Seiko Brings Beloved JDM Exclusive To The World; Bell & Ross' Black And Bronze Diver; Beda’a Adds Diamonds; Arnold & Son Welcome Year Of The Horse; Daniel Roth Skeletonizes The All-Gold Extra Plat

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I’m eager to see what the reactions will be to this Seiko. Does the fact that it’s not an elusive JDM model any more bring more attention to its similarities to the Explorer II. And does it matter? Also, for a change, I’m actually happy with the historical longform I wrote for the paid subscribers on how Seiko maybe heisted key tech from Switzerland in the 1960s, so if you’re a paid subscriber let me know if you like it.

In this issue

• Seiko Brings A JDM Exclusive That People Went Crazy For To The Rest Of The World

• Bell & Ross Keeps It Classic With A Black And Bronze BR 03 Diver

• Beda’a Adds Diamonds To Their Very Cool And Angled Mecaline Collection

• Arnold & Son Welcome The Year Of The Horse In A Very, Very Impressive Manner

• Daniel Roth Sports A Gold Case And Gold Movement For The Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton

• FOR WATCH CLUB MEMBERS Historical Perspectives: The Great Factory Heist, Or How Seiko (Maybe) Stole Switzerland’s Edge

• IT’S ABOUT TIME PRESENTS THE TRTS PODCAST: Pierre …

👂What’s new

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Seiko Brings A JDM Exclusive That People Went Crazy For To The Rest Of The World

One of the worst things about Seiko, aside from their increasing prices, insistence on not using micro-adjust on the bracelet and the pervasive use of Hardlex crystals, is the fact that they are such a large company that it’s worth it to them to have regional exclusives. This leads to watches like the Seiko GMT 5 Sports Field SBSC009. It is a Japanese exclusive field watch with a GMT function and a very familiar look borrowed, in part, from a much more expensive brand. People around the world went wild for this watch, but good luck getting a JDM watch without paying an arm and a leg for it. Well, no need to panic any more, Seiko is releasing the new Seiko 5 Sports SSK059 which is the exact same watch, just globally available.

I mean, there’s no two ways about it: this looks very much like the Rolex Explorer II, from the case to the dial. The stainless steel case measures 39.40mm wide, 13.60mm thick and has a 47.90mm lug-to-lug. On top is a domed Hardlex crystal, surrounded by a fixed 24-hour bezel in stainless steel, just like the watch it was styled after. On the side is an unprotected fluted crown, the case has a brushed finish and 100 meters of water resistance.

The dial pushes it closer to Explorer II, with a stark white base that has applied Arabic numerals, a central seconds hand with an orange tip and a GMT hand in orange that points to the 24 hour scale on the bezel. The lume in the hands is just slightly creamy to create some contrast. Moving towards the center of the dial you’ll find the 13-24 markers which are often found on field watches. At 3 o’clock is a framed date window.

Inside, you’ll find the calibre 4R34, which has a caller-style GMT function, with the same 3Hz beat rate and 41 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a stainless steel 5-row bracelet closed with a folding clasp.

The new Seiko SSK059 will be available in March, priced at about €470. See more on the Seiko website.

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Bell & Ross Keeps It Classic With A Black And Bronze BR 03 Diver

Call me an uncultured rube, but I love a good Bell & Ross watch. Sure, it looks like they’re milking that square-watch-imitating-an-aircraft-instrument thing for all that it’s worth, but there are brands out there milking far less for far more. And I appreciate a good square watch - never mind that B&R are mostly circles within squares - as it’s incredibly difficult to pull off. And the BR 03-92 Diver is one of my favorites, as it’s just plain cool to see a square-cased diver. Almost exactly to the date a year ago, B&R released my favorite version of it, one with a bronze case and a green dial. Now, we’re getting the same bronze case, but now with a black dial.

The case is square, so it measures 42mm in both dimensions. B&R don’t say how thick it is, but their watches usually come off as relatively thin due to their unusual shape that lends itself well to sitting on the wrist and the construction in which you first notice the thickness of the square case and the additional crystal and bezel almost play no role in it. Speaking of the bezel, it’s made out of bronze, with a black anodised insert that has a 60 minute scale. The screw down screw-down crown will be good down to 300 meters of water resistance.

New to the bronze case is the black dial. While the previous version veered from the classic green-bronze combo with a teal-like green dial, this one keeps a more classic all black finish. The indices and hands are done in bronze, while the minute track is printed in white. There’s a date window at the worst possible place, at 4:30, but it’s small, circular and well matched in color, so it can pass.

Inside is the brand’s often used BR-CAL.302 movement, which is a very slightly modified automatic Sellita SW300-1. A fine movement that’s easy to maintain. It beats at 28,800vph and has a power reserve of 54 hours. The watch comes on a black rubber strap with a bronze pin buckle and you get an additional synthetic fabric strap.

The Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver Black Bronze is limited to a quite substantial 999 pieces and it’s priced at €5,300. See more on the Bell & Ross website.

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Beda’a Adds Diamonds To Their Very Cool And Angled Mecaline Collection

You might remember me writing about Beda’a, a Qatari independent watch brand, quite a bit last year because they had the best marketing move at Geneva Watch Days, helped a bit by nature. The first few days of the show we had great weather, but on Thursday, we were all caught in a monsoon-like rainstorm. Nobody was particularly prepared. Rain jackets were nowhere in sight and umbrellas even more rare. The only umbrellas you did see, their owners happily walking dry in front of the Beau Rivage hotel, were promotional umbrellas handed out by none other than Beda’a. It was a lucky decision to give away umbrellas in Geneva at a time it never rains, but it paid of wonderfully. Everybody learned about Beda’a overnight. I’m sure that their popularity right now has to do more with the fact that they make great looking and well made watches at decent prices, and less with the rain, but I’m sure those umbrellas helped get them media exposure. Now, Beda’a is updating their Mecaline collection with something that seems to be a growing trend among indie watchmakers — diamonds. Yesterday, we saw the Baltic with the moissanite bezel. But Beda’a takes a different approach, with actual diamonds and more of them.

The case of the Angles Mecaline remains very recognizable. There’s a lot of stepped layers here, a sharply angled steel case middle topped by an octagonal bezel, with alternating brushed and polished surfaces. The dimensions remain the same at 34mm wide, just 6mm thick and with a 37mm lug-to-lug. There’s a sapphire crystal on top, a closed caseback and you get 30 meters of water resistance. But the main attraction is certainly the dial and the top of the bezels that are now set with 1.1 carats of natural diamonds, VVS in clarity and G+ in color. It actually looks fantastic.

There are two dial options to choose from — a black or a warm grey, both with a glossy finish. Both also have a small seconds display with a semi-matte sunray finish. There are no hour makers — in fact no markings other than the logo which is done tone-on-tone — and all you get is the pair of dauphine-style hands.

Inside, you’ll find the ETA 7001 Peseux, a hand wound movement beating at 21,600vph, with a 42 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a alligator leather straps, either black or red.

The new Beda’a Angles Mecaline Diamond editions are not limited to a specific number, but the brand says that only a few will be made per year. While there regular edition is priced at $1,456, these are significantly more expensive at 19,500 QAR, or about $5,353. See more on the Beda’a website.

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Arnold & Son Welcome The Year Of The Horse In A Very, Very Impressive Manner

We have four more days until the start of the Lunar New Year celebration which means that we’re in the last days of watches celebrating the upcoming Year of the Horse. Just like last year, Arnold & Son is using its wonderful Perpetual Moon model to welcome the Year of the Horse in a pretty spectacular watch.

The watch comes in a very familiar, very beautiful case that measure 41.5mm wide and 11.67mm thick. Here, it is made out of 18k red gold and is fully polished, as one would expect. On top is a dramatic domed sapphire crystal that gives a wonderful view of the entire dial. Not that it matters, but water resistance is 30 meters.

Speaking of that dial, it’s incredible. It has a sparkling aventurine base that has the standard 29mm aperture at noon for the moonphase. The Moon inside is made out of mother-of-pearl, measures 11.2mm wide and is hand carved and hand painted not just with Super-LumiNova, but also with shadows to make the Moon more realistic. Around it are hand-painted Ursa Major and Cassiopeia constellations.

Underneat the huge aperture is a hand-engraved 18k red gold horse, with an extremely realistic depiction of the animal. Behind it is an engraved and hand-painted landscape with gold powder for sparks overlaid with red and orange Super-LumiNova

Inside, you’ll find the manual wind A&S1512 calibre which has double barrels for 90 hours of power reserve. The moonphase indicator is accurate to 122 years and to make it easier to set, there’s a second moon phase indicator with a precise scale on the caseback making it easier to hit the exact phase. The movement is decorated with chamfered bridges and Côtes de Genève, snailed wheels, perlage on the mainplate, and blued chamfered screws with polished heads. The watch comes on a black alligator strap with a red lining.

Only eight pieces of the Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 41.5 Year of the Horse will be made and price is set at CHF 62,600. See more on the Arnold & Son website.

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Daniel Roth Sports A Gold Case And Gold Movement For The Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton

With the huge influx of money into the watch industry and more demand for luxury brands, it comes as no surprise that defunct luxury watch brands are being revived. For example, two years ago, LVMH used its La Fabrique Du Temps watch manufacture to restart the Daniel Roth brand. Their first watch was the yellow gold Tourbillon Souscription, a nearly identical reissue of the vintage Daniel Roth Tourbillon. The next model was the Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription. Now (actually, a couple of weeks ago, but I missed it), the Extra Plat Souscription gets a skeletonized look that’s quite something. This is the new Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton.

There are slight changes to the case of the Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton. You still get the signature ellipsocurvex shaped case that measures 35.5mm wide and 38.6mm tall, but there’s a slight change to the thickness. While the previous version measures 7.7 mm thick, this skeletonized version gets even thinner at 6.9mm thick. The case is made out of polished 18K rose gold and it has the model’s signature gadroon on the profile. Water resistance is 30 meters.

There is 0 dial here, and it’s quite the spectacle. All you get are hours and minutes hands, in blued steel and everything else is movement. The bridges and main plate are made out of 18k rose gold. The entire thing is finished by hand with internal angles, black polished steel parts, straight-grained top surfaces and polished countersinks.

The movement that you see on display is the DR002SR, a variation of the DR002 you find in the closed version. The movement is hand-wound, features a free-sprung balance, beats at 4Hz and has a 65 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a soft beige calfskin strap, closed by a gold pin buckle.

The new Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton is part of the regular collection, with limited production capabilities, and the price set at CHF 85,000. Without taxes. See more on the Daniel Roth website.

FOR WATCH CLUB MEMBERS Historical Perspectives: The Great Factory Heist, Or How Seiko (Maybe) Stole Switzerland’s Edge

Inside the little‑known spy story of Seiko’s hunt for Swiss machinery—and what it really meant for watchmaking. Read it here. 

IT’S ABOUT TIME PRESENTS THE TRTS PODCAST: Pierre Biver Outlines The Direction Of Watchmaking's Living Legacy Brand

In this episode of The Real Time Show, Rob Nudds and Alonn Ben-Joseph interview Martin Klocke of Sherpa Watches, one of the best people in indie watchmaking. They discuss Martin's experiences at various watch fairs, Sherpa's new watch models, and the brand's unique approach to manufacturing and design. Listen to the episode 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

• Nearly a century ago, R.K.O. Pictures took the hatchet to Orson Welles’s The Magnificent Ambersons, a move the acclaimed filmmaker credited with ruining his career. Since then, select fans have attempted to reconstruct Welles’s original, pitting their efforts against a lost masterpiece’s mythological status. The most recent, and perhaps most ambitious, fan is Edward Saatchi, scion of a wealthy advertising baron, who plans to reshoot cut scenes with a cadre of actors, “then overlay the footage with the digitized voices and likenesses of the long-dead cast members.” Saatchi, whose voice Michael Schulman likens to that of “a Bond villain,” admits that he’s “doing something that’s maybe going to undermine this art form that I love.” Maybe, indeed! It’s a project that would’ve fascinated Welles himself.

• Back in 2023, The Guardian ran a fascinating feature about the disappearance of shops serving fish and chips on the Scottish coast. Swap fish for beef and chips for mash, drop 750 kilometers south, and you’ve got another comfort-food crisis brewing. With curiosity and good cheer — not to mention the fortitude to have some jellied eel on the side — Tim Dowling visits one of the last pie-and-mash bastions in London.

• Nikhil Somwanshi was a 24-year-old machine-learning engineer in southeast Bengaluru who earned $41,000 US per year—nearly 10 times what his family was able to earn farming. Somwanshi, under heavy pressure to work more and more hours under the constant threat of AI-induced layoffs, took his own life in May, 2025. As Parth MN reports for Rest of World, Indian tech employees like Somwanshi, with worries about layoffs and facing demands for unpaid overtime, are burning out, giving up hope, and turning to suicide.

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