Seiko Releases Six New Prospex Speedtimers, Paying Homage To Datsun; Mühle-Glashütte Marks 160 Years Of German Maritime SAR; Pequignet Updates Concorde In Titanium; Franck Muller's Beach Watches

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Quite the lineup from Seiko today and despite my initial skepticism, I’m pretty smitten with those three-handers.

In this issue

• Seiko Releases Six New Prospex Speedtimer, Three Of Which Pay Homage To Vintage Datsuns

• Mühle-Glashütte Celebrates 160 Years Of The German Maritime SAR Service With Great Looking Watch

• Pequignet Updates Their Sporty Concorde With A Blasted Titanium Case

• Franck Muller Teams Up With Japanese Brand #FR2 For A Trio Of Very Beach-Ready Watches

• FOR WATCH CLUB MEMBERS: Watches You Might Not Have Seen, Week 45: Finding Mecca With Dalil

👂What’s new

1/

Seiko Releases Six New Prospex Speedtimer, Three Of Which Pay Homage To Vintage Datsuns

Seiko has a tendency to group their releases. They have been known to do a release a day for the entire week. Maybe even two or three releases in a day. But I don’t remember them releasing six new watches in one day. And that’s exactly what we got today. These are the new additions to the Seiko Prospex Speedtimer collection, three of which pay homage to their connection with Datsun. The connection goes back to 1971, when Seiko sponsored the legendary Datsun 240Z on its path to win the hardcore East African Safari Rally. So, let’s start with those Datsun-inspired, racing heritage Speedtimers.

Kicking it off with what might be my favorite, we have the SPB517. It comes in a 39.5mm wide and 12mm thick stainless steel case that has a super hard coating. On top is a curved sapphire crystal, and on the right side you’ll find the regular crown at 3 o’clock and a secondary crown at 4 o’clock that operates the internal bezel. Water resistance is 200 meters. Surrounding the dial is a black internal bezel that holds a 60 minute counter that uses the same fonts as the olds 240Z, with alternating grey and red quarters. The base of the dial is black, with the vintage Datsun logo sitting at 6 o’clock. Very cool. Inside, you’ll find the 6R55 automatic movement which beats at 3Hz and has a 72 hour power reserve. Accuracy, as we know, is not spectacular at +25 to -15 seconds per day. The watch comes on a black racing-style leather strap that closes with a three-fold clasp. The Seiko SPB517 is limited to 2,500 pieces and priced at €1,250. See more on the brand website.

Moving on to my second favorite, we have the SSC957, a solar powered chronograph that has a pretty cool color combination. The watch comes in a 41.4mm wide and 13mm thick stainless steel case that has a fixed bezel on top. The bezel insert is black and has a white and red tachymeter scale on it. Water resistance is 100 meters. More red can be found around the black dial, as the flange that holds the 60 second scale is done in red. In fact, that red, also found on the 6 o’clock sub-dial hand, in combination with the blue hands on the other two sub-dials, is actually an homage to Datsun, since these are the colors of their logo. Inside, you’ll find Seiko’s solar V192 caliber, charged through the dial for six months of run time on a full charge. The watch comes on a stainless steel bracelet, one that has black central links, and that might be its one downside. The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer SSC957 is also a limited edition, but 4,000 pieces will be made. Price is set at €1,050. See more here.

The last of the Datsun models, we have the SRQ057, which is a mechanical chronograph that’s very similar to the SSC957. It comes in a 42mm wide and 14.6mm thick stainless steel case that has a black coating. On top is a tachymeter bezel is inspired by the original 1969 Speedtimer and water resistance is 100 meters. The black dial is paired with cream lume and vintage-styled numerals. Inside, you’ll find the 8R48 automatic chronograph with a column wheel, vertical clutch, and a MEMS-manufactured escapement. Power reserve is 45 hours. The watch comes on a black leather strap with a three fold clasp. The SRQ057 will be made in only 500 pieces, with a price of €3,500. See it here.

Then we have the non-Datsun watches that are joining the regular collection. Notable are the SPB513 and SPB515, which are basically identical to the SPB517, just without the Datsun logo. The 513 comes with a cream dial, while the 515 comes with a black dial, both with very 70s inspired orange details. While the Datsun caught my heart here, I think these two might be interesting additions to the Seiko lineup. The watches come on stainless steel bracelets and are part of the permanent collection, priced at €1,000. See the SPB513 here and the SPB515 here.

Then we have the SRQ055, which is kind of a better looking and more classic version of the SRQ057. It comes in a stainless steel bracelet, with a black bezel and dial and no pops of color. All the technical stuff is exactly the same as the SRQ057, only it’s not limited at all. It’s also much better priced at €2,800. See more on the Seiko website.

2/

Mühle-Glashütte Celebrates 160 Years Of The German Maritime SAR Service With Great Looking Watch

With a fully circular, very unique covered lugs and extremely dramatic dials, the S.A.R Rescue-Timer made by Mühle-Glashütte became an instant hit way back when it was introduced in 2002. In part because of its looks, but also thanks for its robustness and pretty fair price. It also carried a pretty hardcore name - S.A.R Rescue-Timer - indicating that it can be used in search and rescue mission. It actually has been used a lot by sea rescuers on the North and Baltic Seas. Now, the brand is helping the Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger (DGzRS), the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service celebrate its 160th anniversary with the S.A.R. Mission-Timer “160 Years DGzRS”.

The S.A.R. Mission-Timer has always been a striking watch, with a round shape and longish hooded lugs that give off a very utilitarian look. It’s also not small. This version measures 43mm wide, 13mm thick and has a 52.1mm length. While large, the case is made out of titanium, with a fixed black bezel on top, which should at least make it a bit lighter on the wrist. The crown sits at 4 o’clock, partially hidden, and when screwed down it gives you 500 meters of water resistance.

The dial is where the nod to the DGzRS happens. Made out of titanium, with a dark treatment, the base of the dial is engraved with the topographical sea map of the North Sea at Bremerhaven, right next to the DGzRS headquarters in Bremen. That’s contrasted with huge triangular hour markers at the cardinal positions and a date aperture at 4 o’clock. The hour and minute hands are filled with lume, while the seconds hand has a red tip, to match the color of the DGzRS.

Inside, you’ll find the not-often-used Sellita SW 400-1 automatic which is made specially for Mühle-Glashütte. It’s modified with Mühle’s woodpecker neck regulation, a device that the brand came up with to improve the shock resistance of the calibre, and it’s regulated to an accuracy of 0/+8 seconds per day. The movement beats at 4Hz and has a 41 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a black rubber strap with titanium folding clasp that has a divers extension.

The new Mühle-Glashütte S.A.R. Mission-Timer “160 Years DGzRS” is limited to 160 and available for order now. Price is set at €2,900. See more on the Mühle-Glashütte website.

3/

Pequignet Updates Their Sporty Concorde With A Blasted Titanium Case

I don’t write about Pequignet much. In fact, I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned them in this newsletter. Which is a shame, because they are a very interesting brand. Then, just the other day, I brought them up in the Atelier Wen articles, as they got their movement for the new Ancestra from Pequignet. And parallel to that, the folks at Monochrome watches got their hands the relatively new — it was announced two months ago — Concorde done in all titanium. And since I don’t write about them much, let’s introduce you to the new Pequignet Concorde Titanium 36mm.

Pequignet is actually fascinating. They’re not that old, being founded in 1973 in Morteau, but they have sure had their ups and downs. They grew quickly until the 1990s, when they hit a slump and almost went out of business. But despite the ups and downs, in the 2000s, they started making their in-house movements. Then, in 2021, they came under new ownership and practically restarted the brand, keeping the in-house movements: the automatic Calibre Royal, the manual-winding Calibre Royal, the automatic Calibre Initial with semi-instant jumping date, and the Calibre Royal Tourbillon.

With the four in-house movement, Pequignet wend hard at expanding their collections over the past four years. One of these watches was the Concorde, a 70s inspired integrated bracelet sports watch that has a squared circle for a case shape. Now, we’re getting the same watch done in a beautiful matte titanium case. Being based on the smaller of the two sizes of the steel case, it measures 36mm wide and 9.25mm thick. The titanium has a coating to prevent accumulation of fingerprints. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial continues the exact same color from the case, which makes sense it’s also made out of titanium, with a vertical brushed finish. The dark grey is contrasted with black hour markers and really nice black, openworked, hands that have tips filled with grey Super-LumiNova. That’s pretty much all there is to the dial, which is delightfully simple.

Inside, you’ll find the Calibre Initial, an automatic movement that has been modified to remove the date function. It’s also been coated in ruthenium to match the titanium case. It beats at 4Hz and has a 65 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a matching matte titanium bracelet with articulated links inspired by obelisks. With the bracelet on, the watch weighs just 84 grams.

The Pequignet Concorde Titanium 36mm is available now and priced at €4,800, which is quite a compelling price for an in-house movement and a super-light titanium case and bracelet. See more on the Pequignet website.

4/

Franck Muller Teams Up With Japanese Brand #FR2 For A Trio Of Very Beach-Ready Watches

Watch brands love collaborations. It makes sense, really. They get to expand their reach to an audience that they wouldn’t have access to otherwise, with very little drawbacks. Very often, watch brands will team up with lifestyle and streetwear brands. And every single time, I have to Google what the hell that brand is all about. This is exactly what I had to do with Franck Muller’s new partner, the Tokyo-based #FR2. This is, as I found out just minutes ago, a legendary streetwear brand that uses their Fxxking Rabbits motif everywhere. You can use your imagination. But this is also not the first time that Franck Muller and #FR2 have worked together. In 2023, they released the #FR2NCK MULLER Vanguard. Now, they’re back with the #FR2NCK MULLER Vanguard Beach Limited Edition, a very summery watch.

The watches come in very interesting cases. The tonneau shape is very familiar to the Vanguard case, but here it’s made out of a glass fiber composite. Marketing speak often describes these materials as the most cutting-edge tech, but this glass fiber composite really is fascinating. Glass is first melted at 1,500°c and drawn into extremely fine threads, before being cooled and formed into sheets at 700°c. These sheets are then impregnated in special color baths to attain the desired hues, before being compressed into composite blocks. The blocks are cut down to the size of the watches, which is 41mm wide, 12.2mm thick, with a 49.95mm length. There’s a choice of three colors — blue, green and red, with white flanks. Here, we encounter the first big issue of this watch: water resistance. It’s limited to 30 meters, which is too low for a watch that’s so perfect for a beach watch. Shame.

Then, we have the dials, which are even more fun than the cases. All three have a white base, paired with Franck Muller’s quirky and fun Arabic numerals done in black. Surrounding the dials are flanges that hold the minute markers, matching the case color with a gradient to a white at the bottom. The hands are chunky and color matched to the case, with white lume inside. Then we have some very cool stuff. The date window is set at 2 o’clock, and framed in yellow, acting as the sun. Quite a fun use of dates. At the opposite end, between 6 and 9 o’clock, are three illustrations of the Fxxking Rabbits who are going at it on beaches in the green and red version, and on a surfboard on the blue one.

Inside, you’ll find the MVT 2536-SCDT2H automatic movement which beats at 4Hz and has a 42 hour power reserve. The watches come on white nylon straps printed with color matched graphics, lined with leather and featuring hook and loop closures.

The new #FR2NCK MULLER Vanguard Beach Limited Edition will be made in only 300 pieces per color and it’s only available in the Asia-Pacific market. Price is set at S$18,800, which translates to about €12,700. See more on the Franck Muller website.

FOR WATCH CLUB MEMBERS: Watches You Might Not Have Seen, Week 45: Finding Mecca With Dalil

Watches and the intersection of religion, technology, and design. 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

• Luke Farritor could have been an artist, or a builder, or someone dedicated to seeing a great historical mystery through. Instead he wound up at the Department of Government Efficiency, slashing, dismantling, undoing. This is the story of how a 23-year-old—alongside a bunch of other 23-year-olds—came to wield extraordinary power.

• Devin Kelly is uniquely attuned to the physical and mental demands that runners place on themselves. Over the years at Longreads, Kelly, an experienced ultrarunner, has turned over injuries and impatience, the pleasures and pitfalls of accomplishment, remarkable moments of endurance and interiority. For his latest, at Outside, he trains his sights on the helpers, embedding with the crew of 20-year-old Kaylee Frederick as she tackles the Badwater 135, running for 30 hours and climbing more than 8,000 feet in lethal temperatures.

• Did Sacagawea die in 1812, in her 20s, of a fever? Or did she live a half-century more, ultimately dying in 1869 after being shot in Montana Territory? Christopher Cox details the years-long efforts of group of Hidatsa elders to challenge the narrative dominance of the Lewis and Clark journals and the histories built upon them.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

You’re going to have to bear with me for some time because I will be posting more videos from the Queens of the Stone Age concert in Zagreb. They played two nights here and people who have followed the tour say that the second night was not just their best concert on this tour, it was their best show in quite a while. One of the reasons why it was so good is because they played Mexicola, which they don’t really play all that much. So, enjoy.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk