Seiko's Pink Panther; Laco And Circula Team Up; March LA.B's Titanium Diver; Panerai's Carbotech Destro Luminor; Hermès Brings Back Slim d’Hermès QP; Moritz Grossmann's First Perpetual Calendar

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Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. The collaboration between Laco and Circula is such an interesting one, I wish we got more of those. Also, have a look at the holiday discount I’m running on the premium subscriptions. It’s a good deal.

In this issue

• Serica Bring Back Their Fantastic Tuxedo Dial On The Ref. 6190 TXD

• Two Pforzheim Powerhouses, Laco And Circula, Celebrate Anniversaries With Two Crossover Watches

• March LA.B Adds A Titanium Version Of Their Great Looking Belza Diver

• Panerai Teams Up With Revolution For A Carbotech Destro Version Of The Luminor Marina

• Hermès Brings Back The Slim d’Hermès Quantième Perpétuel In A Gold Case With Brown Dial

• Moritz Grossmann Introduces Their First Perpetual Calendar In Gold And Platinum

👂What’s new

1/

Seiko Releases A Pretty One-Of-A-Kind Seiko 5 Sports Pink Panther Limited Edition

I vividly remember the first time I saw one of the Pink Panther films. I was very young. We’re talking 7-8-9 years of or something like that. I was obsessed with Cato Fong, Clouseau’s man servant who would attack him by surprise all the time to help him practice his self defense. I remember torturing my dad all the time by jumping him when he least expected it. That got me hooked on the cartoon. And it took me 30 years to realize — wait, why aren’t there more Pink Panther watches, considering the fact that pretty much every other IP has a watch tied to it. That changes today, as Seiko is releasing a watch in the Seiko 5 Sports SKX series that takes on the pink guise of the animated Pink Panther. This is the new Seiko 5 Sports Pink Panther Limited Edition SRPM07. And it’s very pink.

The watch comes in a pretty standard Seiko 5 Sports SKX case, which means a brushed stainless steel case that measures 38mm wide and 12.1mm thick, with a 44mm lug-to-lug. On top is a Hardlex crystal with a unidirectional bezel that has a black metal insert with a pink 60 minute scale done in Pink Panther’s font. Out back is a caseback with a pink-toned crystal and Pink Panther logo. The crown sits at 4 o’clock and you get 100 meters of water resistance.

The dial is, naturally, bright pink and features embossed paw-prints embossed on the left side of the dial. The rest is regular round and pill shaped hour markers filled with LumiBrite, a seconds hand that has a pink counterweight with a lumed dot at the end. At 3 o’clock, you’ll find the day-date indicator.

Inside, you’ll find the 4R36 movement which beats at 3Hz and has a 41 hour power reserve. It won’t win any accuracy competitions, but it will tick for a while. The watch comes on a 3-link steel bracelet with a folding clasp, but you also get a bright pink NATO-style strap that features the Panther’s footprints and the phrase “Wet Paint” .

The new Seiko 5 Sports Pink Panther is a limited edition of 9,999 pieces and goes on sale in January of next year. Price is set at €460. See more on the Seiko website.

2/

Two Pforzheim Powerhouses, Laco And Circula, Celebrate Anniversaries With Two Crossover Watches

The vast majority of collaborations you will see in the watch market will be between watch brands and watch media. And that makes perfect sense. The brands get media exposure, and the media get legitimacy from a collaboration with a legitimate watch brand. More rarely, you’ll see two watch brands collaborate. The British have been working on some collabs — mostly Studio Underd0g working with brands like Fears and Christopher Ward. But as far as the majority of us can tell, there haven’t been two German watch brands that have teamed up so far. And that’s exactly what we get today, with a very cool story.

The city of Pforzheim is not large, only about 130,000 people, yet it is very important for the watch industry. Durowa/Stowa is headquartered there, as are Laco and Circula, perhaps two of my current favorite (accessible) German watch brands. And as it happens, both of them are celebrating anniversaries this year — Laco turns 100 and Circula turns 70, with both brands celebrating heavily, with a bunch of cool watches. To end the year, they are teaming up to put out the Laco x Circula ProLab.

The very cool thing about this collaboration is that it’s not one watch, it’s two. Each of the brands put forward their own signature model, and combine signature design cues from each other’s respective brands. The cases are based on the Laco Pro, their field watch, and Circula ProFligth, which makes it more clear. Circula is known for their field watches while Laco loves to make a good pilot. So, a very interesting combination.

The Laco Field comes in a sandblasted stainless steel case that makes 40mm wide and 11.3mm thick, with a very traditional shape. The Circula ProFlight comes in their much more modern case that measures 40mm wide and 12.3mm and has a very cool grained midcase. The Laco gives you 200 meters of water resistance while the Circula is a bit lower at 150 meters. Oh, and a cool detail can be found on the caseback. It has an engraving of the map of Pforzheim with two gold half-circles that mark the Laco and Circula headquarters.

The Laco Field takes the classic pilots’ watch layout and gives it a field-like tone — a sand-colored dial that has a lumed outer section with a green glow and blue glowing sword-style hands. They use the Laco font for the numerals 1-12 on the outside ring and 13-24 on the inner ring. The Circula does the exact opposite, which applies the iconic Laco black Type B dial onto their watch, with more modern numerals and an arrow at 12.

Inside of both watches, you’ll find the Sellita SW-200 movement, a well known quantity that beats at 4Hz and has a 38 hour power reserve. The Circula comes on a black sailcloth strap with a leather lining, while the Laco comes on a sand-colored sailcloth strap with a leather lining.

This is a very interesting collaboration, one that celebrates significant milestones and offers a quirky twist on two iconic German brands. The Laco x Circula ProLab is limited to 170 pieces (100 for the Laco anniversary, 70 for the Circula anniversary) and these are sold exclusively as a set, priced at €2,390. That’s a very decent deal. See more on the Circula website or on the Laco website.

3/

March LA.B Adds A Titanium Version Of Their Great Looking Belza Diver

There are two reasons why I’m a fan of the French watch brand March LA.B. First off they make, among others, square watches that are really good looking. And second, they make a whole bunch of women’s watches, something that I believe is severely lacking in the microbrand world. Although, March LAB might be past the microbrand moniker as they have been around for almost 20 years and make dozens and dozens of models. Whatever you describe them as, March LAB, they also have a line of divers that are an homage to the founders’ youth as a surfer in France. However, we haven’t seen much from them in term of the Belza diver in a while. If they needed time to come up with this new Belza Titanium, I’m glad we waited because it looks amazing.

As the name might suggest, this is a titanium version of a watch that already exists in steel and bronze. It’s a vintage-inspired, in line with the recognizable diving watches of the 60s that have legendary status now. It’s a substantial case, not hugely wide at 40mm, but thick at 14.5mm. The case is made out beautifully brushed grade 2 titanium that has a dark hue to it. On top is a box-shaped sapphire crystal, a unidirectional bezel with a ceramic insert in a fantastic deep green. Water resistance is 200 meters. .

The dial gets a sanblasted finish and engraved horizontal waves, with applied steel indices filled with white Super-LumiNova. The hour and minute hands are blunt, filled with lume, just like the lollipop central seconds hand. At 3 o’clock is a date window that has a black disc with the number 3 done in green, a nod to the brand’s name, which is the third month of the year.

Inside is the familiar La Joux-Perret calibre G100 an alternative to the basic time-only offerings from Sellita and ETA, making it easily servicable. It beats at 28,800vph and has a 68 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a khaki-green jacquard strap woven in France by Manufacture Julien Faure and a titanium pin buckle.

The March LA.B Belza Titanium is available right now and is limited to 99 pieces. Price remains the same as the bronze edition at €2,195. See more on the March LA.B website.

4/

Panerai Teams Up With Revolution For A Carbotech Destro Version Of The Luminor Marina

I don’t love every Panerai ever made, but when I find one that I do like, then I really, really like them. And I really like the collaboration between Panerai and Revolution magazine to celebrate their 20th anniversary, the result of which is this Luminor Marina PAM01708, with two things I love among the most from Panerai — a Carbotech case and a destro crown configuration.

There’s a lot familiar with this case, it being a Luminor Marina. It measures 44mm wide, but we don’t have much info on other dimensions. But you know this watch — a cushion shape with stubby lugs and that recognizable crown guard. Only, this is a destro version, meaning that the crown sits on the left side of the case, and the crown protecting mechanism is turned upside down. Most Panerai watches are huge and unwieldily, which makes them fun, but they can also get kind of heavy. Not this one, as this one is made out of Carbotech, a proprietary carbon composite material. Panerai claims that it’s 80% lighter than steel, 73% lighter than ceramic and 64% lighter than titanium, while being incredibly tough. Water resistance is an expected 300 meters.

Perfectly matching the matte black case is the matte black green sandwich dial. The lume that’s painted on the lower level is way beyond fauxtina and would be better described as a tan-brown. Looks good. There’s a small seconds dial at 3 o’clock and you get the standard Luminor Marina and Panerai writing done in white. The hands are black with the same lume.

Inside, you’ll find the P.9010 calibre with 3-day power reserve and automatic winding. The watch comes on a brown calf leather strap with beige stitching and Revolution’s star emblem engraved, with a trapezoidal titanium and DLC pin buckle

The new Panerai x Revolution Luminor Marina Carbotech "Destro" PAM01708 is limited to 100 pieces, available now and priced at €12.160. See more on the Revolution website.

5/

Hermès Brings Back The Slim d’Hermès Quantième Perpétuel In A Gold Case With Brown Dial

While we have all been talking about Hermès as a serious watchmaker over the last 4-5 years, the fact is, they introduced the Slim d’Hermès 10 years ago and they already established themselves as a very serious watchmaker, and not a fashion watch. The original release included a perpetual calendar, a complication that’s missing from the modern Slim d’Hermès. Well, now it’s back, in a rose gold case a a beautiful brown dial.

The new Slim d’Hermès QP comes in, like I said, a rose gold case that measures 39.5mm wide and just 9.06mm thick. It has a fully polished finish, sapphire crystals on top and bottom, and a pusher at 4 o’clock to set the time on the second time zone in one-hour increments. Oh yeah, this watch has a cool party trick. Water resistance is 30 meters.

The dial comes in the chocolatiest of chocolate brown dials, with a flat finish on the inner part and a brushed chapter ring that holds the wonderfully designed Arabic numerals. At 12 o’clock is a snailed date counter with a sandblasted track and gilded hand, at 3 o’clock is a snailed moon phase sub-dial with a white mother-of-pearl moon and blue aventurine sky and at 9 o’clock is a snailed leap year counter with 4-spoked gilded hands and brown tip, as well as a month indicator. At 6 o’clock, however is a stark white sub-dial that displays a second time zone, and does so with numerals scrambled over the dial. Incredible look. You also have a blue and white day/night indicator near the center of the dial, and the hands are gilded and baton shaped.

Inside, you’ll find the Vaucher H1950 automatic calibre which is incredibly thin — 2.6mm. Add to that a minuscule 1.4mm perpetual calendar module, and that’s how you get a QP watch that’s less a hair over 9mm. A big part of that thickness is thanks to a micro-rotor winding system. The movement beats at 21,600vph and has a 48 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a Hermès Havana alligator strap.

The new Hermès Slim d’Hermès Quantième Perpétuel doesn’t seem to be a limited edition and it’s priced at €39,550. The watch is not yet on the Hermès website, but I assume it will be soon.

6/

Moritz Grossmann Introduces Their First Perpetual Calendar In Gold And Platinum

Located in the same town of Glashütte as Union Glashütte, Moritz Grossman is a brand that was revived in 2008 by Christine Hutter from a watchmaking manufacture that died out in 1855 when its eponymous founder died. Since its relaunch, Mortiz Grossmann has been making very germanic watches, reserved in their style, but advanced in construction. Also, fascinating in their adherence to their vision. So far, they’ve included all sorts of complications into their watches, including an in-house tourbillon that they recently updated. Coming right behind it is a first for the brand, a QP. This is the new Moritz Grossmann Perpetual Calendar, in three different variants.

The case of the new Moritz Grossmann QP is made out of either 18k rose gold or 950 platinum and since both are hefty materials, must be a presence on the wrist, considering the fact that it measures 41mm wide and 13.9mm thick. However, it’s also a very familiar case, since it’s almost identical to the Benu model that MG already makes. There are sapphire crystals on either side of the case, held down with a very thin bezel, and there’s a single pusher at 4 o’clock that’s part of the very cool winding system Moritz Grossmann devised, but more on that later. The QP is adjusted using correctors in the caseband.

The dial is also very familiar Moritz Grossmann fate, available in three colors silver (argenté) or anthracite in the gold case and silver with anthracite on the platinum case. MG uses a very simple way of presenting the perpetual calendar, with the dates on the periphery of the dial, a month sub-dial at 3 o’clock, a day of the week sub-dial at 9 o’clock and a small seconds at 6. The 3 and 9 o’clock sub-dials have small openings in them, one for the leap year indication, the for the day–night indicator. At 12 o’clock is the moon phase indicator that has a goldstone background, with sparkling copper crystals. Time is indicated by hand-made signature Grossmann hands done in gold for the gold and heat-blued steel for the platinum. You’ll notice that there’s no third hand to indicate the date — that’s because it has a cup-shaped indicator that runs around the perimeter, framing the date.

Inside, you’ll find the brand new in-house Calibre 101.13, built on the brand’s base calibre 100.1 that they use everywhere, now paired with a perpetual calendar. The movement beats at 18,000vph and has a 42 hour power reserve. Changes to the base caliber include an optimised stopwork, an integrated manual winder and an escape wheel bearing integrated into the barrel bridge. As for that time setting tick, you pull out the crown and it snaps back to the original position, instead of remaining pulled out. But, the act of pulling it out hacks the movement and allows you to set the time. When you’re done, hit the pusher at 4 o’clock and it will restart the movement. Very cool. Finishings include a 2/3 plate in German silver and a hand-engraved balance cock. The watches come on a brown alligator strap.

The new Moritz Grossmann Perpetual Calendar models are part of the regular collection, priced at €83,000 for the gold and €91,800 for the platinum. See more on the Moritz Grossmann website.

FOR WATCH CLUB MEMBERS Watches You Might Not Have Seen, Week 59: The Quirky Jaeger‐LeCoultre Memovox Parking

A mechanical alarm watch built to fight parking tickets. Read it 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

• “What I love best about Blaze Foley songs,” writes David Ramsey, “is that they are sad, but also a good hang.” Same goes for this absolute gem from the latest Oxford American music issue. Foley, a songwriter beloved by Merle Haggard and Townes Van Zandt, lived an outsized and unsteady life, the former giving flight to myths and wild tales before the latter concluded, at just 39 years old. Ramsey’s profile of Foley wears its considerable research lightly, works an impressively lyrical touch on the flotsam of Foley’s life, and includes one of the finer concluding sections I’ve read in a few years.

• “[O]nce a day, at least, I wonder what my life would be like if I smashed my phone into bits and never contacted AppleCare,” writes Jay Caspian Kang in his latest New Yorker column. Tellingly, he doesn’t wish for a specific intellectual glow-up in this hypothetical, just the sense of possibility. And he’s not alone. The cozy armchair, the writing desk, the law-library lamp casting a warm light over your longhand-written journal—all are part of the fantasy of a rich, phone-free life.

• The United States exported fast-food culture to the Philippines. Over the decades—and notably since 1998, when the first Jollibee restaurant opened in the San Francisco Bay Area—the Philippines has been serving it back. In this piece, Atlantic staff writer Yasmin Tayag trace’s the Filipino fast-food giant’s global rise: its parent corporation now operates more than 1,800 locations around the world, and has over 10,000 stores under 19 other food and coffee brands. Tayag especially highlights Jollibee’s expansion in North America, the way it adapts its flavors for a “mainstream” audience, and the warmth and joy the brand aims to deliver alongside its tasty menu.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Being the first on the wall in a siege often meant certain death. It involved battling through to the wall, climbing an exposed ladder or siege tower through a hail of projectiles, only to meet a superior force of defenders upon reaching the top. Nevertheless, brave men in antiquity and the Middle Ages repeatedly took on this daunting challenge. They even competed against each other for the privilege, because everyone wanted to scale the defenses and face the enemy first. But have you ever wondered why?

Thanks for reading,
Vuk