Seiko And PADI Release A Duo Of Green Divers; FC Teams Up With Austin-Healey; Paulin's Uniques With Artist John Nicol; Speake Marin's Openworked For Roland-Garros; MB&F Funky Purple HM8 Mark 2

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I get all the collabs in todays newsletter and they all make sense. But I really have to ask, what’s up with Austin-Healy, are they really making cars again?

In this issue:

• Seiko Teams Up With PADI Once Again For A Duo Of Green Divers

• Frederique Constant Continues Collaboration With Austin-Healey With Three Vintage-Styled Watches

• Paulin Introduces 10 Unique Pieces Made With Artist John Nicol For Hands On Horology Event

• Speake Marin Gives The Openworked Dual Time A Roland-Garros Theme

• MB&F Welcomes Purple To Their Funky Car-Inspired HM8 Mark 2 Collection

👂What’s new

1/

Seiko Teams Up With PADI Once Again For A Duo Of Green Divers

Seiko is the quintessential dive watch, so it makes perfect sense that they have teamed up with PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, to create an collection of watches. Seiko enthusiasts know this is nothing new, as they have been working with PADI for some years now, decades, even, not only to create watches, but also to donate money for ocean preservation. These days we’re getting two new PADI releases, the Seiko Prospex SPB501 Diver’s Watch 1965 Heritage PADI Special Edition and the Seiko Prospex SRPL53 Diver’s Watch Mechanical PADI Special Edition.

Starting with the Prospex SPB501 Diver’s Watch 1965 Heritage PADI Special Edition, it’s based on a tribute to the very first Seiko diver, with the slight h-shape to the blunt lugs, a brushed finish with polished facets. It comes in a beefy case that measures 40mm wide and 13mm thick, with a 46.4mm lug-to-lug measurement. On top is a sapphire crystal surrounded by a unidirectional dive bezel which has an insert that’s the first hint of the PADI collaboration — a deep green insert with a 60 minute graduation. Water resistance is 300 meters. The dial gets a gradient emerald green color with a special PADI ocean pattern that almost resembles outlines of a school of fish above you as you are diving. The dial is paired with silver bar indexes, silver hands and a date window at 4:30, along with a PADI logo above 6 o’clock. Inside, you’ll find the 6R55 automatic movement that beats at 3Hz and has a 72 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a three-link stainless steel bracelet. The SPB501 goes on sale in July and is priced at €1,700. See more of the watch here.

The other watch is the Seiko Prospex SRPL53 Diver’s Watch Mechanical PADI Special Edition, based on the recently redesigned and smaller Samurai. Made out o steel, it measures 41.7mm wide, 12.3mm thick and has a lug-to-lug of 49.5mm. The redesign of the Samurai has also seen the shape of the case gets an overhaul, with thinner and more curved lugs which still retain their facets and angles. On top is the unidirectional bezel retains the classic knurling and the same green insert as the other model, but with a different font. Water resistance is 200 meters. The dial has the same emerald green color with a special PADI ocean pattern, paired with bullet-style markers filled with white lume and the same date aperture at 4:30. Inside is the very calibre 4R35. It beats at 21,600vph and has an OK power reserve of 40 hours. The watch comes on a steel three link bracelet. The SRPL53 goes on sale in June at a price of €670. See more on the Seiko website.

2/

Frederique Constant Continues Collaboration With Austin-Healey With Three Vintage-Styled Watches

OK, this one is a puzzle to me, a puzzle that I haven’t really gotten a chance to solve. According to Frederique Constant, a maker of some of the best bang-for-your-buck watches in the world, they have been working with British sports car brand Austin-Healey since 2004 to release watches together. That makes sense, right — is there a better partnership than iconic British sports cars and vintage-styled watches? Right, except that I’m sure that Austin-Healey hasn’t made a car since the 1970s… But that’s an exploration for another day, because FC actually is making these watches on a quite reglar basis. For 2025, we get three new vintage Austin-Healey-themed watches, all of which look extremely different from what you might expect from Frederique Constant. In the best possible way.

Starting with the Classics Vintage Rally Healey Automatic 40mm, it comes in a stainless steel case that measures 40mm wide and 10.16mm thick, with a convex sapphire crystal on top and a caseback that has an Austin-Healey engraved into it. Water resistance is 50 meters. This version gets a matte British Racing Green dial, with a white minute track on the periphery and Healey’s logo printed at 6 o’clock, along with lumed and applied silver indices and hands. Inside, you’ll find the FC-301 calibre, based on the Joux-Perret G100 which beats at 4Hz and has a 38 hour power reserve. Price is set at €1,695. See more here.

Moving down in size, we have the Classics Vintage Rally Healey Automatic 36mm, which comes in a stainless steel case that measures 36mm wide and 9.85mm thick. On top is the same convex sapphire crystal and out back is a caseback with the same Austin-Healey engraving. Water resistance is also the same at 50 meters. The dial, however, is different, with a sunray brushing and a light blue color, a dark blue minutes track and applied lumed indices and hands. There’s an Arabic numeral at 12, along with the same red seconds hand and Healey logo at 6 o’clock. Inside is the FC-303, which is based on the ubiquitous Sellita SW200-1 that beats at 4Hz and has a 38 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a navy blue calf leather strap with off-white stitching, and it’s limited to 1,888 pieces. Price is set at €1,495. See the watch here.

And last, we have the most vintage-racery of the bunch, the Classics Vintage Rally Healey Chronograph Automatic. The stainless steel case measures 42mm wide and 14.45mm thick, with piston style pushers on the right side. On top is a convex sapphire crystal, but out back is now an open caseback. The dial matches the 36mm model, with a sunray brushing and light blue shade, which is contrasted with darker blue sub-dials at 3 and 9 o’clock for the 60-minute counter and small seconds. You also get the Arabic numeral at 12, applied indices and hands. Inside, you’ll find the Valjoux-based automatic FC-397 which beats at 4Hz and has a 48 hour power reserve. The watches are again limited to 1,888 pieces and price is set at €3,395. See more on the Frederique Constant website.

3/

Paulin Introduces 10 Unique Pieces Made With Artist John Nicol For Hands On Horology Event

Shoreditch in London will welcome a new watch show tomorrow. The Hands on Horology show seems to be very interesting and I’m kind of jealous I won’t be able to attend. There’s a number of brands that will introduce exclusive watches at the show, most of which I didn’t write about because only a tiny fraction of people who read this will be able to even get to London on Saturday, June 14th. But this collaboration between the Scottish watch brand Paulin and Glaswegian artist John Nicol is just too good to not mention. This is the new Paulin John Nicol Neo Hands On Horology Edition.

Based on the Paulin Neo, the watch comes in a stainless steel case that measures 38mm wide and has a super thin bezel, allowing the sapphire crystal to extend all the way to the edges, to give a better view of the dial. Exactly what you want with a watch like this. There’s not much more to the case, other than a 50 meter water resistance.

It’s obviously all about the dials. There are 9 of them, each is a piece unique done by John Nicol, an artist known for his abstract approach to drawing and painting which includes bold colors and shapes. And that’s exactly the style that he has applied to these nine Paulin watches. They look absolutely fantastic, each with its own unique feel.

Inside the watches is the ubiquitous Seiko NH35A automatic movement. It beats at 21,600vph and has a 41 hour power reserve. The watches come on black suede straps closed with pin buckles.

The Paulin John Nicol Neo Hands On Horology Edition will be available in London on June 14th, and only the 9 will be sold. Price is set at £750. The watches are still not on the Paulin website or the Hands on Horology website, but you can see them on the Paulin Instagram.

4/

Speake Marin Gives The Openworked Dual Time A Roland-Garros Theme

The 2000s were an interesting time for watches. Following large consolidations in the 90s, along with the emergence of new brands and experiments with new(ish) materials, it seemed that there was a proliferation of independent brands on the horizon. One of these brands was Speake Marin, founded by Peter Speake-Marin in 2002, formed with he idea of making high-end, different and special watches. And the Dual Time Openworked really is that. Now, right ahead of summer, Speake Marin is giving the watch a colorway inspired by the most ubiquitous rich-person sport: tennis. And not just any tennis, this watch takes on the traditional colors of the Roland-Garros tennis tournament. This is the Speake Marin Openworked Dual Time Terracotta.

The watch uses the very traditional Speake Marin drum-shaped Piccadilly case with straight lugs and made out of titanium. You can have the watch in either 38 or 42mm, both of which are 12.35mm thick, and all of them a polished top and bottom with a brushed midcase. Water resistance is 30 meters

While the name says this is an Openworked dial, don’t expect anything excessive. The most prominent aspect of the dial is the bright terracotta mainplate, inspired by the clay courts that the Roland-Garros is played on. There’s a small seconds counter at 1:30 with an orange frosted finish, grey markings, and blue-emission Super-LumiNova applied to the 5-second intervals. A date indicator surrounds the small seconds. Flanking the date are the rhodium-plated bridges for the barrel and rotor. There’s a two-tone GMT indicator and central Big Ben-style hands for local time. In addition to the fun terracotta color, you also get blue, orange and green lume emissions from the lume at night.

Inside is the proprietary SMA01 micro-rotor calibre, designed and manufactured by Le Cercle des Horlogers in La Chaux-de-Fonds. It beats at 28,800vph and has a 52 hour power reserve. The movement is decorated with Geneva stripes on the bridges and the micro-rotor has an orange topper. The watch comes on a green grained calf leather strap closed with a pin buckle.

The Speake Marin Openworked Dual Time Terracotta is priced at CHF 31,900 for the 38mm and CHF 32,400 for the 42mm, both prices without tax. See more on the Speake Marin website.

5/

MB&F Welcomes Purple To Their Funky Car-Inspired HM8 Mark 2 Collection

Max Büsser, the owner of the quirky and elite MB&F, says he has always wanted to be a car designer. And this makes sense. MB&F’s automotive-themed timepieces, the HM5 and HMX, had already hinted at the brand’s fascination with cars. But in 2016 the brand went all in on the car connection. They unveiled the Horological Machine No. 8, or HM8 for short, inspired by Can-Am racecars known for their distinctive aesthetics and impressive performance – loud, beastly monsters with their characteristic lines, roll bars and long, open tops. However, in recent years, the Legacy Machines had taken centre stage, and it seemed unlikely that the HM8 would receive a follow-up. That all changed in 2023, when MB&F introduced the HM8 Mark 2, inspired by double-bubble body construction of racing cars, followed by another version in blue a year later. Well, it seems that these watches will get yearly releases, because MB&F just released a new purple color for the HM8 Mark 2.

This HM8 Mark 2 is made out of grade 5 titanium and measures 41.5mm wide and 19mm thick. While that thickness seems huge, it makes sense on a watch like this, that has the double protrusions at its thickest part. But what its surprising is the lug-to-lug (or, better said lenght as there really aren’t any lugs) of just 47mm, which seems incredibly short. While the previous version came in green, white and blue, this new one gets a beautiful sparkly purple - almost like a candy metallic paintjob on a car - and those colored parts are made out of CarbonMacrolon, polymer matrix invented by Bayer injected with carbon nanotubes making it as tough as steel while weighing eight times less.

You don’t tell time on the face, but rather on the side, where you get dual openings with magnifying lenses that are connected to reflective sapphire crystal prisms. Those prisms reflect and reverse the two discs with upside-down numerals. The hours, indicated in the left window, are jumping hours, and a light-blue pointer indicates the minutes on the right. The actual face of the watch has a large crystal that shows off the movement and the signature battle axe 22k gold rotor.

Speaking of the movement, it’s based on a Girard-Perregaux automatic base that gives it a 42 hour power reserve. On top of that, MB&F attach what they call the 3D engine, a 247 component module that offsets the time display to the side. The watch comes on a white calfskin strap.

The purple HM8 Mark 2 is limited to 33 pieces and priced at €74,000 without tax. See more on the MB&F 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

• Like many of us, psychotherapist Robert Saltzman started to play with artificial intelligence purely out of curiosity. Not long into a conversation with Anthropic’s Claude, he started to address the LLM “not as a user but as an analyst,” in an experiment to find out what would happen if Claude were pressed under psychoanalytic study. According to Saltzman, in its responses, the bot’s “breakthrough” revealed a key insight on what it means to be human.

• Gaming while blind is exactly as difficult as it sounds, especially because sound is virtually all Ross Minor has to go on. But while being nice with the sticks has helped him amass a nice following on Twitch and YouTube, it’s not visibility he’s after—it’s a real job in the video game industry, helping make games more accessible for all.

• For CalMatters, Anat Rubin reports that poor people accused of crimes—who make up at least 80 percent of criminal defendants—are routinely convicted in California without anyone investigating the charges against them. This statewide failure stems largely from the lack of dedicated public defense investigators. In this piece, Rubin recounts the 1976 kidnapping and murder of 6-year-old Willie Cook, a Siskiyou County case that went unsolved for 32 years until a man came forward to say he had witnessed the child’s kidnapping when he was 10 years old. In this gripping narrative, Rubin exposes deep flaws in the state’s criminal justice system.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

I mean, tell me this isn’t a perfect trailer? I had no idea they were doing this, but I’m very happy.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk