon’s logo, which are replicated on the minute hand and part of the sweep-seconds hand. It all blends well with the white brand logo, minute track, and “Old Radium” Super-LumiNova. The date wheel adds further contrast with its black font and white background. The 120-click unidirectional dive bezel has a black sapphire inlay which matches the glossy black dial.

The Synchron Military Poseidon Black Edition will be made as a limited edition of 1,000 pieces and should begin shipping in November 2023. Pricing will begin at $990 for preorders and $1,290 in regular pricing. Synchron says that all the watches in batch one have been sold out, so not only will the watch likely never reach it’s regular price, all watches bought from now on will be shipped in December. See more on the Synchron website.

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Mr. Jones Expands Mechanical Offering With A Truly Accurate Watch That Tells Us The Inevitable Truth

Many, many, many brands will boast their creativeness and fun they are trying to have with designs in their press releases. And they will use these superlatives when they put a red second hand on an otherwise all black, thinking that they have created the perfect summer-beach-pool party-laissez faire timepiece. All of them should look towards Mr. Jones, the British watch brand, if they want to see what a fun watch is. Ranging from briliantly designed dioramas printed on dials to perfectly useless pieces like the “A Perfectly Useless Afternoon,” which uses a ring and a rubber ducky floating in a pool to display the time. These are fun, cheap and great looking watches.

But recently Mr. Jones has been upgrading their pieces, one by one, from a quartz movement to a more desirable mechanical one, all the while keeping the fun high and prices low. The newest watch in their mechanical collection actually does take an idea that has existed in watchmaking for just about as long as the practice has existed, the memento mori, and puts a uniquely Mr. Jones spin on it. “The Accurate” doesn’t use traditional memento mori iconography, but it is’s just very accurate as to what will happen - the words “remember you will die” appear spread across the hour and minute hands.

The Accurate has a clean, unfussy design, that allows for the focus to naturally be placed on the message in the handset. There are no numerals, just a brightly colored seconds hand. The case is 40mm in stainless steel, about 3mm larger than the quartz version. It’s powered by the STP1-11 automatic caliber, a Swiss made movement that should be familiar to fans of Zodiac divers, watches in Serica’s collection, and many more.

The retail price is $595, and the watch is available now via the Mr. Jones website.

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The New Armin Strom Gravity Equal Force Maillechort Is Monochrome’s Latest Montre De Souscription

A bunch of watch blogs these days collaborate with watch brands to create their limited editions. These are usually unique colorways to already popular watches or, sometimes, small modifications to existing lines and often in the sub $10,000 range. It makes sense, as this segment leads to most sales. But Monochrome does things differently. Their mission statement is to only feature mechanical watches, often of the high-horology kind. It makes sense, therefore, that their special editions are more special than the others.

Their first Montre de Souscription watch with Habring² had a colourful salmon dial, sure. The second was made with Czapek, the highly regarded indie watchmaker. Their latest collaboration comes in partnership with Armin Strom to curate a traditionally rooted Gravity Equal Force design that puts a coveted traditional material at the forefront – maillechort – also known as German silver.

The stainless steel case measures 41mm wide, 12.65mm thick and with a 48mm lug-to-lug. It’s an obviously modern watch, with brushed and polished finishes and angled lugs. But what’s most futuristic about it is the dial, or the lack thereof, as most of the movement is visible through the front. However, due to the different finishes and with a German silver movement, it is a rather monochromatic melange of a grey spectrum of tones, ranging from bright and colder, to darker and warmer hues. German silver, is known to patina and develop a saturation to its grey colour over time – becoming ever so slightly more yellow or rosy.

Time is told through an off-centered and openworked sub-dial, with concentric hours and minutes rings and an off-centred sub-seconds disc. The rest of the dial is dedicated to a frosted German silver mainplate, three hand-chamfered bridges with have a rich linear graining to their topside, a view of the micro-rotor which winds the watch while worn, and the stop-work mechanism that defines this watch and sets it apart.

What you see inside is the calibre ASB19 which gives you a 72 hour power reserve. It’s equipped with a stop-work mechanism that prevents the mainspring from fully unwinding, a first for an automatic watch. They do this to stop the movement before it gets to a point where it can no longer deliver consistent power, making it less accurate. The movement is also fantastically decorated, with large Geneva stripes, polished screw heads, bevelled screw slots, chamfered wheel spokes and large, hand-applied anglage displaying a multitude of sharp inner angles. The watch is delivered on a grey suede strap.

The Monochrome x Armin Strom Montre de Souscription 3 Gravity Equal Force Maillechort will be a limited edition of 33 pieces, available to pre-order exclusively from the MONOCHROME Shop on September 7th, as of 3PM (Central Europe Time). The watch will set you back EUR 22,900, which is a hell of a lot of money, but it’s also a hell of a lot of watch. When ordering the watch, a deposit of €7,500 will be required. Check out more on the Monochrome website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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A review of the new NOMOS Ahoi Neomatik Date

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Hands-On with the Copper Dial Girard-Perregaux Laureato 38

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An in-depth look at the Swatch What If? collection

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

Branch Sector offers class and reliability under US$1,000

The Sector is offered in only one color: gray. However, the dial received different types of finishes which, combined with the sector layout, makes it interesting to look at. The center section comes with a fine sandy texture which is repeated in a thin disc sandwiched between the two scales. The brand kept text to a minimum, with only the logo showing under the 12′ position. The first scale (or sector) encompasses the hour markers and Arabic numerals at the cardinal points, as well as short minute hash marks. It is completed with a radial brushed texture which generates interesting light plays. The second scale sits on the periphery of the dial and showcases a fully graduated minute track complete with Arabic numerals highlighting the five-minute increments. The latter also received a radial finish.

⏲️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

• I just watched the Painkiller mini-series on Netflix. Not having lived in the US during the height of the opioid crisis, I could only read about it from afar, not really getting the scope of the issue. The series really does drive the point home. And behind this disgusting story is one family that made billions. The series made me re-read this piece on the Sacklers and it’s not a pretty story.

• Reality shows are weird because they are so far away from reality they are often less real than completely scripted shows. Alone is a show I’ve never heard of, but this story of the making of the most genuinely perilous show on television is just crazy.

• This is a piece from 1936, written by Arthur O. Prochno, a juror that found Al Capone guilty of tax fraud, about his time spent on the jury. Need I say more?

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

It’s always fun to see people discover the Rimac Nevera. We first featured Mate Rimac, the owner of Rimac, in a paper we were editing in 2010 when he was a kid unveiling the Concept1. Nobody believed a kid from Croatia, a country with absolutely zero car industry, could make an electric hypercar. And he did. The Nevera just smashed the Nürburgring EV lap record and to see how mind shifting this car is, check out this video by MKBHD, one of the largest tech youotubers out there. Regular people are not meant to accelerate at this rate.

💵Pre-loved precision

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• 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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