Finally, The Non-Limited White Dial Omega Speedmaster Is Here; Mühle-Glashütte Introduces Sporty Collection; Isotope Has New Hydrium X; Hermès Uses Silk, Leather And Enamel For Its New Dial

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. We first saw it on Daniel Craig’s wrist in November, bringing up speculation on what it was. Consensus was that we were finally getting a stainless steel Speedy with a white dial, and the consensus was right. I like it!

If you like this newsletter, you might consider supporting it. You can do so in two ways. Forward it to someone you know loves watches and ask them to subscribe, or you can directly support it through Patreon.

In this issue:

• It’s Finally Here, The Much Anticipated, Non-Limited, Omega Speedmaster With A White Dial

• Mühle-Glashütte Introduces New, Very Sporty, Collection Called The Sportivo, With A Time-Only, GMT And Chrono

• Isotope Paints Their Popular HydriumX Red And Adds A Really Funky Wall Clock

• The New Hermès Arceau Mon Premier Galop Had An Incredible Dial Made With Silk, Leather And Enamel

Today’s reading time: 7 minutes and 41 seconds

👂What’s new

1/

It’s Finally Here, The Much Anticipated, Non-Limited, Omega Speedmaster With A White Dial

For years, fans and collectors of the Omega Speedmaster have had some demands on what they want to see in their favorite watch. Perhaps most requested was the return of the legendary caliber 321, which has happened. People also wanted to see an update to the metal bracelet that has been around for decades. That box was checked a few years ago with a new tapered bracelet with a quick adjust. Last on the hypothetical wishlist was the return of the white dial to the steel Speedmaster. Well, thanks to Daniel Craig who leaked it at an event last year, we knew it was coming. And here it is - the new white-dial Speedmaster Professional.

There’s little doubt that the Omega Speedmaster is one of the most recognisable watches in the world, almost always rendered with a black dial and fixed bezel with a black insert. But every now and again, a white-dialed version would pop-up for a short while, throwing a wrench in the cogs. There were the original, extremely cool, Alaska Project Speedmasters in the 1960, which saw a remake in 2008. There was the 2015 Speedmaster Moonwatch Apollo 13 Silver Snoopy Award and the Speedmaster 40th Anniversary “Albino” made for the Italian market which was made in just 500 pieces. Omega already has a white-dial version of the Speedy in its catalogue, but only in the white-gold version. This is the first time in a while that we’re getting a non-cartoon, non-limited, white version in stainless steel. Cool!

The watch comes in the same well known 42mm wide and 13.18mm thick stainless steel case (with a 47.5mm lug-to-lug) that the black Speedmaster Professional with sapphire crystals comes in. Being a sapphire crystal version, you get one on top and one on bottom to better side the insides. But more on that later. It has the same aluminum bezel with the black insert with Tachymeter scale and the same bracelet with polished center links. Water resistance is 50 meters and Omega says you can go swimming in it.

It’s all about the new dial here. It has the same familiar step down minute track and circular graining on the three sub-dials. The white of the dial is achieved with what looks to be incredibly beautiful lacquer. The hands and applied markers are diamond-polished black PVD, with green-glowing Super-LumiNova. The Speedmaster text is rendered in red, and there is a red tip to the central chronograph hand, as an homage to the red details and case of the Alaska Project Speedmaster.

Inside is the Master Chronometer-certified caliber 3861 chronograph, a new version of the Lemania-based 1861, with a Co-Axial escapement and a silicon hairspring. Accuracy is rated at 0/+5 seconds per day and it’s quite a looker, so it’s nice that you get the back sapphire crystal. There are three options for straps - a stainless steel bracelet, a black leather perforated strap with white stitching or a black rubber strap.

The Omega Speedmaster Professional with a white dial is available now and, like I mentioned, it’s not limited in production numbers. Price is about €100 more than the black version of the sapphire crystal Speedmaster, which makes it a very interesting option if you’re buying your first. Or if, like me, you’re looking to add a 3861 Speedy and already have a black one. The new white dial version on steel bracelet is priced at €9,000 and €8,600 on the rubber or leather straps. See more on the Omega website.

2/

Mühle-Glashütte Introduces New, Very Sporty, Collection Called The Sportivo, With A Time-Only, GMT And Chrono

Glashütte is a tiny town just south of Dresden in Germany with a bit more than 7,000 people living in it. And despite its small size, the town’s name has become synonymous with German watchmaking. Which is not really surprising, seeing as how ten major watchmaking brands make their watches there - A. Lange & Söhne, Bruno Söhnle Uhrenatelier Glashütte, C. H. Wolf, Glashütte Original, NOMOS Glashütte, Wempe Chronometerwerke, Tutima, Union Glashütte, Moritz Grossmann and Mühle Glashütte. An impressive lineup for a small town. And now the last one I listed, Mühle Glashütte, known for both their dress and sports watches with a very Teutonic influence, is introducing a brand new line - the Sportivo.

As the name might suggest, the Sportivo is Mühle Glashütte’s sportiest line to date, coming in three variations - the Compass Date, Travel GMT and Active Chronograph. The company says that these watches were designed with adventure in mind, so they’re pretty robust. All three come in the same stainless steel case that measures 42.5mm wide, and 11.4 mm thick on the date-only and GMT versions, or 15.5 mm thick on the chronograph. There’s a prominent crown guard on the right and the crown screws down to give you 300 meters of water resistance. On top is a .2-millimetre-thick double anti-glare sapphire crystal and a scratch-resistant ceramic bezel inlay.

Starting with the Sportivo Compass Date, you get a time and date watch that features a bidirectional compass bezel. Mühle really wants you to use this watch for hiking and I can actually see it happening. The dial comes in a gradient of blue, from lighter in the middle to darker on the outside, and the gradient has a rough texture to it. Surrounding the gradient part is a neon-green rehaut ring. The hands are dauphine in shape and coated in Super-LumiNova, just like the indexes and numerals.

Next up is the Sportivo Travel GMT which comes with a black dial with a number of sector rings on it - a grey one with a 24-hour scale, a black one with the hour markers and a blue rehaut on the outside. The second time zone is marked by a subtle arrow hand and the main handset also gets an arrow for the hour hand in this version. The bezel comes with 60 minute marking, with minute graduations for the first 15 minutes.

And last, there’s the Sportivo Active Chronograph, which gets the same textured blue dial as the Date, but with the addition of a bi-compax subdial setup, with a date window at 6 o’clock. The ceramic bezel on top is blue, while the rehaut is orange, just like the central second hand.

In terms of movements, the Date version is powered by the Sellita SW 200-1, modified for Mühle with their signature woodpecker regulation that offers exceptional shockproof properties. It has a 41 hour power reserve. The GMT version is powered by the Sellita SW 330-2, also modified with their woodpecker regulation and with a 56 hour power reserve. The SW 330-2 is a caller-type GMT, meaning you independently adjust the GMT hand instead of your local time. And the Sportivo Active Chronograph is powered by Mühle’s reliable MU 9419 chronograph movement, a heavily modified Sellita caliber SW500-1. It’s accurate between 0 and a maximum of +8 seconds per day and has a 62 hour power reserve. The watches come on black rubber straps with stitching matching the rehaut color, or a stainless steel bracelet.

The new Mühle Glashütte Sportivo Compass Date is priced at €2,300 on rubber and €2,550 with the metal strap; the Mühle Glashütte Sportivo Travel GMT at €2,700 on rubber and €2,950 on metal; and the Mühle Glashütte Sportivo Active Chronograph at €3,800 on rubber and €4,500 on the bracelet. See more on the Mühle Glashütte website.

3/

Isotope Paints Their Popular HydriumX Red And Adds A Really Funky Wall Clock

Go take a look at the lineup of watches on Isotope’s website and you’ll see a young brand that has used the aspects of microbrands that could be considered weaknesses to their advantage. One or two case shapes are rendered in so many different colors that it seems like they have dozens of different models. Good on them! Now they’re remaking one of their most successful models - the limited HydriumX Will Return, inspired by the famous shop door sign.

The original Will Return was an interesting watch that even competed in the GPHG in the Challenger category, and the new version uses the same red, white and blue color palette of the original and of the shop sign, but in a different order. The watch comes in a stainless steel 40mm wide, 12.9mm thick stainless steel case that has a 48mm lug-to-lug and a blasted finish giving it a very modern look with super-short lugs that make it look almost square on wrist. The watch has 300 meters of water resistance, which is a bit funny as it’s certainly not a diving watch with its unmarked unidirectional bezel that has a red insert.

New for this version is that red bezel, which was blue on the previous version, just like the signature Isotope hands that are a matching bright red. The issue with the new red bezel is that the absence of blue kind of defeats the purpose of being linked to the Will Return sign, but Isotope solves this with a baby blue tropic rubber strap. The white dial is fully lumed and the bold numerals are once again present.

Inside is the Landeron 24 automatic caliber which beats at 28,800vph and has a 40 hour power reserve. Accuracy is rated at +/- 12 seconds per day.

In addition to the Will Return in red, Isotope is launching the Wall Return, a wall mounted quartz clock that’s basically identical to the older version with the blue bezel, only blown-up to be visible on the wall. And the clock really is a faithful reproduction of the wrist-bound one, as it also has a lumed dial, which sounds so cool. More watches need to be blown up to these sizes, I’ll buy one for every room.

The new Will Return Red and the Wall Return went on presale yeasterday and the presale window will be open until March 10th. The HydriumX Will Return will be available only in this window, but Isotope says the wall clock will return as a non-limited offer. The Will Return Red is priced at €993, while the Wall Return sells for €172. A small discount will be applied if you buy them as a set for €1.120. See more on the Isotope website.

4/

The New Hermès Arceau Mon Premier Galop Had An Incredible Dial Made With Silk, Leather And Enamel

In 1978, Hermès was headed by designer Henri d’Origny. He is one of the most influential artistic directors of all time and he has left a lasting legacy. Among it was the Arceau, a watch the brand introduced to reflect the equestrian spirit of Hermès. It’s known for its round shape and stirrup-shaped lugs and has since served as a canvas for many artisict projects of the design house. The latest is the Arceau Mon Premier Galop, an incredible interpretation of a shawl designed for the brand by Chinese-born artist and illustrator Tong Ren made with silk thread, leather marquetry and enamel.

The watch comes in a white gold version of the 38mm Arceau, and Hermès gives it a really intense bezel with 82 brilliant-cut diamonds. The dial is a faithful recreation of the Ren shawl, so you see the block colors and textures replicated almost exactly. The blue sky and yellow sun are rendered in layers of enamel, while the horse’s body is a patchwork of silk thread and leather marquetry to recreate the texture of wicker baskets featured on the shawl. Two hand-painted gold appliques representing a butterfly and a mobile flower further enhance the scenery.

Inside is the Hermès H1912 calibre made by Vaucher in Fleurier, which beats at 28,800vph and has a decent 50 hour power reserve. Decorations include ‘H’ motifs on the bridges and rotor. The watch comes on a grained Hermès Swift calfskin strap in Zephyr blue.

Only 24 pieces of the Arceau Mon Premier Galop will be made and they are priced at €85,000. See more on the Hermès website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

1/

A review of the Vacheron Constantin Overseas Moon Phase Retrograde Date

2/

Hands on with the Paulin Modul A “Hong Kong Dial” for The Armoury 

3/

A review of the James Lamb Origin Series

⚙️Watch Worthy

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

The Caribe from American boutique brand ARDIO doesn’t sacrifice any toughness for looks

The Caribe is the brand’s first watch and is the product of over three years of design effort. ARDIO keeps a fairly quiet online presence, with their main website and an Instagram page being the most accessible sources of information for prospective buyers. According to Oley, each component of the Caribe is designed from scratch and the watches are assembled in small batches. This particular run is capped at 300 pieces per colorway with each watch triple-checked by three separate parties and hand-regulated before shipping. There are five dial colors offered at this time: light blue, gauge brass, isotope green, gilded black, and sunrise orange. I had the opportunity to review the blue and brass options.

Read the whole review on Worn & Wound

⏲️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

• Chances are you might have caught the Dune: Part Two in theatres. If not, you must have seen Part One. Then you would have heard the language spoken in the film, a language devised just for this purpose. The New Yorker has a really interesting deep dive into fictional languages in books and films.

• Kind of Blue is the best-selling jazz album of all time. Here's what it was like inside the studio with Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans on the day they laid down one of the record's iconic tracks.

• Here’s an older piece, one from 1993, but who could resist a story like this: Nearly every day for forty two years, Irving V. Link tanned by the luxury pool. Then his idyllic life style came under threat from the hotel’s owner, the Sultan of Brunei.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Harry Metcalfe used to own several very prominent car magazines, including EVO. He made a fair bit of money off them and is now semi-retired in the English countryside on his expansive farme (make sure to check out his farming YouTube channel, it’s surprisingly entertaining and informative). But he still has access to some pretty awesome cars, and having a farm gives him a lot of land to play in if he were, for example, to get his hand on a 911 Dakar. Which he did. I love his videos!

💵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

Want to let us know what you think about the newsletter? Go to our survey and fill it out.

-Vuk