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  • Grand Seiko Gives White Birch A Dramatic Icy-Blue Color; Porsche Design's Fully Lumed Chronograph 1; Mr Jones Has The Sun And Moon Kiss; Arcanaut Pays Homage To Lady Liberty; A Panerai Experience

Grand Seiko Gives White Birch A Dramatic Icy-Blue Color; Porsche Design's Fully Lumed Chronograph 1; Mr Jones Has The Sun And Moon Kiss; Arcanaut Pays Homage To Lady Liberty; A Panerai Experience

Make sure to check out the details on the Arcanaut dial

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Deep down I know that Porsche Design is making the same watch over and over again. But I can’t help myself — I want this one. The fully lumed dial is just too cool!

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In this issue:

  • The New Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Mount Iwate SLGH027 Gets A White Birch-Like Icy Blue Dial

  • Porsche Design Releases The Chronograph 1 – F.A.T. 2025 Edition With A Fully Lumed Dial

  • Mr Jones Have The Moon And Sun Kiss In Time For Valentines Day

  • Arcanaut And Collective Horology Team Up To Pay Homage To The Statue Of Liberty

  • Panerai Will Take You On A Sicilian Adventure With The Radiomir 8 Giorni Eilean Experience PAM01643Tourbillon

👂What’s new

1/

The New Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Mount Iwate SLGH027 Gets A White Birch-Like Icy Blue Dial

It’s only been five years since the White Birch SLGH005 Grand Seiko came out. It is such a powerhouse in the GS catalogue that it seems it’s been around for way longer than that. White Birch was one of the first hits of the Evolution 9 line, with more colors to follow. Now, the White Birch texture is getting a Mount Iwate colorway with the new Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Mount Iwate Ice-Blue SLGH027.

Being an Evolution 9 model, you know the details here. The stainless steel case, made out of Ever-Brilliant Steel that gives a whiter and brighter shine when Grand Seiko gives it Zaratsu polishing details. It measures 40mm wide, 11.7mm thick and has a 47mm lug-to-lug. On top is the box-shaped sapphire crystal, surrounded by a brushed and polished bezel. You can see the movement through the caseback and water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial looks very familiar, with the same type of pattern as the White Birch but instead of it aligning vertically, it spreads out radially from the centre. This is reminiscent of Mount Iwate models which have sunray-type dials. Instead of the white of the White Brich, this dial has an icy blue color that has always looked very nice on Grand Seiko dials. You also get the familiar applied markers and faceted hands, along with the date window at 3 o’clock.

Inside, you’ll find the calibre 9SA5 an automatic with the brand’s Dual Impulse Escapement and a free-sprung balance. It beast at 5Hz and thanks to two barrels has a power reserve of 80 hours. The watch comes on a matching steel bracelet that closes with a folding clasp.

The new Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Mount Iwate SLGH027 is, of course, a limited edition and only 1,200 pieces will be made. The watch doesn’t go on sale until May of this year, and when it does it will be priced at €11,500. See more on the Grand Seiko website.

2/

Porsche Design Releases The Chronograph 1 – F.A.T. 2025 Edition With A Fully Lumed Dial

When you’re extremely rich, there are many things to do for entertainment. But one of my favorite rich-person activity ever invented is the F.A.T. Ice Race held every year near Zell am See. The race is named after the French logistics company F.A.T. International which sponsored the Porsche 962 which won the 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans, and was later revived by Ferdi Porsche — son of Dr Wolfgang Porsche and nephew of F.A. Porsche — as a motorsport community. The F.A.T. Ice Race is my favorite rich-person activity because the rich people take out their priceless cars — SL300s, vintage 911s, one-off Ferraris and even a Le Mans winning 911 GT car — outfit them with spiked winter tires and then drive as fast as they can on ice, without much regard what happens if something goes wrong with a car worth as much as a medium sized city. And since the F.A.T. Ice Race is very strongly intertwined with Porsche, not only do we get to see a lot of their cars, we also get limited edition Porsche Design watches every year. This year, it’s the Chronograph 1 – F.A.T. 2025 Edition with a really nice lumed dial.

The case of the new watch is made out of titanium and coated in matte black titanium carbide, which has become a sort of calling card for Porsche Design chronographs. It measures 40.80mm wide, 14.15mm thick. On top is a sapphire crystal and even the caseback is made out of titanium, with a silhouette of the Porsche 962 engraved into it. Water resistance is 100 meters.

But we know all of this. What we haven’t seen before is this sweet, sweet dial. It’s fully white, but in fact painted in white Super-LumiNova, meaning that it has a slight off-white color and a super-cool green glow. The white is offset with black indices, numbers, and hands, as well as a bright red centrally mounted chronograph seconds hand. It’s a tri-compax setup with a 30 minute totalizer at 12, a 12 hour one at 6 and a running seconds at 9 o’clock. There are two easter eggs when the watch glows at night — the F.A.T. International logo below the Porsche Design text and, much cooler, a silhouette of the Porsche 962 in the 12 hour totalizer with 9 and 2 being visible only in lume, but 6 being used for the 6 marker. Also, the day indicator has the Saturday and Sunday markings replaced with F.A.T., as the race is held over the weekends.

Inside is the Porsche Design calibre WERK 01.240. Sure, it’s based on the Valjoux 7750, but it’s actually developed in collaboration with Concepto and made exclusively for PD. It has a flyback function, beats at 4Hz and has a 48 hour power reserve. It’s COSC certified and has the rotor decorated with the Porsche Design logo. The watch comes with three strap options — a matte black titanium bracelet; an extra long white textile strap with the F.A.T. Ice Race badge and a Velcro fastener that can be worn outside jackets; and a purple textile-and-leather strap inspired by the interior design of the F.A.T. Mankei hut and featuring the GPS coordinates of that location

The new Porsche Design Chronograph 1 – F.A.T. 2025 Edition is a limited edition of 136 pieces and they went on sale February 1st, on the first day of the F.A.T. Ice Race. The price is set at €12,000 and you can see the watch on the Porsche Design website.

3/

Mr Jones Have The Moon And Sun Kiss In Time For Valentines Day

There are two things that you can be certain of with watches that come out of Mr Jones. One, you know their watches will be quirky and fun. And two, you know they won’t do what you expect from them. So, with Valentine’s Day approaching, it was pretty certain that Mr Jones wouldn’t just release a heart-themed watch. Nope, what they opted for is the ecLIPSe, a new model designed by British illustrator, Newton Davey that have a yellow sun and a metallic crescent moon, who come together each hour to share a kiss.

On the outside, this will be very familiar. You already know the case. It’s that instantly recognisable Mr Jones case with a round body and spindly lugs. It measures 37mm wide with a 46mm lug to lug and has a 50 meter water resistance. It also gets a black PVF coating. Inside is a single jewel quartz movement. On top is a sapphire crystal. The watch is mounted on a 18mm wide strap, in this case a black stainless steel bracelet. Water resistance is 50 meters.

Mr Jones dials are always very special, but this one is a bit more special as they’ve used a new techniques and combined them into one dial — there’s the use of fluorescent inks, metal leaf and water gilding. Mr Jones dials also often need an explanation on how to tell the time. The sun’s longest ray points to the hour and the tip of the crescent moon points to the minutes. Every hour, once the minute and hour hands meet and the sun and the moon appear to kiss. Cute.

Mr Jones seems to be moving away from regular limited editions and replacing it the much superior timed editions. The Mr Jones ecLIPSe will be released on Wednesday, 5th of February and will be available for purchase from 12 hours (8am - 8pm GMT). All orders placed in that window will get a watch. To get one, check out the Mr Jones website on Wednesday.

4/

Arcanaut And Collective Horology Team Up To Pay Homage To The Statue Of Liberty

 

Arcanaut really makes niche watches. You will be hard pressed to find them at your big-box retailer, alongside the likes of Longines or Breitling. It’s more of a if-you-know-you-know brand. And I love pretty much everything they do. Not only are their cases cool enough to carry the dials, the dials are actually incredible. Most of them are the brainchild of Arcanaut Head of Material Development James Thompson, perhaps better known as Black Badger, who is pushing materials into places they were not meant to be. For their latest release, Arcanaut has partnered with their retailer in the United States, Collective Horology, to create a truly US-inspired watch. The new Arcanaut Arc II — Liberty Green Limited Edition is not just a cool collaboration, it’s also here to celebrate hundred years of the Statue of Liberty being designated as a national monument. Now you get it when you glance at the dial once again, right?

This edition uses the already familiar ARC II case, which is made out of micro-blasted 316L stainless steel that has hand polished highlights. The case quite a dramatic curve to conform to the wearer’s wrist, which makes the 40.52mm width, 12.82mm thickness and 49.06mm lug-to-lug much more manageable even on smaller wrists. Water resistance is 100 meters. On the caseback is an extremely cool medallion with a anthropomorphic Flame of Liberty, dynamically streaking across the case back, surrounded by stars in motion, all lumed.

But you know all about that case (if you’ve been reading the newsletter). Brand new is the dial, which has been inspired by the fact that on October 15th, 1924, US President Calvin Coolidge elevated the Statue of Liberty to the status of national monument. So, to pay homage to the Collective Horology’s founders’ hometown, New York City, Thompson used the same material as the statue, copper. But this is far from regular copper. It’s an in-house developed composite made from copper carbonate and a UV-resistant binding agent to mimic the verdigris of the statue. And you can see it’s special in close up photos — there are zero blemishes or imperfections, as you might expect from regular copper. The dial has 12 CNC-machined holes on the perimeter that are set with LumiCast hour markers for a really dramatic look, as well as the familiar chevron semi-skeletonized handset.

Inside, we get a slight change. While previous ARCII models came with the Soprod A10 movement, this gets the almost identical, just slightly updated M100 movement. It’s an automatic that beats at 4Hz and has a 42 hour power reserve. The watch comes on an integrated black rubber strap.

The new Arcanaut Arc II — Liberty Green Limited Edition is limited to 100 pieces and will start shipping during the first quarter of 2025. Price is set at $4,400, without tax. See more on the Arcanaut website or on the Collective Horology website where you can place your pre-order.

5/

Panerai Will Take You On A Sicilian Adventure With The Radiomir 8 Giorni Eilean Experience PAM01643

There’s no denying that Panerai has been known to get a bit funny with their pricing, especially with the controversies that surround their more basic movements. But there’s one thing they do that I just think is brilliant and should be adopted by more watchmakers that sell watches that are supposed to represent a certain lifestyle. They have an Experience Program, which means that once you buy a watch you gain access to an experience that aligns with their brand image. With those Navy SEALS watches you could buy into a SEALS-like training program, while watches made in collaboration with Mike Horn would see you on adventures in the North Pole. Their latest Exprience watch is the Radiomir 8 Giorni Eilean PAM01643 which comes with a special trip aboard the restored Eilean, a beautiful 1936 Bermudian ketch.

This isn’t just a new dial in a familiar case. I mean, sure, it’s the 45mm cushion-shaped stainless steel case of the Radiomir we’ve sene before, but this one features a bronze bezel, crown and medallion on the caseback which are made out bronze recovered from the renovation of the Eilean. The case also has a burnished finish which is done by hand-brushing a PVD coatinf on the case. On the left flank is an engraving of the dragon emblem found on the Eilean’s hull. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial is a classic sandwich construction, with cutouts for the Arabic numerals at 12 and 6 o’clock, as well as the hour markers. The lume that’s painted on the lower part is an aged-like beige Super-LumiNova, which matches the beige gradient on the top dial. The top dial also has a slight grain to it. At 9 o’clock is the running seconds indicator, while at 3 is the 8 Giorni seal.

The 8 Giorni means that inside you’ll find the manual wind calibre P.5000 which gives the watch 8 days of power reserve. To do that, it beats at 21,600vph and has two barrels. The watch comes on a dark brown leather strap with the maiden voyage year of the Eilean — 1936 — stamped into it.

The Radiomir 8 Giorni Eilean Experience Edition PAM01643 is limited to 30 pieces and those 30 buyers will be taken on a tour of Sicily aboard the Eilean, along with helicopter tours and hiking up Mount Etna. The price is what it is — €49,000 — but people who have bought into these experiences swear they are more than worth it. See more on the Panerai website.

⚙️Watch Worthy

A selection of reviews and first looks from around the web

⚙️I Review A Watch

Exactly what it says on the label — I get a watch, wear it and then review it

If you list the stats of the Nodus Sector Deep, you would see a good watch. A matte stainless steel case, 42mm wide, 13.6mm thick, and with a 47mm lug-to-lug, a humble Seiko NH35, and 500 meters of water resistance all add up to great specs. But the Nodus Sector Deep, just like any other Nodus as a matter of fact, is way more than a sum of its parts. That’s because Nodus is not exactly a traditional watchmaker.

⏲️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 former Army pilot. An aging helicopter. Furious winds. The race to put out the Eaton fire tested Los Angeles County’s night-flying firefighters like never before. This is another one of those awesome interactive New York Times stories.

  • If you run a health start-up and you get a call from a journalist called John Carreyrou, you might as well start packing up everything into boxes. That’s because Carreyrou exposed the Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes. His latest reporting is on a into a start-up called ExThera, which lured American cancer patients to Antigua for a blood filter treatment. The outcome was grim. Oh, and while you’re at it, don’t use “Thera” in your medical start-up name.

  • The yen is low, and everybody is coming to Tokyo. It sounds like an incantation because it all but is one: Repeat it enough, as the English-speaking press has these past few years, and perhaps Tokyo indeed becomes the neon-edged 80s dream sequence Americans insist it is. Or perhaps it doesn’t, and the tourists continue to come anyway. 

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Who’s in the mood for a documentary? In 1971, the Shah of Iran, the self-proclaimed 'king of kings', celebrated 2,500 years of the Persian monarchy by throwing the greatest party in history. Money was no object - a lavish tent city, using 37km of silk, was erected in a specially created oasis. The world's top restaurant at the time, Maxim's, closed its doors for two weeks to cater the event, a five-course banquet served to over sixty of the world's kings, queens and presidents, and washed down with some of the rarest wines known to man. But every party leaves a few hangovers. This one left a country reeling, never to recover. It crystallised the opposition, led by the Ayatollah Khomeini. More than any other event, this party marked the break between the king of kings and the people of Iran he reigned over.

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