Seiko's New Style 60s With Pastel Dials; Christopher Ward Introduces The C12 Loco; Studio Underd0g Tips Its Hat To Homages; Zenith Releases The Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar In Rose Gold

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. A bit late today as we’re gearing up for a boutique opening here in Zagreb. My friend Mario from Marnaut watches is opening a store and I’m helping out a bit. There’s a party tomorrow so if you’re near Zagreb, let me know, I’ll give you all the details, we can share a beer.

In this issue:

• Seiko Refreshes The Presage Style 60s With Golden Yellow, Silvery Violet and Ice Green Dials

• Christopher Ward Introduces The C12 Loco, An Accessible Entry To High End Watchmaking

• Studio Underd0g Tips Its Hat To Homages Of Their Watches With The Avocado/Guacamole Duo

• Zenith Releases The Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar In Rose Gold

👂What’s new

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Seiko Refreshes The Presage Style 60s With Golden Yellow, Silvery Violet and Ice Green Dials

You will not get the best watch possible from Seiko. You will not get the prettiest. Or the cheapest. Definetely not the most accurate. But what you will get are interesting mixes of all of these aspects. Take, for example, the Presage Style 60s line that is a retro watch that’s supposed to look a bit dressy, but take a beating without breaking the bank. Exactly what you want from Seiko. Now, we’re getting three new versions, the SRPL75 (yellow), SRPL73 (violet) and SRPL71 (green).

Starting with the, it’s a very classic Style 60s case with a much sharper approach to the Presage line. Sure, the basic shape is still round, but the lugs protrude from the case sharply and with strong angles. The measurements are actually quite interesting - 39.5mm wide, a bit thick at 122 mm, but with a very comfortable 46.2mm lug-to-lug. On top is a box shaped Hardlex crystal, which will surely be criticized, and surrounding it is a fixed thin bezel with a light grey insert that has a 60 minute scale. Water resistance is 50 meters.

The dials for this trio are all new. They all have a horizontal brushing with a more pronounced texture than previous versions and the ring that older versions used is now much deeper, almost like a groove cut into the dial. The indices are baton shaped and applied, with just a tiny lume rectangle at the inner end. The hour and minute hands are dauphine shaped, faceted and filled with Lumibrite. The colors available are Golden Yellow, Silvery Violet and Ice Green, all of which have a pastel shade to them, which is very on trend.

Inside, you’ll find the 4R35, Seiko’s entry level automatic movement that beats at 3Hz and has a 40 hour power reserve. You won’t win any accuracy competitions with this one, but it will serve you for years to come with no headaches. The violet and green versions come on a five link metal bracelet, while the yellow comes on a brown leather strap with a pin closure.

The new Presage Style 60s Golden Yellow, Silvery Violet and Ice Green go on sale in May and are all three priced at around €590. See more on the Seiko website.

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Christopher Ward Introduces The C12 Loco, An Accessible Entry To High End Watchmaking

Despite the fact that industry insiders will gladly point out all the issues with Christopher Ward and their very lax approach to intellectual property, there’s just no denying that they are putting out hit, after hit, after hit. When they aren’t putting out watches that appeal to the widest of masses, they light to dabble near high horology at great prices. The C1 Bel Canto was a truly impressive piece that brought chiming to a previously unheard price point. Now, they’re continuing this approach, but not with another chiming watch. The new watch is the C12 Loco (not sure about that name…), build on the CW Twelve, and it puts the balance wheel and escapement in the front and centre of the dial with a very high-horology look.

Being built on The Twelve, the Loco keeps a lot of the features of the collection, while getting some upgrades that make it look truly exclusive. The most obvious change is the huge sapphire crystal that sits on top and gives you a great look at everything that’s going on the dial. Other changes include the removal of the crown guards and a more integrated bezel with 12 dramatic facets. The dimensions are also slightly tweaked — 41mm wide, 13.7mm thick and with a 47.5mm lug-to-lug. Sure, that sounds quite thick, but all the reviews says it wears much smaller on the writs thanks to the fact that a big portion of that thickness is a transparent crystal, and the angled lugs help it sit on even smaller wrists. Water resistance is 30 meters.

The dial is where things get really interesting. There are four color options to choose from — white, black, blue and a super-bright orange. All of the color is applied on the base of the dial, which holds on it, arranged in a vertical line, the time sub-dial, balance wheel, and escapement. The time sub-dial is a steel ring that holds the lumed hour markers and pointed to with short lumed hands. Moving down to the balance wheel and escapment, they are held up with what look to be great finished bridges. And they should look good, since they are finished by hand. The main attraction of the dial is that balance wheel, and for good reason.

What you see on the dial are parts of the new manually wound caliber CW-003, visible from both the front and back. This is the first first free-sprung balance wheel used in a CW watch. This means that the Loco’s rate is regulated by tiny screws on the balance wheel’s rim, something you don’t see often in this price point. The movement also has two parallel mainspring barrels, which give you a six-day power reserve, and you can see the barrels on the backside. The watches come on either their flat-link bracelet or on a new thiner rubber strap that comes in dial-matching colors and with CW’s Bader Buckle.

The new Christopher Ward C12 Loco goes on sale today at a price that’s both high (for what we’re used from CW) and low (for what you get): on rubber, the watch is priced at €4,950 and on the steel bracelet, it’s €5,205. See more on the Christopher Ward website.

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Studio Underd0g Tips Its Hat To Homages Of Their Watches With The Avocado/Guacamole Duo

Studio Underd0g makes really interesting looking, colorful and relatively affordable watches that are usually made in limited editions that go fast. There’s a bit of hype around them, and for good reason, so every launch they do, there are always a lot of people unhappy with not being able to get their hands on one of the watches. They, then, have two options: either forget about the watch or try to get one on the secondary market, often at a higher price. Well, technically, there’s a third option, one that’s much less ethical. There are a literal bunch of companies, most of them out of China, that make “homages” or virtually copies of Studio Underd0g watches. The brand owner Richard Benc discovered this curiosity back in 2024 and in good fun decided to fight back with the humor Studio Underd0g has become known for — by copying the copies.

The watches come in the case used in the 3rd generation 01Series Chronograph, which means that it’s made out of stainless steel and measures 38.5mm wide, 12.9mm thick and has a 44.5mm lug-to-lug measurement. On top is a double-domed sapphire crystal and flat exhibition case back. On the side is a larger crown with flat pushers for the chrono.

Then we have the dials, which have the same layout as the regular Studio Underd0g dials, but with a funny twist. Since some of the copies of their Watermel0n model weren’t able to copy the exact shade of green and ended up an almost avocado color. Hence the names of these two new watches — Av0cado and Guacam0le. The Av0cado dial is yellow with a Studio Underd0g “big eye” 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock in the brownish colour of the pit, while the Guacam0le dial is light green with the 30-minute counter in dark green. Hour and minute hands are black on both with Super-LumiNova C3, but the chrono seconds hand is green on the Av0cado dial (copying the copy) and black on the Guacam0le. On the periphery is a green tachymeter, in slightly varying shades of green.

Inside is the manually wounding ST-1901B, a bespoke version of the Seagull ST-19 made just for Studio Underd0g. It features a black main plate and it’s regulated in the UK to -10/+15 seconds per day. It beats at 3Hz and has a 50 hour power reserve. The watches come on straps that are a made by The Strap Tailer out of Italian Epsom Calfskin with Hass Zermatt lining and take a month to tan.

Th new Studio Underd0g Av0Cado and Guacam0le are limited releases that will go on sale on May 8th for only 9 hours between 3pm and 12am BST. All orders in that window will be honored and the first 800 will be delivered before the end of May. Price is set at €600. See more on the Studio Underd0g website. And do check out the website as it tells the whole story. They also put out one of the best instagram videos ever made to introduce this watch. I’m not kidding. It’s perfection. See it here.

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Zenith Releases The Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar In Rose Gold

One of the best watches of last year was the very cool Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar that not only had great complications, a complete look and interesting movement, it also had a great story. Almost 55 years ago, Zenith produced 25 pieces of a prototype of an El Primero that was supposed to serve as a proof of concpet. The A386 as it was called was redesigned to accommodate a triple calendar, moonphase, and chronograph. At the same time, people went crazy for their El Primero chronograph so Zenith moved away from the complicated watch and moved into the 70s with variations of the chrono. Only a few of these prototypes found their way to the public and in 2012 one was auctioned off for $40,000. Turns out, it was Zenith that bought that watch at auction and more than a decade later, they introduced the Chronomaster Triple Calendar with a new complete calendar caliber in three great colors. Now, that same watch gets a brand new rose gold case for a more luxurious experience.

Even though the new Zenith Chronomaster Triple Calendar is not an exact copy of the A386 prototype, Zenith did point out that they used the exact blueprint and proportions of the original case. In the rose gold version, however, it grows a mm in thickness. This means it’s 38mm wide, 13mm thick and has a lug-to-lug of 46mm. It has a raised and domed sapphire crystal on top. It’s all very retro with a sharp and sloped profile, pump-style chronograph pushers, faceted lugs, and a combination of radial brushed and polished surfaces.

The dial on this edition is rendered in black, with three rose-gold plated sub-dials and a ring on the periphery in the same color that holds the 1/10th of a second scale. The date window is at 4.30, the worst of all the date positions despite it being traditional for the El Primero, but then you notice that there’s a day indicator next to the 10 o’clock marker and a month indicator at 2 o’clock. Zenith’s effort to include a triple calendar, as well as a moonphase which is integrated into the chronograph’s 60-minute counter at 6 o’clock, works like a charm here. The dial is just beautiful.

Inside is Zenith’s in-house-produced El Primero 3610 caliber. It beats at 36,000vph, has a 60-hour power reserve and seeing how it’s an evolution of the El Primero caliber 3600 that powers the regular Chronomaster Original, it’s precise down to 1/10th of a second. The watch comes on a black calfskin strap with a 18k rose gold folding clasp.

The new rose gold Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar is available now and is part of the regular collection. Price is set at €27,400. See more on the Zenith 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

• If you’re stuck for something to say in response to someone, you might feel silly, uninformed, or even disingenuous about interjections such as “cool,” “huh,” or even “mm-hmm.” But according to linguists who study spoken conversation, these little bits of feedback—which often convey surprise or interest—are universal and can be the bits of glue that keeps the discourse flowing.

• Devon Fredericksen introduces us to the beauty and violence of the Long Beach Peninsula, located along the southern coast of the state of Washington. There, she encounters the carcass of a humpback whale along the peninsula’s north flank. Exposed to hungry birds, swarming flies, and the weather, she watches it slowly decompose over several months. As she hatches a detailed plan to steal a bone as a souvenir, Fredericksen considers what it means to take something that doesn’t belong to us.

• The mass firings at government agencies are still somewhat surprising. But for those inside the federal buildings, still trying to uphold their oath (and the rule of law), the emotional toll is all-encompassing. For 1843, one of the embattled employees—who helped prosecute January 6 insurrectionists, no less—describes how it feels inside the Justice Department these days.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

I love these restoration videos, just to have them playing in the background.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk