Seiko's Ai-Iro Blue Presage Classic Series Duo; Elka's Smaller Classic Watches; Jack Mason's Rugged Pursuit Pro; Moser's QP With Smoked Salmon Dial; De Bethune Shrinks Down DB25xs Starry Varius

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I’m very much digging that Jack Mason duo. Proper outdoor watches. I’ll check if I can get one in for review.

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In this issue

• Seiko Introduces The Ai-Iro Blue Presage Classic Series SPB525 and SPB527

• Elka Comes Out With A Smaller Take On Their N-Series 36 Field Watch And D-Series 36 Classic

• Jack Mason Releases Their Most Capable Watch To Date, The Pursuit Pro

• Moser Pair Their Stealthy Perpetual Calendar With A Smoked Salmon Dial

• De Bethune Shrinks Down Their Mesmerizing DB25xs Starry Varius

👂What’s new

1/

Seiko Introduces The Ai-Iro Blue Presage Classic Series SPB525 and SPB527

The cool thing about being a watch brand the size of Seiko is that you can have as many collections and series as you want. In fact, you can even segment deeper and introduce sub-collections for varying needs. Such is the case with Presage. They have the Pressage Craftsmanship Series that shows off the best of Japanese crafts, Cocktail Time for the more quirky ones, Sharp Edge for the angular cases, Style 60 for the retro inspired watches… Within the Presage line, they also have the Classic line, which makes the most classic of watches. And that’s exactly what you get with the new Presage Classic Series SPB525 and SPB527, with the dark indigo Ai-Iro dials. A very classic duo.

The Ai-Iro dials come in the larger of the two available Presage Classic models, which means that the stainless steel case measures 40.2mm wide, 13mm thick, with a 46mm lug-to-lug. Despite the chunky thickness, Presage Classic watches wear well thanks to a lot of curvature to the case. On top is a dual-curved sapphire crystal, surrounded by a thing bezel, while out back you have a see-through caseback. Water resistance is 100 meters on both watches.

While the cases are familiar, the dials are all new. They are both rendered in Ai-Iro Japan blue and there are two setups. The Presage Classic Series SPB525 has a grained texture and a discreet date aperture at 3 o’clock with a well matched date disc inside. The SPB527 gets a radial brushed finish, mimicking the texture of raw silk yarn, and is semi-skeletonized with a cutout at 9 o’clock. It also has the unfortunate 24 hour display at 6 o’clock.

The SPB525 has the calibre 6R55, while the SPB527 has the calibre 6R5J. The only difference in the two movements are the different displays, while the base remains the same, with a 3Hz beat rate and a 72 hour power reserve. The watches come on 7-link stainless steel bracelet with a three-fold clasp.

The new Seiko Presage Classic Series watches go on sale in October, with the SPB525 priced at €990 and the SPB527 at €1,230. See more on the Seiko website.

2/

Elka Comes Out With A Smaller Take On Their N-Series 36 Field Watch And D-Series 36 Classic

I’ve written about Elka many times. Mostly because I really, really like their watches. Elka was an old brand that went under, but was recently revived by the multi-talented Hakim El Kadiri. And I like their watches for their absolutely perfect execution of minimalism. Their watches are not more than a simple round case with short lugs and a very domed crystal, underneath which you will finad a perfectly domed dial and simple hands. But, thanks to their expansive crystals that go edge-to-edge and a case that measures almost 41mm wide, they looked large even on my writs. Thankfully, El Kadiri rectified that problem with the introduction of the vintage-inspired "Series N" and classic "Series D" in a new 36mm case.

The case is made out of 316L stainless steel case, keeps the elegant lugs and compact construction, now measuring 36mm wide, 10.5mm thick, with a 41.1mm lug-to-lug. On top is a chevé-box type sapphire crystal which is quite complicated to produce as it mimics the soft look of plexiglass, while keeping the scratch resistance of sapphire. There’s hardly any bezel around the crystal, giving you once again an expansive look at the dial. Water resistance is not great at 50 meters, but this is not a sports watch.

Each of the variants comes with two dial options — the 'N Series' can be had with either a matte black dial with old Radium numerals, or a parchment-colored beige dial with black numerals. The 'D Series' comes with a silver dial with rose gold appliques or midnight blue dial with rhodium-plated appliques.

Inside, you’ll find the automatic La Joux-Perret G101 which beats at 4Hz and has a 68 hour power reserve. Elka regulates the watch in 4 positions to an accuracy of +/- 7 seconds/day. The watches can be had on a NATO or leather strap, or a grain of rice bracelet.

The new vintage-inspired "Series N" and classic "Series D" in 36mm are available for order now and priced at CHF 1,662 on the NATO, CHF 1,718 on leather and CHF 1,753 on the bracelet, all without tax. See more on the Elka website.

3/

Jack Mason Releases Their Most Capable Watch To Date, The Pursuit Pro

It’s really nice when we get to see a watch brand grow up in front of our eyes. Not only do we see how fast a brand can change, it also allows us to keep track of the trends in the industry. One such brand is Jack mason, which started off in 2015 with a wholesale distribution model based mostly on quartz watches. Since then, they have embraced sales directly to consumers, jumped on the mechanical movement train and introduced a bunch of models and complications, even releasing a Swiss Made watch, despite being Texas-based. Recently, as a celebration of that 10 year anniversary, they brought back their original watch collection, the Pursuit Pilot. Now, we’re getting a different take on the Pursuit — a much more rugged one in the Pursuit Pro.

The case of the new Pursuit Pro is made out of stainless steel and measures 40mm wide, 12.5mm thick and has a 47mm lug-to-lug. This being an adventure-forward watch that’s supposed to stand up to some tough environments, it has a coating that brings up the coating to 1200 Vickers. On top is a flat sapphire crystal that has blue anti-reflective coating inside and out, surrounded by a bi-directional 120-click bezel that stands proud from the case and measures 42mm across. The insert in the bezel is made out of black ceramic with a sunburts brushed finish and a lumed countdown scale done in either white with red details or tan with orange details, depending on the dial you get. Water resistance is 100 meters.

There are two colors to choose from — a matte black or a matte hunter green. Both versions have squares, rectangles and a triangle for the markers, all of them made out of X2 Grade Lumicast, a lume infused material. The hands use the same material, painted in black or green to match the dial at their base. The seconds hands also match the dial, with a red tip on the black dial and an orange tip on the green dial.

Inside, you’ll find the automatic La Joux-Perret G101 which beats at 4Hz and has a 68 hour power reserve. Additionally, the movement is regulated in house to an accuracy of +/- 5 seconds per day. The watches come on black or tan nylon hook and loop straps.

The new Jack Mason Pursuit Pro duo goes on pre-order on September 26, priced at $1,399. See more on the Jack Mason website.

4/

Moser Pair Their Stealthy Perpetual Calendar With A Smoked Salmon Dial

Here’s something I find very interesting — in the almost three years of writing about watches every single day, I don’t think I’ve ever written about a Perpetual Calendar from H. Moser & Cie. Which is a true shame, as they just might be my favorite Perpetual Calendar you can buy, with a display of all the info so minimal that you would easily mistake it for a time and date watch. I love that. This is the new H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Smoked Salmon.

The case looks simple, but in the best possible way. Made out of white gold, it’s made up of three parts and measures 42mm wide and 13.1mm thick. It has polished and brushed surfaces, with a curved caseback and lugs for a better fit against the writs. There are curved sapphire crystals on top and bottom, with a fixed gold bezel on top.

But while the case is surely nice, you’ll only have eyes for the dial. The dial has a vertical brushed finish, finished with a warm brown dial that has a gradient from light salmon in the middle to a dark chocolate on the edges. And the minimalism is just perfect here. You get a snailed and lacquered small seconds display at 6 o’clock, a well integrated power reserve indicator at 9 and a large date aperture at 3 o’clock. The hands are leaf shaped and finished in 5N red gold, and there’s a stubby little hand right there that indicates the month — perfect. Visible through the caseback you can find the leap year indicator.

All of that is powered by the hand-wound HMC 800 movement which is one of those cool movements that doesn’t require additional correctors to set the correct date — it’s all operated from the crown. It has double barrels which give you seven days of power reserve and it’s stunningly beautiful to look at. The watch comes on a dark brown alligator strap.

The new Moser Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Smoked Salmon is available now, priced at CHF 54,000, without tax. See more on the Moser website.

 5/

De Bethune Shrinks Down Their Mesmerizing DB25xs Starry Varius

De Bethune is best known for their elaborate case construction with lugs that hinge at the middle of the case, incredible dials and very cool complications. So, it’s slightly strange to see them create a simple watch. And while the DB25 Starry Varius was technically simple, it still had a couple of incredible details — dramatically skeletonized lugs and hand made dials that showed the entire Milky Way. It was a beautiful watch, if a bit large at 42. Nothing too much, but just a smidge. Well, De Bethune is fixing that now with the DB25xs Starry Varius that gets a smaller case and an equally beautiful dial in a new color.

The new case the Starry Various is more compact than the original. The width goes down to 40.6mm, but more impressive is the thickness which sits at 8.8mm. You get a choice between 5N rose gold and grade 5 titanium for the materials, and they are polished, with openworked lugs and sapphire crystals on top and bottom. You still get 30 meters of water resistance, which is just cool on a watch like this.

The dial is even more impressive than the blue versions on the large watch. It’s made out of titanium, with a deep, deep burgundy red color. The dial is then set with individually hand-fitted white gold pins representing the stars, with the Milky Way being done with laser engraving and 24-carat gold leaf. On the outside of that colored disc is a silver chapter ring with polished rose gold hour markers and Roman numerals.

Inside, you’ll find the hand-wound calibre DB2005, which beats at 4Hz, with a six day power reserve out of De Bethune’s patented self-regulating twin barrel system. It’s also pretty incredible to look at, with unusually gemetric bridges that have Côtes De Bethune, hand-snailed barrels, and meticulously chamfered, polished steel parts. The watch comes on a red/brown alligator leather strap.

The new De Bethune DB25xs Starry Varius are part of the permanent collection and the brand says that price is on request. See more on the De Bethune 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

• A San Antonio man, driven by conspiracy theories linking 5G to Covid-19, burned down over 20 cell towers in a radical anti-technology campaign between 2021 and 2022. His mission, fueled by social media and personal hardship, escalated despite risks, ending with a dramatic arrest and a prison sentence that underscores the growing threat of lone-wolf domestic terrorism rooted in disinformation.

• The Red Army Faction, born from youthful fervor and ideological zeal, embodied the contradictions of 1960s radicalism—a mixture of disaffected intellectualism, reckless adventurism, and misguided revolutionary dreams. Their flawed attempts at armed struggle revealed the limits of ideology divorced from context, leaving a legacy of violence intertwined with cultural rebellion and tragic personal turmoil.

• What makes a mountain truly impressive? Most people will point to Mount Everest, the tallest peak above sea level. But there are other mountains out there that may not win a prize for height, yet still evoke a sense of awe. How, then, do we quantify greatness? For National Geographic, Gordy Megroz explores this question and profiles Kai Xu, a 23-year-old mathematician who devised a method to calculate grandeur. Xu’s formula factors in a mountain’s height above its surroundings and the steepness of its rise, which produces a single number he calls “jut”: a measure of how dramatically a peak thrusts into the sky. You don’t need to be a mathematician or a mountain climber to appreciate this story—it’s unexpected and provocative, encouraging us to see the natural world in a new way.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

These guys from Craighill showed up on my social networks some six months ago and they’re all about improving everyday objects. It’s spectacular how much engineering the put into stuff.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk