Seiko's New Prospex Alpinists; Nomos Tetra With New Earthy Pastel Dials; Benrus Revives Type 2 Mil Spec; Depancel's R01 Black Tangerine; A Titanium Longitude; Petermann Bédat's Classy Three Hander

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. The guys from Petermann Bedat are just some of the best folks in the industry. I just wish their watches weren’t an arm and a leg.

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In this issue

• Seiko Refreshes The Prospex Alpinist Core Collection With New Dial Colors And Movement

• Nomos Brings New Earthy Pastel Colors To The Square Tetra Line

• Benrus Brings Back The Type 2 Mil Spec To Their Modern Collection

• Depancel Asks The Watch Community For Help With The New Série R01 Black Tangerine

• Arnold And Son Updates Their Titanium Line Of Longitude Watches With Ocean-Inspired-Dial

• Petermann Bédat Release The Reference 1825, Their Very Classy Take On A Three Hander

• FOR WATCH CLUB MEMBERS Your Next Watch, Week 57: And Incredibly Rare Omega, A Cool Jacques Bianchi, A Groovy Longines, And A Classy Omega

👂What’s new

1/

Seiko Refreshes The Prospex Alpinist Core Collection With New Dial Colors And Movement

The Prospex Alpinist always seems to be a staple for Seiko. Sure, they introduce a lot of variants of the watch, but it seems that the SPB121 always remains the classic. The green and gold colorway always seems to work and there’s no need to mess with what works, right. Sure, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t deserve to see new models in the collection. And this is what we’re getting now, the new Seiko Prospex Alpinist SPB503, SPB505 and SPB507 with new dial colors and new movements.

Since all that’s new here is the color of the dial, the case is exactly what we love about the legendary SPB121. That means that the case is made out of stainless steel and measures 39.5mm wide, 13.2mm thick and has a 46.4mm lug-to-lug. This is a watch made for being in nature, so it’s mostly brushed with just a few touches of polished surfaces. There’s a regular screw-down crown at 3 o’clock and an additional 4 o’clock crown to operate the internal compass bezel. On top is a sapphire crystal and you get 200 meters of water resistance.

The dial doesn’t just get color updates, there are very subtle tweaks to other things as well. Now, you’ll see a retro Alpinist script right under Seiko on the dial. The new colors are pine green, summit black and teal pine. The black and teal editions are paired with steel colored hour markers while the green has copper colored accents.

Inside, another change. Instead of the 6R35, you get the updated 6R55 which gains two hours of power reserve over the previous version. But other than that, pretty much everything remains the same, even the accuracy has the same rating of -15/+25 seconds per day. The blue and black versions get steel bracelets, while the green one gets a leather strap.

The new Seiko Prospex Alpinist Collection goes on sale in November, with prices set at a quite controversial $900 on leather and $995 on steel. Quite a jump from previous editions. See more on the Seiko website.

2/

Nomos Brings New Earthy Pastel Colors To The Square Tetra Line

Nomos has been making some major moves, including releasing one of the best watches of the past few years, the Neomatik World Timer. But that doesn’t mean that they forgot about their original watches that put it on the map, stuff like the Ludwig, Orion and Tangente. Stuff like the very funky square Tetra. Now, they’re updating the Tetra with some very nice earthy pastel colors. This is the new Nomos Tetra Origins Series.

On the outside, the case is completely unchanged, and it’s tiny! The stainless steel case measures 29.5mm squared, with stepped lugs that, unlike other Nomos models, doesn’t add that much to the length. Further emphasizing the small size is the thinness of just 6.5mm. On top is a square sapphire crystal and on the side is a flat knurled crown. Water resistance is modest at 30 meters, but perfectly fine for a watch like this.

The dial setups also remain the same, but in new colors. You get polished needle-shaped hands, elongated Arabic numerals and baton hour markers. At 6 o’clock is a small seconds display with even better use of color than on the main dials. And those main dials have a finely grained texture and come in four colors — a yellow called Ochra, a dark red called Terra, a light green called Salvia and a charcoal that’s called Basalt. They really are fantastic colors, all of them.

The Origins series is all about embracing the beauty of nature. Four dials are introduced, named Ochra, Terra, Salvia, and Basalt (yellow, reddish, green, and charcoal). The dials look fresh and playful, and have a finely grained texture with contrasting recessed subdials. The needle-shaped hands for the hours and minutes are polished, and pass along elongated Arabic numerals and baton hour markers. And Nomos being Nomos, the small seconds hand pops with vibrant and eye-catching colours.

Inside, you’ll find the in-house DUW 4001 movement, a manual wind movement that’s based on the architecture of the Peseux 7001. It features the Nomos Swing System escapement, beats at 21,600vph and has a 43 hour power reserve. It’s finished with blued screws, gold-coloured engravings, perlage and Glashütte ribbing. The watches all come on the same beige vegan leather strap with a steel pin buckle.

The new Nomos Tetra Origins series is, thankfully, part of the permanent collection and priced at €2,180. See more on the Nomos website.

3/

Benrus Brings Back The Type 2 Mil Spec To Their Modern Collection

The Benrus story is a really cool one, and I will likely tell it soon. But most people know Benrus as the maker of some of the best military watches in history, watches worn by U.S. soldiers during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. In fact, the Benrus Type 1 MIL-SPEC is perhaps one of the most recognizable military watches of the 1970s. Its slightly lesser known brother has been the Type 2, basically the same watch but with a more intentional dial design that includes Arabic numerals and a 24-hour scale towards the inside of the dial. Now, Benrus is bring the Type 2 back, to join the Type 1 in their modern lineup.

The case remains faithful to the Mil-Spec aspect of the Benrus watches, which means that it comes with an asymmetrical design that incorporates guards for the crown and gets a matte, sandblasted finish. The case measures 39.5mm wide and 14.4mm thick, which is substantially smaller than the original Mil-Spec watches which came in at 43mm x 16mm. On top you get a double-domed sapphire crystal with dual anti-reflective coatings, surrounded by a bi-directional rotating bezel with a black aluminium insert with a white 60 minute scale that has the first 20 minutes fully graduated. Water resistance is a curious 365 meters, but it makes more sense once you learn that it corresponds to 1,200 feet.

The dial, like I said, is fairly simple, but a bit more complex than the Type 1. It has a matte black base with white lumed Arabic numerals and a 24-hour scale towards the inside of the dial. There is no date indication and the hands are pencil shaped, white and lumed.

Inside, you’ll find the ETA 2892 automatic, beating at 4Hz, with a 42 hour power reserve. Benrus claims an accuracy of +/-20 seconds per day. The watch comes on a black rubber strap with a pin buckle.

The new Benrus Type 2 Mil Spec is available now as part of the regular collection, priced at CHF 1,590 without tax, the exact same as the Type 1. See more on the Benrus website.

4/

Depancel Asks The Watch Community For Help With The New Série R01 Black Tangerine

There’s something liberating in setting very strict boundaries to your work. If you were to start a watch brand that makes cool watches, you would have no idea where to start and where to end. If, on the other hand, you decided to make automotive-themed watches, then things get much clearer. Depancel is a brand that did just that - focused on cars and racing, which led them to a whole range of interesting watches. Like, for example, their rectangular Série-R. But even when a brand has a very clear design language, it’s always good to ask your fans what they want. That’s exactly what Depancel did with their new limited edition Série R01 Black Tangerine. More than 3,000 enthusiasts took part in every stage of the process, from choosing the case to selecting the dial and movement.

The result is both familiar and unique. Depancel says the size is 43mm x 36mm, which I would interpret as being 36mm wide and 43mm long. But this seems to be a measurement without the lugs, as they state the lug-to-lug to be 48,6mm and the thickness is 12.9mm. The finishing on the steel case is brushed with nicely polished facets and a beautiful rectangular sapphire crystal sits on top. Water resistance is 50 meters.

The dial gets the familiar Série-R tri-compax layout, with a black PVD base that has a sunray finish in the interior circular section and vertical ridges outside. The signature vertical painted stripes are gone here, replaced by just a few pops of color — tangerine — on the central chrono hand, the 12 hour and 30 minute sub-dial hands, and around the 30 minute sub-dial.

A movement is an interesting one. It’s the not often used Chinese-made Peacock SL-4801, a vertical clutch column chronograph with a 55 hour power reserve. We’ve seen this used in a previous automatic chronograph from Depancel and I haven’t seen any horror stories. The watch comes on a black perforated racing-style leather strap with tangerine stitching.

The new Depancel Série R01 Black Tangerine is available for pre order now with deliveries expected in February. It’s limited to 100 numbered pieces and price is set at €1,495, with my high taxes included. See more on the Depancel website.

5/

Arnold And Son Updates Their Titanium Line Of Longitude Watches With Ocean-Inspired-Dial

Last year at Watches and Wonders, Arnold & Son joined in on the integrated bracelet luxury sports watch trend with a really nice version of the Longitude that came in titanium, with three dial choices — beige, blue and green. I wasn’t 100% sold on the shade of those dials, but they must have worked well for the brand, as they are releasing another titanium version of the Longitude, the Longitude Titanium 5°W Edition. And as the brand points out, the dial is inspired by the waters off Lizard Point at the southern tip of Great Britain, which is the grey North Atlantic, in the autumn. And I kind of like this one.

The Longitude case is made out of titanium, 42.5mm wide and 12.25mm thick. There are prominent crown guards on the right, and the crown screws down to give you 100 meters of water resistance. The case a slight cushion shape, with vertical brushing, polished bevels, and on top is a sapphire crystal surrounded by a fixed and unmarked bezel that still has pronounced teeth all around that give it a very unique look, here treated with 18k red gold. This is a sports watch so 100 meters of water resistance is expected.

The dial has a a vertical brushed finish, interrupted by the power reserve at 12 o’clock that’s made up of six cutouts with the same 18k red gold underneath, and a small seconds dial that’s slightly recessed and snailed at 6 o’clock. The hour markers are applied, made out of red gold, just like the hour and minute hands and both are treated with Super-LumiNova.

Inside is the new A&S6302 calibre, an automatic movement with COSC chronometer certification. It beats at 28,800bph and has a 60 hour power reserve. The openworked rotor is made out of 22k gold and is styled to look like a prow of an 18th-century English frigate and engraved with the graduations you might once have found on a sextant. The watch comes on an integrated titanium bracelet with rounded edges and slightly domed, H-shaped rounded links.

The Arnold & Son Longitude Titanium 5°W Edition is limited to 38 pieces and priced at CHF 25,900. See more on the Arnold & Son website.

6/

Petermann Bédat Release The Reference 1825, Their Very Classy Take On A Three Hander

I was standing around the Four Seasons Geneva lobby, having just met Kari Voutilainen for the first time, and talking about watches to a couple of young guys that a buddy introduced me to. If I remember correctly, we were geeking out over the new Nomos World timer. It was a great talk and as I was leaving, I gave them my card and introduced myself, to which they responded with their names — Gaël and Florian. I cocked my head and raised an eyebrow, because those names sounded familiar. And my buddy nodded approvingly: “Yeah, they are Petermann and Bédat”. That blew my mind! At that time all I knew of Petermann Bédat, the watch brand, is that they made incredibly beautiful, exceptionally well made, mature watches. I thought that Petermann and Bédat were middle aged men who honed their craft over decades, their watches were that good. But once i saw how young the duo is, my admiration grew exponentially. It didn’t hurt that they were really nice guys and true watch fans. Now, Petermann Bédat is releasing the Reference 1825, a very elegant and simple time-only watch.

Being a three hander, the brand keeps everything rather minimalist. That starts with the case that’s very similar to the case that they used on the split-second chronograph, but much slimmer and easier to wear, 38mm wide and 10.15mm thick. The case is made out of rose gold, has soldered lugs and a concave bezel that surrounds a sapphire crystal. Out back is another crystal, held down with six screws. Simple but effective.

The dial keeps going with simplicity, as it’s their first non-openworked dial. Instead, it has a wonderful green base with translucent enamel with a very subtle sector lines on it. At 6 o’clock is a small seconds indicator. The hands are faceted spade-shaped, as you would expect from Petermann Bédat.

Inside, you’ll find the hand-wound in-house calibre 233 and it’s a beautiful thing. It beats at 18,000 vph and has a 56 hour power reserve. There are some interesting quirks about it, like the swan-neck regulator being a purely decorative placement, but when it comes to finishing, it’s incredible — Geneva stripes on German silver bridges, wide bevelling, internal angles, large jewels with wide polished countersinks, mirror-polished steel parts, perlage on the mainplate, and a bunch of other details. The watch comes on a brown alligator leather strap and a pin buckle.

The new Petermann Bédat Reference 1825 technically isn’t limited, but good luck getting one. They plan on making the watch for four years, at an expected rate of 50 watches per year. Price is set at CHF 75,000, without tax. See more on the Petermann Bédat website, when they update it.

FOR WATCH CLUB MEMBERS Your Next Watch, Week 57: And Incredibly Rare Omega, A Cool Jacques Bianchi, A Groovy Longines, And A Classy Omega

We continue with our exploration of watches we shouldn't spend our money on, but most likely will. 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

• Aging meets endurance in the bond between legendary trainer Freddie Roach and boxing icon Manny Pacquiao. As illness and time press in, the two men chase one last miracle under the bright lights of Las Vegas — a story of faith, fight, and the quiet heroism of refusing to stop believing in each other.

• Russell Cobb and Sarah Brandvold follow the remarkable journey of an Egyptian mummy, nicknamed “Horus.” Now at the University of Alberta, Horus has had a tumultuous time since being removed from Egypt—treated as an object of entertainment and fear, until eventually ending up in the University’s permanent collection. What questions does the afterlife of Horus raise about how we treat and display human remains?

• At a Palm Springs car meet, the Tesla Cybertruck becomes more than a vehicle — it’s a mirror. Owners defend it as innovation; critics see a rolling symbol of division. Between admiration and outrage, loyalty and irony, these stories capture how one truck came to embody America’s obsession with identity through machines.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

In March 2024, a team of nine The North Face athletes from around the globe gathered in Bariloche, Argentina to explore the climbing, community and culture. There, they bolted lines, scrambled up spires and sought opportunities to learn from each other—and the walls of Valle Encantado.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk