Nivada Grenchen Brings Back The Aquamar With The Coolest Lume Trick; Seiko Celebrates 50 Years Of Jaws; Brellum's New Nautic Pandial Marina; Boldr And WatchGecko Team Up; Urban Jürgensen Returns

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Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I love it when a brand uses something that’s very pedestrian — the date wheel mechanism — to make it something we don’t see every day. The changing lume on the new Nivada is technically useless, yeah, but also incredibly, incredibly cool.

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In this issue:

• Nivada Grenchen Brings Back The Less Known Antarctic Diver Aquamar With A Very Cool Changing Lume Trick

• Seiko Celebrates 50 Years Of Jaws With The Blockbuster-Themed Prospex SRPL81

• Brellum Introduces Brand New Nautic-Themed Pandial Marina Collection With The Tricompax Chronometer

• Boldr And WatchGecko Team Up For A Very Stealthy Venture Polaris Special Edition

• Urban Jürgensen Returns Under Kari Voutilainen With Three New Models

👂What’s new

1/

Nivada Grenchen Brings Back The Less Known Antarctic Diver Aquamar With A Very Cool Changing Lume Trick

Pretty much every Nivada Grenchen release is destined to be a very cool watch. Since Nivada is dedicated to recreating watches from their long and storied past, you know they will be retro and different from pretty much everything made today. Some Nivada releases are based on more popular models from their past, stuff like the Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver and the Antarctic Diver, but some are less known. While the original Antarctic Diver came out in the 1950s, a decade later Nivada introduced the now lesser known Antarctic Diver Aquamar. This is the watch that’s making a comeback today not just with its beautiful sandwich dial, but also with one of the most unique features of any watch today — a changing lume.

The Aquamar comes in a stainless steel case that measures 38mm wide and 12.9mm thick, with sharp lugs characteristic of a skin diver case. The case has great looking brushed and polished finishes and on top is a rotating bezel with a black ceramic insert. The bezel surrounds a double-domed sapphire crystal. Out back is a penguin medallion, a mascot the brand has been using for decades. Water resistance is 200 meters.

Then we have the dials, which are really something to behold of. You can have them in matte blue, black, or grey, and each has a slightly different design for the indices cut into the sandwich-style construction. The grey gets slits cut into the top surface, while the blue and black get really funky openings that maybe look like a blocky letter A. Now, for the party trick. Nivada places a disc painted with lume underneath the top layer of the dial, and ties it to the date mechanism. That means that you can choose which color lume you would like on a particular day, giving you a choice of white or beige lume. How cool is that?

Inside, you’ll find the Soprod P024 movement, which is another alternative to the ubiquitous Sellita SW200. That means that it beats at 4Hz and has a 38 hour power reserve. The watches can be had on a while number of carrying options, including beads-of-rice or flat-link bracelets, leathers and rubber straps.

The new Nivada Grenchen Antarctic Diver Aquamar goes on sale on June 19th and will be part of the regular collection. Price is set at €815. See more on the Nivada Grenchen website.

2/

Seiko Celebrates 50 Years Of Jaws With The Blockbuster-Themed Prospex SRPL81

A truly formative movie from most of our childhoods is undoubtedly Jaws. I live near the Adriatic sea so I’ve spent my fair share of time in the water. And to this day, there’s a part of my brain that asks: what if… Sightings of Great White sharks in the Adriatic are so rare I stand a greater chance of being hit by a falling piano while swimming than being attacked by one of the Jaws sharks. But still, what if… That movie was so powerful. Jaws was also the first summer blockbuster movie, creating an entire genre of cinema and it’s turning 50 years this year. To celebrate that, we’re getting a quite unexpected collaboration, one with Seiko for the quite on-the-nose, but cool, Seiko Prospex JAWS 50th Anniversary SRPL81.

Based on the Seiko turtle, the outside of the watch remains unchanged. The stainless steel case measures 44.3mm wide, 13.4mm thick and has a 47.7mm lug-to-lug. The case has a brushed finish, a screw-down crown at 4 o’clock and a blue insert on the unidirectional bezel. And as you would expect, the bezel surrounds a Hardlex crystal with a cyclops over the day-date window. Water resistance is 200 meters.

Then, there’s the pretty on-the-nose dial. It features a textured gradient that goes from white on top and blue on bottom, looking like the ocean that the shark from Jaws is lurking. It’s not just implied, because there’s the actual outline of Bruce, as the animatronic from Jaws was called, in the background, rising from the water. If that wasn’t enough of a hint, there’s the Jaws logo above 6 o’clock. That’s maybe the one step too far, but I can live with it. At 3 o’clock is a day-date, the hands and applied markers are filled with Lumibrite and the seconds hand features a lollipop tip painted in red.

Inside is the well known calibre 4R36 which beats at 3Hz and has a 41 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a blue rubber strap that matches the blue on the bezel. The watch also comes in a collector’s box that features the red, white and blue colorway of Jaws, and inside the watch comes on a cushion that has the Jaws poster printed on it.

The very cool Prospex JAWS 50th Anniversary SRPL81 is a limited edition, but limited means something else in the Seiko world — 5,000 pieces will be made, and they go on sale in July. Price is set at $795. See more on the Seiko website.

3/

Brellum Introduces Brand New Nautic-Themed Pandial Marina Collection With The Tricompax Chronometer

Despite looking like they dropped right out of the 1960s, Brellum is actually a fairly new company, only about eight or nine years old. Which is a great thing, because we get to see how a watch brand builds itself up to multiple different collections. They already have classic racing-style chronographs, pilots watches, a GMT collection, and now we’re getting a marine themed chronograph. This is the new Pandial Marina Tricompax Chronometer which gets a nautical makeover, but keeps the classic inspiration, solid build quality and chronometer-certified movements.

The new Pandial Marina comes in a choice of materials — a more traditional stainless steel or a grade 5 titanium, which you don’t really see on such classically style chronographs. Both versions get a mix of polished and brushed finishes. And I’m digging the idea of titanium, since this is quite a large watch, measuring 43mm wide and 15.9mm thick. That thickness sounds humongous, but keep in mind that the actual case is just 11.7mm thick, while the rest is the vintage-style glassbox sapphire crystal and the domed sapphire exhibition caseback. Surrounding the top crystal is a fixed bezel with a blue insert that has a Tachymeter scale. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial is surrounded by a black and white sloped flange that features a second tachymeter scale that’s marked in nautical miles, as you would expect from a marine-themed watch. The base of the dial gets a matte blue finish, with three sub-dials at 3, 6 and 9 and a really cool snailed 60-minute ring that sits at the centre of the dial and intercepts the sub-dials. There’s orange Super-LumiNova on the hour and minute hands, as well as the first five hour markers, while the rest of them get white lume. Not sure why, but it’s a groovy look.

Inside, you’ll find the BR-110 calibre, which is a rebranded and modified La Joux-Perret L110, a column-wheel chronograph. It beats at 4Hz and has a 60 hour power reserve. Like all Brellum watches, this one is COSC certified. Finishes include perlage, blued screws, stripes and a customised openworked rotor. The titanium version comes with a navy blue Nebur Tec strap with orange stitching and a titanium deployant buckle, while the steel comes on a steel bracelet, but you can get the Nebur Tec strap for an extra CHF 290.

Unfortunately, the titanium Brellum Pandial Marina Tricompax is limited to just 23 pieces, while the steel version is part of the regular collection. The titanium on the Nebur Tec strap is priced at CHF 3,690, while the steel on bracelet is priced at CHF 3,490. See more on the Brellum website.

4/

Boldr And WatchGecko Team Up For A Very Stealthy Venture Polaris Special Edition

We are currently living in the second, maybe even the third generation of microbrand watches. Following in the footsteps of pioneers, brands like Boldr are craving out some interesting niches. Boldr Supply Company is a company out of Singapore that has made a name for themselves making stylish and rugged watches and knives that are perfect for weekend getaways. And the watch that made Boldr the company they are today is the Venture, their take on the field watch, to which they applied their expertise — titanium and great colors. Now, Boldr has teamed up with WatchGecko to create a a very minimalist take on the Venture, the Boldr Venture Polaris.

The base of the Polaris remains the same as the regular Venture, which means that it has a very angular case, cutting down on the length with almost flat lugs. The case is made out of titanium, measuring 38mm wide and 12mm thick. On top is a flat sapphire crystal surrounded by a fixed bezel. The crown sits at 4 o’clock and is nicely textured. The cases have stain finishes available in two colors — a grey that looks like a natural titanium and a black coated one. Water resistance is 200 meters.

What’s new in this collaboration is the dial, which is made out of aventurine glass, giving the watch a starry-sky look. Which makes perfect sense since this is a star-themed watch, with constellations taking up a prominent position on the dial. The Polaris, the brightest start in the Northern sky, is set in the middle of the dial, which means that that’s the Big Dipper on the left side of the dial and, if I remember my constellations right, Cassiopeia on the right. The stars of those constellations are brightly lumed, just like the stark white baton hands. The seconds hand is black with a bright orange tip.

Inside, you’ll find the humble but reliable Seiko NH38 automatic which beats at 21,600bph and has a 41 hour power reserve. The watches come on NATO-style black nylon straps.

The new Boldr x WatchGecko Venture Polaris goes on pre-sale today, Monday, 17th June at 2:00pm BST and is limited to 100 pieces, 50 in each colorway. The price the website is displaying for me is curiously specific — €478,95, which tells me it’s likely including my 25% VAT. Pricing might vary for you. See more on the WatchGeco website.

5/

Urban Jürgensen Returns Under Kari Voutilainen With Three New Models

The casual watch fan might not know the name Urban Jürgensen, and that’s quite OK. It took me years of reading about watch history to come across the brand which was founded in 1773. Over 250 years, Urban Jürgensen established itself as one of the most legendary brands in history, but still a kind of a if-you-know-you-know brand, involving some of the greatest names in watchmaking. I will have an in-depth history of Urban Jürgensen out this Friday, but more importantly, after many highs and stumbles, the brand is now back, under ownership of the Rosenfield family and several investors, and under co-leadership of the legendary Kari Voutilainen. This isn’t the first time, however, that Voutilainen, who is co-CEO with Alex Rosenfield, will be working with UJ. Years ago he finished dials for the brand, in what experts have called a pivotal influence on his later work. Last week, Urban Jürgensen introduced three new watches, the UJ-1 Tourbillon, UJ-2 Time-Only and UJ-3 Perpetual.

While each of the three watches come with slightly different cases, they have an overall instantly recognizable design. Most shocking on all three watches will certainly be the lack of iconic teardrop lugs, the same that inspired Voutilainen’s watches. However, according to Voutilainen, these are actually reinterpretation of the teardrop lugs, just rotated 90 degrees and made sharper. More hints to old Urban Jürgensen watches can be found on the sterling silver dials and gold plated movements.

Starting with the UJ-1 model, what is surely the most classic of the watches, but also the most complex. It comes in either a 950 platinum or 18k rose gold case that measures 39.5mm wide and 12.2mm thick. The case gets satin-brushed and polished finishes, a stepped bezel on top and a caseback which has a grain d’orge hand-guilloche pattern. The base of the dial is made out of solid sterling silver and hand guilloched with linear grain d’orge in the centre and clous de Paris on the small seconds display at 6 o’clock. Around the periphery is a chapter ring with Roman numerals, pointed to with open-tip hands. Right under the 12 o’clock marker you’ll find a power reserve indicator. There are three dial options — a silver dial with flame-blued hands or dark grey dial with silver tracks and hands, both paired with the platinum case, while the gold case gets a silver dial with rose gold tracks and hands.

Inside, you’ll find a shockingly impressive movement, made in-house and developed by Voutilainen. It’s a miniaturized version of the legendary Pratt’s oval pocket watch movement, featuring a flying barrel, a large central bridge with pillars, and the one-minute tourbillon equipped with a constant force device. The regulator is a Swiss lever, paired with a balance wheel with micrometric timing screws and hairspring with Phillips terminal curve. It beats at 2.5Hz and has a 47 hour power reserve. It’s, of course, beautifully finished, with grenage surface and a rose gold plating on the plates and bridges, satin-polished wheels with chamfered spokes and mirror polished screw-heads. All three watches come on hand-stitched, ethically-sourced alligator leather, closed by a pin buckle.

The new Urban Jürgensen UJ-1 Tourbillon is limited to 25 pieces and priced at CHF 368,000, without taxes. See more on the brand website.

Moving on to the Urban Jürgensen UJ-2, things get both simpler and more funky. It comes in a slightly smaller case, again made out of satin-finished 950 platinum or 18k rose gold case, and measuring 39mm wide and 10.9mm thick. Again you get the stepped bezel, new teardrop lugs and hand-guilloche pattern caseback. The dial, however, gets a bit weirder. The axis of the hands is moved up from the centerline of the dial, the small seconds now sits at 4:30, and the track of the small seconds interacts with the applied track that also sits off centre. The centre of the dial has a smooth texture, the area outside the track gets a grain d’orge and the small seconds gets the clous de Paris. Four options are available — silver and blue dials for both the platinum and gold versions, paired with either blued, rose gold or rhodium colored hands.

The movement is much simpler, but not less impressive. Called the calibre UJ-2, it’s hand-wound and uses a large screwed free-sprung balance connected to a double wheel natural escapement. This lubrication-free system delivers a direct impulse to the balance through an impulse roller, achieving up to 30% more power efficiency than a traditional Swiss lever escapement. The movement beats at 2.5Hz and has a 52 hour power reserve. The movement is decorated with grenaged gold-plated bridges, domed polished bevels and sharp internal anglage. The watches also come on ethically-sourced alligator leather.

According to Urban Jürgensen, the UJ-2 is not limited in numbers, but don’t expect a lot of these to be made. Price is set at CHF 105,000, without taxes. See more on the Urban Jürgensen website.

Last, there’s the perpetual calendar UJ-3. The case is once again made in the same style with the lugs and stepped bezel and guilloche caseback, again with a choice of 950 platinum or 18k rose gold, but now a bit thicker and measuring 39mm wide and 13.9mm thick. There’s only one dial option here, a black base with circular grain d’orge, straight grain d’orge, clous de Paris and sauté-piqué that create contrasts in each of the segments. There’s a pointer date between 4 and 5 o’clock, two apertures above the 3 and 9 o’clock hour markers to display the day and month, as well as a moon phase indicator at 7:30.

Inside, you’ll find the same base as the UJ2, but with perpetual calendar functions are integrated into the movement. All indications are paired with an instantaneous jump mechanism. The moon phase has a precision of one day deviation every 14,000 years. It has a free-sprung balance with direct double wheel escapement and it’s manually wound. It beats at 3Hz and has a 2.5Hz and has a 52 hour power reserve. The watches also come on ethically-sourced alligator leather.

Just like the UJ-2, the Urban Jürgensen UJ-3 Perpetual Calendar is not limited, but production will remain low. Price is set at CHF 168,000, without tax. See more on the Urban Jürgensen 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

• Once upon a time, Pakistanis scorned raw fish. Now sushi is everywhere from Ramadan meals to wedding buffets – and it all started with one man and a dream.

• When an Instagram account is hacked or a Facebook account is disabled, many users find dealing with Meta to be a maddening, fruitless process. For The Globe and Mail, reporters Kathryn Blaze Baum and Alexandra Posadzki reveal the network of brokers who, for a fee, perform unauthorized account recoveries with the help of Meta insiders and (no kidding) something termed the “Oops” mechanism. 

• In a cemetery, decay is both an enemy and an ally. In this piece from the Nautilus archives, David Shultz tours Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with David Gallagher, its “chief of conservation.” Shultz learns about the longevity of different types of stone, from marble to granite, and explores what people really want when they consider the markers for their eternal resting places.

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Vuk