Zenith Gives Defy Skyline A Paris Inspired Dial; Longines' Titanium Majetek; Bucherer x Hodinkee Worldtimer; Nivada x Ace Amsterdam Themed F77; Louis Erard x Silberstein; And Arnold & Son's Jade

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I’m not sure what to think of today’s releases. They’re all very nice, but for some reason, they just don’t work together. Or is it just me? I just know that it would be very cool to start collecting the Ace Jewelers Amsterdam series watches. I hope they keep going.

In this issue:

• Zenith Gives The Defy Skyline Edition Paris A Beautiful Verdigris Gradient Dial, But Good Luck Getting One

• Longines Update Their Strange But Unique Pilot Majetek With Titanium Case And Grayscale Color

• Carl F. Bucherer Teams Up With Hodinkee For The Heritage Worldtimer Limited Edition

• Louis Erard And Alain Silberstein Team Up Once Again For A New Grey Dial Smile Day Collab

• Nivada Grenchen And Ace Jewelers Team Up For An Amsterdam Version Of The Integrated F77

• Arnold & Son Add A Stunning Amber Dial To A Piece Unique White Gold Double Tourbillon

Today’s reading time: 11 minutes and 21 seconds

👂What’s new

1/

Zenith Gives The Defy Skyline Edition Paris A Beautiful Verdigris Gradient Dial, But Good Luck Getting One

Zenith has been having a killer year. They added some fantastic colors to the Chronomaster Sport line, released the first Titanium Chronomaster Sport, unveiled the new High Beat El Primero Tourbillon movement in the Defy Skyline and a couple of really fantastic looking divers. But perhaps the best release of the year was the incredible Chronomaster Triple Calendar. But their latest release, the Defy Skyline Edition Paris might be their most understated and best looking yet, with its verdigris dial. It’s a shame it will be difficult to buy.

On the outside, I don’t think anything has changed at all. It comes in the same modern and sporty case of the Defy Skyline, featuring an integrated bracelet and measuring 41mm wide and 12mm thick. There’s a pronounced barrel shape to the case, interrupted by the sharp 12-sided bezel. Most of the case is deeply brushed, with some very dramatic polished accents, especially prominent on the facets of the bezel. It’s a sports watch so 100 meters of water resistance is expected.

What’S new is the dial which comes in a verdigris color. What is this very specific green-grey color? It’s the signature color of Paris, where it is found on many, many oxidised copper details all over the city. Since this is a French exclusive watch, it makes perfect sense that it appears here. It also has a gradient effect to black on the edges. The rest of the dial is the same, with the embossed star pattern Zenith is known for, as well as the sub-second counter at 9 o’clock and the tiniest of date apertures at 3.

Inside, also no changes. The watch is powered by the El Primero calibre 3620 which beats at 5Hz and shows 1/10th of a second on the 9 o’clock counter. Power reserve is rated at 60 hours. The movement has a star-shaped rotor and the caseback is engraved with “Edition Paris” and the watch’s limited edition number. The watch comes on the integrated steel bracelet and you get an additional black patterned rubber strap.

Now, the very bad news. Good luck getting this watch. Not only is it a Zenith France exclusive, meaning it’s available only within France, it’s also limited to just 50 pieces. Price is set at €9,900. See more on the Zenith website.

2/

Longines Update Their Strange But Unique Pilot Majetek With Titanium Case And Grayscale Color

Released last year, the Longines Pilot Majetek caused quite a stir in the watch world. It was an extremely faithful recreation of an almost 100 year old pilot’s watch, and unlike anything else that Longines - or any other watch brand, for that matter - makes. Short, wide, chunky, with a supremely aggressive bezel, it looked weird from all angles. And I dug it a lot. But I also thought it was a one and done from Longines, an interesting experiment, not to be repeated and destined for forgotten display cases. Boy, was I wrong. Longines just introduced a new - unfortunately, limited - Pilot Majetek Pioneer Edition which ditches the fauxtina of the first one for a monochrome colorway and a nifty titanium case.

While the material has changed from steel to titanium, very little else has. The case measures 43mm wide and 13.3mm thick. Like I said, it’s made out titanium, but it retains the chubby pillow-shape of the original. On top is a sapphire crystal, surrounded by the incredible deeply coine-edged bezel. The bezel has the pretty cool mechanism of rotating a small arrow on the inside of the case, above the dial. You also still have a plaque on the 9:00 side of the case with “1935”, the year the original Majetek came out, engraved on it.

The dial looks similar to the previous release, but with a completely different feel. Instead of a fully black dial, this one gets a very dark grey matte finish with a very slight gradient to black on the edges. You get the same Arabic numerals and handset as the original release, but instead of a brown-cream fauxtina colorway, they have a super modern silver finish.

Iniside is the calibre L893.5, which is based on the ETA A31.501, a movement exclusive to the brand. Despite being an industrial movement, it benefits from several upgrades compared to a stock ETA calibre. For example, the power reserve is now a comfortable 72-hour, while the regulating organ features an antimagnetic silicon hairspring. It’s also COSC certified. The watch comes on a black nylon strap with a pin buckle.

The Pilot Majetek Pioneer Edition is limited to 1,935 pieces and priced at $5,000. See more on the Longines website.

3/

Carl F. Bucherer Teams Up With Hodinkee For The Heritage Worldtimer Limited Edition

Hodinkee has been in a spot of trouble lately. More and more people are not happy with their editorial content, there have had some serious financial stumbles that led to massive layoffs and the future of the company is in question. But despite all of this, they still know how to design a watch, something that they have done time and time again with their many special editions over the years. Now they’re reastablishing their design chops with a new collaboration with the recently-acquired-by-Rolex Carl F. Bucherer on the Heritage Worldtimer Limited Edition. It’s a great looking take on a 1950s classic.

The watch comes in a stainless steel case that’s pretty well proportioned with a width of 39mm and a thickness of 10.25mm. It’s a fairly standard looking case, polished and with not very long lugs, but the one thing that instantly jumps out to you is the fact that the watch has two crowns, one at the regular 3 o’clock position and one at 9. The crown at 9 is there to turn the internal bezel that houses the city ring, but more on that later. On top is a sapphire crystal surrounded by an almost invisible polished bezel. Water resistance is not that great at 30 meters.

Moving on to the dial, it’s made up of a series of rings. The central one is matte-varnished blue with engraved rhodium hour markers, while the external city ring is semi-matte and circularly brushed, providing a slightly contrasting feel. Between them is a silver ring with the 24 hour scale. The dagger hands are super sharp and there doesn’t seem to be any lume on the dial.

Through the caseback you can see the CFB automatic caliber A2020, which is a pretty nifty little movement. Not only is it COSC certified, with a 55 hour power reserve, but it also has a peripheral winding rotor. That means that instead of a full rotor that sits on the movement, it reduces the entire rotor to a half band around the movement in the same plane, allowing for thinner movements and an unobstructed view. It’s also pretty cool. The watch comes on a multi-row stainless steel bracelet, with an additional grey Saffiano leather strap, both of which have a quick-release system.

The new Carl F. Bucherer Heritage Worldtimer Limited Edition For Hodinkee is limited to 150 pieces and priced at $7,500. See more on the Hodinkee website.

 4/

Nivada Grenchen And Ace Jewelers Team Up For An Amsterdam Version Of The Integrated F77

A couple of months ago I had the Ace Jewelers X Frederique Constant Highlife Worldtimer Amsterdam in for review and it surprised me in a big way. I wasn’t sure that the removal of the instantly recognisable engraved longitude and latitude map would not work out well. Boy, was I wrong. I instantly fell in love with the all black dial with the subtle Amsterdam “xxx” reference. Well, it looks like Ace is going to continue this Amsterdam-centric style in their other collaboration, and I’m all for it as I have a personal connection with Amsterdam, having lived there. Now, they teamed up with Nivada Grenchen to bring the same dial look to their integrated bracelet sports watch, the F77. And I dig it!

The F77 is part of Nivada’s pretty successful revival of models from their rich back catalogue. And as the name would suggest, they took inspiration from quite a rare Nivada integrated bracelet steel sports watch first released in 1977. On the outside, pretty much everything remains the same. That means the case is made out of steel, measures 37mm wide and 12.65mm thick. The case has a great vertically brushed finish with polished facets and polished sides. On top is a domed sapphire crystal with a Genta-esque octagonal bezel with exposed (and aligned) screws (well, bolts, but you know what I mean).

On the dial side, things have changed and this is where Ace shines. Speaking of Ace, they are a family owned jewelery shop based in Amsterdam, with Alon Ben Joseph, perhaps best known to the broader public as the co-host of the fantastic The Real Time Show watch podcast, as its CEO, so the Amsterdam connection is very clear. And once again, Ace ditches the instantly recognisable basket weave dial of the original F77, for a fully matte black dial. The black is interrupted only by the silver of the applied indexes and hands, the Amsterdam symbol of xxx (quick history lesson - the three x symbols don’t stand for x-rated entertainment Amsterdam is known for as some would tell you, but are rather likely linked to St. Andrew and the Persijn family, which owned a lot of land in and around Amsterdam ranging back to the 13th century) in red, as well as a red seconds hand. It’s a shocking transformation, but one that seems to work brilliantly.

Just like all the other F77 watches, this one gets the Soprod P024 automatic movement. This is Soprod’s version of the legendary ETA 2824, which means it beast at 28,800 vph and has a 38 hour power reserve. It also comes on the integrated stainless steel bracelet.

This is not a watch that will be easy to come by. Only 50 examples of the Ace Jewelers x Nivada Grenchen F77 Amsterdam will be made, and with a price of €1,270, it looks like a pretty great deal. Especially if you have a connection to Amsterdam. See more on the Ace Jewelers website.

5/

Louis Erard And Alain Silberstein Team Up Once Again For A New Grey Dial Smile Day Collab

French architect and designer Alain Silberstein has made quite a name for himself in the watch world, both with his own brand and his collaborations with numerous (primarily French) watch brands. His signature style includes bold colors and pretty wacky shapes. In the past several years, he has made some pretty amazing watches with Louis Erard, the brand that fantastically reinvented themselves as the perfect collaboration canvas. Silberstein and Erard have already made a couple of watches with the Smile Day theme - in which Silberstein replaces the names of days with different smiley faces - and their latest one just arrived with a flat grey dial.

On the outside, you still get the pretty amazing titanium case that measures 40mm wide and has a completely circular case set within the instantly recognisable vertical sidebars that act as lugs. The sidebars and crown are polished, while the bezel and bar lugs have a matte finish. Water resistance is 100 meters.

While the case remains the same, there are some changes on the dial. Previous versions came in black and olive, and this new dial gets a flat grey color, that’s interupted by the blue arrow for the minutes, a yellow squiggle for the seconds and a red triangle for the hours, clearly inspired by Wassily Kandinsky. At 6 o’clock you’ll find the date, and right above it is an oval aperture for the day of the week indication, which is replaced by seven smiley faces.

Inside, you get exactly what you would expect from Louis Erard. They have become known for focusing on giving their customers the best looking watches with elaborate dials and cases at often very affordable prices. To keep prices lower, they opt for an off the shelf movement, and in most cases it’s the same one that powers this watch - the Sellita SW 220-1 élaboré-grade automatic. It beats at 4Hz, has a 38 hour power reserve and is customized with a black lacquered rotor. The watch comes on a grey nylon strap with a hook-and-loop fastener.

The Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein Smile-Day is limited to 178 pieces and priced at CHF 4,000, exactly like the previous versions of the Smile-Day. Sure there have been cheaper and more interesting Erards, but I’m sure this one will have its audience. See more on the Louis Erard website.

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Arnold & Son Add A Stunning Amber Dial To A Piece Unique White Gold Double Tourbillon

This is not a new watch. In fact, it’s kind of shocking how long the Arnold & Son Double Tourbillon has been around, without any change, side from the dial. The DTE, as it is known, was launched almost exactly 10 years ago in 2014 and has been chugging along as one of the best watches that money can buy,e even if it did look a lot like a certain watch from MB&F. Now, Arnold & Son is introducing a new dial for the watch, one made out of a pretty spectacular moiré yellow Baltic amber. But bad news. Not only is very expensive, only one is made. So good luck getting one.

On the outside, nothing has changed. Made out of white gold, the case measures 37.3mm wide and is 8.35mm thick. Or thin, whichever you prefer. That thinness is particularly impressive once you see how complex the movement is. But before that, there’s a domed sapphire on top and a flat sapphire crystal on the back, and practically no bezel to speak of. The lugs are short and angled down, and there are two flat crowns at what could be the 1:30 and 7:30 positions on the case. Interestingly, you get 30 meters of water resistance. Who would have expected that.

Moving on to the dial, this one follows Arnold & Son’s love for natural stones. The Double Tourbillon already came with imperial jade, malachite and aventurine dials, and now it gets a very interesting piece of amber. While most amber is translucent orange - even Jurassic Park taught us that - this one comes from the Baltic Sea coast and in an incredible creamy shade of warm yellow. Even more interestingly, Arnold & Son says this that exposure to sunlight will alter the shade of the stone over time. This will cause a perceptible change in the colour and opacity of the material, which will age very differently depending on how its wearer uses the watch. Pretty cool.

The Double Tourbillon displays two time zones with two small dials, with the one at 12 o’clock using Roman numerals on a white base, and the one at 6 o’clock using Arabic numerals, also on white. These two dials display hours and minutes that are completely independent. At the 3 and 9 o’clock positions you’ll find the two tourbillons using a skeletonised, cantilevered bridge in white gold.

Powering all of this is the A&S8513 calibre, which has two barrels to power the two time zones. The movement beats at 21,600vph and has a 90 hour power reserve. It is, of course, impeccably decorated. It includes radiating Côtes de Genève stripes, a circular-grained mainplate, double-snailed barrels, sunray-brushed crown wheels and polished gold chatons. The watch comes on a jungle-green alligator leather with papaya-yellow alligator leather lining.

This Arnold & Son Double Tourbillon White Gold is a one-off and priced at €269,100. See more on the Arnold & Son website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

1/

A review of the NOMOS Tangente 38 Date – 175 Years Watchmaking Glashütte

2/

Hands-on with the affordable new Casio G-Shock Gravitymaster GR-B300 Series

3/

A review of the Armin Strom One Week Manufacture Edition

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Seaborne Surfers has a very strong mid-60s California vibe and should be worn listening to the Beach Boys

Yes, they’ve printed the obligatory 24-hour, day/night index on the dial, but the real fun is in that worldtimer bezel, which eschews cities for beaches. The top center isn’t New York or London, but Uluwatu-Kuta in Indonesia. We American east-coasters will have to align with Hyboria, which is apparently in Florida. Rotate the firm, 120-click, unidirectional bezel to check the time at Supertubes, Ha’Atafu, or Pipeline. I’d imagine that the number of people who can tie all these spots to their geographic location and time zone are few, and the number who actually have any need to do so are fewer still. I am certainly not among them, and I absolutely do not care. I love that Seaborne has done this. It’s fun, a little silly, and absolutely delightful.

Read the whole review on the Time Bum

⏲️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 love it when a title tells a story: “Harvard Scientists Say There May Be an Unknown, Technologically Advanced Civilization Hiding on Earth”. This is a much shorter article than I usually post, but come on. How can I not post it?

• In Maryland and across the globe, Greater Grace World Outreach has thousands of members. Over its 50-year history, the church has been accused of being cult-like, deceitful and manipulative. Of turning a blind eye to a culture of abuse. Now, a group of former members wants a reckoning. This megachurch warned of hell. Then it concealed its own sins.

• The threat of a disastrous event is always lurking in low Earth orbit, frustratingly unpredictable but worryingly persistent. It’s not unlike the major earthquake that is expected to rock California in the coming decades. In the orbital landscape, the “Big One” could come in the form of any number of scenarios: collisions between satellites, the intentional shooting-down of a spacecraft, a nuclear event. But the outcome of such a seismic event in orbit is the same. A tremendous burst of fast-moving shards, indiscriminate in their destruction, will whiz through Earth’s jam-packed coating of satellites, threatening to tip the world below into a new reality. Oh great.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

There’s so much weird stuff going on in this video that I’m at a loss for words.

💵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