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  • Grand Seiko Releases Trio Of Bright Neon Dials, Doxa Introduces New SUB 300β Collection, Breitling Shows Top Time B21 Tourbillon Watches, New From Praesidus, G-Shock and Nomos' Advent Calendar

Grand Seiko Releases Trio Of Bright Neon Dials, Doxa Introduces New SUB 300β Collection, Breitling Shows Top Time B21 Tourbillon Watches, New From Praesidus, G-Shock and Nomos' Advent Calendar

A very heavy lineup in today's newsletter and still many more releases to come. It will be a busy Christmas

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It's About Time
December 01, 2023

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. What an incredible day for new releases today. A new GS, a new Doxa, a new Hamilton, a new G-Shock, a new Praesidus (my favorite of the bunch) and I still couldn’t fit it all. There is so much more great stuff left over for Monday.

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:

  • Grand Seiko Teams Up With Watches Of Switzerland For A Set Of Very Bright Neon Dials

  • Doxa Introduces Brand New SUB 300β Collection With Steel Cases, Ceramic Bezels And Wavy Dials

  • Breitling Shows Off New Top Time B21 Classic Cars Chronograph Tourbillon Collection

  • G-SHOCK Releases A Duo Of 40th Anniversary GCW-B5000UN Carbon Edition Watches

  • Praesidus Announces New Model, The PAC-76, An Asymmetrical Pilot Chronograph At A Great Price

  • Nomos Brings Back Their Traditional Advent Calendar Which Will Include Doctors Without Borders Limited Tangete

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 33 seconds

👂What’s new

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There is no denying that Grand Seiko makes some amazing watches. However, with all their technical prowess and unique dials, they tend to get repetitive after a while. Very few people would describe a classic Grand Seiko from the Heritage collection as adventurous. Elegant? Sure. Classy? Absolutely. But flashy? Nah. Exciting? Hardly. Every now and again, Grand Seiko will tease it’s fans with something different, something new. Maybe even something exciting. Now they have teamed up with the retailer powerhouse Watches of Switzerland (oh how ironic, considering the GS homeland) to produce a trio of exclusive models with incredible new colors and textures on the dials.

The three watches come in the classic Grand Seiko 62GS case. that means you get a classicly styled watch that has Zaratsu-style polishing but in a not so elegant size. While the 40mm width can work for many wrists, the thickness of 12.5mm for a time-only watch is quite significant. Water resistance is 100 meters and the practically invisible bezel and box-shaped sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating offer a great view of the dial.

And you know that a Grand Seiko is all about the dial. A brand that has made a name for themselves by recreating the natural wonders that surround their factories is continuing this trend, somewhat. And the connection to nature is not as obvious at first glance. The dials come in three different colors, but they all share a mesmirizing spiral of guillochéd patterns. GS doesn’t specify how the pattern is made, but with the number of watches made and price point, I would assume that it’s stamped rather than carved.

According to GS, each color option nods to a different place in the Japanese city of Miyako, which is located in the Iwate Prefecture. I can see this with the SBGH333, a fully black dial that is an homage to the Jodogahama beach at night, where its blue seconds hand symbolizes the moonlit sea. However, I fail to make the connection with the SBGH335 “Nova Green” which is a very bright neon green and SBGH337 “Nova Purple” an equally intense purple shade. GS claims that these colors reflect a more dynamic and cosmic mood of Miyako Bay’s coastal scenery. OK, if you say so.

Inside the watch is Grand Seiko’s Hi-Beat 3600 9SA5 caliber. The movement is geared with Dual Impulse escapements and 80 hours of power reserve. The watch comes on the traditional steel bracelet you would find on any other 62GS cased watch.

All three versions of the new Grand Seiko are available starting today, December 1, but available only in the U.S. or the U.K. outposts of the Watches of Switzerland stores and websites. The “Nova Green” and the “Nova Purple” references will be offered in a limited run of 200 examples each. Pricing on the U.S. website is upon request, but the U.K. version lists all three at £6,300 which is approximately $7,970. See more on the Watches of Switzerland website.

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As we bring 2023 to a close, we can reflect on how good of a year each brand has had. Some did amazing (looking at you TAG Heuer), while others didn’t really stun with anything particularly interesting. And then there was a bunch of stuff in the middle. One of the brands that didn’t come out with a revolutionary new watch was Doxa. That is, unless you count the incredibly cool SUB 300β Sharkhunter. While many didn’t go crazy for the black on black on black look, I liked the experimentation behind it. But now, in the last days of the year, Doxa introduces a brand new SUB 300β Collection, a more modern and less rugged take on an all-time classic, rendered in steel and ceramic.

The new collection walks a fine line between the regular SUB 300 line and the experimental Sharkhunter. The full ceramic case has been replaced with stainless steel with the characteristic turtle shape to give it a strong tool-watch vibe. The case measures 42.5mm wide, 11.95mm thick and has a lug-to-lug of 44.5mm. While large, the pleasant lug-to-lug and relative thinness should make it easy to wear. The new SUB 300β also gets rid of the golden rim on the ceramic bezel of the Sharkhunter but keeps the ceramic bezel to differentiate it from the regular SUB 300.

More changes for the dial. There are 5 different colorways: the Professional has a black dial with orange accents, the Divingstar has a black dial with yellow, the Aquamarine is black with turquoise and the Searambler has a silver dial with orange accents. The final colourway, the Caribbean, is also the only one with a coloured bezel to match the deep blue dial. The dial also has a pattern of waves on it, giving the dial some dynamism and putting it shoulder to shoulder with other legendary divers.

Inside the watch is the very familiar Sellita SW200 automatic, a relatively humble movement, but one that’s tried and tested, known to be robust and easily servicable by any watchmaker. It beats at 28,800vph and has a power reserve of 38 hours. While the SW200 is often seen in microbrands across the board, they are usually found in watches at a much lower price point. I wish Doxa could have chosen something more interesting. The watches can be had on a range of straps - a steel beads of rice bracelet, FKM rubber matched to the colour of the dial or an FKM rubber strap matched to the primary accent colour of the watch.

The Doxa SUB 300β is available now from the brand’s e-commerce platform and official retailers with a price of €2,410 on the rubber strap and €2,450 on the steel bracelet. See more on the Doxa website.

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While Breitling is instantly recognisable as an aviation-themed watch, one of their more interesting collections is the To Time, a heavily retro-inspired group of watches that pays homage to Breitling’s rich connection to motorsport. They expanded the line a couple of years ago with the Top Time Classic which features homages to iconic liveries of classic cars. Now, they’re introducing a new line called the B21 Top Time Classic Cars Tourbillon and give the retro-theme a more grown up look and a much more complex movement.

While the original Top Time Classic came in vibrant colors, this trio gets a more darker and refined tone and every watch is a bit different than the other. Starting with the Top Time B21 Ford Mustang, you get the smallest case of the three with a 43mm diameter and a case made out of beautiful, shiny, polished bronze. The design of the case is identical to the 2021 edition with a strong, circular shape, pump pushers, fairly large crown and gently facetted lugs. The dial gets a beautiful green color with a single black subdial at 6 o’clock that serves as the 60-minute chronograph timer, while the tourbillon can be seen at 12 o’clock. The hands and hour markers are bronze to match the case.

Then there’s the B21 Shelby Cobra in a 44mm wide black ceramic case with the caseback, pushers and crown made from titanium. The black is contrasted with a dark blue dial that has the same setup as the Mustang version, with a black tachymeter on the perimeter. And last, there’s the B21 Chevrolet Corvette, housed in the same ceramic case as the Cobra, but with a walnut burl effect dial, remeniscent of the brown wood interiors of old Corvettes.

All three versions are powered by the same Breitling Manufacture Calibre B21 built in partnership with La Joux-Perret. It’s an automatic tourbillon movement with a column wheel chronograph with horizontal clutch, COSC chronometer certification, a 55 hour power reserve and a 28,800 bph beat rate. All the models come on perforated leather straps.

The Breitling Top Time B21 Classic Cars Chronograph Tourbillon line is available now through authorized dealers. MSRP for all three models stands at €45,000. See more on the Breitling website.

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Speaking of watch brands that had a good year, the Casio G-Shock is definitely among one of them, seeing how they were celebrating their 40th anniversary. And as the year comes to a close, they’re still coming out with new celebratory models. Next up are two new GCW-B5000UN Carbon Edition watches.

G-Shock uses their classic DW-5000C model and gives it a great new look with a lightweight (just 65 grams) case made out of carbon fiber-reinforced resin. There’s carbon really everywhere. The folding arm of the bracelet, as well as clasp cover, is crafted from multilayer and forged carbon, offering enhanced bending strength.

Two colors are available, one in a black and gray that looks very much like a regular forged carbon material and a very intense Milky Way inspired blue and pink with specks of opal. Due to the nature of the material, every example of the references features its own unique color distribution, patterns, and striations.

The GCW-B5000 uses a new module (3543), which has the same functions as the GMW-B5000 module, including Tough Solar power, Multi-Band 6 auto time correction, and Bluetooth smartphone link.

The 40th anniversary GCW-B5000UN Carbon Edition are limited editions, but G-Shock doesn’t specify to how many pieces. They are on sale now for a not insignificant price of $2,000. See more on the G-Shock website.

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When the time comes to make a list of my favorite releases of the year, and that time is fast approaching, near the very tipity top of that list will be a watch from a brand that is not as known to the larger watch world. It will be the Praesidus Rec Spec, a completely faithful recreation of the Seiko watches that were issued to Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group, better known as MACV-SOG, a covert unit in Vietnam tasked with special operations (I wrote about it here). Having great interest in the MACV-SOG unit helped my love for this watch, but it was the Rec Spec that turned me into a Praesidus fan. So, with this bias disclosed, let me introduce you to their new release, the PAC-76 Chronograph.

As you might have noticed, Praesidus is highly proficient in making excellent vintage-military inspired watches. The PAC-76 is no different. It takes inspiration from bi-compax pilot chronographs used mainly by the Royal Air-force and this particular watch has a strong 1970s vibe. It comes in a 38.5mm wide case that’s 11.3mm. thick, including the box domed K1 crystal. The case has a very slight asymmetrical shape to protect the pushers and crown on the right side.

Falling in line with the 70s military aesthetic, the dial has a popcorn surface and the embossed main indexes pop-out not just in texture but also with the yellow lume paint they get. Continuing the play with textures, the two subdials are debossed and they get a snailed finish contrasts with the rough texture of the black dial. At 12 and 6 you get oversized numerals that are also painted yellow, while the rest get a white paintjob.

Inside the watch is the Seiko Mecha-Quartz caliber VK-64, meaning that it combines a quartz movement for the regular timekeeping and a mechanical chronograph to get the smooth sweep that only a mechanical movement can give you. And perhaps the best part are the straps. Boy, is there a choice to maker here. You can have it on the spectacular Bonklip Bracelet, a sand-distressed leather strap, a black leather strap or a one-piece NATO.

The PAC-76 Chronograph will be available for purchase on December 7 for a really great price of 345$ on the straps & 395$ on the Bonklip Bracelet. You can sign up for early access on their website now and if experience has thought me anything - do it, because they already sold out of two full runs of the Rec Spec.

5/

There is no shortage of advent calendars you can buy. Ranging from traditional chocolates to cosmetics and sex toys, it seems that every single industry has jumped on this trend. The watch business has been curiously absent from this movement. Other than NOMOS, of course. The legendary brand from Glashütte has been releasing these watch-themed advent calendars for a while, and this year will be no different. With items ranging from collectibles and accessories to actual limited edition watches, it will be a fun month.

The advent calendar kicked off today with an absolutely brilliant item - Christmas tree decorations made from manufacturing offshoots. These aren’t mangled pieces of metal, but rather beautiful plates from which Nomos cuts out parts. They have then been polished and engraved, ready to hang on your tree. Check it out here.

Nomos also teased that the limited edition watch to be included in the calendar will be the Tangente 38 – 50 ans de Médecins Sans Frontières, a watch that marks the 50th anniversary of Doctors Without Borders. It’s the same Tangente you know and love in the 38mm wide case and a small seconds indicator at 6 o’clock, but with the 12 o’clock numeral is painted in red as a nod to the Doctors Without Borders organisation. No word yet on pricing or when it will go on sale.

They also introduced a new feature to this year’s advent calendar. The items that go on sale won’t be available for just one day, but all the way until December 24, so there’s no fear you will miss something. As stated, the calendar started today and there’s 23 more days to go. Check out the Nomos website for more.

🫳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 the crystal above the dial is crafted from bio-sourced plastic, the crystal fitted to the display-style caseback is actually a flat piece of sapphire, and this is arguably the single greatest surprise on the Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms series. Swatch offers free crystal polishing at its various retail locations, and opting for a sapphire caseback guarantees that its staff will not have to deal with the scratches and scuffs that would otherwise instantly accumulate had there been an acrylic crystal rubbing against the material of their straps. However, short of popping out the caseback crystal, there is no way to open up the case of the watch, and the Bioceramic rim of the caseback is actually part of the middle case itself. While some people point to this case design as the reason why the Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms is considered to be unserviceable, that shortcoming is actually guaranteed by the design and construction of its internal movement.

⏲️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

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Johnny Harris runs a YouTube channel. Not only does Harris have more subscribers than probably most major network televisions

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