Zenith Surprises With Titanium Chronomaster Sport, Seiko Releases Presage With Studio Ghibli, Rado Gives The Skeletonized Captain Cook An Olive Color And New From Orion And Jacob & Co.

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I was sure this would be another Seiko-heavy day and then Zenith surprised everyone with a titanium Chronomaster Sport. They are becoming a really interesting competitor to the Rolex Daytona.

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In this issue:

• Zenith Surprises With New Titanium Chronomaster Sport That Might Turn Out Important For The Brand

• Seiko Releases Presage Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Limited Edition Honoring Famed Studio Ghibli’s First Film

• Rado Gives Their Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton A Great Looking Olive Colorway

• Orion Gives Brand New Life To Their Hellcat Case With The Very Handsome Sylph

• The Jacob & Co. Mystery Tourbillon Twin Dragons Is The Cherry On Top Of The Tack Lunar New Year Watches

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 58 seconds

Number of dragon-themed watches this Year (so far, and including today): 20

👂What’s new

1/

Zenith Surprises With New Titanium Chronomaster Sport That Might Turn Out Important For The Brand

This is an interesting release. Last week LVMH, the luxury conglomerate that owns, among others, TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith, held their annual LVMH Watch Week during which they introduce a bunch of their new watches and it’s their biggest introduction event until April and Watches & Wonders. Zenith came out extremely strong this year, with a beautiful trio of El Primero Triple Calendars and two new Chronomaster Sport references, one in green, the other in rose gold with a gem set bezel. So that was supposed to be it for a while. Guess not, because Zenith just introduced a brand new Chronomaster Sport, the first made entirely out of titanium and a very interesting and potentially important addition to the lineup.

The new Chronomaster Sport Titanium, introduced as part of Zenith’s partnership with the Ultimate Tennis Showdown league led by one of the most legendary tennis coaches of all time, Patrick Mouratoglou, comes in a brand new titanium case that sheds 30% of the weight of the steel counterpart. It’s still the same size at 41mm wide, 13.8mm thick and with a lug-to-lug of 47mm. The thickness of the watch, while not excessive for a chronograph, will surely be less noticeable with a lighter watch. The recognisable ceramic bezel is replaced here with a titanium one and Zenith managed to polish the chamfers on the case and bracelet, as well as on the rim of the bezel, a notoriously difficult task to do on tough titanium.

While you would be forgiven if you couldn’t tell at a glance whether this was a steel or titanium watch, the dial gives up any mystery. Instead of the recognisable colored subdials, Zenith goes for an all grey monochrome look to go with the titanium theme. The base of the dial gets a unique shade of nickel-gray and a sunburst finish. The three subdials are finished in three shades of grey, and the only pops of color come from red text as well as some of the chronograph hands.

Inside is, as expected, the El Primero 3600 movement which uses the 36,000vph (5Hz) operating frequency to display time with a tenth of a second accuracy and a buttery smooth seconds hand. Yet, despite this higher operating frequency, Zenith manages to squeeze out 60 hours of power reserve from the watch. The watch comes on a matching titanium steel bracelet or a number of integrated rubber straps in black, blue, green, and white with folding clasps.

The new Zenith Chronomaster Sport Titanium is priced at $11,300 USD on a rubber strap and $11,800. When compared to the regular steel version, both saw an increase of about $800, which is not bad at all. This will be an interesting watch for Zenith for two reasons. First, as a true sports watch it is much more versatile now. But second, many people are wondering why the Zenith Chronomaster Sport is not a closer competitor to the Rolex Daytona and by releasing more variations of the Chronomaster Sport, including moving into metals like Titanium that Rolex just doesn’t offer on the Daytona, it’s becoming a more attractive alternative tot hat Daytona you will never get at retail. In the meantime, check out Zenith’s website for more.

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Seiko Releases Presage Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Limited Edition Honoring Famed Studio Ghibli’s First Film

Very few people can say that they have directed 11 movies, with the twelfth about to come out, and that every single one of those movies is not just a complete masterpiece but also deeply meaningful to millions of people across the world. This is the life of Hayao Miyazaki, the revolutionary animation director and founder of the legendary Studio Ghibli. If all of this sounds unfamiliar to you, put your phone down, walk away from the computer and start watching Ghibli movies, you will not regret it. Now this Japanese cultural icon is teaming up with another Japanese powerhouse - Seiko, to release a beautiful Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind SPB437.

The Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is based on the movie of the same name, a post-apocalyptic fantasy anime that was not just one of the first Miyazaki movies, but also the first movie produced by the newly formed Studio Ghibli. Set in a post-nuclear futuristic world, it tells the story of Nausicaä (Shimamoto), the teenage princess of the Valley of the Wind who becomes embroiled in a struggle with Tolmekia, a kingdom that tries to use an ancient weapon to eradicate a jungle full of giant mutant insects. While Ghibli has many more famous movies like My Neighbour Totoro, I love that they chose this anime for the collaboration.

The watch is based on the Craftsmanship Series from the Presage collection, but also a bit different. The stainless steel case measures 40.5mm wide and 12.4mm thick and has a textured mediablasted finish that has a superhard coating. You get sapphire crystals on top and bottom, and an additional blue glass crystal insert in the oversized crown.

The blue continues on the dial, which is rendered in beautiful enamel and is a direct reference to one of the outfits Prinses Nausicaä wears in the movie. The indices and minute track are printed in white, the hour and minute hands are minute shaped and silver in color, while the seonds hand is rendered in a gold color. At 6 o’clock is the white and red symbol that’s emblazoned across chest of Prinses Nausicaä in one of her outfits. A very nerdy symbol to know, but even if you have no idea what it represents, it looks very cool and different.

While a lot of watches in the Presage collection are powered by the rather basic 4R35, this watch gets an upgrade and is powered by the Seiko Calibre 6R51, a dateless version of the more familiar 6R55. It beats at 21,600vph, has a 72 hour power reserve, a 4,800 gauss magnetic field resistance and is rated to -15/+25 seconds per day. Not fantastic, but much better than some other Seiko movements. The watch comes on a brown leather strap with a three-part folding clasp.

The Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind SPB437 is limited to 1,500 pieces and comes in a really beautiful blue presentation box with artwork inspired by the animation series. The watch goes on sale in March and price is set at €1,750 and I assume it will sell out fast. There are a lot of die-hard Ghibli fans out there. See more on the Seiko website.

3/

Rado Gives Their Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton A Great Looking Olive Colorway

I’m pretty sure that when someone says Rado, the first thing that pops into your mind are the very 80s and 90s square ceramic watches. This would mostly be because most of us weren’t alive in the 1960s, when Rado made some really interesting dive watches. It’s those two histories - the 60s divers and their experience in high-tech ceramics - that meet up in the Rado Captain Cook, a retro looking but futuristically made, diver. The Captain Cook line has seen a number of iterations, with the most exciting being the skeletonized one which Rado is now releasing in a new olive ceramic colorway and PVD rose gold accents.

The new Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton in olive green is a continuation of the model revamped last year which came in a dark grey ceramic. Being based on the older model, you still get the same very chunky case - 43mm wide, 14.6mm thick and a 50mm lug-to-lug. Those who have worn it say that it’s very comfortable on wrist, despite it’s size, due to the curved lugs and rubber integrated strap.

But the shape of the case is less interesting than the materials and colors. It has a monobloc construction, a matte finish, and the ceramic has an olive green color. The same material/color is found on the bezel insert, with very appropriate contrasting details that are rendered in polished rose gold that comes as a PVD coat. It clashes fantastically with the olive of the rest of the watch. The bezel also has a concave shape, a pronounced domed sapphire crystal and the watch is water resistant to 300 meters.

Being a skeletonized watch, there’s not much of a dial. You can see the entire movement with the only dial-like elements being a matte green inner flange to which a tinted transparent crystal and rose-gold coated hour markers are attached. Despite there being no dial, Rado adds an anchor logo at 12 o’clock with a synthetic ruby backplate, with the party trick being that the anchor rotates. The centre-wheel bridge is also gold-coloured.

The movement you see is the Rado Calibre R808, which is essentially a reworked and openworked version of Swatch Group’s Powermatic 80 movement. It beats at 3Hz frequency and has an 80 hour power reserve. It’s equipped with an antimagnetic Nivachron hairspring and is wound by an anchor-shaped rotor. The watch comes on a textured rubber strap with curved ends that has a folding clasp with a ceramic buckle cover but later you’ll be able to get a matte green ceramic bracelet as well.

The Olive Green Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton doesn’t have a fixed release date as of yet, but it will be available soon. Interestingly, it already launched in India, hence me linking to the Indian Rado website. When it does become available, it won’t be limited and it will be priced at €4,550. See more on the (Indian) Rado website.

4/

Orion Gives Brand New Life To Their Hellcat Case With The Very Handsome Sylph

The word microbrand gets thrown around a lot. And sure, it is a huge umbrella term that covers thousands of watch brands. But there’s always discussion whether brands like Christopher Ward or even Formex are still microbrands or have they outgrown this category into a true independent. Well, a brand like Orion will not be confused for anything else - they are a true microbrand. Started by Nick Harris, who started off as a Seiko modifier, as a way of funding his watchmaking education, Orion produces incredible looking, very original watches in limited quantities and some hand finishing. Even more interestingly, every single one of this watches is distinctly an Orion but at the same time has their own design language. Such is the case with the new Orion Sylph. While based on the same of the Hellcat model, it’s very clear it’s a brand new watch.

The Orion Sylph comes in a 39mm wide, 10.5mm thick stainless steel case with a 47mm lug to lug. That size, along with a bracelet that looks to shoot way above its weight class, lends to what looks to be a very wearable watch. The bracelet is thin, with Y-shaped links that are brushed and a highly polished relief on the center link. Looks amazing. On top is a sapphire crystal and the watch has 100 meters of water resistance.

What looks even better are the dials of the Sylph. All of them have a sunburst brushing and stainless steel indices. Everything that’s printed on the dial is rendered in silver and the hands are diamond cut. There are three colors to choose from - Graphite, Burgundy, and Black Mother-of-Pearl. The Burgundy features a honey-colored dial accent and second hand, while the Graphite has orange accents. But most incredible is the Mother-of-Pearl which is just stunning and has teal accents.

Inside the watch is a Miyota 9039 movement. It’s an easily servicable and robust movement that beats at 28,800 vph and has a 42-hour power reserve.

The Orion Sylph is a limited affair with Burgundy, 50 Graphite, and 80 Black Mother-of-Pearl made. At the time of writing, there are only 7 MOP versions available for sale. The Burgundy and Graphite are priced at $725, while the MOP is priced at $835. See more on the Orion website.

5/

The Jacob & Co. Mystery Tourbillon Twin Dragons Is The Cherry On Top Of The Tack Lunar New Year Watches

We’ve had a bit of fun here with all the dragon-themed watches that were paying homage to the Year of the Dragon which starts tomorrow with the celebration of the Lunar New Year. So many brands made these dragon watches, ranging from understated and affordable pieces to gaudy messes, that I threw in a counter at the top of these newsletters to keep track. And just as I was getting ready to remove it at 19 dragon-themed watches, the king of over the top watches, Jacob & Co., has thrown in their entry for the choice of the worst of the Lunar New Year watches. Based on the Mystery Tourbillon, the Mystery Tourbillon Twin Dragons features two hand-made dragons slithering around a twin, triple-axis, back-to-back flying tourbillon.

It’s all so much with this watch. It comes in a 50mm wide 18k rose gold case that’s 25mm thick. To make sure that nobody misses this solid hunk of gold and sapphire, Jacob & Co. included 192 baguette-cut and hexagonal-cut diamonds into the flanks of the case and lugs. For a little bit of bling, right?

Instead of a dial, you get to see the two dragons handcarved rose gold and lacquered by hand dragon sculptures that are flying around stylised clouds. They are trying to catch two huge spherical diamonds with 288 facets. The dragons also display the time, as the two diamonds rotate with dragons in tow, as markers for the minutes and hours - the outer, larger, dragon stands for the minutes, the inner the hours. Yeah, it’s pretty much impossible to tell the time.

At the center of the watch are two triple-axis flying tourbillons, placed back-to-back. Jacob & Co. loves to say how they are the only watchmaker in the world that places to tourbillons back-to-back. Cool. I’m just not sure why. The movement inside is a hand wound movement called the JCAM32. It beats at 21,600vph and, surprisingly considering the amount of mass it has to move, it has 60 hours of power reserve. The watch comes on a red alligator strap and an 18k rose gold folding buckle.

The Mystery Tourbillon Twin Dragons is a one off watch and no price is given. See more on the Jacob & Co. website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

1/

A review of the Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon in platinum

2/

Hands on with the Bulgari Bulgari in solid gold

3/

A review of the Wempe Zeitmeister Classic Large Date

⚙️Real Time Reviews

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

My Omega Speedmaster, the forever watch

Like I said, you know the watch. It's not the best watch ever made. It can be a bit fragile, and the lack of water resistance prevents it from being a true GADA watch. But it doesn't have to be the best watch for everything. As long as it's the best watch for me. The 42mm wide case fits perfectly on my wrist, the build quality is fantastic, the black dial and black bezel insert just look mean as hell and the bracelet is supremely comfortable. The hesalite crystal is just perfect. I adore that it's manually wound, as it's a perfect daily ritual to wind it up every morning.

Our love for watches is often completely irrational. As in, there are much better and much more versatile watches than the Omega Speedmaster. But this Omega is the last one I would ever get rid of. It lived with me in New York, in Amsterdam, it went through numerous jobs, it was there when I started my first and second businesses, I wore it when I got married and when my daughter was born. And, of course, it was an incredible present from my father. No wonder it's my favorite watch in the world.

Read the whole review, this one written by me, on Dialicious.

⏲️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

• A security camera caught 19-year-old Zac Brettler jumping to his death from a fifth-floor apartment in London. But did he commit suicide? Brettler’s parents’ attempts to answer that question led to shocking revelations, including that their son was posing as the heir of a Russian oligarch, and that he had fallen in with a known gangster, Dave Sharma.

• Do you remember the big Sriracha shortage that happened a couple of years ago? Indirani Sen dishes up the gossip on what went down between the two companies responsible for sriracha: their fiery dispute led to a shortage of this iconic sauce and cost millions. An interesting look at how a crucial business friendship turned sour.

• Mennonites are pious Christians who eschew much of the modern world. But in Mexico even they have not escaped the pull of the drug cartels. This is a story of a Mennonite farmer who became a drug suspect.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

I used to have an old Mini. Not nearly as nice as this one. I think I will need another one in the future. Just look at this masterpiece.

💵Pre-loved precision

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• 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

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-Vuk