Grand Seiko Expand 37mm Quartz In Titanium And Steel; Certina's Capable 38mm DS Action Diver; A Shiny Bremont; TAG Continues Experimenting; Louis Vuitton Wins Stone Game; And New ArtyA AquaSaphirs

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. It’s Saturday, an unusual day for a newsletter, but we’re going to do another one tomorrow just to cover everything that’s happening at Dubai Watch Week. I hope you don’t mind.

Does your car insurance cover what really matters?

Not all car insurance is created equal. Minimum liability coverage may keep you legal on the road, but it often won’t be enough to cover the full cost of an accident. Without proper limits, you could be left paying thousands out of pocket. The right policy ensures you and your finances are protected. Check out Money’s car insurance tool to get the coverage you actually need.

COMPARE COVERAGE

In this issue

• Grand Seiko Expand Quartz 37mm Collection With Skyflake and Sunray Editions In Titanium And Steel

• Certina Brings Their Double Security Shock Protection To The Smaller 38mm DS Action Diver

• Bremont Gives Their Great Jumping Hour Terra Nova An Aventurine Dial

• TAG Heuer Continues Experimenting With Materials In The Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1

• Louis Vuitton Does Some Pretty Impressive Things With Stones On Their New Escale Malachite and Turquoise

• ArtyA Brings Back The First AquaSaphir In Ages With Two Dubai Editions

👂What’s new

1/

Grand Seiko Expand Quartz 37mm Collection With Skyflake and Sunray Editions In Titanium And Steel

Sure, there is no denying that Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive movement is a wonderful feat of engineering. And you can’t find much fault with their mechanical movements. But if I were ever to consider buying a Grand Seiko — which isn’t likely to happen — it would most definitely be one of their quartz-movement powered ones. I just love high accuracy quartz movements. Now, Grand Seiko is expanding their 37mm Heritage Collection quartz collection with two new watches, the Skyflake textured SBGX357 and sunray blue SBGX265.

The two watches essentially share a case, but with some very important differences. That means that they both have a 37mm width and a 44.6mm lug-to-lug. There’s a slight difference in thickness — the SBGX265 is 10mm thick, while the SBGX357 is 10.6mm thick. That difference in thickness comes from the difference in materials — the former is made out of stainless steel, while the latter is made out of titanium. On top is a curved sapphire crystal. Water resistance on both is 100 meters.

There are two dials available. The steel SBGX265 comes with a simple sunray brushed blue dial, while the SBGX357 gets the Skyflake dial, which takes their legendary Snowflake texture and renders it in a very light blue. Both versions have dauphine hour and minute hands, date apertures at 3 o’clock, while the Skyflake gets a blue central seconds hand.

Inside is the famed 9F62 quartz movement. The movement has nine jewels, can be regulated and has a rated +/- 10 seconds per year accuracy, which is pretty impressive. As is the three-year battery life. It also has a backlash auto-adjust mechanism which means that the ticking seconds hand won’t drift but will rather land exactly on the center of each marker, one of the major issues that cheaper quartz movements have. The watches come on bracelets made out of matching materials.

The new Grand Seiko sunray blue SBGX265 and Skyflake textured SBGX357 are available from December, priced at $2,700 for the SBGX265 and $4,100 for the SBGX357. See more on the Grand Seiko website here for the SBGX265 and here for the SBGX357.

2/

Certina Brings Their Double Security Shock Protection To The Smaller 38mm DS Action Diver

The Certina DS Action Diver line is perhaps one of the most underrated dive watches you can buy. It’s classically styled, incredibly well built, with some serious tech packed into it and always sold at pretty great prices. Back in May, Certina is released a new DS Action Diver in 40.5mm with some serious updates to the Double Security system (from the DS in the name) which the brand has been using since 1959 as waterproofing tech. This watch got the “New DS Concept Extreme Shock Resistance” which not only took care of waterproofing but bumped up the shock resistance to more than 10,000 Gs. How much more? We won’t exactly know, because Certina says that the testing machine rated for 10,000 Gs broke before the watch did. Now, they’re bringing the same tech to their smaller 38mm DS Action Diver.

The collection really hasn’t changed much since its last iteration, but it has grown a bit due to the new system. The case, which comes in a number of finishes, now measures 38mm wide, but the thickness has grown from 12.2mm thick to 13.22mm thick. That’s quite the change, but the tradeoff is the new DS Concept Extreme Shock Resistance. It might not be something that’s important to you, but it is a cool system. The big change that happened is a new method of screwing the movement into the case by means of a thin, ring-shaped nut to better secure it and protect it from vibrations, along with a new metal plate between the dial and the movement, connecting the two and absorbing shocks between them. The sapphire crystal has also been redesigned to better distribute and diffuse energy thanks to a new, slightly domed shape. Water resistance is 300 meters.

The dials remain largely unchanged, which means you get simple round, rectangular and triangular hour markers full of lume, with an arrow-shaped hour hand. There’s also a date aperture at 3 o’clock. there are five combinations of cases and dials available: steel with black dial, steel with green dial, bi-colour PVD with blue dial, black PVD with black dial, titanium with black dial.

Inside, no surprises, as Certina is part of the Swatch Group. You get the ETA Powermatic 80.611 automatic, which is the ubiquitous automatic used by the entire group, best known for its 80 hour power reserve. The watch can be had on either a steel three-link bracelet with a folding clasp or a NATO strap.

The new Certina DS Action Diver 38 is available now, priced between CHF 765 and CHF 925, depending on the configuration you get. See more on the Certina website.

3/

Bremont Gives Their Great Jumping Hour Terra Nova An Aventurine Dial

Bremont caught an incredible amount of flack last year, and a lot of it for good reason. The introduction of a brand new line, with a new case, and a new logo didn’t go over well with fans of the brand steeped in Birtish heritage. Then, earlier this year, Bremont released the Terra Nova Jumping Hour, built on the Terra Nova case, done all in bronze, followed by a steel version. Now, we’re getting the same Terra Nova Jumping Hour in a very nice frosted case and with an aventurine dial. Is it just me, or is Bremont catching its stride again — sure, with a new direction — and we might see something quite interesting from them to come.

Previous versions of the Jumping Hour had a steel or bronze cover over the dial opening, but this one returns to a more conventional construction. The watch is made out of a two-piece 904L stainless steel case that measures 40.5mm wide, 10.15mm thick, with a 47mm lug-to-lug. But, it’s not just any stainless steel case — it is intricately grained to create a fantastic frosted finish that catches the light even more than the dial. On top is a flat sapphire crystal and out back is a closed caseback. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial is made out of blue aventurine glass with plenty of inclusions to make it shimmer. Around the perimeter is a seconds track with lumed markers at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. There’s a single central white seconds hand, fully painted in green glowing lume, while the hours and minutes are shown in the two windows at 9 o’clock. Further from the center is the jumping hour aperture, while the aperture that’s closer is the running minutes.

Inside, you’ll find the calibre BC634, a jump-hour movement developed by Sellita and from what I understand, Bremont has a few year exclusivity on this movement. But the base is very familiar, with its 4Hz beat rate and 56 hour power reserve. The watch comes on an interesting blue gradient leather strap. Of note is that the lug width is 22mm.

The new Bremont Terra Nova Jumping Hour Aventurine is limited to 50 pieces and priced at €10,750. See more on the Bremont website.

4/

TAG Heuer Continues Experimenting With Materials In The Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1

I’ve always considered the TAG Heuer Monaco as their most classic of watches. For years, it hasn’t really changed and it’s one of the most recognizable shapes in watch history. But TAG Heuer also likes to experiment. A lot. And in recent years, they’ve used the Monaco as a very interesting canvas for their experimentation. The latest in line is the new Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1 which gets a super interesting new case that uses additive-manufacturing tech.

This is a wild case, no two ways about it. And you don’t even have to like it to respect it. It still measures 41mm wide (and tall, without the lugs) and 15.2mm thick, and it’s made out of grade 5 titanium. Only, that titanium is rented in Selective Laser Melting (SLM), which gives TAG a lot more flexibility on forming the case. While regular cases are CNC cut out of blocks of titanium, SLM deposits titanium in layers, which allows for creation of pretty much any shape. That’s why the case has a sort of exoskeleton and shocking amount of three dimenisonality to it. On the side you’ll find sandblasted titanium lattices, while the bezel lattices are laser-cut from solid 2N yellow gold. Of course, on top is the squared-off sapphire crystal that is a staple of the collection. The entire thing is finished with a black DLC finish and you get 30 meters of water resistance.

The dial isn’t as technically advanced, but it sure looks it. There is no dial, just a sapphire plate that lets you see the movement and the black x-shaped black bridges. There are three black sub-dials for the minute counter, hour counter and running seconds. The rattrapante central hand is gold lacquered, while the primary chronograph central hand is white lacquered.

Inside is the familiar automatic TH81-00, made in partnership with Vaucher. It’s a high-frequency column-wheel split-second chronograph that will run for 65 hours, beating at 36,000vph. A lot of the movement is made out of grade 5 titanium to reduce inertia, and finishes include hand bevelling and a honeycomb-patterned oscillating weight filled with golden lacquer. The watch comes on a black rubber strap.

The new TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1 is limited to 30 pieces and goes on sale in December. Price is set at CHF 150,000. See more on the TAG Heuer website.

5/

Louis Vuitton Does Some Pretty Impressive Things With Stones On Their New Escale Malachite and Turquoise

This will certainly go down as the year of the stone dial. Everyone, from tiny microbrands to mid six figure watches came out with some sort of stone dial. And I think we’re beginning to feel a bit of fatigue with them. However, there are still a few coming by the end of the year that really are interesting. One of them is the Louis Vuitton Escale, which gets not just fantastic malachite and turquoise dials, but also case rings made out of the same stone creating an incredible dial.

The shape of the Escale case, a fully round thing with short lugs, remains the same but grows a bit in size. It’s 1mm larger nowm measuring 40mm wide, The case is made out of polished platinum, made out of multiple parts, with the lugs drilling into the case. I mention this because the entire side of the case carries around it a ring made out of either malachite or turquoise. LV’s La Fabrique des Boîtiers case making atelier goes into depth on how difficult it was to create these thin rings of supper brittle stone, and I’m glad they took it there. Since the stone rings are brittle, the platinum case overhands it a bit to offer protection. On top is a domed sapphire crystal. Despite the delicateness of the watch, it still has 50 meters of water resistance.

The dials are, obviously, made out of stones that match those rings around the case — a stunning turquoise that looks unnaturally bright, and a dark and geometrically striated malachite. The center of the dial is surrounded by a circular-brushed minutes track with polished white gold studs for the hour and minute markers. Both versions get dauphine hands, and a titanium central seconds hand.

Inside is the calibre LFT023 automatic with an off-centred 22k gold micro-rotor. Designed by Louis Vuitton’s La Fabrique du Temps and made by Le Cercle des Horlogers, it also has COSC certification. It beats at 4Hz and has a 50 hour power reserve. Decorations include a monogram flower-shaped barrel, sandblasted bridges with diamond-polished bevels and a circular-grained mainplate. The watch comes on a either a grey or green Saffiano leather strap, closed with platinum pin buckles.

The new Louis Vuitton Escale Malachite and Escale Turquoise are limited to 30 pieces per stone and they are priced at €65,500, without taxes. See more on the Louis Vuitton website.

6/

ArtyA Brings Back The First AquaSaphir In Ages With Two Dubai Editions

Some brands will sell you watches made out of the rarest metals on earth for ungodly amounts of money. Some will, even, include stuff from out of this world to make the watches more special. Some will focus on making the most advanced mechanical movement possible, which will carry with it an equally large price tag. Then there are those brands that are brave enough to tackle making a watch with a sapphire case. While sapphire is not a rare metal, it is the second-hardest material on Earth, making it next to impossible to shape. Expensive, of courses.

However, then there are brands like ArtyA, started in 2010 by Yvan Arpa. Just a few months ago they introduced an affordable sapphire cased watch that would run you in the low 30 thousand range. Yes, that’s a lot of money, but it’s also cheap when compared to other sapphire case watches. Not only that, that AquaSaphir was also the first sapphire case watch that had 60 meters of water resistance. For years now, ArtyA has been working on their Purity sapphire watches, with the original AquaSaphir being a bit fogotten. Now, however, we’re getting a duo of new AquaSaphir watches with a stron Dubai theme, made for Dubai Watch week.

The two watches share the same size and a couple of other details. The case measures 41mm wide and 12.8mm thick, with a protected crown on the side and sapphire crystal with a triple anti-reflective coating on top. Both watches come in sapphire cases with sapphire bezels on top. One, the ArtyA AquaSaphir Dubai Edition produced as a piece unique, comes with a case made out of black sapphire, with a pretty incredible bezel on top that’s done in four sapphire colors. I have no idea how they do it, but these color transitions look seamless. The colors are ruby red, emerald green, black and transparent, arranged in the shape of the Dubai flag. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like this before. The other features an emerald green sapphire case with a matching sapphire bezel. Water resistance remains an impressive 60 meters.

Then, there’s the dials that are the same on the two models. They are aventurine glass bases, with lumed hour markers and hands, and the ArtyA at 12 o’clock. At 3 o’clock is a date aperture and a UAE flag is featured at 6 o’clock, below an Arabic inscription that translates to “Limited Edition, Dubai Edition.”

The movement inside might be controversial, depending on what you value more ina. watch. It’s a pedestrian La Joux-Perret G100, heavily decorated in-house, still beating at 4Hz with a 68 hour power reserve. Despite the decoration, it’s still a very cheap movement, especially when you consider the price of the watch. The watches come on black rubber straps.

The new ArtyA AquaSaphir Dubai Editions are heavily limited, of course. The one with the Dubai flag bezel is a piece unique while the other model is limited to 10 pieces. The price will give you some thought — €53,400 for the regular limited edition and a whopping €85,600 for the piece unique. That has to be the most expensive watch in the world with a LJP G100. But also, look at those sapphire colors. What a conundrum. See more on the ArtyA 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

• Peter Coviello used to be the chair of the Africana studies department at Bowdoin College. That’s why, when Bowdoin alum and Africana studies major Zohran Mamdani was running for mayor of New York City, Coviello started getting messages from journalists. But maybe don’t talk to the ‘New York Times’ about Zohran Mamdani.

• The private chef industry is booming. As James Burke points out in this piece for The Times, more and more people want “restaurant-level food without leaving their gated driveways.” But what is it really like behind those gates? Burke lifts the lid on a world of “cruelty, chaos and cocaine consumption.” It may sound glamorous, but only those with serious stamina and a thick skin will survive this career choice.

• In this essay—the transcript of a talk given at a web conference in Brooklyn—designer Frank Chimero considers artificial intelligence as an instrument, versus an intelligence or tool, and thinks about using AI in terms of spatial relationships. “Where do I stand in relation to the machine—above it, beside it, under it?” he asks. “Each position carries a different kind of power dynamic. To be above is to steer, beside is to collaborate, below is to serve.” Studying the work of professionals across creative industries, from music producer Rick Rubin to filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, Chimero encourages us think about how to work with the machine, and even step inside it, as we create.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Judging by the number of people I see that never turn off motion smoothing on their TVs, is it really a question why movies don’t feel real any more?

Thanks for reading,
Vuk