Doxa Shrinks Down Their Legendary Divers To 39mm With The 200T; Hamilton Updates The Open Heart Jazzmaster; Angelus Perfects The Vintage Monopusher Chrono; New From MeisterSinger And Vanguart

In this issue:

• Doxa Introduces The New 200T, Their Classic Doxa Diver Now In 39mm And With A Huge Number Of Options

• Hamilton Updates The Jazzmaster Open Heart With Five New References, And A Great Peach Colored Dial

• The Already Strange One-Handed MeisterSinger Gets An Even Stranger Time Scale For The Edition Passage

• Angelus Releases The Stunning Vintage Inspired Instrument de Vitesse Monopusher Chronograph

• The Vanguart Orb Is As Futuristic As A Flying Tourbillon Can Get

Today’s reading time: 8 minutes and 58 seconds

👂What’s new

1/

Doxa Introduces The New 200T, Their Classic Doxa Diver Now In 39mm And With A Huge Number Of Options

The key to success of a watch brand is understanding your audience. Whether you are a huge brand like Rolex or a micro one like Arken, if you know who you are selling to, you will likely be met with success. And very few brands can say they are as in tune with their audience - and vice versa - as Doxa. Look at their lineup and you’ll see a perfected expression of vintage inspired divers. Look outside their lineup and you’ll see a rabid fanbase that scrutinises over details even more than Rolex fans do. And you do need to pay attention to details when it comes to Doxa, as so many of their watches come in the instantly recognisable cushion shaped case. The same shape shows up in their all-new model they just introduced - this is the massive Sub 200T collection, with 13 new variants (and that’s before you even start counting the strap options), and a new, much more accessible, 39mm size

The new 200T comes in a brand new case that has pretty perfect proportions. It measures 39mm wide and 10.7mm thick. Thanks to the cushion shape and very short lugs, the lug-to-lug measurement is just 41.5mm, giving it an almost square look. On top of the stainless steel case is a flat sapphire crystals, surrounded by Doxa’s recognisable no-decompression bezel with depth inscriptions that are either dial or accent colored. The crown screws down and water resistance is plentiful at 200 meters.

I said that there are 13 variants, but technically, there are only eight dial colors for the new model. We get to 13 when we take into account that five of the colors can be had with either a matte or sunray brushed dial. The five that have the choice are the cult orange Professional, equally as famous black Sharkhunter and yellow Divingstar, as well as the light blue Aquamarine and navy blue Caribbean. The white Whitepearl only comes in matte, while the silver Searambler and dark green Sea Emerald, a new color for Doxa, get only sunray brushed options.

The dials and hands have the same design and layout as what can be found on the larger SUB 300T series, with either black or white painted hands and hour markers and some models having a bright orange minute hand. Additionally, the Sea Emerald gets gold accents. You’ll find the date window at 3 o’clock.

Inside, Doxa says they have fitted a Swiss made movement, without mentioning any details. However, from the stats they give - a beat rate of 28,800vph and a 38 hour power reserve - it’s very likely that the movement is the Sellita SW200-1, a fine movement that’s easy to service and relatively reliable. Every watch will be available on an FKM rubber strap or a beads-of-rice bracelet.

The Doxa Sub 200T is available now and priced at €1,500 on the rubber strap and €1,590 on the beads-of-rice, which is a price reduction of €300 over the 300T. That’s a pretty good price for a fantastic watch. See more on the Doxa website.

2/

Hamilton Updates The Jazzmaster Open Heart With Five New References, And A Great Peach Colored Dial

Open heart watches, those that have a gaping hole in their dial to expose parts of the mechanisms, are a divisive topic. For example, watches on the lower end of the pricing scale, like those from Orient Star can often look a bit cheap and gimmicky with an open dial. But on the other end of the spectrum, a Zenith El Primero with a peek through the dial can look quite nice. Somewhere in the middle are brands like Rado, Seiko and Hamilton, which can fall on either side of that spectrum. One of those brands, Hamilton, is now updating their Jazzmaster Open Heart line with new dials, new straps and in two sizes.

There’s not much new about the new Open Heart Jazzmasters, as they come in very familiar cases. The larger one comes in a stainless steel case that’s 40mm wide and 11.05mm thick, while the smaller one gets at 36mm wide and 10mm thick case. Both feature sapphire crystals on top, with a very minimal bezel allowing for maximum visibility of the dial. The shape is a very simple round watch, with swooping lugs and a combination of brushed and polished surfaces.

When it comes to dials, however, things get new. The larger version can be had in either a deep red burgundy gradient dial that fades to black or white sunray finish, both of which have intricate cutouts to show off the movement inside. The smaller one, however, gets a really beautiful apricot colored dial with sunray finish. More watches should come with an apricot dial. All three versions have applied markers, silver on the burgundy and apricot, and gold on the white, with the hands getting the same treatment.

Through the dial you can see the calibre H10, which is Hamilton’s version of the Swatch Group’s Powermatic 80, the familiar movement known for its 80 hour power reserve. It’s not a particularly pretty movement, but in combination with the aggressive cutouts, it looks nice. The larger watches come on either a 5-link stainless steel bracelet or a brown calf leather strap, while the smaller one comes on a a stainless steel bracelet with a butterfly buckle.

The new Open Heart Jazzmasters are available now and are not limited in any way. Price is set at CHF 995 for the smaller 36mm version and the larger versions on leather, while the larger watches on the bracelet are priced at CHF 1,075. See more on the Hamilton website.

 3/

The Already Strange One-Handed MeisterSinger Gets An Even Stranger Time Scale For The Edition Passage

Find the one thing your really good at and put your all into that one thing. I think that’s how the proverb goes. MeisterSinger also heard that proverb and since 2001 they have been honing into making just one type of watch - watches that use a single hand to tell the time. And it’s a delight to see them do it. You wouldn’t believe how many complications, ranging from chimes to moon phases and pretty elaborate horoscope-indicating displays, you could fit into a watch that has only one hand. Now, they’re going back to a time only display, but with the addition of a scale that shows you not just the 12 hours in a day, but also the number of minutes and seconds that have elapsed, all indicated with the one hand, giving you fodder to think about the passage of time. Hence the name: the MeisterSinger Edition Passage.

On the outside, a MeisterSinger is pretty simple. A rather large 43mm wide and 11.5mm thick stainless steel case (made to look even larger with a thin sloping steel bezel) gets a mix of brushed and polished surfaces and a large flat sapphire crystal on top. Out back is a mineral glass caseback. Water resistance is rated at 50 meters.

The dial gets a cream treatment with a blue minute and hour track on the periphery. The track gets 12 hour markers, which is not unusual for a MeisterSinger, but also an additional two new colored markers - the red which show the time in minutes (from 60 to 720) and the blue which shows how much time has passed in seconds (from 3,600 to 43,200). The single hand is heat-treated blue.

Inside the watch is a very slightly modified Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement which beats at 28,800 vph and has a 38 hour power reserve. The modification comes mostly in the form of a customised rotor. The watch comes on a vintage saddle leather strap with a number of other options available.

The MeisterSinger Edition Passage is limited to 100 pieces and priced at €2,200. See more on the MeisterSinger website.

4/

Angelus Releases The Stunning Vintage Inspired Instrument de Vitesse Monopusher Chronograph

I have a slight admission to make - I was not a very big fan of the revived Angelus brand. While I do think that there are way too many vintage-inspired watches out there, and their open-worked initial efforts were quite amazing, they never really sat right with me. And then, despite my protests against vintage-inspired watches, Angelus teamed up with Massena LAB to release the Chronographe Médical, a doctor’s watch that was just stunning. The vintage inspired watches continued with the Chronodate and my icy heart began to melt. Now, Angelus is introducing two versions of a monopusher chronograph, extremely vintage in look, called the Angelus Instrument de Vitesse. And my heart is a puddle.

The watches are differentiated only by the color of the dial, meaning they come in the same case which has great proportions - 39mm wide and 9.27mm thick, an exceptional dimension for a chronograph. Well, not a true chronograph, but hold your horses. On top is a glass-box-style sapphire crystal and at 3 o’clock you’ll find a fluted crown with a built-in polished pusher.

The dial is domed and rendered in either a black or ivory color, with both having three-dimensional Arabic numerals coated in Super-LumiNova. On the outskirts of the dial is a base 1000 tachymeter scale, which is an integral part of the different chronograph function. Instead of the watch having a central chrono seconds hand and two or three subdials, this watch is an “Instrument de Vitesse” or, a speed instrument. Which would suggest that the central seconds hand is primarily used to track speeds with the tachymeter scale. The use of color on the dial is also spectacular - the ivory dial gets light blue, black and orange details, while the black dial version gets sand and red details.

Inside is a variant of the manually wound calibre A5000, made by La Joux-Perret, with the pusher moved from 2 o’clock to the crown. It has a column wheel and a horizontal clutch, bets at 21,600 vph and has a 42 hour power reserve. Decorations are impressive - the main plate and bridges boast a palladium finish, with circular graining on the main plate and a Côtes de Genève motif on the chamfered bridges, the wheels have a gold finish with circular graining and the screws and sinks are polished. The watch comes on a hand-stitched caramel calfskin or midnight-blue nubuck calfskin strap, depending on the model.

The Angelus Instrument de Vitesse is limited to 25 pieces each and priced at CHF 17,100. That’s a lot of money, but with the price of some high-end chronographs, this just might be a bargain(ish). See more on the Angelus website.

5/

The Vanguart Orb Is As Futuristic As A Flying Tourbillon Can Get

The tourbillon is, arguably, a completely useless complication. It was invented to counter the effects of gravity on a watch's accuracy, but this was most relevant for the pocket watch that usually remained in the same position most of the day. Modern wrist watches rarely face this problem and today most tourbillon complications are charming nods to the past. So, it only makes sense that when you create a hyper-futuristic watch that you would include a flying tourbillon. That’s exactly what the new brand Vanguart did with their first watch, the Orb. That, and a lot more.

The Orb comes in either a titanium or rose gold case that measures 41mm wide and 10.5mm thick, despite it looking a lot thicker. The watch has a sandblasted surface with satin-brushed and mirror-polished accents, all done by hand. It’s a complex case with side cutouts, curved surfaces and no lugs to speak of. Instead, the strap integrates directly into the case.

The dial is equally as futuristic. Or, the lack of the dial. At the very edges are sloping sides that are PVD coated that reach deep down into the watch, giving it incredible dimensionality and showing off the movement. At the center are skeletonized hands with Super-LuminNova accents. The flying tourbillon is sits at the lower half of the dial, while the mainspring barrel is positioned opposite it at the 12 o’clock location. The upper section of the barrel is fitted with a winding-setting display to indicate whether the movement is currently set to manual or automatic winding modes.

While the ability to switch from manual or automatic is cool, the movement has another very cool thing - a ring-shaped oscillating weight that is placed between the central section of the movement and the slopped internal bezel that contains the hour markers. The weight has a 2mm diamond set into its upper surface, which is locked into place when in manual wind mode. Switch it to automatic winding, and the oscillating weight will freely spin to create the appearance that is floating below the hands.

The movement is made out of grade 5 titanium with micro-blasted surfaces. It beats at 21,600 vph and has a 60 hour power reserve. The watch comes on either a leather or rubber strap with a tang-style buckle.

There’s no word on how many Vanguart Orbs will be made, but don’t expect thousands. Especially with the price of CHF 180,000. See more on the Vanguart website.

🫳On hand

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⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Out Of Order 10th Anniversary Ultra Brushed GMT is not a perfect product, but it does seem to make up with personality

The familiar look of the case design and the sporty nature of a GMT-style diver watch make these 10th Anniversary GMT watches from Out of Order hard not to like. It is interesting and poetic for Out of Order to make two different limited edition versions of essentially the same watch, but with different finishing options that help evoke the “yin-yang” personality differences of the brand. Purists will have a number of little quirks to point out in the overall design, but at the end of the day, this is an archetypal timepiece design that is hard to mess up too badly. Out Of Order had fun with these designs, but I think that for their 10th anniversary, there could have been a little bit more innovation.

Read the whole review on A Blog To Watch

⏲️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

• Jeff Zucker is an old school media mogul. After heading CNN and NBC Universal, he is now running Redbird IMI, an investment fund mostly funded by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the UAE. And with that money and his media chops, he is sure that he can build a new media empire, starting with the acquisition of The Telegraph. However, following the disastrous result of this effort, the question in 2024 is can old school media moguls still build empires?

• Last year, journalist Brett Martin found a song on Spotify called “Brett Martin, You a Nice Man, Yes.” There are other Brett Martins out there, but the song was actually about this Brett Martin. As you might imagine, the song’s existence fascinated him—but one song about one individual person, it turns out, was just the beginning. Meet Matt Farley, a man on a seeming quest to make every song possible.

• David Leong started gambling on sports when he was a sophomore at high school. It was an addiction that dogged him for eight years. After receiving treatment and recovery, he is now a clinical social worker helping others overcome their gambling addiction. These are the highs, lows and terrible in-betweens of a compulsive sports gambler.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

The Toyota Land Cruiser, along with the Land Rover Defender, is right up there on the top of Mount Legendary Off-Roaders. And the newest version has drawn incredible amounts of reactions - a few positive, but a lot negative, with people afraid that it might be a step back. I, for one, love it. And this is one of the first reviews out there, so find out for yourself.

💵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 Ōtsuka 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