- It's About Time
- Posts
- Mido Gives Their GADA Multifort Freeze An Icy Blue Dial; Timex Releases A Bunch Of New Watches Including New Moonphase; Christopher Ward Updates C1 Moonglow; New From Rado And Parmigiani Fleurier
Mido Gives Their GADA Multifort Freeze An Icy Blue Dial; Timex Releases A Bunch Of New Watches Including New Moonphase; Christopher Ward Updates C1 Moonglow; New From Rado And Parmigiani Fleurier
Christopher Ward approaches updating a watch completely differently than anybody else
It's About Time
March 15, 2024
Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. The Marlin is such a powerhouse for Marlin. They can give it any number of movements and complications and it always turns out to be an amazing package for a great price. 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:
Mido’s New Multifort M Freeze Gets A Really Beautiful Icy Blue Dial
Timex Releases A Bunch Of New Watches - Two Marlin Chronos, Two Automatic And Three Moon Phase Multi-functions
Christopher Ward Launches Second Generation C1 Moonglow With Light-Catcher Case
Rado Gives Their Ceramic True Round Collection An Open Heart Treatment
Parmigiani Fleurier Unveils The Tonda PF Hijri Perpetual Calendar Featuring The Islamic Calendar
Today’s reading time: 7 minutes and 58 seconds
👂What’s new
1/
The Swatch Group makes some truly spectacular watches at all price points. Be it a Swatch, an Omega, a Tissot, a Longines or a Blancpain, you are sure to find something to your taste and budget. And still, they have the curveball option. Even if all of these are not enough for you, there’s Mido. Be it a simple diver, a retro-inspired TV or something like the funky Commander 1959, Mido will remain the choice of those who want something a bit different, but also familiar. I, for one, will be getting the spectacular Ocean Star Decompression World Timer one day. Now, Mido is updating their Multifort, their version of a simple, rugged, go-anywhere-do-anything watch with the Mido Multifort M Freeze that has a chilly dial.
The Multifort M is not a tiny watch, as it comes in a stainless steel case made out of three parts and measuring 42mm wide and 11mm thick, with a lug-to-lug measurement of 48mm. The finish is polished on the top part of the case and the small and simple bezel and brushed on the sides and bottom of the case, just like the bracelet. On top is a sapphire crystal.
The case is the same as on all Multifort M models, but what’s new is the dial. It takes inspiration from the original 1934 Multifort model and its Côtes de Genève decoration, and gets deep vertical grooves brushed into it. It’s also colored a very pleasant icy blue color with a very subtle gradient from light blue in the center to darker blue on the edges. It’s also a sandwich dial with cutouts for the circular and trapezoidal hour markers that are filled with lume. Around the edge od the dial is a flange with minute markers, and at 3 o’clock you’ll find the day and date. The hands are simple silver-colored batons with lume filling.
Inside, unsurprisingly, is the Swatch Group Powermatic 80 which beats at 21,600bph and has the titular 80 hour power reserve. It also has a Nivachron hairspring to whitstand magnetism and bumps, while the rotor on this one gets Geneva stripes and the Mido logo. The watch comes on the stainless steel strap, but with the quick release can be easily interchanged. Just keep in mind that the lug width is 22mm.
The Mido Multifort M Freeze is available now and priced at €920. See more on the Mido website.
2/
There are very few watches that Timex makes that are adored by watch aficionados as much as the Marlin. And no wonder why - it’s a super simple, very affordable and diverse line that can be both sporty or elegant, depending on the model you choose. And Timex knows this, so they’re keeping the collection very much alive. Now they’ve launched seven new Marlin models, including two automatics, two chronographs, and three versions of the all-new Marlin Moon Phase Multifunction, their triple calendar with a moonphase.
Starting with the Marlin Automatic, it’s an update to the very familiar basic Marlin. It comes in a simple 40mm wide stainless steel case with a domed acrylic crystal on top and 50 meters of water resistance. The two new models mean two new colors - a salmon dial with polished accents and a brown leather strap; and a black dial version with gold-colored accents and a black leather strap. You still get the same pencil-shaped hands and very cool applied hour markers. Inside both is a basic Miyota movement that beats at 21,600vph and has a 40 hour power reserve.
On to the Chronographs, which get the same dials as the new updated Automatics - a salmon and a black. They also come in the same 40mm wide stainless steel case, with the addition of chrono pushers on the right side. The dials also get three subdials for the chrono function, a date window at 4:30 and an almost invisible tachymeter scale printed along their perimeter. Inside, however, is not an automatic movement, but rather a quartz chronograph. Timex doesn’t specify which one, but it’s likely the Seiko Epson YM12 quartz chronograph movement.
And last, we get to the most interesting release, a trio of Marlin Moon Phase Multifunction, a new model for the Marlin lineup. It comes in the same Marlin 40mm wide stainless steel case, with the same 50 meter water resistance, but with a single pusher located at the 2 o’clock position. The three subdials are dedicated to the day, date, and month, while the moonphase indicator appears on the lower half of the dial. No word on what powers the watch, but it’s likely also a Seiko Epson movement. The three versions differ in coolor - there’s a dark green dial with a dark brown leather strap, a salmon-colored dial and light brown strap and a blue dial with a five-link stainless steel bracelet.
According to Timex, none of these watches are supposed to be limited in number, but they do seem to be limited in production capabilities. Two of the three Moon Phases and one of the two Chronographs is already sold out, but I expect that they will be back in stock soon. And it’s no surprise that they went quickly, when you pair those looks with pretty great prices. The Automatics are priced at $249, the Chronographs at $179 and the Moon Phase Multifunction at $169 on the strap and $189 on the bracelet. See more on the Timex website.
3/
Christopher Ward has been on a serious roll this month. First it was the C65 Dune GMT White Sand, then came the beautiful C65 Dune Shoreline they made with Oracle Time. Now, it’s time for an update to one of their more beautiful watches, the 2019 C1 Moonglow.
While most of these “second generation” updates from watch brands boil down to new colors on the dial or maybe a new strap. Very few go the other route - keeping the same dial but changing the case. Well, I assume you can guess which way Christopher Ward went. The main update is the case. Instead of previous 40.5mm wide and 12.9mm thick case with a thin crown and long thing lugs that made it look like a vintage piece, the new C1 Moonglow gets CW’s modern and sport Light-catcher case. Same material, same size, but much more modern. The edge of the case is flat instead of round, with polished facets on the edges. You get a thicker crown, thicker lugs and a more solid and sporty look overall.
The dial is very much familiar - made out of translucent glass, with a double luminescent moonphase display. Lume has been improved for this new model, which is always a good update. On the periphery of the dial you’ll still find the hour and minute scale as well as the pointer style date function with rotating indicator.
Inside is the same ETA 2836 with Christopher Ward’s JJ04 module that came in the previous version of the C1 Moonglow. It beats at 28,800bph and has a 38 hour power reserve. The watch can be had on a Vacona leather strap or CW’s Consort bracelet.
Pre-orders for the C1 Moonglow are now open and deliveries are supposed to start at the end of March. Pricing, quite refreshingly, remain the same as the previous version, meaning that the bracelet version will set you back €2,655 and the leather strap will cost €2,495. See more on the Christopher Ward website.
4/
There may be calls online for Rado to stop calling their ceramic “high-tech ceramic”, but there’s no denying that this Swiss brand has introduced the world of watches to this very interesting material that provides not just higher resistance to scratches, but also a very interesting look. Let’s not mention the materials’ low resistance to sharp socks, with the propensity to shatter, at the moment. Rado has also been known to partially skeletonise their watch dials. Now they’re giving the open heart look to the True Round high-ceramic collection.
The watches, four of them, all have the same monobloc case made out of ceramic that measures 40mm wide and 10.4mm thick. Two of the non-limited models come in polished black or white ceramic cases, while the third is made of “high-tech plasma ceramic” which is Rado’s name for ceramic that’s fired at temperatures of 20,000 ºC and gives it a liquid-metal look. The fourth watch is also limited, but comes in a polished white ceramic case, but with a radically different look.
Speaking of the dial that comes in the True Round Open Heart Limited Edition, it has a unique dichroic sapphire crystal over the dial. Dichroism is a term used in gemmology to describe the phenomenon of two colours emitted from different angles of a gemstone. The dichroic sapphire crystal over the dial changes colour under different lighting and viewing angles, from blue to red.
All four of the dials feature the same pattern of skeletonization and have a figure eight cutout that spans the space between 12 and 5 o’clock, with two aditional openings on either side. The cutout areas on the dial are highlighted with rose gold-coloured bevels. They all also have rose gold-coloured indices on the chapter ring and the tips of the hour and minute hands are treated with white Super-LumiNova.
Through the dial you can see the R734 automatic movement. It has guilloché-style finishing and perlage on the dial side and on the back. It’s not a particularly special movement, as it’s a derivation of the Powermatic 80. This means that it beats at 3Hz, has an 80 hour power reserve and the Nivachron hairspring.
Three versions are non limited, while the Rado True Round Open Heart Limited Edition will be limited to 888 pieces, and all four retail for CHF 2,400. See more on the Rado website.
5/
Ever since it’s introduction, the Tonda PF has become a really effective iteration canvas for Parmigiani Fleurier. The collection includes the complete Chinese Xiali calendar, the Western Gregorian calendar, and the Islamic Hijri calendar, first introduced in 2019. Now, they’re updating this very interesting watch.
The watch comes in a 42mm wide and 11.2mm thick stainless steel case that has a geabutiful satin finish, topped of with a knurled platinum bezel. There’s only one crown on the side, with three additional recessed calendar correctors that help you adjust the watch. Despite being a highly-complicated watch, it’s still a sports model with 100 meters of water resistance.
The dial is a stunning Viridian green and decorated with Parmigiani’s emblematic grain d’Orge hand-guilloché finishing. The hands are skeletonized, delta-shaped, made out of 18ct gold and rhodium-plated, just like the indices. The Hijri perpetual calendar is used with the help of three subdials and a moon phase indicator. The moon phase is painted on an aventurine disc and shows the moon’s phase on both hemispheres. At 12 o’clock, you’ll find the subdial for the 30-year cycle of the Hijri calendar, at 3 o’clock is the subdial that shows the current month number in Arabic characters, with the month of Ramadan highlighted in a vibrant red hue and at 9 o’clock is the current day number within the month.
Inside is the familiar PF009 movement that has powered previous versions of this QC. It beats at 28,800bph and has a 48 hour power reserve. You can see the movement through the caseback, displaying the Côtes de Genève and bevelled bridges and a skeletonized rotor cast in platinum. The watch comes on a stainless steel bracelet, polished and satin-finished.
The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Hijri Perpetual Calendar is not a cheap watch, of course. It can be yours for CHF 62,500. See more on the Parmigiani website.
🫳On hand
Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon
1/
2/
3/
⚙️Real Time Reviews
A new segment in which we feature reviews from real users reviewing their personal watches
What a pleasure to wear this Rolex... It's a Datejust, but which Datejust? It's a 4-digit reference #1603 with a stunning patina dial... and, above all, an Engine-Turned bezel that makes all the difference with a "classic" Datejust with a fluted bezel.
When I bought it ten years ago, I was looking for a fluted DJ, but quite frankly, it was impossible to find one with a bezel in decent condition and not completely destroyed by polishing. Guess what? I realized that there were other, less sought-after, less mainstream opportunities with this very atypical bezel!
⏲️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
The story of the missing Princess of Wales has been a pretty wild one. Where is Kate Middleton and what the heck is really going on? For Nieman Lab, Ellie Hall dissects the oddities in how Kensington Palace PR and press outlets have handled Kate Middleton’s mysterious and ongoing absence from the public eye, complete with a detailed timeline of unfolding events.
Susana Guerrero and Madilynee Medina explore Americana folklore with the tale of a ghost that supposedly haunts a San Francisco highway. While some fully believe in the spirit, others cite pranks as the source of the continuing story. With personal experiences to fall back on, Guerrero and Medina provide insight into the tall tales.
Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk was the latest and most controversial in his series of biographies, but it was also in many ways the apotheosis of Isaacson’s own evolution—or devolution, in Oscar Schwartz’s view. In this deeply satisfying critical essay in The Drift, Schwartz takes stock of Isaacson’s career both on and off the page, creating a compelling argument that mythologizing Musk has long been Isaacson’s inevitable destination.
👀Watch this
One video you have to watch today
If you’re into cars, every few years you hear about a car that’s just better than anything else on the market, without people actually realising how much better it is. People said this, at their time, for the e39 M5, about the Carrera GT, about the McLaren 720s, and each of these claims turned out to be completely true. This one, the Guntherwerks Turbo seems to be one of these mythical cars. Every single person that has touched it has said it’s perfection.
💵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 sell your watch to a community of passionate horologists? Reach out to us and we’ll put your ad up.
Want to let us know what you think about the newsletter? Go to our survey and fill it out.
-Vuk