Grand Seiko Brings Back The 62GS ‘Rikka’ And ‘Shubun’; Hamilton Gives The Performer A Stealthy Sporty Look; Jack Mason Celebrates 10 Years; Isotope's Hand-Made BWD Watches; And A New Daniel Roth

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. As much as I’m not interested in Grand Seiko watches, I can’t deny they make some very pretty dials.

In this issue:

• Grand Seiko Brings Back The 62GS ‘Rikka’ And ‘Shubun’ Seasonal Designs

• Hamilton Gives The Performer Auto Chrono A Very Sporty Look And A Stealthy Colorway

• Jack Mason Celebrates 10 Years By Bringing Back The Pursuit Pilot Collection And A Special Anniversary Edition

• Isotope Has Two Hand-Made British Watchmakers’s Day Watches With Metiers d’Art Dials

• Daniel Roth Releases Their Second Watch, The Very Simple Extra Plat Souscription

👂What’s new

1/

Grand Seiko Brings Back The 62GS ‘Rikka’ And ‘Shubun’ Seasonal Designs

Chances that a new Grand Seiko model is inspired by a natural phenomena occurring near one of the GS workshops are so near 100% that they just might as well be 100%. It’s kind of hard keeping track of all of these watches, but there was one collection of GS watches called the Sekki collection that left quite a mark. Inspired by the four seasons, the legendary pink SBGA413 Shunbun, as well as the white SBGA415 Taisetsu, were part of that collection. Slightly underrated were the SBGH271 Rikka (summer) and SBGH273 Shūbun (autumn). And now, Grand Seiko is giving the forgotten two a reworking with the new Rikka SBGH351 and Shubun SBGH353.

The updates here are subtle. The case measures 40mm wide, 12.9mm thick and with a 47mm lug-to-lug. If these sound familiar, they should, as this is a Heritage 62GS. They are made out of Ever-Brilliant steel, unlike the Shunbun and Taisetsu which come in titanium. The case has an overall brushed finish with extremely shiny details done in Zarastsu polishing. On top is a box-shaped sapphire crystal with no bezel around it. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The majority of the updates happen on the dial side. The Rikka has the same color and pattern as the previous green edition, only now the hands and applied markers, as well as all the other hardware, are done in silver instead of gold-colored. The Shūbun gets a slightly different shade of blue for the dial, while retaining the same silver hands and markers, as well as gold GS logo and central seconds hand.

Inside, there are no changes, as the watches are still powered by the same hi-beat calibre 9S85 as the previous versions. It beats at 5Hz, has a 55 hour power reserve and GS claims accuracy of +5/-3 seconds/day. Both watches come on matching steel bracelets with a folding clasp.

The new Grand Seiko Heritage 62GS Hi-Beat SBGH351 Rikka and SBGH353 Shūbun go on sale in February and are part of the regular collection. Price is set at €8,000. See more on the Grand Seiko website.

2/

Hamilton Gives The Performer Auto Chrono A Very Sporty Look And A Stealthy Colorway

The Khaki collections are the backbone of Hamilton, making up the everyday, relatively affordable, watches the brand has become so famous for. But the Hamilton catalogue is huge, and the collection they seem to be focusing on more lately is the Jazzmaster. This slightly more upscale variant of a Hamilton recently saw its Jazzmaster Open Heart model get a nice aventurine-like blue dial and a deep green emerald dial. But while the Jazzmasters seemed like they would be a more dressy side of Hamilton, they quickly started making sporty watches as well, including seven 42mm Auto Chrono models. And the latest Hamilton Jazzmaster Performer Auto Chrono might be the sportiest of the bunch, with a black case, chronograph function and partially skeletonized dial.

This is a big boy. A really big boy. The stainless steel case, which is coated in black PVD, measures 42mm wide and 15.22mm thick. On top is a sapphire crystal surrounded with a black bezel that has a tachymeter scale. The pushers on the side are rectangular, but shaped to match the roundness of the case. The crown screws down, so you get 100 meters of water resistance.

The dial is quite busy. It has a black base with silver details on the minute track on the periphery and the running seconds sub-dial at 9 o’clock. At 3 is a black sub-dial which is recessed and at 6 is a snailed blue 12-hour totalizer. This use of multiple colors is very much reminiscent of the Zenith El Primero, but you be the judge who did it better. The indices are applied, faceted, and lumed, just like the sharp hands. The central chronograph hand and sub-dial hands are also done in silver. In a slightly unusual twist, the dial has a circle cut out in it to display all of the dates on the date discs at the same time. So how do you tell what date it is? If you look really closely at the 4:30 position, you’ll see that one date has its own dedicated box. Interesting, to say the least.

Inside, you’ll find the calibre H-31 which isn’t based on the Powermatic 80. Mostly because this is a chronograph. Instead, it uses the ETA/Valjoux 7753 architecture with a reworked kinematic chain and a Nivachron balance spring. It beats at 4Hz and you get a decent 60 hours of power reserve. The watch comes on a perforated black leather strap with blue stitching that closes with a folding clasp.

The new Hamilton Jazzmaster Performer Auto Chrono 42mm is on sale now at €2,595. See more on the Hamilton website.

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Jack Mason Celebrates 10 Years By Bringing Back The Pursuit Pilot Collection And A Special Anniversary Edition

It’s really nice when we get to see a watch brand grow up in front of our eyes. Not only do we see how fast a brand can change, it also allows us to keep track of the trends in the industry. One such brand is Jack mason, which started off in 2015 with a wholesale distribution model based mostly on quartz watches. Since then, they have embraced sales directly to consumers, jumped on the mechanical movement train and introduced a bunch of models and complications, even releasing a Swiss Made watch, despite being Texas-based. To celebrate those exciting 10 years, Jack Mason is bringing back one of their first watch collection, the Pursuit Pilot, with three regular editions and a special Pursuit Pilot 10 Year Anniversary Edition.

Both the regular editions and the Anniversary Edition share the same case, and that’s the one introduced a few years ago in their Canton watch. The case is made out of stainless steel on the regular Pursuit Pilot and grade 2 titanium on the limited edition, and measures 39mm wide, 11.8mm thick and with a 46mm lug-to-lug. On top is a brushed bezel with a polished bevel surrounding a sapphire crystal. The crown screws down to give you 100 meters of water resistance.

The regular Pursuit Pilot versions come in three colors — white, black and green, all of them with a couple of contrasting colored details. But the watch you will want is the Anniversary Edition, which keeps all the eligibility of the edition, with a couple of very cool details. First, it has a matte finish which gives the black color a slightly grey hue. The hour markers and jumbo 12 o’clock triangle, along with each numeral, are made from Lumicast, solid blocks of Super-LumiNova X2, the brightest lume on the market. The seconds hand has the signature red, white, and blue Jack Mason counterbalance, and the anniversary edition has a bit of an easter egg. The 10 o’clock numeral on the dial is done as Roman numeral in green lume, while the rest are Arabic and blue glowing.

Inside, you’ll find the La Joux-Perret G101, which is becoming an increasingly more popular alternative to the ETA 2824 clones. It’s an interesting movement that beats at 4Hz and has a much more modern power reserve of 68 hours, while the ETAs and Sellitas hover at about 38 hours. I did hear a loud rotor on a couple of these watches, but nothing major. The movement is also regulated to -/+ 5 seconds per day. All of the watches get a 20mm wide titanium bracelet that tapers towards the folding clasp and its built-in micro-adjustment mechanism.

The new steel Jack Mason Pursuit Pilot watches in the regular edition are available now for $1,399, while the titanium version is limited. However, it’s not limited in. number, but rather production time. The Jack Mason Pursuit Pilot 10 Year Anniversary Edition will be made only in 2025, after which it will be retired. Price on that is $1,649, which seems like a decent deal. See more on the Jack Mason website.

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Isotope Has Two Hand-Made British Watchmakers’s Day Watches With Metiers d’Art Dials

I’ve brought up the British Watchmakers’ Day several times over the past few weeks. That’s because a bunch of UK-based brands are releasing special editions to mark the even put up by the Alliance of British Watch & Clock Makers and paying homage to the long and proud history of both large and small British watchmakers. The latest of such watches is a duo of watches from Isotope which don’t just have a very British colorway, they are also meticulously put together by hand using great Metiers d’Art. These are the Isotope Mercury BWD Cloisonné and Micro Marquetry.

Both watches use the same case, one used by the existing Isotope Mercury. It’s a great looking case that measures 38mm wide and 10 mm thick, with interesting lugs that are flanked with the bulge of the case. The case is made out of stainless steel and it gets a fully polished finish. Water resistance is 100 meters.

But the case is secondary to the case. There are two completely different dial production methods at play here, so we’re starting with the Mercury BWD Micro Marquetry. Marquetery is a Metiers d’Art which uses painted pieces of wood to create unique dial patterns. However, while the majority of these dials use wood, a few producers use straw, and this is exactly what has been used here, in the colors of the Union Jack. The other is a Cloisonné dial, a type of enamel that uses fine gold wire to create shapes in the dial that are then filled with different colors of enamel and baked. This one, just like the Marquetry, was designed by British artist Sophie Scott-Lewis and features a more literal illustration of the Union Jack. Interestingly, neither of the two Metiers d’Art techniques are executed in the EU. The Marquetry is done in Paris in the atelier of Bernardo d’Orey, while the enamel is produced by a master enameler from Beijing.

Inside, you’ll find the hand-wound Peseux 7001 caliber which beats at 21,600 vph and has a decent power reserve of 42 hours. The watches come on white FKM rubber straps.

The two new Isotope Mercury BWD Cloisonné and Micro Marquetry watches are super limited editions. Only five of each will be made and you will only be able to get them at British Watchmakers’ Day. The Micro Marquetry is priced at £4,700 and the Cloisonné is priced at £4,900. Isotope doesn’t have these watches on their website just yet, but you can see them on the BWD website.

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Daniel Roth Releases Their Second Watch, The Very Simple Extra Plat Souscription

With the huge influx of money into the watch industry and more demand for luxury brands, it comes as no surprise that defunct luxury watch brands are being revived. For example, two years ago, LVMH used its La Fabrique Du Temps watch manufacture to restart the Daniel Roth brand. Their first watch was the yellow gold Tourbillon Souscription, a nearly identical reissue of the vintage Daniel Roth Tourbillon. Now, they’re ready to unveil their second model, one that is far simpler. This is the time-only Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription ref. DBBE01A1.

Like the Tourbillon, the Extra Plat is also based on an existing 1990s Roth watch and made out of yellow gold. And while the modern watch continues the extra thin theme of the original, it’s also 1mm thicker. The dimensions are 35.5mm wide, 38.6mm tall and 7.7mm thick. The thickness is even more puzzling when you learn that inside is a manual wind movement instead of an automatic in the original. However, Daniel Roth claims that the case has been left thicker intentionally to keep the symmetry of the lateral gadroon.

The dial is made out of two pieces of solid yellow gold. The base of the dial features an engine turned Clou de Paris pattern, on top of which they apply a chapter ring that features Roman numerals in a deep blue that match the heat-blued hour and minute hands. The dials are made by hand at La Fabrique du Temps, with both parts made by a single artisan.

Inside the watch is the calibre DR002 which is, like I said, hand wound, beating at 4Hz and featuring a 65 hour power reserve. The finishing is meticulous — the mainplate gets circular graining, the bridges get Geneva stripes and rounded and polished edges. But this doesn’t really matter, as the watch has a closed caseback, just like the original it’s based on.

The Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription is accepting orders right now for the 20 pieces that will be made, at a price of CHF 45,000, without taxes. See more on the Daniel Roth 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

• Due to the nature of the jobs I’ve had, I kind of always ended up at the forefront of emerging trends. And I follow them to appease my curiosity. One of the people I’ve been reading for years now is Curtis Yarvin, an ex-computer programmer-turned-blogger, has argued that American democracy is irrevocably broken and ought to be replaced with a monarchy styled after a Silicon Valley tech start-up. And it’s his writing that I noticed was often quoted by the people around Trump before he was re-elected. Now that he’s back in power, we see a lot of Yarvin’s philosophy being implemented in real life. So this interview with him is super relevant right now.

• For more than a century, Nebraska’s county attorneys have also served as coroners, determining whether unattended deaths should be investigated—“without oversight or assistance from a state medical examiner,” Destiny Herbers and Jeremy Turley report. In their investigative feature for the Flatwater Free Press, Herbers and Turley survey county attorneys and reveal the “differing philosophies” that govern their autopsy decisions; one, who “ordered just one autopsy during his 34-year tenure,” told the reporters, “There just weren’t any suspicious circumstances.” Herbers and Turley shape their report around the death of 56-year-old Pedtro “Pete” Chappell, whose death, flanked by questions, remains a black box to his family members.

• The seemingly simple act of waiting in line is guided by unwritten rules and visual signals that shape how we navigate social space. I love these simple essays.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Have you ever wondered how nuclear power works? Neither have I. But I still watched this video and I learned a ton.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk