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  • Tissot Surprises With Forged Carbon PRX, Gradient Dials; Seiko's Three New 5 Sports GMTs; Maurice Lacroix Adds Titanium; Louis Erard Teams Up With Kudoke; Expected Hublots And A New Daniel Roth

Tissot Surprises With Forged Carbon PRX, Gradient Dials; Seiko's Three New 5 Sports GMTs; Maurice Lacroix Adds Titanium; Louis Erard Teams Up With Kudoke; Expected Hublots And A New Daniel Roth

Louis Erard can do no wrong in my book

Author

Vuk Radic
September 06, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 21 minutes

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Another late one from me, Covid really did kick my ass. I guess the stories of brain fog are real. I’m sleeping through the weekend and as a sorry for being so late, here’s a free article from the Patreon on the a very special Bulova watch and the fastest spy plane of all time.

For now, It’s About Time is a fully reader supported publication. If you like this newsletter, want to continue getting it and want even more of my writing, I would love if you could hop on over to Patreon and subscribe. You give me $6 a month, I give you 5 additional longform posts per week which include an overview of interesting watches for sale, early access to reviews (it’s the Seiko x Giugiaro SCED035 "Ripley"), a basic watch school, a look back at a forgotten watch, and a weekend read that looks at the history of horology.

In this issue:

  • Tissot Surprises With Forged Carbon PRX, Adds Gradient Dials To 40mm Model

  • Seiko Adds Three New Watches To Their Very Popular Seiko 5 Sports GMT Collection

  • Maurice Lacroix Adds Titanium Cases To The Aikon Automatic And Chronograph Lines

  • Louis Erard And Kudoke Release Four New Limited Edition Le Régulateur Models

  • Hublot Teams Up With Tattoo Studio Sang Bleu Again For Blue Ceramic, Gold Spirit Of Big Bang

  • The Revived Daniel Roth Is Back, Now With A New Tourbillon In Rose Gold

Today’s reading time: 11 minutes and 4 seconds

👂What’s new

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For years, carbon fiber was considered a highly exotic material, one that is so delicate, expensive and high-tech that it was a privilege that many paid thousands of currencies to have them installed in their sports cars. I always found the material to be a bit tacky, with it’s shiny finish that resembled something more appropriate to an order from AliExpress than it does an exotic material. I know the advantages of carbon, don’t worry, I just never cared for the look. Things picked up for me when forged carbon was more extensively brought to use, as it had a more interesting look, but it also dropped the price of producing carbon components. It dropped low enough for it to stop being a material used on high-end watches exclusively and it became available to brands like Tissot. They already had the Sideral in forged carbon, and now the premium material is coming to their most ubiquitous line, the PRX. And it kind of looks cool.

Tissot also introduced two new dial variants for the 40mm, both with gradient dials. It seems that Tissot is approaching peak PRX, even though everyone thought that happened a year ago. The brand does have a slight issue that they have no other model line that’s as developed as the PRX, but I guess that’s a problem for another day. Because now, it’s the PRX that’s keeping Tissot alive and vibrant. The very nice thing about the PRX is that they are covering every single possible wish from a buyer, with cases ranging from 35 to 42mm, movements ranging from quartz to chronograph and a whole slew of colors and case finishes. Good on them!

Let’s cover the gradient dials first. They come in the very familiar package of a stainless steel case that measures 40mm wide and 11mm thick, with a flat sapphire crystal and a minimalist bezel around it. It has a very good lug-to-lug measurement of 44mm because it doesn’t feature any lugs, but that’s ruined by the fixed first link which bumps up that measurement to 51mm. Water resistance is 100 meters. The dials also remain the same with the stamped waffle pattern, applied hour markers and date aperture at 3 o’clock. What’s new are the gradient colorways, one fading from black on top to a lighter blue on bottom and the other, much better one, transitioning from a light blue to a darker blue. Both watches, of course, have the entry-level Powermatic 80, which beats at 3Hz and has a 80 hour power reserve. The price for both is €775. You can see the lighter one here and the darker one here.

But then we have the forged carbon, and it’s not just the case that got an upgrade. But let’s talk about the case first. It uses forged carbon, like the Sideral, and I should note that I have seen people saying that they have had their carbon start flaking. Take that with a grain of salt, because I saw it on the internet. The case measures the same 40mm wide, but gains an extra 0.2mm in thickness for 11.2mm. To match the black carbon, this PRX has a black crown and a black steel caseback. The dial is also made out of forged carbon, but the stainless steel markers and hands reman. Inside is a slight upgrade with the Powermatic 80 that’s of the “Si” variety, meaning it gets a silicon instead of a Nivachron hairspring. The watch comes only on a black textured rubber strap. There’s also a slight update to the price, which is now €1,075. See more of the watch on the Tissot website.

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The Seiko SKX line was certainly one the most important lines that the cult brand has ever made. For decades it offered what people expected from Seiko — good looking, very capable, sports watches that were offered at a great price. So, of course, Seiko killed the line in 2019. It replaced it with the SKX Sports Style, also known as the 5KX, but it just didn’t sit well with fans, mostly because of the reduced water resistance. Things have gotten better as the collection has grown, especially with the introduction of the GMT model, three of which Seiko just announced as a novelty.

On the outside, very little has changed. The stainless steel cases measure 42.5mm wide and 13.6mm thick, with the traditional 4 o’clock crown protected by swooping protectors. On top is a Hardlex crystal, a mineral glass that is kind of the worst option when it comes to crystals… Surrounding the crystals are bi-directional bezels that have Hardlex bezel inserts featuring a 24 hour scale. The SSK033 has a black and blue bicolour bezel insert, the SSK035K gets a black and green insert, while the SSK036 has a gold PVD bezel for a two-tone look, with a black and brown insert.

The dials keep things simple, with the new Seiko 5 logo at noon, large Lumibrite-filled indices and hands and a date window at 3 o’clock with a cyclops over it. There are three colors to chose from — the SSK033 has a silver dial, the SSK035 a green dial and the SSK036 has a black dial with gilt hands and indices.

Inside all three watches is Seiko’s in-house calibre 4R34 which feature a caller style GMT function, a beat rate of 3Hz and a 41 hour power reserve. The cool thing about this movement is that it adds a GMT function while only increasing the thickness of the watch by 0.2mm from the non-GMT version. The SSK033 and SSK035 come on Seiko’s updated Jubilee-style steel bracelet, while the SSK036 comes on a brown leather strap.

The three new Seiko 5 SKX Sports Style GMT watches are, of course, part of the permanent collection and they are priced at $475 for the SSK033 and SSK035, and $450 for the SSK036. See more on the Seiko website.

3/

I have a huge soft spot for Maurice Lacroix. It’s fairly evident that their look might not be for everyone, there are some objections to their price, but I love them. And I particularly like the Aikon line, one of the rare integrated bracelet sports watches that still delight me, and which looks equally as great in colorful plastic as it does in stainless steel. Well, now we get a new material for the Aikon, both in the Automatic 42 and Automatic Chronograph lines — titanium.

Starting off with the regular Automatic 42, you get a very unique take on titanium. ML has decided to use both Grade 2 and Grade 5 titanium, which is not something you see every day. And they do that to give you two different contrasting titanium finishes and colors. For example, the bezel is made out of Grade 2 titanium, with a slightly darker color and a brushed finish, while the claws that hold it down are made out of Grade 5, lighter and fully polished. An interesting choice. The cases measure 42mm wide and 11mm thick. Water resistance is 200 meters.

The titanium version of the Aikon Automatic comes with two dial colors, both with the stamped waffle patter, a grey that gives the whole watch a very monochromatic look, and a purple that gives it a bit more character. Inside is the Calibre ML115, which is just a rebranded Sellita SW200, meaning it beats at 4Hz and has a 38 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a integrated Grade 2 and Grade 5 titanium bracelet. The watches are priced at CHF 2,700 and you can see them here.

Then we have the Aikon Automatic Chronograph Titanium, larger at 44mm wide and 15mm thick, but also made out of a mix of Grade 2 and Grade 5 titanium. Water resistance is a very respectable 200 meters. The dials get the same pattern and you even have the same purple color, with the addition of a gold colorway. It’s a tri-compax setup with grey or black sub-dials at the 6, 9 and 12 o’clock positions. Inside is the Calibre ML112, another movement based on a Sellita, this time the SW500. It beats at 4Hz and has a 48 hour power reserve. The watches also come on integrated titanium bracelets. Priced at CHF 4,150, you can see it on the Maurice Lacroix website.

4/

I’m willing to argue that there is no other brand today that understands how limited edition collaborations are truly supposed to work than Louis Erard. Most limited collections out there are, naturally, cognisant of the cost associated with major interventions in case and dial design, so they usually slap on a new coat of paint and call it a limited edition collaboration. Louis Erard, on the other hand, infuses their collaborations with the essence of both brands, as tacky as that might sound. And their latest collaboration is the result of a friendship between Louis Erard head Manuel Emch and German independent watchmaker Stefan Kudoke and his eponymous brand. The result are four Le Régulateur watches with distinctly Kudoke dials.

Louis Erard’s regulator watch is their favorite canvas for collaborations. So we know the basics. It measures 42mm wide, 12.25mm thick and has a 49.6mm lug-to-lug. The watches are made out of stainless steel that’s completely polished and there’s a domed sapphire crystal on top. Water resistance is set at 50 meters, which is decent.

The watches feature a rhodium-plated minutes track ring with dotted markers, a hours sub-dial at 12 o’clock and a running seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock. There are four variants — a light blue, a forrest green and a purple, all with a grained finish, and a white mother-of-pearl dial. The nameplates for Louis Erard and Kudoke positioned at 3 and 9 o’clock, while another reference to Kudoke is the infinity-shaped hour hand.

Inside all four watches is the automatic Sellita SW266-1A in its élaboré grade. It’s a regulator style movement, meaning it separates the hours, minutes and seconds into their own segments, and it beats at 4Hz with a 38 hour power reserve. The watches come on either light or dark grey and beige calfskin quick release straps.

The releases are, of course, limited. 100 pieces each of the light blue and forest green, while the purple and MOP dials are limited to 78 pieces each. Price is set at CHF 4,000 for the colored dials and CHF 4,500 for the mother-of-pearl dial. See more on the Louis Erard website.

5/

Hublot Teams Up With Tattoo Studio Sang Bleu Again For Blue Ceramic, Gold Spirit Of Big Bang

There’s no denying that Hublot primarily makes watches for a very niche group of buyers. Not to reach for stereotypes, but you know who they are. But it’s also undeniable that when they make a watch for their buyers, they do it absolutely perfectly, making it everything a Hublot owner would desire. One such line of watches is their collaboration with renowned Swiss tattoo artist Maxime Plescia-Buchi and his company Sang Bleu. They’ve been doing watches together since 2016, and their latest release are two limited edition Spirit Of Big Bang Sang Bleu watches made in either blue ceramic or brand’s proprietary King Gold.

Both watches share the shape and size of their cases, despite one being made out blue ceramic and the other out of King Gold. They are tonneau-shaped and measure 42mm wide and 15.7mm thick. Hublot doesn’t give a lug-to-lug measurement, but I assume it’s quite substantial because of the tonneau shape and lack of regular lugs. Both have faceted sapphire crystals on top, which are not that easy to pull off. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dials continue the layout of previous models, with a very avant-garde handset that almost looks art-deco at times. Both have a skeletonized display furnished by a pair of blue-colored chronograph registers and a matching blue hours track. Additionally, both models feature a date window set within the hours ring at the 4:30 position. The slight difference between the two is the rhodium-plated hands with white printing on the dial for the blue carmic version, and rose gold-plated hands and same shade of printing for the King Gold variant.

The times of Hublot selling a €50 movement in a €50,000 watch are mostly behind us, so inside you’ll find the Hublot Caliber HUB4700, which is based on the core architecture of the legendary Zenith El Primero. Still not an in-house product, but a very nice movement with a beat rate of 5Hz and a power reserve of 50 hours. The watches come on an integrated rubber strap, both of which are blue.

Both the Blue Ceramic and King Gold of the Spirit Of Big Bang Sang Bleu are limited editions — 200 for the ceramic and 100 for the gold — and are not cheap watches. The Blue Ceramic is priced at $31,800, while the King Gold is priced at $52,600. See more on the Hublot website.

6/

Luis Vuitton’s announcement last year that they would be reviving the Daniel Roth watch brand was a huge deal. Roth was a legend in his day. A talented watchmaker, he was instrumental in the revival of Breguet before shocking the industry and turning independent with his eponymous brand. He made unique, high-end and very limited watches for decates and as he was ready to retire, he sold his brand to a Singaporean retailer. The retailer sold the brand to Bulgari, which was in turn sold to LVMH. For years, nothing happened with the Daniel Roth brand, until early last year when Jean Arnaut, director of watches at Louis Vuitton, decided to relaunch the brand. And it would be quite the relaunch, as the watches would be manufactured by La Fabrique du Temps, also owned by LVMH. The first watch was a double ellipse tourbillon made in only 20 pieces. Now, it’s time for a follow-up, this one made in rose gold and with way more being made.

In terms of shape and size, nothing changes. You still get the double-ellipse case that measures 38,6mm x 35,5mm, with a thickness of 9.2mm. You get the same short and angled lugs, as well as the same crown. The biggest update is the use of 5N rose gold instead of yellow gold. The dial is a tone-on-tone rose gold dial, actually made out of solid 5N rose gold which gets a linear guilloche treatment, made in collaboration with the engine-turning atelier of Kari Voutilainen. A change to the previous version is the change to glossy black lacquer for the markings and hands. The portion of the main-plate visible under the tourbillon is still finished with Geneva stripes.

Inside is the calibre DR001 has been developed from the ground by Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, heads of La Fabrique du Temps LV. The movement beats at 3Hz and has a 80 hour power reserve. Unlike the previous version, this one has a transparent caseback which means you can see the decorations of the movement, which include Geneva stripes and perlage, as well as anglage with rounded, bevelled edges that are mirror polished.

The new Daniel Roth Tourbillon Rose Gold will be part of the permanent collection and while not limited in number, will be limited in production capacity. They expect they will be able to make 50 pieces per year. Price is set at CHF 155,000, without taxes. See more on the Daniel Roth website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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⚙️Watch Worthy

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

Mark Time employs this aesthetic using a brushed sunburst sandwich dial where the cutaways show the space between the hours. The hands are broad beams with squared tips and bright white blocks of BGW9. The second hand is similarly styled and of equal width to the bridge-like hour makers. It is also color-matched to the dial, which seems like a counter-intuitive choice until you notice its dark tip, which also happens to be the same width as the hours’ openings.

⏲️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

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One video you have to watch today

Simone Giertz made a name for herself by making stupid robots. Good to see that she’s still up there with revolutionary ideas.

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