IWC Releases A TOP GUN Chrono In Beautiful Light Blue Ceramic And Steel; Louis Errard Teams Up With Seddiqi; Eska’s Green Turtle; 100 Free Laco Watches; And Erling Haaland‘s New Breitling Duo

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Are we ready for watch givaways to come back? Because I will be giving out that Laco I wrote about and it’s beautiful!

In this issue

• IWC Expands The Colors Of TOP GUN Collection With Sky Blue Chronos In Ceramic And Steel

• Louis Erard Helps Seddiqi Celebrate 75 Years With A Burj Khalifa-Themed Petite Seconde

• Eska’s Green Turtle Colorway Is The Best Amphibian 250 To Date

• Laco Is Celebrating 100 Years By Giving Away 100 Beautiful Watches, And You Can Get One From Me!

• Breitling Releases Chronomat Automatic GMT 40 And Chronomat B01 42 With Football Star Erling Haaland

• PAID SUBSCRIBERS: Your Next Watch, Week 48: A Funky Omega, A Clean Porsche Design, More Ana-Digi Fun And A Super Cool Zenith

👂What’s new

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IWC Expands The Colors Of TOP GUN Collection With Sky Blue Chronos In Ceramic And Steel

There are a couple of brands out there pioneering the use of ceramics. Rado, comes to mind, as do Hublot and Omega, all of which have had some pretty great looking colored ceramic cases. But if we’re being honest, nobody does colored ceramic cases better than IWC in their Colours of TOP GUN collection. Their whites and blacks are crisp and deep, their tan is beautiful, the dark blue is incredible, but the green… oh my, anything they do in that green is just stunning. Now, we’re getting a new color, a very light blue that IWC is somewhat confusing calling Miramar. It’s named after the light blue shirts that flight instructors at the Top Gun school at Miramar, but this brings up some puzzles, as they already made the Pilot’s Watch Mark XVIII TOP GUN Miramar. But I’ll deal with it, because it’s beautiful. Oh, and this is the first time that we see the Colours of TOP GUN colors come to a steel case. This is the new IWC Schaffhausen Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Miramar collection.

Technically, the two watches share a case despite being made out of different materials. They both measure 41.9mm wide and 15.5mm thick. Once comes in a high tech Zirconium Oxide case, or ceramic, and it gets s wonderful matte texture and the light blue color that can be found on the t-shirts of TOP GUN instructors. Like I said, this is also the first time that one of these colored Pilot’s Chronos comes in a steel case which keeps the same dimensions and has a brushed finish. Both versions have sapphire crystals that are protected from popping up in case of pressure drop. The one other difference between the two cases, other than the major material difference is the ceramic version having a titanium caseback, pushers and screw-down crown, while the steel version has all of that done in steel. Water resistance is the same for both, 100 meters.

Then we have the dial, which keeps the familiar 6/9/12 tricompax layout of the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41, just rendered in a new color. That means you get a running seconds at 6, a 12 hour totalizer at 9 and a 30 minute one at 12 o’clock. At 3, you’ll find the day-date window. The base of both dials is done in a matter blue color, matching the ceramic case perfectly. You get the classic white mintue track and white Arabic numerals, both lumed, a triangle at 12 and lumed hands. But there’s a catch with the hands — on the steel version they are rhodium plated, while on the ceramic version they have the same blue outline as the dial underneath.

Inside, you’ll find two slightly different versions of the same movement. The ceramic version gets the calibre 69380. The in-house column wheel automatic chrono beats at 4Hz and has a 46 hour power reserve. It also has a soft-iron inner case to protect it from magnetism. The steel version gets the calibre 69380, essentially the same movement, but without the soft iron core. Both watches come on a matching blue rubber strap with a folding clasp.

The stainless steel version of the IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Miramar is part of the regular collection, priced at €7,800, while the ceramic version is limited to 1,000 pieces and priced at €14,100. See the stainless version here and the ceramic version here.

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Louis Erard Helps Seddiqi Celebrate 75 Years With A Burj Khalifa-Themed Petite Seconde

I’ve said it many times, but it’s worth repeating — there are few brands that are as good as collaborations as Louis Erard. They have worked with pretty much every relevant institution in watches, from retailers to watchmakers, and their watches are very good as acting as a canvas to make the watches radically different one from the other. For their latest collaboration, LE has teamed up with Ahmed Seddiqi, the leading luxury watch and jewellery destination in the Middle East, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Seddiqi. To do so, they gave their Petite Seconde an earthy colorway and skyscraper-themed hands.

On the outside, hardly anything has changed. The classic 39mm stainless steel case of the Petite Seconde was chosen for the “collection within the collection”. This is a fully polished steel case made out of three parts measures 39mm wide, 12.82mm thick and has a 45.9mm lug-to-lug, meaning it should fit most wrists easily. On top is a domed sapphire crystal and out back you’ll find a transparent caseback. Water resistance is 50 meters. It’s all very demure on the case

The dial, on the other hand, is where the design shines. The Petite Seconde is already very Art Deco-inspired, with its Empire State Building or the Chrysler building-inspired stepped shaped hands. Only, with the context of Seddiqi, the hands, while unchanged, have a more modern inspiration. They are still stepped, just like the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, and are now coppered colored that looks very much like sand. The dial is the same copper color, with concentric grooves in the central part and a classic small seconds counter at 6 o’clock. Surrounding the central part with the grooves is a brushed ring that holds printed Eastern Arabic numerals.

Inside is something very expected from Louis Erard — the elaboré grade Sellita SW261-1, a small seconds version of the SW-200, with an openworked rotor and black lacquered LE logo. The movement beats at 28,800vph and has a 38 hour power reserve. It’s not a sophisticated movement, nor a very beautiful one, but it does the job and is easily servicable, while keeping cost low. The watch comes on a grey grained calfskin strap with a pin closure.

The new Louis Erard La Petite Seconde x 75th Anniversary Seddiqi is limited to 75 pieces and available only through Seddiqi. Price is set at AED 11'900 which converts to about €2,800. See more on the Seddiqi website.

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Eska’s Green Turtle Colorway Is The Best Amphibian 250 To Date

A couple of years ago, two French enthusiasts decided to bring back the defunct brand Eska. They did so with a very cool watch that’s based on the dive watches that Eska was so well known for. Watches that were inspired by the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and featured fantastic oversized radium numerals and indices and a reverse black Bakelite bezel insert under acrylic. And that’s exactly what modern Eska has recreated with a super successful Kickstarter project. I had some issue with that first Eska relaunched watches was that they were fitted with the NH38 movement and were selling for €740 on Kickstarter and €1,050 (without tax!) at retail. That was steep. However, since then, Eska has lowered their prices, improved their movement and went on a great rampage with fantastic colors. And now we’re getting a new colorway of their Amphibian 250, the Green Turtle. And I think this one might be my favorite one yet.

The Green Turtle uses the same Amphibian case that measures 40mm wide, 13.5mm thick and with a lug-to-lug of 46mm, so pretty decent dimensions when it comes to chunky divers. While the unidirectional bezel is no longer bakelite, it does keep a vintage look with large numerals rendered in beige and a coin edge. To continue with the vintage aesthetic, the new Amphibian also has a double domed sapphire crystal. With the screw-down crown you get 250 meters of water resistance.

The original Amphibian featured a black dial, the White Shark got a stark white one, the Red Viper had a great red color, and now we have the Green Turtle with a fantastic gradient from a bright green in the centre to the black edges. It’s also a sandwich dial with cutouts for the indices filled in with Old Radium lume. The indices have a printed red tip, while at 3, 6, 9 and 12 you’ll find oversized Arabic numerals. The hands are also filled in with Old Radium lume, with minimal writing on the dial in white.

The Green Turtle continues where the Red Viper left off, so there are no more NH38 movements to be found here. It’s the Sellita SW200 which beats at 4Hz and has a 38 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a really nice looking green tropic rubber strap.

And just like the Red Viper, the Green Turtle is limited to 136 pieces. I never understood why Eska limits their watches to such a specific number. Well, I just found out why. This figure echoes a historical unit of measurement: 136 fathoms, corresponding to its waterproof depth of 250 meters. Price is set at €999, which is a fantastic price for such a watch. See more on the Eska website.

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Laco Is Celebrating 100 Years By Giving Away 100 Beautiful Watches, And You Can Get One From Me!

In 1925, Frieda Lacher and Ludwig Hummel founded Lacher & Co in Pforzheim to start making watches. Over the years they made great watches with imported movements. Then, in 1933, Hummel left and founded the movement manufacturing company Durowe, supplying Lacher & Co, or LaCo, with locally produced movements. While World War II was a devastating period for Pforzheim, it is also the time that Laco made the watches they are best known for, as they were one of the premier suppliers of pilot’s watches for the German Luftwaffe. They were one of the originators of the Type A and Type B flieger styles. Laco is now celebrating its 100th anniversary with a very special watch, the Laco Frieda. There’s only one catch. You can’t buy one. Instead, Laco is giving away 100 pieces of this special edition watch in their “100 Years – 100 Days – 100 Watches” campaign. And best of all, I’ll be giving one away to one of you, very soon!

Laco typically names its models after cities or geographical features, but this model breaks tradition. For a good reason, as it’s named after the co-founder, Frieda Lacher. It’s a familiar watch but with a dial that makes it extremely beautiful. The watch comes in a stainless steel case that measure 39mm wide, 11.55mm thick and with a 46.5mm lug-to-lug. The case has a beautiful matte finish and on the side, you’ll find an engraving that reads “Laco 1925-2025”, while the caseback has an engraving of its unique number out of 100. On the opposite side you’ll find the signature deeply grooved onion-shaped crown. Water resistance is 50 meters.

Then, there’s the dial. It’s a classic Type A flieger, which has just the minute track along the edge of the dial and big numerals for the hours. The minute track and numerals are printed in white lume, while the sword-shaped hands are done in black, with white lume inside. But the star here is the base of the dial. Rendered in Laco’s signature red color, it has a sandy texture which makes it very special.

Inside, more customization options to be had. You can get the Laco S2 movement, which is essentially the Miyota 82S0. The movement beats at 21,600vph and has a 42 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a grey leather strap with red stitching.

Laco’s Frieda was announced on July 19th, and each day from July 19th to October 26th, they will be giving one away through Laco’s own online shop, social media promotions and newsletter activities. But they will also be collaborating with media partners, bloggers, YouTubers and select events. Guess what? One will go to you beautiful people. I will let you know how and when you can get one from me as soon as possible, but in the meantime, keep an eye out on the Laco website, where they have a calendar of activities, to see how you can get one from them.

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Breitling Releases Chronomat Automatic GMT 40 And Chronomat B01 42 With Football Star Erling Haaland

I know exactly zero about football, or soccer, if you prefer. I have never followed it, I hardly know who the major players are, and most of my knowledge of football comes from the player and club collaborations with watch brands. I’m only slightly kidding. From what I gather, Erlign Haaland, who plays for Manchester City, is a pretty big deal in modern football. I know of Haaland because this is not his first watch collaboration. Before he signed up with Manchester, Haaland had Micromilspec create him a one-of-one watch that’s quite something. But now, he’s teaming up with Breitling for a Chronomat Automatic GMT 40 and Chronomat B01 42 in precious metal and meteorite combinations.

Starting with a Chronomat Automatic GMT 40, it’s quite familiar with a stainless steel case that measures 40mm wide and 11.77mm thick. Where things get wonderfully cooky is on the bezel, where the stainless steel has been replaced with platinum. On the side is a protected screw down crown which gets you 200 meters of water resistance. On the caseback, you’ll see Haaland’s engraved signature lotus goal celebration pose. The dial, just like its pair watch, is made out of a slab of grey meteorite, surrounded by a black flange that holds the 24-hour scale. At 6 o’clock is a date aperture and the second time zone is indicated with a gold colored hand. Inside, you’ll find the Breitling Calibre 32 which has a beat rate of 4Hz and a power reserve of 42 hours. The watch can be had on either a stainless steel rouleaux bracelet or black rubber strap, and it’s limited to 500 pieces. Price is set at €9,450 on rubber and €9,850 on steel. See it here.

Moving on to the Chronomat B01 42, it comes as two different limited editions. Sure, they both come in 18k red gold cases that measure 42mm wide and 15.1mm thick, but one is a 250-piece edition that you will be able to buy. The other is a 5-piece edition made for Haaland and his friends. The difference between the two is the Erling Haaland 9 engraving on side of the case on the 5-piece edition. The two editions share the exact same meteorite dial as the Chronomat Automatic GMT 40, with cutouts for the three black sub dial. All the hardware on the dial is done in gold, including the central chronograph hand. Inside is the B01 automatic chronograph movement, beating at 4Hz and with a 70 hour power reserve. The watch can be had on either a 18k red-gold rouleaux bracelet or black rubber strap. Price is set at €26,000 on rubber and €45,500 on the gold bracelet. See more on the Breitling website.

Your Next Watch, Week 48: A Funky Omega, A Clean Porsche Design, More Ana-Digi Fun And A Super Cool Zenith

We continue with our exploration of watches we shouldn't spend our money on, but most likely will. Read it here.

⏲️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

• Aaron Parsley recalls his family house on the Guadalupe River as a place of peace and tranquility, until July 4, 2025. In the early hours of the morning, a flash flood lifted the home off its foundations and tore it apart. Parsley and six members of his family were inside at the time, unable to evacuate the house for higher ground with floodwaters raging around them. This is Parsley’s harrowing, first-person account of the flooding and its aftermath in Kerr County, Texas.

• A fascinating account of a case that has gripped the UK—the death of baby Charlotte, daughter of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon. Sophie Elmhirst’s commentary moves beyond the surface-level concern for the child to expose a deeper, more voyeuristic fascination with the couple’s relationship: “Less openly stated, but quite obvious, was the fascination with this marriage of seeming contrast: an aristocratic white woman and a Black man with a violent criminal record.” Elmhirst is astute in tracing the unlikely bond between the two, both shaped by lives spent “fighting authorities,” one against a wealthy family, the other against the criminal justice system. Their chaotic union spills into the courtroom, fueling the strange drama of this trial.

• Jessica Winter’s impulsive search on a genealogy website turns up a century-old record of her grandfather, identified as a six-year-old “inmate” of a Pennsylvania orphanage, a situation brought about by his parents’ counterfeiting crimes. The discovery sparks recognition: Winter, who has no memory of this part of her family history, spots threads of her grandfather’s life in her own previously published novel. As she expands her search, the threads multiply, running throughout her family. “I came to believe that I was, in some respects, my great-grandmother’s protégée, or her doppelgänger,” she writes. “Or her counterfeit.” Winter’s account of her great-grandfather, the convicted counterfeiter Anton, is wholly engrossing. But her exploration of the ways in which we accumulate trauma—ways that might confound our memory—grants this essay a fascinating heart.

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One video you have to watch today

How is it possible that Watches of Espionage haven’t done a video on the Casio F91W? It’s right in their wheelhouse.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk