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- Hamilton Unveils 42mm and 36mm Pilot Watches, Omega's Mini Trésor For Valentine's, Zenith's Incredible Restored Watches, Studio Underd0g' Pizza Watch Is Real And Parmigiani Wins Dragon Theme
Hamilton Unveils 42mm and 36mm Pilot Watches, Omega's Mini Trésor For Valentine's, Zenith's Incredible Restored Watches, Studio Underd0g' Pizza Watch Is Real And Parmigiani Wins Dragon Theme
The pizza watch has me thinking - why aren't there more food themed watches?
It's About Time
January 22, 2024
Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I know I won’t be buying the incredible Parmigiani, but I’m thinking that I don’t really need a car, right? My daughter can walk to kindergarten in the snow, right? Because I might be selling the car to get one of those Zenith vintage Pilot’s. Also, check out the video linked at the bottom. Your boy did a guest spot with a very cool watch.
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In this issue:
Hamilton Adds More Watches To The Khaki Aviation Pilot Line, The New Day-Date 42mm And Auto 36mm
Omega Is Ready For Valentine’s Day With An Update To The De Ville Mini Trésor
Zenith Offers Up Three Incredible Restored Vintage Pilot’s Watches For Sale
Studio Underd0g’s April Fool’s Joke Pizza Watch Becomes Reality For Time + Tide’s 10th Anniversary
Parmigiani Easily Wins The Dragon-Themed Watch Showdown With Incredible Chiming-Automaton Clock
Today’s reading time: 8 minutes and 35 seconds
👂What’s new
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Very few brands can be as closely linked to rugged field watches than Hamilton. The Hamilton Field is, due to it’s quality and relatively low price for a decent mechanical movement, is one of those watches that often finds its place as the basis of collection, be they huge or small, affordable or very expensive. But the Field is part of the Khaki line which people sometimes forget is divided into Aviation, Field and Navy, all drawing inspiration from Hamilton’s time as suppliers to the U.S. Armed Forces and Navy in both World Wars and as suppliers for U.S. Airmail pilots. These are all quite nice watches and now Hamilton is introducing a new Pilot with seven references in two case sizes.
Building on the huge 46mm Khaki Pilot Auto Day Date that was already in the Hamilton roster, the new Pilot’s come in two much more manageable sizes - 42mm and 36mm. The 42mm wide stainless steel case measures 12.1mm thick and it comes in three different versions, while the 36mm one is 11.15mm thick and comes in four versions, one of which has a rose gold PVD finish. Both sizes have a predominately brushed case, with polished details and 100 meters of water resistance
The dials are classic pilot’s watch fare with an oversize minute scale around the periphery and an inner hour scale on the middle disc of the display. Additionally, the indexes at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock are coated with green-glowing lume, as are the filled sections of the partially skeletonised sword hands. While most skeletonized hands have their tip lumed (as is the case with the minute hand), the hour ones switch the orientation, with the tip being opened to frame the hour that’s in the inner scale.
The dial also features the major difference between the 42 and 36mm version, other than the size. The 42 uses the larger size of the dial and incorporates a day/date display. The 36mm comes with midnight blue (in both an untreated and the pink PVD coated case), silver (with almost rose markers) and black dials, while the 42mm come with green, blue and silver dials.
Inside the 42mm version is the Hamilton automatic H-30 calibre which is basically just a slightly modified Powermatic 80 with the day/date complication. It’s a well known movement that has a Nivachron balance spring, beats at 21,600vph and has the titular 80-hour power reserve. The 36mm version has a the Hamilton automatic H-10, which is also the Powermatic 80, without the day/date complication. The 42mm coms on a stainless steel bracelet, with the green and silver dial versions coming on brown leather straps. Two of the 36mm versions come on the steel bracelets, while the other two come on a pink or white leather strap.
The Hamilton Khaki Aviation Pilot Auto 36mm models with a steel bracelet and the rose gold PVD model retail for CHF 995; the silver dial with a white strap for CHF 920. The 42mm Khaki Aviation Pilot Day-Date on a steel will set you back CHF 995, while the green and silver dial models with brown leather straps retail for CHF 920. See more on the Hamilton website.
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Gifting a watch for Valentine’s Day is not a once-a-year thing for anybody, I presume. It’s a big purchase, regardless of your income, especially if the watch is scratching at the $10,000 price range. But, who knows, there are some really rich people in love out there. And Omega knows this. This Valentine’s Day, ther are releasing five new De Ville Mini Trésor models, what they would call the perfect Valentine’s gift.
This is not a complete refresh of the De Ville Mini Trésor line, but rather an expansion, something that Omega (in fact, the entire Swatch group) has brought to perfection - it’s their mission to offer a watch for every single preference. The new Mini De Ville Trésors are, in fact, really mini, coming in at 26mm wide. Three of the new updates come in a stainless steel case, while two come in Omega’s 18K Moonshine Gold, all with a slightly domed crystal
Like the rest of the Trésor collection, the watch has slim applied Roman numeral indices and stick hands with a time only display. The three steel models come with the same dial color - an off-white Grand Feu enamel with grey Roman numerals - and all the differences come from the straps - there’s a quilt-patterned black leather strap, a grey alligator strap, and a double-wrapped brown leather strap.
The Moonshine Gold models are a bit different. One gets an off-white Grand Feu dial with bright red Roman numerals that are paired with a matching double-wrap red leather strap. The other one has a champagne dial with a textured surface that’s supposed to mimic silk, gold colored numerals and a black strap.
Unsuprisingly, inside is the Calibre Omega 4061, a quartz movement that’s easy to maintain. Omega also says that each model will be paired with a unique bracelet from its own fine jewelry collection.
The watches should be available for purchase very soon, in time for Valentine’s and are priced at $4,800 for the stainless steel models and $8,900 for the Moonshine Gold models. See more on the Omega website.
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The most popular watches I wrote about last week, by a huge margin, were the Zenith Pilot Boutique Editions. This came as a bit of a surprise, as the originally redesigned Pilot got a few criticisms for looking more like a sports watch than a pilot’s watch, but it seems that you really liked the update. Maybe it’s the color or maybe the design is growing on people, but you loved it. However, for those of you who prefer the older, more traditional, pilot’s watch look, does Zenith have a treat for you. As part of their Icons collection - Icons are authenticated and restored vintage watches cared for by Zenith’s heritage department - Zenith is selling three incredible pilot’s watches.
First offered is the incredible but unfortunately named Ref. 01.0230.415. This is an incredibly rare watch, released in 1975 in only 50 pieces. It’s a really interesting combination of a pilot’s an diver’s watch, with 300 meters of water resistance and diving double-gasket. Another incredible thing is the mineral glass caseback that revealed the legendary El Primero movement housed inside. The dial tachymeter, an intricate hours and minutes scale with lumed bar indexes, a date function at 4:30, a tricompax chronograph display of small seconds, 12-hour timer and 30-minute timer and, surrounding it is a bezel with a 60 minute scale. The watch comes on a Guy Frères Lobster bracelet.
Next up is the equally as cool Tipo CP-2, produced for an Italian military until 1972 and distributed by Italian retailer A. Cairelli who had connections to the Italian military. Even among cool military watches, this one stands out with a bicompax chronograph and a 60-minute timer bezel that oozes style. On the caseback there’s an engraving that reads A.M.I., dedicated to the Aeronautica Militaire Italiana, the Italian Airforce, and the serial which put’s this as one of the earliest pieces procured by that group. Inside is Zenith’s 146 DP manual-winding chronograph, originally developed by Martel.
And lastly, there’s the A3821, a pilot’s watch from 1972 which looks almost identical to the Ref. 01.0230.415. It has the same hybrid pilot’s / dive setup, the same dial (and beautiful blue chrono hand), but this one has a 12-hour bezel instead of the 60 minute scale. It’s also an important watch as it was one of the first Pilot watches to house an El Primero calibre, the legendary movement that made a name in iconic watches including the Rolex Daytona.
All three can be purchased from Zenith and are, quite obviously, one off offerings as they are restored vintage pieces. And you know these watches will be expensive. The Ref. 01.0230.415 will set you back about €31,200, the Tipo CP-2 about €20,800 and the A3821 about €16,600. See more on the Zenith website.
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Last week, the very well known watch news website Time + Tide kicked off the celebration of their 10th birthday. As part of that celebration, they are releasing three watches with well known brands and the incredible brown Furlan Marri was first. Next up is something a bit less conventional - a collaboration with the crazy folks from Studio Underd0g. The watch brand known for their food-themed watches joked a while ago on April Fool’s Day and showed off a pizza-inspired watch. Now, with Time + Tide, they are actually putting it into production.
The watch is based on the Studio Underd0g 01 SERIES Chronograph, meaning it comes in a stainless steel case that measures 38.5mm wide, 13.6mm thick and a 44.5mm lug-to-lug. The case has a polished finish with polished accents, with squared and polished pushers. The watch is water resistant to 50 meters, which could be better, but we’ll live.
While some of their previous models interpreted fruit on their dials, the pizza duo has the actual top of a pizza illustrated on them. Both have the same gradient orange finish that serves as a base and it also has a sector look that’s made up of the six slices of pizza per pie. There are two versions, the Pepper0ni which is topped with pepperoni, mushroom, basil, and olive. The second is even more controversial than actually making a pizza-themed watch. It’s called the Hawaiian and yes, it’s topped with ham and pineapple.
Both watches are powered by the Chinese-made Seagull ST-1901, their versoin of the legendary Venus 175 column-wheel chronograph calibre. It’s known for having almost no bridges, allowing you to see the entire movement, including the lateral clutch column wheel movement in action. Power reserve is a decent 50 hours. The two watches come on Epsom leather, dark tan on the Pepper0ni and light on the Hawaiian.
The watch was launched at a pizza party hosted by Time+Tide at their retail store in Melbourne where a number of watches has been sold. However, if you want to get one, you’ll have to get in touch with Studio Underd0g founder Richard Benc or Andrew McUtchen from Time + Tide to purchase one. Every single watch will be hand-delivered by one of the two. See more on the Studio Underd0g website.
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To be completely honest, that title is a bit of a fib. Because Parmigiani won the dragon-themed watch/clock way back in 2012. Since the animal of the Lunar Year repeats every 12 years, we are now preparing to enter the Year of the Dragon, for the first time since 2012, and brands are banding together to put out new watches that have a dragon theme. Parmigiani went a different path. Instead of making a new watch (although, there’s still some time for them to release something), the restored a clock (if you can call it just a clock) they made in 2012, the Parmigiani Le Dragon et la Perle du Savoir.
Parmigiani has been creating masterful ultra-high-end automatons and clocks since the 1990s and this particular piece was made in 2012 and sold for $3 million. This restored version is renamed Tempus Fugit and it features a dragon chasing a flaming pearl, a traditional motif in Chinese culture. These automata are the pinnacle of luxury horology, as it combines goldsmithing, gem-setting, automata construction, and of course clockmaking.
The solid gold sculpture of the dragon is covered in 585 scales, each inlaid with jade in graduated colours, while the eyes and tongue of the dragon are carnelian. The pearl is similarly precious and set with diamonds, rubies, and yellow sapphires. The automaton stands 25 cm high and weighs 6.12 kg.
The dragon spins around the base, making one revolution an hour on its base, tying to catch the pearl. But, of course, the pearl speeds up and out of the dragon’s reach at six random times an hour. Think about how incredibly complex a mechanism that randomly speeds up six times an hour must be. And if that wasn’t enough, each time the pearl speeds up, the chiming mechanism strikes a single note.
The automaton is powered by a key-wound, eight-day movement visible inside the rock crystal base. The time display is situated on the outer rim of the base with a jade pointer on an hour scale. This thing is not for sale, as far as I understand. It’s just an incredible piece of engineering and design.
🫳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 likewatches
And so to the dial. Three colorways are being produced by Direnzo, and they have sent the best (in my opinion) for me to have a look at. The black dial looks more sedate, as you’d expect, and the fumé green dial will no doubt appeal to some. But the bold combination of red, white and blue is a winner for me. The main section of the dial features prominent radial brushing and a vibrant shade of blue, which darkens towards the outer edges. Although the hour makers are painted white dots on the dial, there are cutouts between each hour index and for the seconds subdial itself revealing the lumed sandwich dial below. The same blue glow of BGW9 SuperLuminova is used on the hour and minute hand. The seconds ‘dot’ is not lumed, as it effectively forms a shadow against the lumed backdrop.
⏲️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
This is not a traditional longread I usually post. This is just a short interview with some of the best photos you’ll see this week. Hidden in an industrial warehouse on the foot of the mighty Albula Pass in the Swiss Alps, Adrian Elmiger has brought together one of the world’s best collections of carbon racing bicycles, spiced up with an eclectic mix of classic SUVs, motorbikes, snowboards and artifacts of 1990s pop culture.
Over the past two decades weight training has become more popular among more people than ever before. That’s led to a great many physical transformations; it’s also led more than a few people to the door marked illicit gains. But as Adrian Nathan West details with humor and candor, we might be making too much of the “illicit” part. This is the the wide world of anabolics.
Trucking is an industry in crisis. There’s a shortage of drivers: In 2021, a record 81,000 jobs went unfilled. But the problem isn’t a lack of people who can drive a truck, as Emily Gogolak explains in this reported essay. Rather, it’s the lifestyle: truckers work insanely long hours for low pay, and they often live out of their cabs. So what kind of person wants to become a trucker today? Gogolak meets several candidates at a training school in Texas, who together offer a window into the death of the American dream
👀Watch this
One video you have to watch today
Your boy is on YouTube! Some time ago I met Xavier, a watch guy that was so into watches he started an entire platform about watches - Dialicious, a place where owners can publish reviews of the watches they actually know, thus fixing the biggest issue of the watch world: these reviews are in no way biased by the manufacturers. You might have noticed I link to the real reviews every weekend because I like the platform so much and have started publishing my own reviews there.
Xavier also has a pretty substantial YouTube channel where he makes really fantastic videos. Only issue might be that they are in French. But we came together some time ago to record a video on my Seiko SCED035 Ripley, a first in English for Dialicious. It’s a fun conversation on a watch I really like.
💵Pre-loved precision
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