Yema's New Wristmaster Slim CMM.20 Has An Incredible Hand Finish; Formex Adds A Blue Stone Dial; Nodus Releases Sector II Pilot; Laine's P37 Is Their Smallest Watch; And A Stunning Arnold & Son

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In this issue:

• Yema Releases A New Version Of The Wristmaster Slim CMM.20 With An Incredible Hand Finish

• Formex Adds A Deep Blue Agate Stone Dial To The Essence 39mm Collection

• Nodus Releases First Sector II Watches, Three Versions Of The Very Modern Pilot

• Laine Introduces The P37, Their Smallest Watch Yet With A Very Interesting Take On A Familiar Movement

• Arnold & Son Have A New Version Of Their Mesmerizing Perpetual Moon, This One In Fern Green

👂What’s new

1/

Yema Releases A New Version Of The Wristmaster Slim CMM.20 With An Incredible Hand Finish

When Yema introduced their really compelling in-house Manufacture Morteau CMM.20 movement two years ago, they introduced it in a very slim version of a Wristmaster watch. That was a limited edition, and for years, Yema didn’t make that specific Wristmaster. Now, the French brand is bringing the model back with three new watches (more on those another day) and a pretty spectacular limited edition they just introduced. The new Wristmaster Slim CMM.20 Limited Edition has a finish we don’t get to see very often, and I love that Yema is experimenting like this.

On the outside, if you manage to ignore the finish of the watch at first, it’s a very familiar watch. It has pretty amazing proportions — 39mm wide, just 9mm thick, and with a 43.5mm lug-to-lug. The L2L is short due to the fact that the watch has no lugs, thanks to the integrated bracelet. On top is the signature integrated bracelet with a slight octagonal shape and six internal scallops. But the cool part is the finish. First, the case, bezel, and bracelet are brushed by hand in a random pattern, creating an incredible texture that doesn’t really look like anything else we’ve seen before. Then, the watch gets a layer of black PVD coating that then only enhances these added imperfections and plays in the light. Of course, since every finish is hand-applied, each case will be a little bit different.

The same treatment is applied to the solid brass dial. It’s brushed by hand and gets the same black PVD coating. It looks cool. The rest remains very familiar. You get a painted minute scale on the periphery, applied hour markers, and polished and faceted Alpha-style hands. At noon, you get the 12 numeral, and the seconds hand is painted in white Super-LumiNova BWG9, the same lume that’s on the hour and minute hands.

Inside, you get the Oliver Mory-designed manufacture CMM.20. It’s wound with a tungsten micro-rotor, beating at 4Hz and with a pretty great 70-hour power reserve. It’s also quite accurate at -3/+7 seconds per day. The movement gets the same hand-applied decorations. The watch, like I said, comes on an integrated bracelet that has the same treatment as the case .

The new Wristmaster Slim CMM.20 with this special treatment is a limited edition and only 200 will be made, all individually numbered. The price is certainly up there for a Yema, but with such a cool in-house movement made in France, the hand-applied finishing, and limited nature, I didn’t expect it to be much cheaper than the €2,449 it’s priced at. See more on the Yema website.

2/

Formex Adds A Deep Blue Agate Stone Dial To The Essence 39mm Collection

It’s now pretty clear that this was the year of stone dials. Whether they were a micro brand or an established brand that sells in the six figures, pretty much everyone had a take on a stone dial. And I loved it! Not that you asked, but I would say that my absolute favorite stone dial of the year was the Baltic Prismic with an incredible red agate dial. As the year winds down, we get one more stone dial watch, this one with a cousin stone to the red agate — it’s the Formex Essence 39mm Blue Agate Automatic Chronometer.

As one might expect, on the outside little has changed, if anything. This is a slightly divisive case, with people who love it and those who… don’t. It’s made special with their patented case suspension system that allows for a bit of flex when wearing it. The dimensions are great — 39mm wide, 10mm thick and a 45mm lug-to-lug. On top is a flat sapphire crystal, the case is a combination of brushed and polished surfaces, while the crown is interrupted with the four screws holding everything together. Water resistance is 100 meters.

This watch is obviously all about the dial. Formex is not a stranger to non-traditional dials. They did a mother of pearl option, a gold version, a meteorite version and they dabbled in semi-precious stones. But this blue agate might just be the best. I find that the best stone dial are either extremely subtle or very loud. When you’re in the middle is when you’re in trouble. The blue agate keeps it subtle, with almost invisible horizontal striations throughout the dial. There’s a minute track printed along an angled chapter ring, applied baton-shaped hour markers, polished hands filled with Super-LumiNova and a really interesting date aperture at 6 o’clock that’s flanked with two polished pieces of metal.

Like the regular Formex Essence 39mm models, this one also features the Sellita SW200-1 which beats at 4Hz and has a 41 hour power reserve. The extended power reserve hints at this being a higher grade of the movement, and the Chronometer in the name tells us it’s the chronometer grade of the SW200. This means that it’s COSC-certified and has a -4/+6 seconds per day rated accuracy. It has perlage on their bridges, blued screws, and a custom skeletonized rotor. The watch can be had on a number of straps, including rubber or leather, both with their proprietary carbon composite deployant clasp with an extension system, or a steel bracelet.

The new Formex Essence 39mm Blue Agate Automatic Chronometer is a special edition with limited production numbers of only 100 pieces per year. The price is set at €2,100 on the rubber or leather strap and €2,250 on the steel bracelet. See more on the Formex website.

3/

Nodus Releases First Sector II Watches, Three Versions Of The Very Modern Pilot

The Los Angeles-based Nodus watches has been around a bit over seven years and in that time they have managed to build up quite the cult following. And it’s easy to see why. They make spectacular looking watches, well built and with some very cool features, at prices that are truly affordable. And among their many loved watches is the Sector line. Based on a similar overall package, Nodus has made a great diver in the Sector Deep, a slightly different pilot’s watch in the Sector Pilot, a sports watch with the Sector Sport and a cool GMT with the, you guessed it, the Sector GMT. Now, the time has come to update the platform with a much slimmer and sleeker Sector II. And the first watch to get the update is the Sector II Pilot.

Nodus is quite proud of the new dimensions of their new Sector Pilot, and they have reason to be as this is one of the thinnest Seiko NH-based designs ever made. The steel case measures 38mm wide, 11.7mm thick, with a 47mm lug-to-lug. On top is a new box-shaped crystal which allows them to move the crystal much closer to the dial, slimming down the watch. It also has a very familiar, but heavily updated bezel. It’s oversized to the case, measuring 40mm wide to be easier to grip. It also has a new 120-click uni-directional piston system and a 60 minute countdown timer. But the coolest thing is that you can get it in two versions — either a bare steel version or one with a black DLC coat. The case shape and bracelet endlinks have also been re-designed for a better fit. Water resistance is 100 meters.

There are two versions of the Sector Pilot dials available. Well, technically, three, but more on that later. There’s the Sector Pilot Phantom and the Sector Pilot Blackbird. They share all the important details. Both have sector dials, with a heavily grained central discs that have white crosshairs, surrounded by a raised disc that holds applied numerals with a great font. The hour and minute hands are white, filled with lume, while the seconds hand features an arrow. The most striking thing is the position of the day and date indicator, both at 6 o’clock, with the day display curving around one of the sectors. The only difference between the two dials is the Phantom coming in a really nice shade of blue, and the Blackbird is all black.

There’s also a third version of the new Sector Pilot, the Flyboy. This was the first Sector II platform to be used in a Nodus Design Lab project, and it was a limited edition made with WatchCrunch, the watch social network. 99 pieces were made and they sold out in a day. The watch was so in demand, Nodus is now bringing the Flyboy as a non-limited edition. It features a black dial, a green bezel and a yellow-tipped straight seconds hand.

All three versions come with the same movement inside, the Seiko NH36. It beats at 3Hz and has a 41 hour power reserve. It’s an ubiquitous movement, very popular among budget watch brands and not particularly well known for its accuracy. That’s why Nodus takes it and regulates it to +/- 10 seconds per day, which is great. The watch comes on the brand’s Pentalink bracelet which, you guessed it, has 5 links and tapers from 20mm to 16mm. It’s, of course, paired with the NodeX clasp which allows for one-button adjustment.

You can pre-order the new Sector Pilot now and shipping begins December 16th. Price is set at $500 for the versions with the bare steel version and $525 for the DLC coated bezel. The Sector Pilot Flyboy is priced at $550. See more on the Nodus website.

4/

Laine Introduces The P37, Their Smallest Watch Yet With A Very Interesting Take On A Familiar Movement

We don’t get to talk about Laine watches all that much, and that’s a complete shame. They make wonderful, understated pieces that are meticulously made. They are also extremely well known for their beautiful guilloché dials. For their latest model, the P37, they created some of their simplest versions of classy watches with not just great dials, but also a complete reworking of the Peseux 7001 movement.

Starting with the case, things are super simple here. It’s a round 37mm wide case that’s just 8mm thick, as it should be with a manually wound movement, a lug-to-lug of a hair under 45mm, and straight lugs. There’s not much else to it. It’s fully polished, with a thin bezel and a double-domed sapphire crystal on the front and a flat sapphire crystal on the back. Water resistance is decent for such a watch at 50 meters.

There are five dials to choose from, each with a different color and pattern, and each with its own name. All of them feature small seconds, with a small Laine wordmark underneath it, and Breguet numerals. Well, nearly all. The Salmon Spider doesn’t have any numerals; instead, you get applied indices. It also features a salmon colorway and a very aggressive buzzsaw-like texture of the guilloché. The Sky Blue Twill has the numerals in white gold with heat-blued syringe, just like the Salmon Spider. The Ocean Blue Diamond features white gold numerals and white gold hands, with a rhomb-like pattern on the blue dial. Silver Grain has a rice grain guilloché pattern in silver with heat-blued Arabic numerals and hands. And last, we have the Murasaki Flame, which has a swirling pattern in purple.

The movement in this watch is super interesting. Flip the watch over and it’s instantly clear that this is the Peseux 7001, but it looks way different. That’s because Laine takes all the components of the Peseux and remakes them in-house, with crazy decorations. The two-thirds bridge has a rose gold and guilloché finish, while the balance and escape cocks feature black polishing. But like the basic Peseux 7001, it’s still manually wound, beating at 3Hz and with a 42-hour power reserve.

The Laine P37 can be ordered right now, with each color being limited to 99 pieces. Deliveries are expected in January of 2025. The price is set at CHF 9,900. See more on the Laine website.

5/

Arnold & Son Have A New Version Of Their Mesmerizing Perpetual Moon, This One In Fern Green

The Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon just might be the best one of the prettiest renditions of a moon phase in a watch. It’s certainly not the most technically advanced, but it will be the best looking. Always. Characterized by an oversized moon and a wonderfully executed dial, Arnold & Son really knows how to use the platform for fantastic watches. Now we’re getting a new version with a stunning Fern Green dial.

As is the case when we get new dials, on the outside everything remains the same. While the Perpetual Moon can usually be had in either 38 or 41.5mm, this Fern Green version comes only in the 41.5mm version. The case is made out of polished platinum and measures 11.3mm thick. There’s a super thick bezel to make that dial opening as large as possible, because there’s a lot to be admired here.

Inspired by the ferns that grow in Cornwall, the county where the English clockmaker John Arnold was born, the base of the dial gets a deep engraving of rays spreading out from the centre. The dial is then PVD treated to achieve a wonderful green tone. The hour markers are tiny and placed at the very edge of the dial and are pointed to with very cool syringe hands. And while the green engravings on the dial are beautiful, the showstopper is the huge 29mm aperture that displays a moon phase. Inside is a super dark blue sky, with mother-of-pearl discs painted with Super-LumiNova that represent the moon. You also get the Ursa Major and Cassiopeia constellations painted onto the dial.

Inside, you’ll find the manual wind calibre A&S1512. It beats at 3Hz and has a really nice 90 hours of power reserve. It has a deviation of just one day every 122 years for the moonphase, and it also solves one of the biggest issues with moonphases in a very neat way. Usually, when a moonphase watch stops, you kind of have to guessimate if you got the right position of the moon when you set it. This has a second moon phase indicator on the caseback with a precision scale for an easy set. Very cool. The watch comes on a matching green alligator strap with a platinum pin buckle.

Of course, the Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 41.5 Fern Green is limited to 28 pieces and it’s priced at CHF 46,700. See more on the Arnold & Son website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

1/

A review of the Hamilton Ventura Edge Dune Limited Edition

2/

Hands on with the PAM01800 Submersible Elux LAB-ID

3/

A review of Kari Voutilainen's GPHG-Winning KV20i

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Sinn 717 is a compelling option for those who want commanding chronograph with build quality that rivals much more expensive brands

The Sinn 717 may not be an actual cockpit clock, but the similarities are obvious. Bold white numerals, hints of orange, and a rotating bezel are all present. The layout differs and resembles a more traditional timepiece. This 45mm stainless steel watch features the brand’s Black Hard Coating and Tegiment surface treatment for durability. While its size sounds audacious, it can work on medium-sized wrists thanks to the short 48mm lug-to-lug measurement. Of course, the 24mm-wide black leather strap ups the wrist presence. The 15.3mm thickness includes the flat sapphire crystal.

Read the whole review on Fratello

⏲️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

• Have you ever eaten an apple and thought it tasted so much better when you were younger? Well, turns out, if that apple was a Honeycrisp, chances are you’re not crazy. A complex string of events led to a decline in the quality of a beloved apple variety and it’s a great read.

• Every now and again I like to read an article that predicts the future, but published decades ago. Here’s a really interesting one from Wired published in 2000. It’s incredible to see what they got right, what they got wrong and, most importantly, what is still to be determined.

• The reporting from this tattoo convention is great, but the photos are fantastic.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

This is becoming a tradition, but the Watches of Espionage videos really are that entertaining I have to post every single one that comes out.

-Vuk