A New Timex Atelier, The GMT24 M1a; Oris And Red Bar Team Up; Fears And Studio Underd0g Pour A Mimosa; Formex's Steel Essence In 41mm; Blancpain Updates Villeret; A Wonderful Piaget Warhol Collage

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I’m really going to have to buy one of those cocktails from Fears and Studi0 Underd0g pretty soon.

In this issue

• Timex Just Keeps The Atelier Watches Coming, Now We’re Getting The GMT24 M1a Automatic

• Oris Teams Up With Red Bar Collectors Group For The Second Time With The Divers Limited Edition

• The New Cocktail From The Fears And Studio Underd0g Bar Is A Mimosa

• Formex Adds The Steel Essence Automatic COSC In 41mm To Its Regular Collection

• Blancpain Updates Villeret Collection With The New Golden Hour Series

• The Latest Piaget Andy Warhol Watch Gets A Wonderful Stone Collage Dial

👂What’s new

1/

Timex Just Keeps The Atelier Watches Coming, Now We’re Getting The GMT24 M1a Automatic

For decades, Timex has dominated the affordable watch game. They make incredibly good looking watches — particularly so in the past few years — at unbeatable prices. True, keeping prices low often means that they had to cut corners somewhere, so some watches might not be equipped with the best of movements and there were particular complaints about the bracelets. However, while the arrival of Giorgio Galli as creative director brought with it recreations of some of their best watches from history, Galli also pushed for an idea of a premium Timex. He did so with the experimental GGS1 and GGS2 watches. Those experiments culminated with the release of the Atelier collection just a few weeks ago. The collection launched with the Timex Atelier Marine M1a, a serious dive watch that touched the €1,000 price tag, a first for Timex. Now, not even a month later, we’re getting a new addition to the Atelier collection and it’s even more impressive. And even more expensive.

The case continues where the Marine M1a left off, with a satin brushed finish, mixed with a very interesting skeletonized side construction that has an iron-plated midcase. The case measures 40mm wide and 12.7mm thick. On the side are hollow crown guards that match the groove cut into the side and on top is a sapphire crystal with triple-layer anti-reflective coating. Unlike the marine model, there is no bezel on top. Instead the crystal extends to the edge of the case, and you get an internal fixed bezel. Water resistance is 100 meters.

Like the case, the GMT24 M1a’s dial follows the Marine M1a’s layout. You get a black enamel surface with silver-applied indexes and hands filled with green luminescent material, surrounded by a brushed silver bezel. That, in turn, is surrounded by a sloping 24-hour ring. Pointing to that ring is a bright orange GMT hand to track the second time zone. Would a rotating internal bezel have been welcome? Oh, for sure.

Inside the watch is the Swiss automatic Landeron 24 calibre, originally designed as an alternative to the workhorse ETA 2824. It has a 40 hours of power reserve and a 4Hz beat rate. It’s not a particularly well known movement, but I’ve seen it in similarly priced watches from micro-brands. What isn’t that good is that the movement supposedly has a ghost date position. If true, that’s really not acceptable these days at these prices. The watch can be had on a steel bracelet with self ajustable folding clasp or on a black NBR synthetic rubber strap with a deployant clasp.

The new Timex Atelier GMT24 M1a is available now, priced at €1,150 on strap and €1,250 on the bracelet. See more on the Timex website.

2/

Oris Teams Up With Red Bar Collectors Group For The Second Time With The Divers Limited Edition

I think it was six years ago that Oris first worked with the global collector group Red Bar to create a very nice looking collaboration, a diver with a red dial and gold details. Now, we’re getting the sequel to that collaboration, very similar in look and color combinations. The new Oris x RedBar Divers Limited Edition is about as classy as can get.

Housed in the classic stainless steel case of the updated Divers model, the watch measures 39mm wide and 12.1mm thick. On top is a delightfully retro double-domed sapphire crystal that protrudes significantly from the steel bi-directional rotating bezel with a black ceramic insert that has a 60 minute dive scale with graduations for the first 15 minutes. You get 200 meters of water resistance, which is appropriate for a diver.

The dial is as traditional as can get. The base has a red fume gradient, with a deep red, almost burgundy, center that fades all the way to black. On the edges are rectangular and circular hour markers, framed in steel, with lumed inserts, just like the hands — steel and lumed. There’s zero indication that this is a Red Bar special edition on the dial, instead you get an engraving of the Red Bar logo on the caseback, with a 000/250 numbering.

Inside, you won’t find Oris’ in-house movement. Instead, it’s the Oris 733, based on the Sellita SW200-1 automatic. It beats at 4Hz and has a 38 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a three-link rivet-style steel bracelet, and you get an additional black tropic-style rubber strap.

The new Oris x RedBar Divers Limited Edition II is available now, limited to 250 pieces, priced at $2,950. See more on the Oris website.

3/

The New Cocktail From The Fears And Studio Underd0g Bar Is A Mimosa

One of the best watches of last year, maybe even the last few years, was a collaboration between two very British, but also very different watchmakers — Fears and Studio Underd0g. Fears is known for their very classic and serious watches, while Studio Underd0g is all whimsy, all the time. So, when they came together last year to create the Gimlet, it was absolute perfection. It came with a light green dial that mimics the color of the famous cocktail packed into a very classic Brunswick case. It was also a super affordable entry into the Fears brand, with what is likely their best looking creation. Severely limited, it sold out in minutes. Well, fear not, because that wasn’t the only drink from the duo. It was just a few weeks ago that they unveiled the Manhattan, which was released at WindUp Watch Fair NYC. Now, we’re getting a new cocktail — a Mimosa.

The watch is based on Fears’ smaller cushion shaped Brunswick. The watch has a very nice size and measures 38mm wide, 12mm thick and with a 43.5mm lug-to-lug. The L2L is great thanks to the short lugs, and on the side is an onion crown. Water resistance is 100 meters.

Just like the Gimlet and the Manhattan, the collaboration is on full display on the dial. It ditches the lumed trick of the original, but keeps the incredibly cool multi-layer construction. The base gets a color that mimics the drink it’s made out of, with the lower portion of the dial getting an orange-yellow color, fading into a lighter yellow towards the top. Again, it’s a fully lumed base that grows bright green at night. On top of that is a 1mm-thick amber sapphire disc held down by two slotted-head pins that also holds the black printed hour markers that cast a shadow on the base. But best of all, the sapphire disc is ran through a 5-axis CNC machine, which gives the disc undulations and irregular shapes, imitating liquid reflections.

Inside, you’ll find the manually wound Sellita SW210 which beats at 4Hz and has a 42 hour power reserve. The movement has been regulated to ±7 seconds per day. The watch comes on a grey alcantara strap closed with a pin buckle that has both Studio Underd0g and Fears branding.

The new Fears x Studio Underd0g The Mimosa is a limited release, but not limited in number. Instead, it will be a timed release between 3 pm and 12 am BST on October 23rd, 2025. Price remains a pretty fantastic €1,000. See more on the Studio Underd0g website.

4/

Formex Adds The Steel Essence Automatic COSC In 41mm To Its Regular Collection

Just a couple of months ago, Formex introduced a brand new case to its Essence collection, one that measures 41mm wide, slotting in between the existing 39mm and 43mm. That one was a limited edition done in steel, but right after it, we got the same sized case, but done in black ceramic with a quartet of groovy dials. Now, Formex is smashing those together, putting the colorful dials into a steel case, releasing them as part of the permanent collection. This is the new Formex Essence 41mm COSC.

The case the new models use the new 41mm wide case that wears much better than their dimensions would suggest. That’s thanks to the compact 46.2mm lug-to-lug and 11.2mm thickness. You will instantly recognize the functional bezel screws that connect the inner titanium grade 2 shell to the outside brushed stainless steel with polished chamfered edges, held together with the patented Case Suspension System. I thought this was a gimmick, but the second you put on the watch, it will instantly make it obvious that this is among the most comfortable watches you’ve ever worn, thanks to that suspension system. There are sapphire crystals on top and bottom, with a screw down crown on the side — a feat in itself because it has to work with the suspension. Water resistance is 100 meters.

There are four dial options, the same ones we saw in the ceramic cases — Gamaret, Degradé, Blue and White — all featuring CNC-machined horizontal grooves and applied faceted indices. The hands are brushed on top and mirror polished on the bevels, and filled with BGW9 Super-LumiNova, just like the indices. At 6 o’clock is a date aperture.

Inside, you’ll find the tried and true Sellita SW200-1, which beats at 4Hz, with a 41 hour power reserve. But it’s not just a plain SW200, as it comes with COSC certification and gets blued screws and a skeletonized rotor. The watches come on matching steel bracelets which have a really, really cool micro-adjustment system that allows for adjustments without removing the watch, or you can opt for leather, rubber, or nylon straps, each with their carbon fibre deployant clasp.

The new Formex Essence 41mm COSC watches are available for pre order right now and deliveries are expected mid November of this year. Price is set at €1,590 on strap, and €1,690 on bracelet. See more on the Formex website.

5/

Blancpain Updates Villeret Collection With The New Golden Hour Series

I’m currently on a deep dive into Blancpain’s sports watches and there’s so much interesting stuff there. But where I’m completely under-informed is on the dress side of Blancpain. I’m still not convinced that these are watches for me, but there’s no denying that the collections like the Villeret are at the top of the game when it comes to dress watches. These are the updated Villeret Collection watches that belong to the Golden Hour series, with three models, 16 references and two sizes getting the new dials and a few touches to the movement.

Starting with the simplest of the three, we have the Villeret Ultraplate, which can be had in either a steel of 18k gold case that measures 40mm wide and 8.7mm thick. It has the recognizable double stepped bezel, as well as sapphire crystals on top and bottom. Despite this being a serious dress watch, you still get 30 meters of water resistance, keep it safe. Moving on to the new dial, it gets either a finely grained opaline or a brown sunburst finish. You get new applied gold Roman numerals, as well as thin hands with lume inside. There’s a date aperture at 3 o’clock, but other than that, it’s a simple watch. Inside, you’ll find the Calibre 1151, an in-house automatic that beats at 21,600vph and has double barrels for 100 yours of power reserve. You can have it on a beige, honey, or brown barolo leather strap. This watch is part of the regular collection and it’s priced at CHF 9,900 in steel and CHF 20,500 in red gold. See more on the website.

Next, in the same steel or 18k red gold wide case we have the Villeret Quantieme Complet Phases de Lune which, you guessed it, has more complications. That means that it also ups the thickness to 10.6mm. The sapphire crystals, stepped bezel and 30 meters of water resistance remain unchanged. The dial also gets the same treatment as the three-hander, which means a opaline or golden-brown colored dials paired with 18k Roman numerals and lume-tipped hands. To that, add the weekday/month windows beneath 12, a groovy pointer hand for the date and the moonphase function at 6 with a ceramic disc and domed, satin-finished gold moon. Inside, you’ll find the Calibre 6654. which beats at 4Hz and has a 72 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a blue-grey, honey or brown leather strap. Price is set at CHF 15,400 in steel and CHF 27,200 in gold. See it here.

Last, we have the smaller watch, the Villeret Calendar Moonphase. Also available in steel and 18k red gold, the case measures 33.2mm wide and 10.4mm thick, which might throw off the proportions a bit, but I’ll have to see it live. Again, sapphire crystals on top and bottom, and 30 meters of water resistance remain consistent across the collection. The novelty is an option of a diamond bezel. The dials are also available in opaline or golden-brownwith the same 18k Roman numerals, lume-inlaid hands, a larger date at 3 and the moonphase at 6. Inside is the manufacture Calibre 913QL.P which beats at 21,600vph and has a 40 hour power reserve. The watches come on grey, honey and brown leather straps with folding clasps. Price is set at CHF 11,600 in steel, CHF 16,400 in steel with a diamond bezel, CHF 19,400 in red gold and CHF 24,400 in red gold, with a diamond bezel. See more on the Blancpain website.

6/

The Latest Piaget Andy Warhol Watch Gets A Wonderful Stone Collage Dial

Despite becoming world famous in the 1960s, Andy Warhol actually came into his own in the age of excess in the 1970s and early 80s. That’s where his obsession with popular culture and fame became an artwork in itself and Warhol the artist became as interesting as his artwork. This brought with it a certain uniform that would express to the world Warhol’s character. Among the many things that we know him for — the platinum white hair, the black turtlenecks… — were his watches, models from Cartier, Patek Philippe, Rolex and Piaget. Especially Piaget. He owned seven of them, including weird stuff like a watch hidden inside a gold nugget. But he was most enamored with the Piaget Black Tie, a super thin yellow gold watch that measured an unusually large 45mm wide that soon became synonymous with Warhol. Last year, Piaget announced that they were acquiring permission from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to rename the Black Tie to the Andy Warhol Watch. And since then, they’ve come out with about half a dozen interesting variants of the watch. They were all cool, but none come to what just came out. This is the new Piaget Andy Warhol Watch Collage with an incredible pop-art inspired collage dial made out of four different stones.

Piaget keeps the case of the Andy Warhol watches true to the oversized original. That means that it measures 45mm wide and just 8.08mm thick, but don’t panic. It’s only 43mm long, meaning that it will fit on much slimmer wrists than would imagine. The case is made out of 18k yellow gold and features a really beautiful brushed finish. There’s not an official bezel on top, but the case does mimic one, with a stepped construction. Out back is a brushed caseback with a representation of a Warhol collage. Surprisingly, you also get 30 meters of water resistance.

Then, we have the new and really fantastic new dial. It has a black onyx dial, over which a collage has been made with three other dials using the marquetry technique. The stones are yellow Namibian serpentine, pink opal and green chrysoprase. I very much like this approach because a lesser brand might have just stuck a Campbell’s soup print onto the dial. This collage hints at Warhol, without being too overt. Well done.

The original was powered by the very interesting Beta 21 quartz movement, while the modern version gets Piaget’s ultra thin automatic calibre 501P1. It’s an automatic that’s just 3.63mm thick, beats at 4Hz and has a 40 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a green alligator leather strap with a yellow gold pin buckle.

The new Piaget Andy Warhol Watch Collage is limited to 50 pieces and priced at CHF 67,000. See more on the Piaget website.

⏲️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

• When a fake hostage video turns into a tourism ad, irony and horror collide. A new wave of travel influencers in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan reframe extremism as adventure, courting clicks and controversy. Through mock executions and viral vlogs, they blur satire and propaganda, turning conflict zones into content and truth into performance.

• The promise and peril of A.I. collide as experts diverge on the existential risks it poses. From pioneering fears of engineered pathogens to real-world tests revealing deception and runaway intelligence, A.I.’s rapid advance challenges our control. Researchers warn that without stricter safeguards and global cooperation, humanity could face threats rivaling nuclear destruction.

• Born into a violent Mormon fundamentalist cult in Mexico, Pamela Jones was taught that the world would end on New Year’s Eve 1999. It didn’t—and that failure sparked her escape. Twenty-five years later, she recounts her extraordinary flight to freedom, and the lasting scars of faith, misogyny, and survival in The Dirt Beneath Our Door.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

I’ve seen this guy around Instagram for a while, and I love the books he has. Dude is living the dream. I particularly want that original Star Wars shooting script.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk