Hamilton Updates Khaki Pilot Pioneer Collection With New Colors; Fears Releases Three Cool Watches; Favre Leuba Skeletonizes The Chief; Czapek Cozies Up To Robots; Berneron Follows Up The Mirage

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Preparations for Geneva are full blown, hence the late release. But next time you read this newsletter, it will be written from the lobby of the Beau Rivage hotel in between meetings with brands. I have 44 meetings scheduled right now, so there will be a bunch of releases!

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In this issue

• Hamilton Updates The 38mm And 43mm Khaki Pilot Pioneer Collection With New Colors

• Fears Releases Three New Watches, Including A Sports Model And A Jumping Hour

• Favre Leuba Skeletonizes Their Chief Collection With Black Or Gold Bridge Options

• Czapek Cozies Up To Robots Ahead Of The Uprising With The New Antarctique Rattrapante ‘R.U.R.’

• Sylvain Berneron Follows Up The Mirage With The Even More Impressive Quantième Annuel

👂What’s new

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Hamilton Updates The 38mm And 43mm Khaki Pilot Pioneer Collection With New Colors

All eyes are on Hamilton when it comes to field watches. They kind of dominate the genre. But every now and again, we think of them when it comes to pilot’s watches. And for good reason. While still based on World War II navigators’ watches, Hamilton’s inspiration doesn’t come from the German B-uhr, but rather from the Model 23 pocket watch made for the U.S. Air Force, giving us a slightly different approach to pilot’s watches. Now, the Khaki Pilot Pioneer gets a trio of new colors in both the 43mm hand-wound and 38mm automatic combinations.

Starting with the smaller and likely more popular versions, we have the Khaki Pilot Pioneer 38mm automatic. As the name suggests, the stainless steel case measures 38mm wide and 11.4mm thick, with a brushed stainless steel case. On top is a bi-directional rotating bezel that has a mineral glass insert that can now be had in either burgundy or moss green, paired with a 60 minute scale. Water resistance is 100 meters. In fact, the colors of the mineral glass inserts are the only color differences, as both watches have grained cream dials with black Arabic numerals and a peripheral minutes/seconds railroad track. That’s paired with lumed cathedral hour and minute hands. Inside, you’ll find the calibre H-10, Hamilton’s version of the Powermatic 80, beating at 3Hz with the great 80 hour power reserve. The watches come on matching burgundy or green leather straps. Price is set at €1,075. See the burgundy one here and the green one here.

Then, we have the manual wound 43mm version of the Khaki Pilot Pioneer. It gets a new bronze case that measures 43mm wide and 13mm thick. On top is a bi-directional rotating bezel has a black mineral glass insert with a simple 60-minute scale and on the side is a diamond-shaped crown. Water resistance is the same at 100 meters, despite the push-pul crown. The dial gets the same grained cream finish, with gold galvanic-plated cathedral hands with beige Super-LumiNova inserts and a small seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock. Inside, you’ll find the pocket watch-derived ETA/Unitas 6498-1 movement which beats at 2-5Hz and has a 46 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a brown lather strap and it’s priced at €1,645. See more on the Hamilton website.

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Fears Releases Three New Watches, Including A Sports Model And A Jumping Hour

Fears Watch Company has one of the best stories in the industry. It was started in 1846 and came to prominence in the 1920s and 1930s. However, the quartz crisis wasn’t kind to it and the companies folded after more than a hundred years in operation in 1976, only to be revived recently by Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, the great-great-great grandson of the man who founded Fears. How about that. I love their stories, and I am very quickly warming up to their watches. ow, the brand is releasing three new watches, a regular, but beautiful Brunswick 38 Charcoal Rose, a sporty Redcliff 39.5 Date ES and a very cool Brunswick 40.5 Jump Hour Barleycorn.

Starting with the simplest of the three, the Brunswick 38 Charcoal Rose. It keeps the super recognizable cushion shaped steel case that measures 38mm wide, 11mm thick, with compact lugs that give it a 43mm lug-to-lug. On top is a sapphire crystal, on the side a fluted onion crown and water resistance is 100 meters. That’s paired with a pretty rough grained charcoal dial that has a rose gold peripheral minute track and small seconds counter. The applied Arabic numerals and hands also get a rose gold color, but also a frosted finish. Inside, you’ll find the La Joux-Perret D100, which would be LJP’s version of the Peseux 7001, manual wound with a 50 hour power reserve. The watch can be had on either a 5-link stainless steel bracelet for £3,650, or on a chestnut brown cordovan leather strap for £3,450. See more on the Fears website.

Then we have a more sporty take on their Redcliff model. This one gets a much more traditional round case, measuring 39.5mm wide, 10.37mm thick with a 46.95mm lug-to-lug. The case is made out of 316L stainless steel, with a frosted finish and a hardening coat that helps fight off scratches. Additionally, the bezel, crown and caseback get a black DLC finish. Water resistance is 150 meters. The case is quite cool, but close up pictures show that it’s the dial that’s killer here. It has a super-rough textured dial that’s paired with applied hour markers made out Super-LumiNova blocks, which look fantastic at night. There are orange details on the minute track and seconds hand. Inside, you’ll find the familiar La Joux-Perret G100 movement which beats at 4Hz and has a 68 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a black FKM rubber strap. Price is set at £3,350. See it on the brand website.

Last, we have the very cool Brunswick 40.5 Jump Hour. The case measures 40.5mm wide, 12.8mm thick, with a 47mm lug-to-lug, stubby lugs and a brushed and polished finish. Water resistance is 100 meters. The dial has a silver base with a wonderful barleycorn pattern on which a plum lacquered disc is centered. Hours are displayed in the circular aperture at 12, while a central small hand points to the minutes on the edge of the plum disc. Inside is a mix of interesting movements. The base is the trusty and well known Sellita SW200, beating at 4Hz and with a 38 hour power reserve. Onto that, they attach the JJ01 jumping-hour module from Christopher Ward. The watch can be had on either a plum Alcantara strap priced at £4,250 or on a steel bracelet priced at £4,450. See more on the Fears website.

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Favre Leuba Skeletonizes Their Chief Collection With Black Or Gold Bridge Options

It’s easy to forget how devastating the quartz crisis was for the Swiss watch industry. One of the companies that came and went from the forefront of Swiss watchmaking is Favre Leuba, which has actually been around since 1737. The quartz crisis forced the founding family to sell the company in 1985, only to be revived a few years later and stumble again. Last year, for the third time, Favre Leuba announced that they are making another go at it, when they introduced three new collections and 22 new watches. But that was last year. This year, they are focusing on digging further down into each collection. Just a few weeks ago we got a new dial on the Chief Date, a really nice royal purple. Now, we’re getting a skeletonized version of the Chief, with seven different variations. No one will ever accuse Favre Leuba of not having a wide variety.

The case looks very familiar, as it has the same cushion shape with recessed flanks as the regular Chief. The stainless steel case measures 40mm wide and 11.76mm thick, which is just slightly thicker than the regular Chief. You can get the watch in either an untreated steel case or a black DLC-coated one. Also, there’s no bezel on top and the top of the case is in line with the sapphire crystal. Water resistance is 100 meters.

Then, there’s the lack of dial that shows off the skeletonized movement. The bridges that make up a base can be had in either a 4N gold colour or a black chrome finish. The most eye-catching part of the dial/movement is the horizontally brushed bridge that holds up the balance wheel at 6 o’clock. You can also see the mainspring coils, a skeletonized rotor on the back and a lot of layerings. Around the perimeter of the dial is a minute track that comes in either green, blue, or black when paired with the gold bridges and green, blue, black, or ice blue when paired with the black movement.

The movement you see is called the FLS01 when done in gold or FLS02 when done in black, and it’s developed for Favre Leuba by AMT Manufacture, Sellita’s higher end division. The movement beats at 4Hz and has a 41 hour power reserve. The watches come on integrated FKM rubber strap, color matched to the minute track.

The new Favre Leuba Chief Skeleton is available now, priced at CHF 3,450 in steel and CHF 3,550 in black DLC. See more on the Favre Leuba website.

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Czapek Cozies Up To Robots Ahead Of The Uprising With The New Antarctique Rattrapante ‘R.U.R.’

When actual AI escapes from the computer it is created in and takes on a physical robotic form, ready to rid the world of humans, you better hope that you were polite to the LLM you are using right now. Because a computer’s memory is virtually infinite. There are some that believe that sucking up to the robots will save them, but good luck with that. I believe that people who believe this is possible would certainly buy the new Czapek Antarctique Rattrapante R.U.R., a robot inspired chronograph, in an effort to signal their good will towards robots. The R.U.R. in the name comes from Rossum’s Universal Robots, the title of writer Karel Čapek’s (pronounced Czapek… would you look at that…) play in which he basically invents the concept of a robot. And sure, while Čapek doesn’t condone the treatment of robots in his society, and there is plenty of metaphor in his writing, they are still dehumanized sub-human machines. I’m not sure they will get the nuance once they rise up, so better to not provoke them. But until this happens, the Czapek Antarctique Rattrapante R.U.R. is one hell of a watch.

The case remains unchanged from the regular Antarctique Rattrapante, which means that it’s made out of stainless steel and measures 42.5mm wide and 15.3mm thick. It has a really nicely integrated 2 o’clock pusher that’s an almost invisible part of the crown guard, while the pusher for the split-second function sits at 10 o’clock. Water resistance is 100 meters.

You can’t exactly talk about a dial here without talking about the calibre SXH6, which makes up most of it. Through the dial you get to see a a horizontal clutch and two column wheels, one for the rattrapante and the other to the chronograph. The chronograph column wheel is hidden behind a cut, hand-polished and laser-engraved robot’s head created by MD’Art. The head has eyes micro-painted by hand in three neon shades, depicting the chronograph’s functions: yellow when running, red when stopped, and blue when reset. Around the perimeter of the dial is a grey fumé sapphire glass minutes ring, paired with two sub-dials made with PVD evaporation. Both the ring and the sub-dials feature ‘XX’ symbols representing the robot’s language. Time is indicated with bright blue hour and minute sword-shaped hands, while the split-seconds hand is also blue with a white tip.

Inside, as mentioned, is the calibre SXH6 which was developed in partnership with Chronode, beating at 4Hz, with a 60 hour power reserve. The rattrapante mechanism now also uses an isolator which disengages the rattrapante when it is stopped, allowing the chronograph seconds wheel to continue rotating without drag. The movement is decorated with matte bead-blasted bridges and hand-polished chamfers, paired with a 5N recycled rose gold oscillating weight. The watch comes on the familiar Czapek integrated steel bracelet with a micro-adjust in the clasp, as well as an additional rubber strap.

The new Czapek Antarctique Rattrapante R.U.R. is limited to 77 pieces and priced at CHF 58,000. See more on the Czapek website.

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Sylvain Berneron Follows Up The Mirage With The Even More Impressive Quantième Annuel

Rarely have we seen a debut from a watch brand that has been as successful as the Mirage 38 from Berneron. Headed by former Breitling creative director Sylvain Berneron, the brand has created an instant cult hit out of the Mirage which was entirely made out of gold, including the entire movement. Which wouldn’t be such a big deal if the watch, including the entire movement, didn’t have a slight flowing shape. It was an incredible watch and fans were appeased with a couple of updates to the Mirage. but everyone wanted to know what was next for Berneron. And now we know. It’s the Quantième Annuel, an annual calendar watch that marks a clear shift from the brand’s initial daring aesthetics to a more classic yet innovative design language.

The case of the Quantième Annuel is a wonderfully simple. And the measurements are pretty much perfect — 38mm wide, 10mm thick, with a 45mm lug-to-lug. It’s classic, but also very sharp, with stepped, curved lugs and an angled bezel. But we get our first surprise from the material. Or, more accurately, the construction. Berneron claims they have patented the construction and they are calling it Steel Layer. Thisa means that 85% of the mass is crafted from 950 platinum for premium heft and presence, while a protective 904L steel layer shields the bezel, lugs, and crown from wear. An interesting choice, made even more interesting when you find out that the steel part can be replaced in the lifetime of the watch. Out back is a hunter-style caseback that can be opened to reveal a look at the movement. Water resistance is 30 meters.

There are two dial options: black with silver-grey accents or silver with blue accents, both made of solid gold with matching gold hands. The layout is designed for clarity and ease of reading, where vertical elements show the time, and horizontal rows present the calendar. Time indications are essentially a regulator, with a large jumping hour at 12 o’clock, a central minute hand, and a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock. The horizontal calendar features a large jumping day disc, a retrograde centrally-mounted date hand, and a jumping month disc, and an AM/PM indicator within the small seconds.

Inside, you’ll find the calibre 595. We don’t know much about the movement, other than the basics. it’s made out of 18k gold, hand wound and equipped with two barrels for a power reserve of 100 hours with a 3Hz beat rate.

The Berneron Quantième Annuel is limited to 24 pieces per color produced annually over 10 years, with the first deliveries expected October 2026. The watch has an evolving pricing structure, starting at CHF 120,000 in 2026, rising to CHF 130,000 in 2027, and CHF 140,000 in 2028. See more on the Berneron 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

• Simona Stallone’s obsession with “Manacled”—a viral Harry Potter fanfiction featuring forbidden romances, morally gray characters, and even dragon sex—captures a movement where Dramione stories are eclipsing the original canon. As “Alchemised” hits shelves, the explosively popular romantasy subculture is rewriting the rules of fantasy, publishing, and fandom itself.

• A secretive new program is paying leading Democratic influencers up to $8,000 a month—with strict gag orders and contract restrictions—to boost progressive messaging online. Backed by the powerful Sixteen Thirty Fund, the Chorus Creator Incubator aims to rival Republican influencer operations, but its confidential contracts are igniting fierce debate over transparency, ethics, and the future of political communication.

• The death of James Dobson, evangelical titan and architect of a cruel Christian right, marks the end of an era steeped in violence, control, and ideological fervor. His legacy of corporal punishment, anti-queer crusades, and political manipulation shaped generations and echoes violently in today’s culture wars—yet the future of his influence remains uncertain.

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Vuk