Ming Brings Back Their Destro Monopusher Chrono; Benrus Revives The Very Cool Sky Chief; Dennison Goes On Safari; Tutima's Light Blue Titanium Patira; A Matte Integrated Bracelet Gerald Charles

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Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Just a quick reminder that the F1 season is starting soon and I started the It’s About Time F1 fantasy league if you want to make this season interesting.

In this issue

• Ming Brings Back The Destro Monopusher Chronograph With The 57.04 Phoenix

• Benrus Revives One Of Their Coolest Vintage Watches, The Sky Chief, And Keeps Them The Same Size

• Dennison Goes On Safari With Tiger And Zebra Themed, Diamond Studded ALD Capsule Collection

• Tutima Gives Their Slick Titanium Patria A Light Blue Textured Dial

• Gerald Charles Limits Their Matte Integrated Bracelet Masterlink To Just Their Boutiques

• FOR WATCH CLUB MEMBERS Watch School Wednesday: The Full Spectrum of Calendar Watchmaking

👂What’s new

1/

Ming Brings Back The Destro Monopusher Chronograph With The 57.04 Phoenix

For a couple of years now, every time a Ming watch comes out, I keep thinking how far they’ve come from the times of the simple 17.09 watch. I fell in love with those fantastic looking watches the moment I saw them. But it’s very clear that modern Ming has nothing to do with that Ming any more. Sure, you can see the evolution of the design language, but modern Ming is a step up in quality, a step up in price and a step up in design. These are now bona-fide masterpiece watches and I could easily argue that they are undervalued for what you get. Despite this obvious split in generations, I love Ming overall. And I love their new watch, the Ming 57.04 Phoenix, a more subdued version of the 57.04 Iris, which was the watch that introduced the brand’s fifth-generation design language.

The case, their take on an Art Deco watch, remains the same. I love the signature Ming lugs, but these are a whole new level. They keep the pagoda-style shape, but give them a stepped construction like you might find in Art Deco architecture. Additionally, the lugs have alternating brushed and polished surfaces, which is just damn cool. The watch measures 40mm wide, 11.85mm thick — almost shockingly thin for a chronograph — with a 47.8mm lug-to-lug. You get sapphire crystals on top and bottom, while the crown sits at 9 o’clock, making for a destro configuration. That crown also has an integrated chronograph pusher, which is always a fantastic option. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The Iris dial was quite something to process, with many sunray cutouts and a multiphasic coating over a brass base, producing colour shifts that can look turquoise, purple, green, or orange. The Phoenix keeps things much simpler. The cutouts are now fewer on the dial and wider, creating a more dramatic look, and they are cut into a sunray-brushed anthracite base of a dial. The sub-dial at 6 o’clock is a 30-minute chronograph counter and is also simpler than on the iris. What hasn’t chenged is the fact that the main hands, chronograph hands, sub-dial and the hour track cut into the underside of the crystal are all filled with Ming’s luminous Polar White and Super- LumiNova X1.

Inside, you’ll find a movement made by Sellita, but heavily modified for Ming. The SW562.M1 is a hand-wound movement based on the Valjoux architecture. It beats at 4Hz and has a 60 hour power reserve, with really nice finishing that includes an anthracite mainplate with a rhodium-coated main bridge. The watch can be had on either a grey FKM rubber strap or Ming’s absolutely brilliant Polymesh 3D printed titanium bracelet.

The Ming 57.04 Phoenix Monopusher Chronograph doesn’t appear to be an overall limited edition, but 150 pieces will be made in 2026. Price is set at CHF 6,250 on the rubber and CHF 7,250 on the Polymesh. See more on the Ming website, and you can now buy Ming watches from Ace Jewelers.

2/

Benrus Revives One Of Their Coolest Vintage Watches, The Sky Chief, And Keeps Them The Same Size

Look through vintage dealer websites and eBay auctions long enough and you’ll start to realize that the 1940s and 50s Benrus Sky Chief is one of the better deals in vintage chronographs. You might be even tempted to buy it. But owning a vintage chrono might be more trouble than its worth. I’m not saying it’s a bad idea, but keep in mind that these are delicate movements that might not stand up to as much abuse and will likely have to be serviced more often. If you think a vintage Sky Chief is not for you, Benrus has your back! They just released a modern recreation of this classic and they did it the right way. Not only does the watch look fantastic, just like the vintage variants, it also comes in a case that is just 1mm wider than the old watches. That means that Benrus will sell you a 36mm chronograph. And wait till you hear how thick it is.

One of the biggest issues plaguing automatic chronographs is their size. To be able to fit the chrono movement and the winding mechanism, modern auto chronos often break the 14mm thickness mark. The new Sky Chief turns this whole idea upside-down. The stainless steel case measures 36mm wide, just 1mm wider than the original, and 11.9mm thick. Now, I assume that this measurement doesn’t include the double-domed box sapphire crystal, but I’ve seen it reported that it does include the steep bezel and the sapphire caseback. Whatever the final size ends up, this is looking pretty good, especially thanks to the 42.5mm lug-to-lug. The case is made out of stainless steel with brushed and polished finishes. On the side is an oversized flat crown, flanked by two rectangular pushers for the chronograph. Water resistance is 100 meters, which is certainly not something you would get in a vintage Sky Chief.

Two dials are available, and they both have strong vintage inspiration. One is called Stratus Grey, which is a glossy lacquered black, and the other is Cirrus White, a silver with a sunburst finish. Both versions get snailed sub-dials, beige Super-LumiNova on just the indices and beautiful Arabic numerals. At 3 o’clock is a running seconds, at 6 o’clock is a 12 hour counter and at 9 o’clock is a 30 minute counter.

Inside, you’ll find the ETA 2894 automatic chronograph. It beats at 4Hz, has a 42 hour power reserve and it’s COSC certified. The watches come on grey leather straps with a polished pin buckle, with an additional black leather strap available as an additional option.

The new Benrus Sky Chief is available now, priced at $3,950. This is a very, very nice watch, can’t wait to see one. See more on the Benrus website.

3/

Dennison Goes On Safari With Tiger And Zebra Themed, Diamond Studded ALD Capsule Collection

Dennison absolutely dominated last year. In April, they were the talk of the town in Geneva during Watches and Wonders, with their stone dial watches. A couple of months later, they did it again, but also kind of sent online watch fans into a frenzy with their dual time ALD model. Just a few months after that, they went back to the original ALD and gave it wonderful mother-of-pearl marquetry dials. To top it all off, they won the GPGH Challenge prize, beating out way more expensive and established models. This year might be just as interesting, because their first watch duo this year is anything but ordinary. This is the new Safari Capsule Collection and it’s pretty clear what’s going on.

The watches come in the same ALD cushion shaped case that Dennison is known for. It’s a wonderfully whimsical case designed by renowned designer Emmanual Gueit and measures 37mm x 33.65mm, and just 6mm thick. New for these two models are the cases set with 1.79 carats of natural VS-SI round-cut diamonds all around the perimeter, in places stacked in two rows. Kill me, but I love the look. The case is made out of stainless steel and here comes uncoated, with a small crown on the side and integrated straps. Water resistance is a modest 30 meters, but it really doesn’t matter.

But even more impressive than the diamond-studded case are the two new dials. Both are made out of mother-of-pearl, but made to look like tiger and zebra stripes. They are loud and brash, but incredible. The Tiger MOP is made of orange mother-of-pearl, hand inlaid with black enamel stripes. The Zebra MOP uses the same black enamel stripes, but pairs it with a a white MOP dial. Both dials feature a faint Dennison logo printed on the underside of the flat sapphire crystal, and you get the signature polished ALD hands.

Inside, you won’t find a mechanical movement. Instead, the watch is powered by the Swiss Ronda Quartz 1062. Since I’m a big advocate of brining back quartz movements, I welcome this choice. The watches come on either orange or black epsom leather straps.

The first 10 pieces of each model in the Dennison ALD Safari Capsule edition will be available through Dennison, after which a limited number will be offered through retailers. Price is set at €4,200 for either watch and you can see more on the Dennison website.

4/

Tutima Gives Their Slick Titanium Patria A Light Blue Textured Dial

Tutima, a heritage watch brand from the iconic city of Glashütte in Germany, is one of those brands I wish would put out way more watches so that I can write about them more. They have a wide range of styles, from vintage to modern fliegers, dress watches and sporty chronographs. I’m particularly fond of their pilot’s watch they developed for the German Air Force and NATO back in the 1980s, the M2 Chronograph. But their dressier watches also shouldn’t be ignored. Stuff like the Tutima Patria, which now gets a wonderful light blue dial to complement the cool titanium case.

The watch uses the same case as a recently introduced titanium version of the Patria, made out of polished grade 5 titanium, with an elegant shape and soft and swooping lugs. There’s something cool about titanium being used on a dress watch with a polished finish. The case measures 41mm wide and 11.2mm thick. That width might seem substantial, but from all the photos, it seems to wear smaller than the numbers might suggest. On top is a domed sapphire crystal that extends to the very edges of the case, with a discreet bezel around it. Water resistance is 50 meters.

The dial is also similar to other Patria dials, with the same base that has a tiny pyramid pattern, a grooved smalls seconds display at 6 o’clock and diamond-cut indices, paired with manually finished hands. What’s new is the light blue color of that base that works fantastically with the titanium case.

Inside, you’ll find the in-house Tutima 617 manually wound movement which beats at 21,600vph and has a 65 hour power reserve. It’s a beautiful and impressive movement, with the iconic three-quarter-plate with Glashütte ribbing, beveling by hand as well as its ruby bearings set in screwed gold chatons. The pallet fork, specially manufactured in the Glashütte atelier, transmit the energy of the gear train to the balance, providing the heartbeat of the movement. The watch comes on a grey sheepskin leather strap with a titanium pin buckle.

The new Tutima Patria with a light blue dial is available now, as part of the regular collection, priced at €8,600. See more on the Tutima website.

5/

Gerald Charles Limits Their Matte Integrated Bracelet Masterlink To Just Their Boutiques

Some two years ago, Gerald Charles, which up to that point has been making very characteristically-shaped cases, decided to jump on the integrated bracelet trend. They did it with their Masterlink collection that heavily referenced the Maestro case, designed by Genta himself, and the chin was supposed to look like a smile, but with a bracelet bolted right to the case. I’m not sure the watch has been a huge hit for the brand, as we haven’t seen many updates to come to the collection. Until now, when Gerald Charles is pushing to get more people into their Geneva and Nagoya boutiques, so they produced the new Masterlink Boutique Edition with a matte finish.

The case remains largely unchanged from the original Masterlink, which means that it comes in a deceptively simple case that measures 38mm wide and 38mm long, with a thickness of 7.9mm. I say deceptively simple, as there’s much more to it than the square case, as it’s made out of 31 parts. The whole things has a new Darkblast finish which gives it a dark matte appearance. Being a sports watch, it has a screw down crown and 100 meters of water resistance.

The dial keeps the monochromatic theme going, with a sandwich layer dial that has a vertical sunray finishing. The top part also has vertical cutouts revealing the bottom level. The baton hands (with skeletonized counterweights) and indexes get lume inserts, and around the perimeter of the entire dial is a white minute track.

Inside is thecalibre GCA1000, a proprietary 2.7mm-thin micro-rotor automatic movement designed by Gerald Charles and made by Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier. It beats at 3Hz and has a 50 hour power reserve. It’s highly decorated with a sandblasted rotor and vertical Côtes de Genève stripes on the bridges. The watch gets an integrated bracelet that has the same finish as the case.

The Gerald Charles Masterlink Boutique Edition will be available only in the brands Geneva and Nagoya boutiques, but getting one might be a pain. You need to apply in the boutique and pricing is available only upon application. The regular Masterlink is priced at €19,500. See more on the Gerald Charles website.

FOR WATCH CLUB MEMBERS Watch School Wednesday: The Full Spectrum of Calendar Watchmaking

Exploring simple dates, triple calendars, annual calendars, perpetuals, and IWC's eternal innovation. Read it here.

⏲️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

• How do you approach the gargantuan challenge of profiling your personal writing hero? This is the central tension John Hendrickson grapples with as he spends time with Tom Junod, famous for stories such as the pivotal post-9/11 piece, “The Falling Man” and “Can You Say…Hero?,” his profile of Mister Rogers. (Junod is perhaps infamous for profiles of Nicole Kidman and Kevin Spacey.) For Esquire, Hendrickson spends a few days with Junod in advance of the publication of Junod’s memoir.

• Perseverance rover unearths leopard-spotted Martian rocks—potential fossils from an ancient watery world—begging the question: life beyond Earth? NASA’s $11 billion heist to haul them home crumbles under ballooning costs and congressional cuts, stranding samples in Jezero Crater. Meanwhile, China’s Tianwen-3 rockets toward victory by 2031, rewriting the space race.

• A LinkedIn ad lures desperate games writers to GamesHub, a once-respected Aussie outlet now churning crypto casino lists and AI bylines. Behind it: Clickout Media, snapping up legacy sites like Videogamer and The Escapist, stuffing them with parasite SEO and fake profiles, while freelancers toil in secrecy, unpaid and uneasy.

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One video you have to watch today

The crazier things get, the better Stewart becomes.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk