- It's About Time
- Posts
- URWERK Reboots its Original; Yema Pays Homage To A Racing Legend; Rado Goes Two-Tone Gold; Nomos And Carl F. Bucherer Introduce New Colors
URWERK Reboots its Original; Yema Pays Homage To A Racing Legend; Rado Goes Two-Tone Gold; Nomos And Carl F. Bucherer Introduce New Colors
Also, Patek Philippe Sets Record for Most Expensive Watch Sold Online
It's About Time
March 23, 2023
Hey friends, welcome It’s About Time, the watch newsletter that’s like a fine wine - it only gets better with time. Thanks for joining us.
In this issue:
URWERK reboots their original watch
Yema pays homage to the best French car of all time
Rado goes two-tone gold on their sports watch
New colors for the Nomos Club Campus
Carl F. Bucherer Brings A Burst Of Color
And… invite your friends to win a Tiffany PRX
Today’s reading time: 6 minutes and 3 seconds
We’re starting off with a bang! We’re giving away TWO of this year’s hottest watches:
THE TIFFANY PRX!
This is the PRX Powermatic 80 we’re giving away. Not this one obviously. But one just like it.
All you have to do is click the button below and have five of your friends subscribe. Both you and one of your friends will be eligible to win one of the watches
👂What’s new
1/
In 1997, Urwerk’s co-founders Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei first discussed launched the UR-101 and UR-102 watches at Baselworld, sci-fi-inspired creations with wandering hours running on a semi-circular minute track at the top. In 2023 you can buy the same watch again (well, almost the same), as a very limited box set of the two models - the UR-102 Reloaded.
The UR-102 Reloaded has some light design tweaks, but it’s pretty much the same thing as the original. The case comes in uncoated or PVD-coated titanium and steel, with a sandblasted surface and has, expectedly and unfortunately, grown from 38mm to 41mm and sits at 11.30mm. The pebble shape of the case, with its semi-circular arch on the upper half, has been kept too, but the crown is now merged into the case and placed at 4 o’clock. The lugs are larger, solid and angular.
Inside the case is an automatic base movement with a 4Hz frequency and a 48h power reserve. It is used to power the in-house module with wandering hours. No more details have been given yet regarding the origin of the base movement.
The Urwerk UR-102 Reloaded comes only as a pair in a boxed set issued as a 25-piece limited edition. The price of the set is CHF 56,000 (excl. taxes).
2/
Best known for the Superman Heritage diver, Yema has been producing many types of chronographs over the past few decades. From Meca-Quartz to full automatic, the French brand releases a new collection every year, if not more often. Each Yema chronograph nods to a historical figure or car race which is the case with the Rallye 5 Turbo, which pays homage to an iconic French race car: the Renault 5 Turbo with its flashy red colour and almost art-deco interior.
The case is a fine size at 39mm in diameter, 48mm lug-to-lug, and 12mm thick with an ETA7753 inside that runs two sub-registers - one for the running second at the 9 o’clock and a 30-minute totaliser at 3 o’clock and a date function that sits at 6 o’clock. There’s a tachymeter scale printed on a brushed stainless-steel insert, and the overall color scheme is grey and black, with touches of red and yellow.
The Yema Rallye 5 Turbo is available now as a limited edition of 300 individually numbered pieces. priced at $2,190.
3/
Mention Rado, and most people will think of ceramics. But the brand has also had quite some success with its Captain Cook dive-inspired sports watch. So much success, in fact, that they have released a number of versions of the model over the past few years. Today, two new editions are introduced - yellow and rose gold PVD in two striking colors.
The new colorways are decidedly funky and retro, but very 80s retro, not 60s and 70s. The case comes in at 42mm in diameter and 12.3mm thick, the bezel is unidirectional with a ceramic (green or blue) insert, the sapphire crystal is domed and the crown and the solid steel caseback are screwed to give a water-resistance of 300m. This is all very much like the existing collections, but now it comes in two-tone. The cases and bracelet are made from stainless steel with elements coated in gold PVD – either yellow on the green version or rose on the blue model. Both models have the respective colors on their dials as well.
Inside the case beats calibre Rado R763, which is just the brand’s name for Swatch Group’s Powermatic. The watches are available now and priced at EUR 2,600. For more details.
4/
You have to love the Club Campus from Nomos. It’s just cute with it’s bulbous case, playful California dial and funky colors. Now the brand is introducing two new models: the new Club Campus Cream Coral and Electric Green.
As with previous colourful models, the new Club Campus Cream Coral and Electric Green are available in a compact case of 36mm, with a thin profile of only 8.2mm, or a larger version of 38.5mm, with a profile of 8.5mm. The Campus is also a sporty watch with a closed back and 100m water-resistance. To maintain a reasonable price, this series is powered by calibre Alpha, a compact hand-wound movement based on Peseux architecture but now produced in-house.
Whatever colour you choose, cream coral or electric green, the Nomos Club Campus 36 is priced at EUR 1,300, and the Club Campus 38 at EUR 1,400.
5/
For many years, the Manero Peripheral watch has been a relatively discreet and traditional watch available in 40mm or 43mm cases. Now the Manero Peripheral gets new dials, a fair dosage of colours and overall a more casual attire.
The case, which is in stainless steel on all versions, hasn’t changed and retains the relatively compact proportions of previous versions, meaning 40.6mm in diameter and 11.2mm in height. In the same vein, the movement remains – for the best – the same, meaning the manufacture calibre CFB A2050. The majority of the changes come with th enew dials.
The Manero Peripheral 40mm is given a fresher, more contemporary and more casual look by the use of brighter colours, contrasting elements and textures. The dials are now circular-brushed, and available in an array of colours – silver-white with gold accents and black sub-seconds, black with gold accents and silver sub-seconds, and blue, salmon, brown, or green with rhodium-plated accents and black sub-seconds.
Another change is the dial - instead of alligator leather, the watch comes on a black hybrid rubber strap with a grooved texture. It is closed by a stainless steel pin lock folding clasp and features a quick-release system.
The new Carl F. Bucherer Manero Peripheral 40mm models are part of the permanent collection and are priced at CHF 7,500.
6/
Christie’s have just set the world record for the most expensive watch auctioned online.
The watch in question is the Patek Philippe Grand Complications ‘Sky Moon Tourbillon’ Ref. 6002G-001 and it sold for $5.8 million.
It’s important to note that there are watches that have sold for more at in-person auctions, such as the Paul Newman Daytona that sold for $17 million or the $31 million Grandmaster Chime that holds the title for most expensive watch at auction of all time. The Sky Moon holds the title of most expensive wristwatch specifically for online auctions.
The watch itself is a 44mm white gold piece with a cloisonné enamel dial in dark blue with a central floral motif. In terms of complications, it features a long, long list: minute repeater, tourbillon, perpetual calendar, retrograde date, moonphase, leap year indicator, sidereal time and star charts.
🫳On hand
Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon
1/
2/
⚙️Watch Worthy
A look at an off beat, less known watch you might actually like
Despite its understated profile, the Gerald Charles brand is significant because it embodies Mr. Genta’s style in his later years, characterized by even more idiosyncratic designs, making the revival of the brand by Federico Ziviani a positive development in the watch world. Although this may not affect the quality of the watches, the fact that the brand is still in the hands of the founding family does make the Gerald Charles watches feel a bit more special
⏲️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
Panic over the coming AI revolution is rampant. Are we going to lose our jobs? Are the machines taking over? The thing is, we might be worrying about the wrong things. The consequences could be a lot more subtle and damaging.
If you are a fan of true crime, you will surely enjoy this story that is best described with it’s blurb: A man is presumed murdered. In this town of 12, everyone is a possible suspect.
👀Watch this
One video you have to watch today
As winter in the northern hemisphere is winding down, there will be no more skiing for us. But there’s more to a good ski season than just hitting the slopes. Tracks is not a regular snowboarding movie, it's not really even a documentary. It's a story about winter and global warming in the arctic circle, told from the perspective of local snowboarders.
💵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: Rolex Explorer I 39 mm Mark I, ref. 214270. Great condition, no box or papers. €7250, OBO. Reach out to us and we’ll put you in touch
For sale: Longines Heritage Skin Diver, box and papers. €1400. 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. $15 per listing without photos, $25 with photos. 10 available slots per day, discounts for multiple slots.
We’re starting off with a bang! We’re giving away TWO of this year’s hottest watches:
THE TIFFANY PRX!
This is the PRX Powermatic 80 we’re giving away. Not this one obviously. But one just like it.