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A Totally Non-Scientific List Of Your Favorite Watches Of 2023, A Totally Personal List Of My Favorite Watches Of 2023, A Look Back At 2023 Trends And An Attempt To Predict 2024

This is the last issue of the newsletter for this year. All the best to you and your family, and thanks for all the fun!

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It's About Time
December 22, 2023

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. This is it, the last issue of It’s About Time in 2023. I’m taking a break next week, so see you in the next year.

To all the new people joining us here, this is obviously a very special, very different edition, with no watch news. It’s all a look back through 2023 and a slight prediction of what we might see next year. Stick around until the new year to get the regular updates.

And on a bit of a personal note: I started this newsletter on a whim in March, without thinking it was possible it would ever be read hundreds of thousands of times per month. It all still seems like a dream and I have you to thank. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. And I hope you enjoy your holidays and have a wonderful new year. I know it will be a crazy one here at It’s About Time.

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:

  • Your Favorite Watches Of 2023, A Totally Non-Scientific List

  • My Favorite Watches Of 2023, A Totally Personal List

  • The Great Shrinkage, Rise Of Affordable Luxury And A Barrage Of Limited Editions Among Top 2023 Trends

  • More 80s Revival, Cooling Of The Market, Easier Access To A Rolex And Square Watches Are My Predictions For 2024

Today’s reading time: 13 minutes and 21 seconds

👂What’s new

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Your Favorite Watches Of 2023, A Totally Non-Scientific List

This is a bold claim to make, but these are your favorite watches of 2023. Well, they might not be your actual favorites, but they are the watches that interested you the most. These pieces got the most clicks. There are many surprises here. Some stuff I was expecting to see is not here. Other stuff is weirdly present (where did you come from Cartier Crash?). I was expecting Seiko to dominate the list, but only two models made the top 12. The same as the number of Yemas on the list. Yes, we know that Yema has had quality control and customer support issues, but there’s no denying that people love them. This is in no way a scientific poll of all your preferences, so discuss among yourselves, what are your thoughts on the top 12 watches of the year. Here’s a few more details:

After a full year of retro diver revivals, Seiko saved their biggest release for the end of the year. They brought back the Marinemaster name, but reactions were very split. The new Marinemasters come in much smaller package and with a retro style which is a disappointment to fans of the extravagantly large old Marinemasters. Or, as someone on Reddit put it: “Oh wait, its a 5th reinterpretation of the 62MAS that they just called a Marine Master” Others loved the retro 62MAS styling and great colors. But very few were impressed by the €3,400 price tag. Read my article on it here.

A huge surprise to see this one here. But I’m glad it is. Oris took their already futuristic ProPilot X and gave it an incredible titanium dial which is colored without actually applying any color. The titanium is hit with lasers at different wavelengths that then manipulates the surface to split up light into its component parts to create a rainbow effect depending on where you view the watch from. You can read more about it here.

These were definitely not the Grand Seiko models I expected to see at the top of this list. Sure, I knew there had to be at least one GS, but there was that incredible katana-inspired series or the more recent collaboration with Watches of Switzerland that I was sure was going to win out. These U.S. exclusives are fine Grand Seikos, but a bit boring. More here.

This one completely stumped me. Guys, are you ok? You went crazy over a gem-encrusted Patek aquatic sports watch that doesn’t have any water resistance. You want to know how crazy you went for it? More than 65.000 of you clicked on this… Here you go again.

I really, really like this watch. Like, really. It looks amazing, it’s cheap. All you can do now is go buy one. My article is here.

While the SPB411 is not a complete recreation of the first watch with Seiko on the dial it is incredibly similar to the vintage 24mm wide round watch with an enamel dial, Breguet numerals, blued hands, and a sub-seconds dial at 6 o’clock. Truly something different. Read my article here.

These are not the Casio’s you are used to. Take, for example the horribly named Casio Oceanus Manta OCWS6000SW2A. It’s made completely by hand at Casio’s Yamagata factory in Japan. It’s something completely different than what we expect from Casio and we all loved it. Read more here.

While many might see Yema as a new-ish brand, they are actually celebrating the 75th anniversary of the formation of the brand with a new watch, the Yema Yachtingraf Tourbillon Mareographe 75th Anniversary Limited Edition. It’s a looker! Read more about it here.

Another Yema on the list. A shocking turn of events. Although, I think it had less to do with the looks of the watch and more with the movement. Yema has caught some flack for issues with their movements, so I assume people wanted to see what’s new. Read it here.

Well, this comes as no surprise. This is easily one of the most beautiful watches of the year. Read more about it here.

TAG Heuer really had the best year this year. And even the releases based on their older models kicked ass, like this very preppy looking piece made with fashion brand Rowing Blazers. Read it here.

This was the biggest surprise to me. Whenever I mention Cartier in the newsletter it doesn’t go over that great. But this iconic piece obviously holds a special place in the hearts of watch lovers. See how the platinum London exclusive made it into the top 12 watches of the year here.

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My Favorite Watches Of 2023, A Totally Personal List

While the above list holds some semblance of being based in reality, as it’s based on the number of clicks. This one? Oh no, there’s no scientific process here. This is pure emotion. These are my favorite watches of the year. While most the lists I’ve done so fare are in no particular order, I actually think this one might be in order as I list them off. So here we go:

I wasn’t an instant fan when the Alinghi Tudors came out. It took me a few weeks to warm up to them. But I found myself going back to the website and looking at them over and over again. While the Chrono is the killer model, I will come out and say that the carbon cased (I don’t even like carbon!) 42mm Pelagos FXD Alinghi Red Bull Racing Edition is my absolute favorite watch of the year. Weird, I know. Here’s my writeup at the time it was released.

This one came out late. Only a week or so ago. And it still managed to squeeze into the second place of my favorite watches of the year. It’s the dial and the crazy crystal that sell it for me. Go read about it here.

I liked Praesidus watches before for their simple premise of recreating legendary military-themed watches for a very acceptable budget. They won me over with the recreation of a Seiko worn by the elite MACV-SOG, a special operations unit that I have a very tangental connection to. I fell completely in love with this and subsequent Praesidus releases. Please, keep them on your radar. Go read my lengthy writeup of the watch and MACV-SOG.

This was the year in which Sum 41 and Blink 182 made a huge revival, marking a turning point in the comeback of the 90s. And Worn & Wound knows this as well, so they teamed up with Zodiac for a fantastic 90s arcade and laster tag inspired SuperSea Wolf. Chef’s kiss! Read more about it here.

This was the year of TAG Heuer. I have never seen a brand go from bland to spectacular in such a short amount of time. They were on the verge of becoming a really expensive mall-brand but they turned it all around with just one model - the Carrera Glassbox. This stunning piece of glass and metal drove the change for the entire lineup and while you could argue that there are better looking Glassbox models than this one, I was charmed off my feet by the completely insane movement inside it that runs fast for the first 9.1 seconds, the it took the original Porsche 911 to get to 100 km/h. It has to run fast to meet the 9.1 second marking that’s near the 20 second mark and then it slows down to a regular speed. It’s completely unnecessary and crazy. That’s why I love it. A TAG Heuer with such great design and unafraid to play with their internals will dominate the years to come. Read more about it here.

I’m not afraid to admit when I don’t know something. I knew that Citizen makes some higher end watches but I was completely ignorant as to what they were. Well, was I in for a wild ride. These Washi Paper dial Citizen’s blew my mind and I still think I would get one over a Grand Seiko. Read more about it here.

I welcome all sports of experimentation, regardless of whether I like the look or not. The only way to move forward is to try things and potentially fail. Like Bell & Ross did with the new BR-X5 with a new fully lumed case. Only, they didn’t fail. This is a spectacular watch. See more here.

This was the most difficult choice. I tried not repeating brands on my list. But I could have easily filled half of it with all the Ming releases of this year. Because they are just so good. And since the ultralight model appeared on the list of best expensive watches, I chose to include their new and beautiful Moonphase Series 2 on my personal faves. Read more here.

A bit of a weird choice, right? It’s nothing new, nothing particularly revolutionary. But two things - first, it’s the beautiful brown color, and second, it’s the spectacular covers for the lugs. Go read it here.

Unlike virtually all other timezone watches that use a crown or a pusher to switch zones, I always adored the mechanism on the IWC Timezoner. You grab the chunky crown, push it in and twist to the city you want to know the time in, with the hour jumping as you twist. It’s perfection. But they always looked a bit meh. In the green ceramic, it’s stunning. See more.

Bell & Ross is the reigning champ of plane-instrument-inspired watches. Or, at least, they were. While I love their watches, Bremont politely knocked on the door of this segment and then just blew the whole house up. The MB Viper is a truly unique instrument watch. Read more here.

I’m cheating a bit here with an entire collection. Released back in May, the Omega Aqua Terra Worldtimer collection was a bit underrated. But just go look at them again. They really are beautiful. Read the article here.

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The Great Shrinkage, Rise Of Affordable Luxury And A Barrage Of Limited Editions Among Top 2023 Trends

I’ll try to keep this as short as possible, as I’m sure you don’t need a dude with a newsletter to tell you what happened in the last 12 months of watches. There were several huge trends and small moves that will affect the upcoming several years. So let’s get into it.

The great shrinkage continues. Brands have listened to customers and more and more are releasing smaller watches. While some might have overdone it, going even below 35mm, I don’t mind the experimentation with sizes that’s going on now. I can’t really participate in this revolution with my huge wrist, but I had some good years of 48mm Panerais, so I assume it’s now time for those with smaller wrists to enjoy themselves.

Titanium is everywhere, and it’s cheap. Sure, titanium has been used in watches for decades, but it strikes me that more watches than ever have been released in Ti this year. Not only that, but we are now getting consistent releases of watches under $500 made out of titanium. That’s interesting

Traveler GMTs for everyone. While the GMT trend has been on the uptick for a couple of years, the post-covid return to travel has turned the complication made for traveling more desirable than ever before. And thanks to the Miyota 9075 movement, the coveted “traveller” style GMT (meaning that you independently adjust the hour hand) is now available at prices far bellow the $1,000 mark.

Haute horology is living its best life. The number of new indie brands that create truly high horology pieces is only growing by the day and are offering incredible creations we couldn’t even dream of before.

But, at the same time, we’re getting more and more affordable luxury. Never have we had such access to tourbillons, wandering and jumping hours and complex manufacturing processes for incredibly low prices. Brands like BA111OD, Atowak, Ciga and the like are bring luxury to the masses, and the masses like it.

Color is everywhere. A lot has been done with colored dials this year. Sure, we had a blip of salmon-dial resurgance, but never have we seen more pinks, greens, bright blues and even neon colors. Perfection

Vintage revival continues. With the rise of microbrands, most of them latched on to the clearest trend of this year - vintage revival. Be it 40s inspired sector-dial time only pieces, 50s divers or 60s chronographs, there is no end to more or less vintage looking watches out there. Not everyone is in love with this aesthetic, but there is no denying that there is a watch for everyone out there.

Everything is a limited edition. I write five editions a week and I usually feature five watches. So that’s at least 25 watches every week and I would put some money that more often than not 20 of the 25 are some sort of limited edition. Even watches that have no business being limited end up limited. Seiko limits their watches to 10,000 pieces. Why, I ask? If everything is limited, then nothing is. I would love for this one trend to die, but I doubt it will happen.

TAG Heuer dominated the game. Like I said several times this year, no other brand had a better comeback than TAG. From a boring watch for sales middle management to one of the most exciting things this year. Good work, keep up whatever you’re doing!

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More 80s Revival, Cooling Of The Market, Easier Access To A Rolex And Square Watches Are My Predictions For 2024

If you didn’t need a dude with a newsletter to tell you what the main trends were in 2023, you surely won’t need me to tell you what I think will be the big things in 2024. Tough luck, I’m still doing it:

More vintage revival, but more modern. Currently, the vintage revival is focused on bringing back watches from the 40s, 50s and 60s. I think this will be the year we move more towards the 70s (we’ve seen some great examples of that this year) and towards the 80s. The 80s generation that grew up in the 90s is coming into money and is more interested in watches, so over the next few years I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw more 80s and 90s revivals.

The market is cooling and Rolexes are easier to buy. Covid wreaked havoc on the watch market. The prices of used pieces skyrocketed and it’s impossible to get a Rolex. However, the last months of 2023 have seen a cooling of the market which will likely continue and I suspect Rolex will be a bit easier to purchase. Now, will the cooling of used prices lead to a reduction of retail prices for new pieces? I doubt it. But hopefully it slows the insane growth (I’m looking at you JLC!)

More focus on sustainability. A few brands put a lot of emphasis on the sourcing of their materials and brands like ID Genève have attracted investors with the promise of creating sustainable watches. Expect to see more.

Experimentation with color continues, brown and green will be colors of the year. I have no real basis to argue this, but I really do think the time has come for brown and great greens to have their shine.

Square watches will be all the rage. Especially in the microbrand world.

More women’s watches. While the discussion of what is a women’s watch and what isn’t is a pointless one as they can all work as unisex, I’m thinking there will be an uptick in watches targeted at women, but without necessarily having to be tiny, gem-encrusted or pastel colored. I would love to se a brand aimed exclusively at women with a non-traditional approach.

Universal Genève will break the watch Internet. Just the news of Breitling buying Universal Genève made everyone delirious. While we likely won’t get any actual models for sale, I’m thinking Breilting will want to keep the hype up and show of the direction they will be taking the brand in. Get ready to see a new Polerouter!

TAG continues to dominate, but expect much more from Breitling. I think TAG Heuer will do a lot more this year. I’m expecting a major new release to match the Glassbox in looks. However, Breitling has been making some interesting moves lately. Can’t wait to see what they can do while also juggling Universal Genève.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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⚙️Real Time Reviews

A new segment in which we feature reviews from real users reviewing their personal watches

I have always been seduced by the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso and yet it took me years to decide. I tried it dozens of times in different configurations, with or without a second hand, Reverso Night&Day, Reverso Tribute to Small Seconds... but each time I said to myself: "It's a beautiful watch but it doesn't suit me!” And then I offered a large Cartier Tank to my wife... and I had the opportunity to wear her watch on a few occasions both to try it out and to question myself concretely about my ability to wear a rectangular timepiece.

⏲️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

  • For a couple of weeks a story has been following me around the internet. The title was intriguing enough: “The Truth Is Out There: A father’s disappearance, dark family secrets, and the hunt for Bigfoot”, but I just didn’t have the time to read it. And I just couldn’t post that title and let you figure it out. I managed to finish it today and all I can say is: it’s a touching story on searching for truths, that weaves together cryptozoology and a family in search of their father. Go read it.

  • Stefan Thomas lost the password to an encrypted USB drive holding 7,002 bitcoins. At the time of writing, it worth about 306 million dollars. A group of hackers believes they have cracked the code that was used and can unlock it. Then the story got really weird.

  • In his book Among the Bros, Max Marshall shines a light on a case in Charleston and what it says about Greek life in America. The Guardian highlights this case of a group of frat bros who built a multimillion-dollar drug ring and lived a life without consequences.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

My favorite watch podcast for years has been The Grey Nato. I have a sneaking suspicion that they might be the most popular watch podcast out there and the genuinely deserve that position. For years I have heard one of the hosts mention his Christmas eve tradition of listening to the Shepherd, a novella by Frederick Forsyth as read by Alan Maitland from CBC Radio.

It’s the story of a De Havilland Vampire pilot flying home from RAF Celle in northern Germany to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk on Christmas Eve 1957, when his aircraft suffers a complete electrical failure mid-flight. Lost in fog over the North Sea, he starts flying in small triangles, an odd flying pattern which would typically be detected on radar, with the intention of notifying an air traffic controller to send other aircraft to find him and shepherd him home. A plane appears, but something is off…

I first listened to the story last Christmas eve while walking the dog and let me tell you - an instant tradition is born. So, give it a go this Sunday.

💵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 

  • 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.

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