Hamilton Adds Power Reserve To The Khaki Field; Yema Goes All Out With A Tourbillon Diver; Micromilspec's Pilot Worldtimer; Earhten Brings Ceramic To The Masses; Jager-LeCoultre's You Really Want

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I’ve learned recently that the French are very patriotic about their watches, which is why their industry is so strong. I guess that’s why it makes sense for Yema to release a €12,000 tourbillon diver. Wild.

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In this issue

• Hamilton Brings An Unexpected Complication To The Khaki Field Lineup, The Power Reserve

• Yema Goes All Out With The In-House Powered Superman Tourbillon Millésime CMM.31

• Micromilspec Rounds Out A Trio Of Releases With The Supremely Cool Micromilspec Pilot Worldtimer

• Earhten Company Wants To Bring Ceramic Watches To The Masses

• Jaeger-LeCoultre Adds New Watches To Already Perfect Master Collections

👂What’s new

1/

Hamilton Brings An Unexpected Complication To The Khaki Field Lineup, The Power Reserve

Hamilton has been making some moves over the past few weeks. First we got a bunch of new colors in different sizes for the slightly forgotten Khaki Pilot Pioneer, followed up by a new colorway on the Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer Mechanical Chronograph 40mm. While those were color changes, what we have here is a more substantial update to the Khaki Field, arguably Hamilton’s most important watch. This is the Khaki Field Power Reserve Mechanical 40mm which, as the name suggests, gets a power reserve indicator.

The steel case of the new Power Reserve models measures 40mm wide and 11.95mm thick, with a sandblasted finish and a sapphire crystal on top. It’s a field watch so it should stand up to scratches quite well, just don’t expect a diver from it — you get 50 meters of water resistance, which is just enough.

As you might expect from a Hamilton Khaki, the dials come in either white or black, with the recognisable Arabic numerals, simple minute track with triangular markers and syringe-style hands. All of the lume on the watch is Old Radium Super-LumiNova, so it comes in a beige color. Then, there’s the power reserve indicator, which sits at 9 o’clock with red letters F and E to denote full and empty power reserve.

Inside, you’ll find the calibre H-23, a hand wound version of the Powermatic 80 movement. That means that it beats at 21,600vph and has an 80 hour power reserve, with a Nivachron hairspring and a slipping spring in the barrel which protects from shocks and prevents overwinding. The watches can be had on a green NATO textile strap or a three-row stainless steel bracelet with a butterfly clasp.

The Hamilton Khaki Field Power Reserve Mechanical 40mm will become part of the permanent collection, priced at €915 on the strap and €995 on bracelet. See more on the Hamilton website.

2/

Yema Goes All Out With The In-House Powered Superman Tourbillon Millésime CMM.31

After a couple of rough starts to their in-house movement production, it seems that Yema has managed to get a foothold into a pretty difficult endeavor. Over the past several years, they have managed to crank out a couple of pretty decent movements, with far fewer customers complaints, if the internet can be trusted. But now that the basic movements are sorted out, and they have the cool microrotor one, they can also have some fun in the high end. Not that anyone asked for it, but this is the new Yema Superman Tourbillon Millésime CMM.31.

The cool stuff starts with the case. Instead of steel, the watch comes in a Grade 5 titanium case. The case measures 43mm wide and just 11.7mm thick. Ok, granted, that doesn’t include the 2.1mm double-domed sapphire crystal, but it’s still a dive watch with a tourbillon. On top is a unidirectional bezel with a domed ceramic insert with a 60 minute scale. The case has a brushed finish with polished bevels and water resistance is 200 meters.

The dial continues the simple aesthetic of the case, with a grained surface and black color, paired with polished steel hands and applied indexes, all filled with bright white BGW9 Grade A lume. But the simplicity is broken up by the huge aperture at 6 o’clock for the tourbillon, certainly something you don’t expect on a Yema diver. The tourbillon also acts as a seconds indicator.

Inside, you’ll find the Calibre Manufacture Morteau 31, developed by Olivier Mory and made by Yema in Morteau, France. It’s based on the CMM.30 architecture, hand wound, with a pretty incredible 105 hour power reserve out of a single barrel. It also has tuned shock absorbers enable the movement to withstand shocks of up to 5 Gs, anti magnetic properties and has been adjusted in six positions for an accuracy of -3 and +7 seconds/day. The watch comes on a really cool titanium bracelet.

The new Superman Tourbillon Millésime CMM.31 is limited to 100 pieces, which makes sense because there aren’t a lot of people out there buying a Yema diver with a tourbillon for €12,000. But those that are really are a special breed. Congrats. See more on the Yema website.

3/

Micromilspec Rounds Out A Trio Of Releases With The Supremely Cool Pilot Worldtimer

There were a couple of showrooms at Geneva Watch Days that really stood out from the rest. And that’s saying a lot, because the majority of the show took place at the Beau Rivage Hotel where brands rented suites and would hold meetings in hotel rooms that had beds removed. So you can imagine that they all kind of look the same. One that stood out was the room Artisans de Genève was in, but that’s because they created a mystery by keeping their door behind a velvet rope. The most shocking, however, was the room transformed by and for Micromilspec, the Norwegian indie that made a name for themselves by making watches for various elite military units, before releasing even cooler watches to the public. To enter their room, you had to walk down a pitch black hallway, only to enter an equally black room with strategic corner lighting. It was the Briefing Room and it instantly told you that whoever these people were, they were cool. Over the past few weeks, we have seen a white version of their Micromilspec, as well as the Worldtimer. Now, they are putting the two watches together in the Pilot Worldtimer, and I’m digging it. A lot.

The case carries on from Micromilspec, which means that it’s an integrated octagonal shape, made out of grade 5 titanium, with a blasted finish and measuring 42mm wide and 15mm thick. Thanks to the lack of lugs, the case wears much smaller than the numbers might suggest. On top is a bidirectional rotating bezel with a sensational looking black ceramic insert that has the world’s cities done in positive relief. You really don’t see anywhere else either. Water resistance is 200 meters.

You can get the watch with either a black or white dial, both of which have a grained finish, along with elements of previous Micromilspec releases. That’s evident in the recessed chronograph sub-dials and three-digit date window, as well as the very recognizable hour and minute hands. New is the GMT hand which has a white or black tip, as well as the sloping 24-hour flange.

Inside, you’ll find the La Joux-Perret’s calibre L122 automatic chronograph with a second time sone function. It beats at 4Hz and has a great 60 hour power reserve. The watch comes on either a grade 5 titanium bracelet with a folding clasp, a black leather or rubber strap with a pin buckle.

The new Micromilspec Pilot Worldtimer is available now, not limited and priced at €3,500. See more on the Micromilspec website.

4/

Earhten Company Wants To Bring Ceramic Watches To The Masses

Despite not being a huge fan of ceramic in watches, I can appreciate the complexity of using the tough, but brittle material. And since ceramic is such a difficult material to use, its use has largely bene relegated to bezel inserts at all price points. Only the highest end watches have been known to use ceramic cases, because it’s expensive to shape. Hence, expensive to sell. But now we have a new brand on the market, Earthen Company out of Hong Kong that is trying to solve that issue. Their new trio of watches in the Summit Collection were made to sell ceramic watches at a more reasonable price.

While there are three models of the initial Eathen Co. release, they come in two cases — one black and one bright white. They have pretty great dimensions — the 38mm width is expected, but the 10mm thickness is pretty cool. They are relatively simple cases, with oversized notched crowns on the side which are made large to be easier to grab with gloves on. The while Earthen Company schtick, as it turns out, is about skiing, as the models carry ski-derived names. On top is a sapphire crystal, out back is a solid case backs have a circular brushing and water resistance is 100 meters.

The Overcast model comes with a black dial in a black case, Whiteout gets a black dial in a white case, while the Blue Bird gets an off-green dial that’s actually fully lumed in a white ceramic case. They all share oversized Arabic numerals with a triangular marker at 12, with chunky hour and minute hands with lume inserts. The seconds hand has a large aperture for a counterweight, while at 6 o’clock you’ll find the brand’s graphic of a skier going down a mountain.

Inside, you’ll find the trusty Miyota 9039 automatic. It beats at 4Hz and has a 42 hour power reserve. Each comes with two straps — a sailcloth rubber (sage green for the Overcast, white for the Whiteout and baby blue for the Blue Bird) and a NATO (khaki on the Overcast, navy on the Whiteout and light grey on the Blue Bird).

The new Eathen Summit Collection is available for order now. Price is set at $899, without tax, which is pretty great for a ceramic watch. See more on the Eathen Co. website.

 5/

Jaeger-LeCoultre Adds New Watches To Already Perfect Master Collections

The nickname ‘the watchmaker of watchmakers’ did not start out as a marketing slogan for Jaeger LeCoultre. It was a fact. Way before they started making their own watches, and even after they did, JLC made some of the most legendary movements of all time for other watch brands. Today, LeCoultre makes a bit fewer movements for outside clients, but their own pieces? Their pieces are spectacular. Like the two new versions of the Master Grande Tradition Calibre 985 and one new Master Ultra Thin Tourbillon Enamel.

Starting off with the Master Ultra Thin Tourbillon Enamel, it comes in the familiar case that’s now made out of pink gold and measures 40mm wide and 12.13mm thick. It’s a classy case with a combination of brushed and polished surfaces and a 50 meter water resistance. New on this model is the dial, which gets an anthracite grey finish, while keeping the incredible and deep guilloché sunray engraved base. The color is executed in a grand feu enamel, giving it a lot of depth. At 12 o’clock is a sub-dial that displays the time on a circular azurage guilloché dial, and at 6 is a tourbillon opening. The watch is powered by the calibre 978, which beats at 4Hz with a 45-hour power reserve and has a titanium cage tourbillon. The watch comes on a black alligator strap with a pink gold double-folding clasp. The new Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Tourbillon Enamel doesn’t seem to be a limited edition and the price is available on request. You can see the watch here.

Then we have the Master Grande Tradition Calibre 985 duo. They are housed in either a pink gold or platinum case which measures 42mm wide 13.23mm thick. On one side is a mounted plate and on the other is a fairly traditional crown. Not much more to it, and you get the same 50 meters of water resistance. The Calibre 985 is a complicated movement, which gives you a perpetual calendar with day, date, month, year, moonphase, a cylindrical tourbillon at 6 o’clock, along with the expected central hours and minutes. The pink gold case comes with a beautiful brown dial, while the platinum case gets an equally nice blue dial. The movement beats at 4Hz and has a 45 hour power reserve. The watches come on a blue or brown alligator with a pin buckle or double folding clasp. Oh, and there’s an option of a diamond bezel on the blue dial version. See more on the Jaeger-LeCoultre 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 Chinese tycoons plunged millions into Belgian racing pigeons, the birds became global commodities—and targets for organized crime. In a frenzy of elite deals, thefts swept Europe, with criminal gangs and inside players stealing champion birds worth fortunes. Local police, often stymied, now rely on high-tech sleuthing, while the mystery endures: will the prized pigeons ever find their way home?

• In this Texas Monthly story, Lea Konczal recounts the life of an extraordinary deaf athlete and world-record holder. LeRoy Colombo saved 907 people in his career as a lifeguard, became a champion long-distance Gulf swimmer, and was one of the first people to surf in Texas. But he was also unlikable: a hot-tempered, boastful man who embellished the truth and embodied contradictions. Konczal’s fascinating portrait of Colombo is also a snapshot of Galveston and the Gulf in 1920s America and onward.

• “Why do we do this to one another—rub soft tissue and pressure points, karate-chop shoulders, knead away at flesh?” asks Sarah Larson at one point in this story. The answers are many: it’s healing, it’s therapeutic, it’s comforting. But for those who descend upon Copenhagen each June for the World Championship in Massage, it’s also a chance to pick up some new techniques, and maybe a little bit of hardware.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

You might not have heard of the Wilhelm scream but chances are you heard it hundreds of times. I love this story.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk