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- Baltic Updates Trio Of Legendary Watches With Vintage Black-and-Gold Look, Ressence Introduces Multicolor Type 1° Round, Roue Introduce Two Great New Colors And New From Bamford And Holthinrichs
Baltic Updates Trio Of Legendary Watches With Vintage Black-and-Gold Look, Ressence Introduces Multicolor Type 1° Round, Roue Introduce Two Great New Colors And New From Bamford And Holthinrichs
Hey, it's a newsletter with a new Ressence, it can only be a good day
It's About Time
November 30, 2023
Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Like I mentioned in one of the pieces today, I’m thinking about adding a regular weekly feature of watches that come from countries that are not known for their watch industries. Can I get a “yay” on that idea?
If you like this newsletter, you might consider supporting it directly through Patreon. If you were subscribed, you could have already read my lengthy piece on Only Watch and it potentially being the biggest scam of the watch world. Other subscriber-only articles include the Completely Sterile Secret Watches Of MACV-SOG and my choice of 11 vintage Heuer watches that would make the perfect basis for new TAG Heuer recreations, including a possible MoonSwatch type watch that could actually break the internet.
In this issue:
Baltic Updates A Trio Of Their Legendary Watches With A Vintage Black-And-Gold Look
Ressence Brings Multiple Colors To Their Beautiful Type 1° Round
Roue Introduces Two New Colorways to their TPS Chronograph Collection
Hypebeast Teams Up With Bamford London For A Snoopy-Themed GMT
Holthinrichs Expands 3D Printed Deconstructed Watches With New Aventurine and Meteorite Dials
Today’s reading time: 8 minutes and 36 seconds
👂What’s new
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What a year this has been for the French independent watch brand Baltic. They haven’t released many watches, but the few they did were stunning. There was the Experiments Premier Quatrième Perpétual, a perpetual calendar that was part of the brand new line of haute horology watches called for the young brand. However, the financial shenanigans of the Only Watch auctions meant this watch, created for the auction, is now on a hiatus. Then there was the major Baltic release - the brand new Hermétique Tourer line, their incredible colorful take on the field watch. Now, to end 2023, Baltic is releasing a trio of their classic watches - the MR01, HMS 002 and Bicompax 002 - in a wonderful gold/black colorway.
There’s nothing revolutionary about these watches, it’s the same three classic Baltic watches that we have grown fond of, just with an added gold PVD coating of the steel case and the indices/numerals/hands. But still, let’s go over them.
First up is the MR01 which now has an almost cult status. Inspired by vintage time-only dress watches, the MR01 comes in a 36mm wide and 10mm thick stainless steel case that has a 44mm lug-to-lug. The watch has a stepped bezel and an ultra-domed hesalite crystal, while the case in this edition is coated in yellow gold PVD while maintaining brushed sides and polished finishings on the lugs and bezel. The dial is painted a glossy black with gold-coloured tracks and the Breguet numerals and the leaf hands are also gold-coated.
Inside the watch is an interesting movement. It’s the CAL5000A micro-rotor automatic movement made by the Chinese Hangzhou factory. It’s an interesting caliber as it offers the very coveted and usually expensive micro-rotor option at a really affordable price. You can see the movement through a transparent back and it will run for 42 hours. The watch comes on a black Saffiano leather strap.
The HMS 002 and the Bicompax 002 share a case so can be described together. Both come in at 38mm wide, 13mm thick and with a 47mm lug-to-lug. Both are also made of stainless steel with a gold PVD coat and both have a strong vintage vibe with a domed hesalite crystal, stepped bezel, and mostly brushed finishings, with polished touches on the crown and pushers and the top of the bezel. Both also have a glossy central sector, while the charter ring is brushed. The applied numerals and the hands are all gold-coloured, and the printed tracks mimic a vintage gilt dial.
The difference between the two comes in the functionality. The HMS 002 has a (large) small seconds display at 7-8 o’clock, wile the Bicompax 002 is a chronograph with two subdials. Inside the Bicompax is the Seagull ST1901, hand-wound column-wheel chronograph that beats at 3Hz and has a power reserve of 42 hours. The HMS 002 has the Miyota 8315 automatic movement that beats at 3Hz and has a 60 hour power reserve. Both of these also come on Saffiano black leather straps.
From what I can tell, these three watches will not be limited to any specific number, but Baltic has been known to sell out of their stock. The MR01 will be available second week of December 2023 at a price of €545, the Bicompax 002 goes on sale in mid-December at €565 and the HMS 002 is expected at the end of January 2024 at €385. See more on the Baltic website.
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Let’s keep this one short, sweet and unemotional. Because if you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you know my love for Ressence. There are few, if any, watches that can stand up to the Ressence Type 3 in terms of not just incredible looks but also mechanical achievement. Now, Ressence is updating one of their other models, the Type 1° Round and they’re calling it the Multicolor and it does exactly as the name says - gives multiple colors to the hands, dials and subdials on an otherwise white background.
The Type 1° Round comes in a grade 5 titanium case that measures 42.7mm wide. The rotating display consists of a German silver dial topped with a double-domed sapphire crystal and polished wire lugs connect the fully round case with no crown to the strap. New for the Multicolor is the pure white main disc with a blue minute track on the periphery of the main disc with the subdial for hours rendered in gree, the seconds in yellow and days of the week in red.
Inside the watch is the humble ETA 2829. But that somewhat pedestrian movement is connected to Ressence’s proprietary Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS) which connects to the ETA and operates the extremely complex fully rotating dial and counters. However, the ETA beats at 28,800vph and has a rather short 36 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a grey rubber strap featuring an ardillon buckle.
The watch is priced at CHF 16,800, excluding taxes, and is available from the brand’s official retailers. See more on the Ressence website.
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Over the past several weeks, I have been looking into watches that come from countries and areas that are not traditionally associated with watchmaking. We all love our Swiss, Japanese, German and now even Chinese watches. But what about Bangalore Watch Company from India? Or Marnaut from Croatia? I’m thinking that I should include a regular section for these lesser known brands, so keep your eyes open. One such brand is the relatively young, started in 2017, Roue watches which are originally from Brazil.
I only recently discovered them and boy, have I missed a lot. While they might be from Brazil, Roue has an incredible international vibe. Founder Alex Iervolino, a designer and collector who has a long-standing passion for iconic creations, has an incredible diverse range of interests that just happen to strongly ally with mine. He said it best on their website: “Close your eyes. Go back to the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s. Roue was inspired by this era. Just like the elegance of an Alfa Romeo car, the precision of Braun radio or the design of Scandinavian furniture. Now combine this timeless style with a modern, unique, manufacturing process utilizing high-grade parts and quality materials. This is how each one of our watches is made.”
Now, Roue is introducing a very nice update tot heir TPS line of chronographs which were originally inspired by the Porsche 910 that won the Nürburgring 1000-kilometer race in 1967, with a super cool combination of Tachymeter and Pulsometer scales surrounding the dial. How, you might ask, do you put two scales on one dial without making it look cluttered? You do one after the other. The initial 15 seconds of the chronograph is used to time a pulse, while the rest is used for the tachymeter.
The watches come in a 40mm wide stainless steel case that’s 13.4mm thick and has a domed crystal. The two new colors are named Six and Seven, whicih makes sense once you know there are five colors before them. Six is the white dial and Seven is the graphite one, with both adding red and yellow accents on the scales, hands and subdails, making them look both very retro and very modern at the same time.
Inside the watch is the Seiko Mecha-Quartz caliber SII VK63, meaning that it combines a quartz movement for the regular timekeeping and a mechanical chronograph. The watches come with a driver perforated leather strap and a sport silicone strap.
Both the Six and the Seven are limited to 1,000 pieces each and can be purchased now for $290. See more on the Roue website.
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Just a couple of days ago, I think it was Monday, I wrote about a Franck Muller Crazy Hours that the Bamford Watch Department customized with a Snoopy motif. Now, a new release from Bamford, but this time from their Bamford London division that makes original watches. Bamford London is teaming up with the fashion news website Hypebeast to turn one of Bamford’s GMTs into a Peanuts watch.
The collaborative watch arrives in refined black and white tones, presented in a 40mm cushion-shaped watch case. The titanium-built case has an internal rotating bezel and integrated date window. There are two crowns, the one at 10 o’clock activates its internal rotating bezel, while its primary crown remains at the usual 3 o’clock position. The watch is powered by the Sellita SW330-2 caliber, a Swiss automatic movement that powers the watch continuously for up to 50 hours.
The dial features Snoopy, but not a regular Snoopy, this is Hypebeast Snoopy, “the trend-loving, streetwear-wearing, and playfully laidback alter ego of the widely-adored beagle character". Clad in white from head to paw, the new persona can be spotted on the dial, sporting a white baseball cap and long-sleeve hoodie.” In line with Bamford London’s signature approach to character watches, Snoopy's Arms are incorporated as the timepiece’s handset. Woodstock, Snoopy’s partner-in-crime is also incorporated as the watch’s GMT hand, where it appears to flutter around his best friend as it tells the time of another time zone. Both characters, alongside the indices and hands, are all doused in Super-LumiNova.
Accompanying the timepiece are two straps. Lightweight, durable, and comfortable on the wrist, the primary option features a Cordura strap with contrasting white top-stitchings, while the additional strap comes in a textured and vulcanized rubber that is waterproof, sturdy, and flexible. The watch’s cool and minimal color palette is extended to its outer packaging, with each of the watches coming in a frosted iteration of Snoopy’s doghouse.
The Hypebeast x Bamford GMT Peanuts is limited to 200 pieces and they will go on sale December 7 at 9AM EST. Price is not yet released, but keep an eye out on Hypebeast where you can register your interest in buying one.
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Like I said with the Roue watch, I’m becoming more interested in watches that come from countries with not as large a watch industry. While the Netherlands surely isn’t an unknown quantity in the watch world, it’s always nice to see some of their new offerings. One of the smaller Dutch brands is Holthinrichs that has been focusing on using new materials and production methods and has made a name for themselves with the 3D printed Deconstructed collection. Now they’re adding two new models to that line, the Aventurine and Meteorite.
Starting with the Aventurine, it uses the same case structure and concept as the Deconstructed. That means you get a 3D printed titanium case that measures 39mm wide and 9.8mm thick with a domed sapphire crystal and incredibly intricate and skeletonised lugs that can’t be made with any other technology other than 3D printing. It’s nice to see a brand use a new technology not just to brag about it, but to actually move the design forward. These lugs make the watch look like it’s floating unnatached to them. In line with the name, the dial is made from aventurine glass. Its dark navy colour and speckled appearance gives it the impression of a field of stars viewed at night. It’s also a fully closed dial unlike the previous versions.
The other model is the Meteorite. It comes in the same Deconstructed case as the Aventurine, but, again as the name might suggest, it gets a dial made out of meteorite with a strong grey colouration with the signature striations and unique pattern. The dial comes from a meteor called Muonionalusta, which is one of the most common sources of meteorite dials across the entire watch industry. This dial also gets partial skeletonization.
inside the watch is the HW-M01 manually wound movement, partially developed and constructed in-house. The movement is based on the Peseux 7001, but with significant modifications. The openworked movement has hand-finished bridges and plates, with anglage, cerclage on the gears, a polished click-and-click spring, screw heads and countersinks. The Meteorite version also gets a special scraping technique applied to the top surfaces of the bridges to mimic the pattern of the meteorite dial. It runs at a rate of 21,600vph and has a power reserve of 42 hours.
The Deconstructed Aventurine comes on a handmade alligator leather strap with a patina finish, while the Deconstructed Meteorite comes on an integrated rubber strap in anthracite, orange, blue or green. Both strap options are fitted with a Holthinrichs signed 3D printed pin buckle.
The watches retail for €16,900 for the Aventurine and €18,800 for the Meteorite, and each is limited to a production run of just 20 pieces. See more on the Holthinrichs 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
While Hemel did not stray far from the classic Tyle 20 layout, the brand has still managed to turn out several distinct dials, all of which reflect the original aesthetic in thier own way. The Air Wing is distinguished by its large subdials that displace the 9 and 3 without cutting into any of the other numbers, and the darts at the remaining odd-numbered hour positions.
The matte black dial wears white printing and beige C3 Super-LumiNova. I know some watch nerds take issue with “fauxtina,” but I am not one of them. I love it, and not because it looks old but because the mellow combination of black and tan is just so damn satisfying. A dash of red on the 60 and the first 5 minutes of the 30-minute register lend an appealing, low-key pop of color that fits the overall military theme.
⏲️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
According to a survey I ran here, you lot on average have 6 watches. So, believe me when I say, I am completely aware of the irony of posting this article. For The Guardian, Chip Collwel adn his family, alarmed by the rising tide of waste we are all creating, decided to try to make do with much less. But while individual behaviour is important, real change will require action on a far bigger scale
Miniatures are having a moment. This intricate art of building and furnishing tiny worlds exploded during the pandemic, and has continued to grow popular through TikTok as well as shows like Best in Miniature. For Esquire, Scott Huler immerses himself in the world of miniaturists and seeks to understand the why behind these delicate and incredibly detailed dioramas called roomboxes. Are they places in which to escape? Spaces to control? Settings to find focus, or perhaps peace? Perhaps all of the above.
Twenty-five years ago, ninth grader Kip Kinkel shot and killed his parents and then opened fire at his school, Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon, killing two teenagers and injuring 25 students. This was in 1998, before the rise of school shootings and gun violence had yet to put places like Columbine and Parkland on the map. While Kip has been in prison, he has stayed in close contact with his older sister, Kristin; she is his lifeline and the reason why Kip is still alive today. How has the tragedy affected Kristin? Has she been able to create an existence distinct from her identity as Kip Kinkel’s sister? Jennifer Gonnerman tackles a tough story.
👀Watch this
One video you have to watch today
While I haven’t seen Napoleon yet, I hear both great and horrible things about it. I dig the trailer and it instantly reminded me of a grander scale version of Ridley Scott’s first movie, The Duelists. This is a great video about the real story of the Duelists. Watch this and then go find the movie.
💵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
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
Want to sell your watch to a community of passionate horologists? Reach out to us and we’ll put your ad up.
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