Timex's Q 1975 Enigma Reissue Has Floating Hands; Accutron Updates DNA With Fantastic Colors; Dietrich ED-1 Is The Everyday Watch For Those Who Want Something Different; New CvdR Is Crazy Cool

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I looked over the newsletter archive from last year and I didn’t have to start skipping editions till well into August. Well, looks like the watch industry took a holiday a couple of days before I expected. There are not a lot of releases out there, so it’s very possible that we will get only one more issue this week. We’ll see!

But at least I have some longer reads for you. For example, I just published my review of the Baltic Prismic.

In this issue:

• Timex Goes Retro Futuristic With The Q Timex 1975 Enigma Reissue That Has Floating Hands

• Accutron Expands DNA Collection With A Crazy Movement And Even Crazier Cases And Dials

• The Dietrich ED-1 Is The Perfect Everyday Watch For People Who Want Something Different

• Christiaan van der Klaauw Teams Up With Revolution For The Planetarium Prometheus

Today’s reading time: 8 minutes and 59 seconds

👂What’s new

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Timex Goes Retro Futuristic With The Q Timex 1975 Enigma Reissue That Has Floating Hands

Aside from making some pretty great modern watch at incredible prices, Timex has employed a pretty foolproof strategy in recent years, one that so many brands are using as well. They looked at their immense back catalogue of watches — and it really is immense, with perhaps thousands of models released in the past 70 or so years — and recreated some of the best pieces they ever made. Their latest release is the Q Timex 1975 Enigma Reissue. As the name suggests, the watch is based on a watch from 1975 that was nicknamed the “mystery dial” as ti featured a prominent dot on the crystal which gave the appearance of floating hands.

The modern version takes on a very similar approach as the original. Housed in a fully polished steel case that’s somewhere between a cushion shape and a C shape, the watch measures 37mm wide and 12mm thick, and seeing how it has super short lugs, I assume that it has a very accommodating lug-to-lug measurement. Timex doesn’t disclose it. On top is a domed acrylic crystal, like on many Q Timex releases, and out back you’ll find a tiny battery hatch that allows you to swap them out yourself. On the underside of the crystal you’ll find the same blue painted dot to help with keeping the hands look floaty. Water resistance is 50 meters.

Moving on to the dial, it’s equally as minimalistic as it is futuristic. The color of the base of the dial is slightly deceiving as it seems to change in different lighting conditions. It’s a matte surface that ranges from black, through anthracite to a very, very dark blue, and all of that interrupted with only the Q Timex Quartz text at 9 o’clock and a day/date indicator at 3 o’clock. The dial is surrounded by a blue minute track. The hands are super simple sticks, the same color as the background, with white tips and an orange lollipop on the seconds hand. The color of the hands, in combination with the dot on the centre of the crystal actually makes it look like there are no hands, with just the tips of the hands floating and showing the time.

Like so many other Timex quartz watches, Timex does not say which exact movement is inside the Q Timex 1975 Enigma Reissue but it will keep reasonable time if past models are a benchmark. The watch comes on a brushed stainless steel bracelet with flat links.

The new Q Timex 1975 Enigma Reissue is available for purchase right now from Timex for a really reasonable price of €199. See more on the Timex website.

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Accutron Expands DNA Collection With A Crazy Movement And Even Crazier Cases And Dials

You know you have an iconic model line on your hand when you are able to spin it off from the main company into its own brand and make it just as, if not more, successful. This is exactly what the Citizen group did to their brand Bulova, and their most popular Accutron model. They spun out the Accutron into a new brand in 2020 and has since expanded it from one collection to four distinct models. And now, Accutron is expanding the Accutron DNA line, their integrated bracelet sports-like watch with brand new colors which are really intriguing.

There’s no easy way to put this, the Accutron DNA is a huge watch. It measures 45.1mm wide, 15.6mm thick and despite having no actual lugs has a length of 50mm. The DNA doesn’t have traditional lugs, but curved metal surface where the integrated rubber strap attaches to the underside via a few small screws. It’s a bit of a complicated setup, but gives a unique look. The case shape reminds me a bit of an Arcanaut case, but way more complex. However, Accutron does use this complexity to their advantage, as they render the different parts in different materials and colors, making for a great look. There are four different case choices here, with each getting their own dial and straps. First, there is the matte black and muted grey case, the two-tone rose-gold and grey case, the fully steel grey case and the pretty spectacular grey and dark blue case. It also feels that a lot of that thickness is due to the heavily domed crystal. Water resistance is 50 meters.

Things get pretty wild on the dial, where you get a partially open-worked look to show off the special spinning turbines that create electrostatic movement that powers the watch. On the very edge is a colored minute track while the center is reserved for dramatic bridges that hold the Accutron logo at the 2 o’clock position and peeks into the intriguing movement. The hands are dauphine shaped and silver colored (except for the two-tone case where they are rose gold colored). The black and muted grey case has a dark grey and black colorway, the two-tone rose-gold and grey case has black open-work dial and rose godl details on the black outer ring, the silver case has a grey dial and a green outer ring while the grey and dark blue case has a pretty cool blue dial with black details.

When Bulova launched the first Accutron in 1960 it was the pioneering tuning-fork electronic watch. That watch wore its tuning fork with pride, showing its working on the dial, and the new additions to the DNA collection are no different. Gone are the tuning forks and instead you get a movement that runs on an electrostatic movement where the drive coil for the stepper motor replaces the copper coils of the tuning fork to complete the reflection. The drive system incorporates electrodes and human motion to generate and store energy. The electrostatic motor propels the seconds hand, while two smaller electrostatic generators rotate the rotor, which can be seen spinning on the dial. Excess energy is stored in an accumulator, providing power for the hour and minute hands. This results in a quartz watch that doesn’t need battery changes. To ensure power saving, the second hand automatically stops at 12 o'clock after 5 minutes of non activity. The watches come on a variety of rubber strap — the black and muted grey case gets a red strap, the two-tone gets a blue strap, the silver case gets a green dial and the best of them, the grey-blue case gets an orange strap.

All four new Accutron DNA are available for purchase right now and limited to 100 pieces per colorway. Price is set to $3,500. See more on the Accutron website.

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The Dietrich ED-1 Is The Perfect Everyday Watch For People Who Want Something Different

Despite them being more than 10 years old, if you visit the brand website of Dietrich watches, you will only find one watch in their store — the ED-1, the watch I will be writing about today. It seems, for a second, that this is a brand new brand, one has only one available model for sale. But then you click the “Archives” tab and you realise that Dietrich has a very wild past. They introduced their first watch at Baselworld in 2014 and it was the completely insane Organic Time, a semi-skeletonized watch that emulated shapes and forms found in nature. The weirdness continued with the Dietrich Device and peaked with the Perception, which is truly a wild watch. Then, suddenly, things started getting much tamer — the Time Companion hinted at the design language we would find on the ED-1, while the Skin Diver 1 and 2 showed that Dietrich can make regular looking everyday watches as well. Now, with the ED-1, Dietrich is answering what their favourite Go Anywhere, Do Anything watch. With its strange shape, it sure is a different choice.

The Dietrich ED-1 is both as traditional as an everyday watch can get and pretty freaking weird. The traditional things are all here — a 39mm width, 11mm thickens and a lug-to-lug of 46mm, 100 meters of water resistance and a brushed finish with polished details all make for a very classic watch. Then Dietrich goes ahead and turns the concept on its head with a very funky interesting bezel that looks like a rounded hexagon. While the AP Royal Oak relies on very sharp edges, the ED-1 takes a much softer and rounded approach. Very rarely will you find such a setup and I have to say, after initial skepticism, I’m down with it.

The dial could be considered a bit much by some, but then again, the same might be said for the case. It’s a sector dial that has a railroad track on the very outside for the minutes, followed by a sector for the hour markers. The font Dietrich uses for its numerals was designed by Raymond Larabie as a modern interpretation of a 1940s dial font with a slightly squared shape for a previous Dietrich model. In addition to the cool font, the dial also has a sandwich construction, meaning the underside is filled with lume for a nice glow at night. The center of the dial is taken up by a crosshairs and there’s a date window at the 3 o’clock position, if you so wish. It’s possible to customize whether you have a date window or not.. You also get a choice of dial — blue or green, both of which have a gradient from lighter to darker.

Inside, you guessed it, is the Sellita SW200. It’s a reliable movement that’s easily servicable. Beats at 4Hs, has 38 hour power reserve and if my experience is relevant, it can stand up to a lot of daily grind. The watch has a tinted sapphire caseback, through which you can see the custom engraved rotor. The watch comes on a really intriguing metal bracelet whose centre link is made to mimic the bezel shape, as well as a dial-color-matched Delugs leather strap.

The Dietrich ED-1 went on pre-order on July 19 and the window will be open for one month. Deliveries are expected to be at the start of 2025. Priced at CHF 1,480 it could be an interesting alternative to so many everyday watches that look very much the same. See more on the Dietrich website.

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Christiaan van der Klaauw Teams Up With Revolution For The Planetarium Prometheus

Having lived extremely briefly in Amsterdam, I have a soft spot for Dutch watch brands. But that’s an easy thing to claim, as the Dutch watch industry really is special. From indies like Batavi and De Rijke & Co who offer some really beautiful watches, to brands like Holthinrichs who are pushing material boundaries, all the way to up to the high horology of Grönefeld, the Dutch have it all covered. And towards the very top of their brand hierarchy, you’ll find Christiaan van der Klaauw, a truly special watchmaker that makes timeless watches that just exude horology. For their latest release, they teamed up with the watch magazine Revolution to turn their Planetarium model into something both recognisable and special. This is the Christiaan van der Klaauw x Revolution Planetarium Prometheus.

Christiaan van der Klaauw makes very uniquely styled watches that are almost instantly recognisable. They are fully round, with welded lugs that stick straight out and are rounded at the end, and an onion crown. And they are rather large watches - 40mm wide and 14.5mm thick for this Planetarium. But, while the original Planetarium carries with it a lot of heft, this Prometheus variant done with Revolution ditches a lot of weight by swapping steel for highly polished titanium. Definitely an interesting choice. On top is a sapphire crystal and a large, fixed and sloped polished bezel. Water resistance is 30 meters.

The dial is even more impressive than the case. Made out of aventurine glass it’s a deep blue with white specks that mimic the stars in a night sky. You get rhodium-plated roman indexes applied from nine to three o’clock with the brand’s sun logo marking noon. At the top of the dial is a concentric calendar display where the date and month are indicated by co-axial hands. At 6 o’clocko is the incredible miniature planetarium that displays the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn around the Sun in real time. Along the periphery is a ring with the day count for the year, along with the signs of the zodiac. The day count can be read with the Earth’s position while the constellation opposite Earth’s position would mark the zodiac sign visible in the night sky. The spheres in the Planetarium Prometheus are made of stainless steel that have been hand painted with Super-LumiNova, with a green luminous sphere in the center, representing the Sun.

The movement that powers this watch is entirely produced in-house at the brand’s workshop in Naarden. And not only that, they don’t use machines to cut the 700 teeth on 45 wheels that are necessary — they do it all by hand. The movement beats at 3Hz and has a 60 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a black leather strap with a folding clasp with CvdK logo.

Only 6 pieces of the Christiaan van der Klaauw x Revolution Planetarium Prometheus will be available and they are available for order now. Deliveries are expected in October. Price is set at €44,628, which is to be expected form a watch like this. See more on the Revolution website.

🫳On hand

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A review of the Chopard L.U.C XPS Forest Green

✍️Chrono Critique

Watch reviews, written by me

I review the Baltic Prismic: Things Are Not Always What They Seem

This is truly a chameleon of a watch, shifting from a subdued and elegant piece that will fit any scenario to a wildly colorful little watch that will grab attention wherever ti goes.

Read my whole review

⏲️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

• Actor profiles are always a fun read. But when that actor is Nic Cage, you know it will be a fantastic read. The actor talks about the origins of “Adaptation,” his potential leap to television, and the art of “keeping it enigmatic.”

• With the ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ reboot hitting Netflix, Eddie Murphy and friends dive deep into the backstory of the comedy star’s most iconic character. This is the oral history of Axel Foley.

• As the law fights to catch up to Big Tech, the future of books hangs in the balance. Are writers doomed by “the biggest rip-off in creative history” or could AI offer new ways of making a living? The question is: Is ai the bitter end—or the lucrative future—of book publishing?

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One video you have to watch today

It seems to me that I’m posting every single new Hot Ones episode, but that’s just because it’s the best show on the internet. So sue me!

💵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