Atelier Wen's Third Gen Perception; Bell & Ross Teams Up With Patrouille de France; Cyan Isotope Moonshot Horizon; Panerai's Tribute To Eilean; Parmigiani Does The Tonda PF Chrono in 18k Rose Gold

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I haven’t heard from Isotope in a while, but I love it when I see their watches. So unique, so fun.

In this issue

• Atelier Wen Releases The Third Generation Perception With A Huge Change To The Movement

• Bell & Ross Teams Up With The Patrouille de France Acrobatic Squadron On The New BR-X3

• Isotope Chronograph Compax Moonshot Horizon Gets A Cyan And Orange Combination

• Panerai Pays Tribute To Sailing Yacht Eilean With A 47mm Bronze Radiomir PAM00760

• Parmigiani Fleurier Launches The Tonda PF Chronograph in 18k Rose Gold and Mineral Blue

👂What’s new

1/

Atelier Wen Releases The Third Generation Perception With A Huge Change To The Movement

The Perception has always been a showcase for what Atelier Wen does best: Chinese traditional craft applied to a convincingly modern sports watch. The integrated design launched in 2022, the V2 sorted out the proportions, and now the V3 takes care of what was, according to some, the watch's weakest point. The Perception, and Atelier Wen as a whole, is all about identity. It was stared by two French men to showcase the best of Chinese manufacturing and artisanship. And yet, the movement they used in the first two generations was a stumbling stone for some. It was the Dandong Peacock, a decent movement in itself, but many expected something more special in a watch at that price. That’s fixed in this third version of the Perception, but with it comes a higher price tag.

The 904L stainless steel case hasn't changed, which is the right call given how good the V2 proportions are. It's 40mm wide, just over 10mm thick, and has a 47mm lug-to-lug. It wears incredibly nice on wrist The design language is also unchanged: curved flanks that reference pagoda rooflines, a polished concave bezel, large bevels down the sides. Water resistance stays at 100 meters. Three versions are available on the new version — the Ice-Blue Piao and Salmon Xia return from the previous generation with brushed and polished surfaces, while the new Bamboo Green Yun replaces those finishes with a micro-frosted effect that looks more matte. This is my absolute favorite, by far. The bracelet tapers from 22mm at the lugs to 18mm at the clasp, with a clever proprietary clasp system that includes a patent-pending micro-adjustment button and a telescopic deployant blade.

The rose-engine guilloché fish-scale dial is one of the better decorative dials in this price category — it's produced in China by hand, using genuine rose engines. Applied faceted hour markers sit in cutouts on the dial, and the chapter ring carries Super-LumiNova with a huiwen geometric pattern printed into it.

The calibre EPM03 is the biggest thing with the V3. Pequignet, based in Morteau near the Swiss border, is one of the last independent movement manufacturers in France, which makes sense for Atelier Wen to use — a further marrying of French and Chinese watchmaking. It beats at 4Hz and has a 65 hours of power reserve. Accuracy is certified to Besançon Observatory chronometer standards, targeting within ±2 seconds per day on average. It also gives the Perception its first hacking seconds, which was sorely missing from the Chinese movement. But even better than the stats of the movement is the incredible decoration. It has fan-shaped bridges filled with mirror-polished blue aventurine lacquer, which looks incredible, black-polished screws, laser-etched inscriptions, perlage, snailing on both the barrel and rotor. There's a full sapphire caseback now so you can actually see it, which the previous Perception didn't have.

The price jump from $3,320 to $4,850 will give some people pause, and it should. That's a significant increase. The thing is, I think it’s worth it. I had one on wrist in Geneva and I’ll write a full review this week. See more on the Atelier Wen website.

2/

Bell & Ross Teams Up With The Patrouille de France Acrobatic Squadron On The New BR-X3

The Patrouille de France collaboration has been a reliable Bell & Ross thread: the French aerobatic team's blue livery has prevously appeared on the BR-03 and BR-05 Chrono, and now it appears on the BR-X3, the brand's more recent and technical watch. Exactly something that pairs well with an acrobatic team.

The 41mm case keeps the familiar circle-within-a-square layout but pushes it further with a blue anodised aluminium bezel ring and matching side pillars, set against satin-finished and polished steel. Out back you’ll find a sapphire caseback featuring the Patrouille de France logo. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial has a three-part construction: a matte black base, blue and white skeletonised appliques, and a black upper insert. The multiple shades of blue track across the watch to match the team's Alpha Jets, helmets, and flight suits. A French tricolour power reserve display at 9 o'clock, the squadron insignia at 6, and a central seconds counterweight shaped like an Alpha Jet are all details that tie it specifically to the Patrouille de France. Super-LumiNova covers the hands, numerals, and indices.

Inside is the BR-CAL.323, developed by Kenissi for Bell & Ross. COSC-certified, with a 70-hour power reserve, it’s supposed to be a really nice movement. The watch ships with two straps: an openworked black rubber strap and a sky-blue synthetic fabric strap matching the team's flight suits.

The Bell & Ross BR-X3 Patrouille de France is limited to 250 pieces, priced at €7,900. See more on the Bell & Ross website.

3/

Isotope Chronograph Compax Moonshot Horizon Gets A Cyan And Orange Combination

The Moonshot platform has been one of the more interesting chronograph propositions to come out of the independent/microbrand space in recent years, and Isotope is now adding a limited new variant: the Chronograph Compax Moonshot Horizon. The core concept of the Moonshot — silver aluminium discs that partially obscure the chronograph sub-dials, revealing only what you need to read them — remains intact, and I still love them.

The case is 41mm wide and 15mm thick, machined from sandblasted Grade 5 titanium with an anti-fingerprint coating. The lug-to-lug measures 49.5mm. A double-domed sapphire crystal sits on top, and water resistance is 100 meters. Sitting below the crystal, but much above the dial, is a chapter ring with a telemeter and pulsometer case. The case comes paired with a new titanium bracelet fitted with a quick-release button system for strap changes; the bracelet tapers from 20mm to 18mm.

The dial is the major update we’re getting. A painted cyan-blue sunburst runs from bright cyan to deeper tones towards the edges, with orange rings framing the chronograph registers. The chapter ring has a turbine-style design with Super-LumiNova Grade X1. Isotope cites Moebius as visual reference for the aesthetic language, and once you know that, you can't unsee it: it's graphic, angular, and very deliberately not vintage. The Lacrima hands are also X1-treated.

Inside is either the ETA Valjoux 7753 or Swiss Landeron 73, both automatics beating at 28,800 vph with a 44-hour power reserve. This is a compax layout: small seconds at nine, 30-minute counter at three, 12-hour counter at six. The watch also comes with an orange FKM deployant strap as standard alongside the titanium bracelet.

The Isotope Chronograph Compax Moonshot Horizon is priced at £3,340 including taxes, limited to 30 pieces, and available as a pre-order now with delivery expected by end of June. See more on the Isotope website.

4/

Panerai Pays Tribute To Sailing Yacht Eilean With A 47mm Bronze Radiomir PAM00760

There's an old Panerai argument that goes: the Radiomir is the more serious watch, the Luminor is the showier one. The PAM00760 confirms that argument as it’s quite a serious watch. Built to mark both the 90th anniversary of the sailing yacht Eilean and its return to classic regatta racing, this watch connects two things Panerai has been associated with since the 1930s — the sea, and bronze. Marine equipment has used bronze for centuries because of how it behaves in saltwater, so it makes sense to use it here. The patina it will develop is a bonus.

The cushion case measures 47mm wide, which puts it firmly in the "commitment" category. This is a watch you decide to wear, and wear it proud. Because there’s not a cuff in the world that will hide it. It has a bronze middle case, polished wire lugs and the large onion crown that defines the Radiomir silhouette. Out back is a sapphire display caseback with a titanium surround. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The fumé green dial darkens toward the edges in a way that makes it look super mysterious, and the textured surface gives it a vintage look. Like so many Panerai, it uses a sandwich style dial, with cutouts for the hour markers and a lumed layer underneath. The hour and minute hands are done in blue and they are the only hands you have indicating time.

Inside is the calibre P.3000, Panerai's hand-wound in-house movement, with twin barrels giving it 72 hours of power reserve and running at 21,600vph. It's a big, purposeful movement, and I wouldn’t call it exactly beautiful. The watch comes on a brown calf leather strap with beige stitching and a matching bronze pin buckle.

The Panerai Radiomir Bronzo PAM00760 is priced at €19,500 and is available now. See more on the Panerai website.

5/

Parmigiani Fleurier Launches The Tonda PF Chronograph in 18k Rose Gold and Mineral Blue

The Tonda PF collection launched in 2021 with two chronographs that made a strong argument for Parmigiani Fleurier as a serious player in the integrated sports watch segment. The case design was clean, the movement was serious, and the collection has been building momentum ever since, most recently with the Chronograph Mystérieux unveiled at Watches & Wonders 2026. Perhaps the best watch of the show. Now the 40mm no-date version of their regular chronograph, which debuted in steel last year, gets a 18k rose gold case with a Mineral Blue dial.

The case is 40mm wide and 12.72mm thick, made out of rose gold, with the knurled bezel and teardrop-shaped pushers and lugs that define the Tonda PF family. A screw-down crown provides 100 meters of water resistance. Finishing is just fantastic Parmigiani: satin-brushed on the case flanks and bracelet inner links, polished on the crown, pushers, and bracelet outer links. The result is a watch that doesn't shout but has a lot going on up close.

The Mineral Blue dial is now already a cult dial for the brand, and I love it. While I prefer the color in a matte finish, this one has a hand-guilloché barleycorn pattern that must look fantastic in real life. Like I said, there’s no date aperture, and the chronograph counters sit at 9 and 3 o'clock, with a small seconds at 6, all with smooth sandblasted rings and white inscriptions against the grain d'orge background. Like other Parmigiani watches, there’s not a lot of lume here. The delta-shaped openworked hands and applied indices are rose gold, while the chronograph hands are rose gold-plated steel.

Inside is the PF070 calibre, shared with the 42mm version. It beats at 5Hz, measures 6.95mm thick, is COSC chronometer-certified, and offers 65 hours of power reserve via a column wheel and vertical clutch. The caseback opens to a 22k rose gold rotor with hand-bevelled edges. The watch comes on an integrated rose gold bracelet.

The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Chronograph in rose gold is priced at CHF 70,000, which is more than double the steel version. But have you seen the price of gold lately? See more on the Parmigiani website.

⏲️End links

A bunch of links that might or might not have something to do with watches. One thing’s for sure - they’re interesting

• A white cat, a fortune, a vanished will, and a legend’s afterlife in speculation: Karl Lagerfeld’s Choupette sits at the center of a story that is part fashion fable, part legal mystery, and part media mirage. As rumors swirl over who inherits what, the real question is whether anyone can ever fully own the myth.

• A company that once taught the internet how to go viral is now trying to outgrow the very platforms that made it famous. With BuzzFeed teetering on the edge, the outgoing CEO Jonah Peretti is betting that AI, direct audiences, and a new media bargain can still rewrite the rules — but can a brand built for the feed survive after the feed stops paying?

• A birding cruise became a floating quarantine when a death at sea turned into a hantavirus outbreak, forcing passengers from remote islands into isolation and confusion. As the Hondius sailed from wildlife wonder to medical crisis, the question sharpened: how did a trip built around remote beauty become a lesson in how quickly dread travels?

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