TAG Heuer Brings Back The Seafarer; Omega's Reverse Panda Speedy; Oris Reimagines Bullseye Dial; MdM's Australian Open Rallymaster; Tiffany's New Chrono; Blancpain Celebrates Year Of The Horse

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Woah, that was a long break! I hope you didn’t forget about me and that the year started off as good for you as it did for me. Only after I stopped writing daily did I realize how much I needed to take a few weeks off. I used that time to set into motion a couple of fantastic projects for this year, start planing the Watches and Wonders visit and collaborations that even I couldn’t believe. You’ll also see some changes coming up in the coming days that I’m really happy with. But it wasn’t until I sat down to write this issue that I realized how much I miss and love writing these issues. It’s a fantastic feeling. Since I was away for so long, there’s a bunch of releases that happened in the meantime that I will be catching up on in the next few weeks, so please do keep that in mind if you see a watch that you already saw somewhere else.

Also, I want to point out that there are 9 more days to buy the Alpina × TRTS Seastrong Diver Extreme. I reviewed it a couple of weeks ago, if you’re interested. I loved it, despite (or maybe because) the fact it was made by my friends from The Real Time Show.

In this issue

• TAG Heuer Brings Back One Of Their Coolest Chronographs, The Seafarer

• Omega Adds A Reverse Panda Dial Option To The Steel And Gold Speedmasters

• Oris Reimagines Their Iconic Vintage Bullseye Dial On The Big Crown Pointer Date

• Maurice de Mauriac And Racquet Team Up Again For The Australian Open-Themed Rallymaster IV

• Tiffany Releases A Zenith El Primero Powered Chronograph With Their Iconic Blue Dial

• Blancpain Traditionally Celebrates Chinese New Year With The Villeret Calendrier Chinois Traditionnel 2026

👂What’s new

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TAG Heuer Brings Back One Of Their Coolest Chronographs, The Seafarer

This week is LVMH Watch Week 2026 in Milan, which means that you’ll see a lot of their brands covered this week. I’m a bit late to the party, but let’s get on to it! Perhaps the best watch introduced all week has to be the new TAG Heuer Carrera Seafarer Chronograph. I say new, but you know this watch very well. The first Seafarer was introduced back in the 1950s for Abercrombie & Fitch, and these were if not the first, then some of the first mechanical watches to keep track of the tides. Over the past 70 years, these watches became vintage icons and some of the most sought after chronographs on the market. Last year, TAG Heuer brought back the Seafarer in a limited edition with Hodinkee, and now we’re getting a regular, even better looking Carrera Seafarer Chronograph. It looks thoroughly vintage, but packed in the incredible Carrera Glassbox package.

When TAG Heuer first introduced the Glassbox Carrera, I was blow away just from the pictures. When you see it up close, things get even better, as the incredible domed sapphire crystal that extends from side to side with no bezel just looks impossibly good. This Seafarer comes in the larger Glassbox case, which means that it measures 42mm wide, 14.4mm thick, with a 48.6mm lug-to-lug. The case has an overall brushed finish, with polished details. On the right side you’ll find the crown and expected chronograph pushers, while at 9 o’clock on the case is a flat and wide push button labeled TIDE. That’s used to rotate the tide disc on the dial. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial is painted in a fantastic champagne color that gives a lot of vintage vibes. The soft color of the dial is paired with beautiful teal-blue and yellow colors on the tide indicator at 9, paying homage to the original 1960s Seafarer and to “Intrepid Teal,” a tone inspired by the yacht that won the 1967 America’s Cup. Since the watch doesn’t have a bezel, the flange of the dial swings up drastically at the edges, creating a rounded internal bezel with a 60-second and minute scale. More teal can be found on the 30-minute chronograph counter at 3 o’clock and at 6 o’clock is a running seconds counter with an integrated date window. The hands and applied indexes are faceted and 18K 3N yellow gold-plated.

Inside, you’ll find the TH20-04, an in-house movement that uses TAG Heuer’s modern automatic chronographs with a column wheel and vertical clutch, with an added tide mechanism that’s tied to the lunar cycle and makes a full rotation every 29.53 days. The movement beats at 4Hz and has an 80 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a brushed and polished beads of rice bracelet, and you get an additional beige sports strap with teal lining.

The TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Seafarer goes on sale in March and it’s priced at CHF 8,300. See more on the TAG Heuer website.

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Omega Adds A Reverse Panda Dial Option To The Steel And Gold Speedmasters

Like I said, catching up with missed releases is going to be a bit of a mess, so do excuse me if you already know everything about this release from Omega which was announced a week ago. Still, it’s interesting enough to deserve a strong spot here. Omega, perhaps more than any other luxury watch brand, makes an incredible number of variants of most of their watches. It seems that their philosophy is to provide a watch for every taste, need and ask. That makes it a bit strange that their modern Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional lacked this iconic look — a reverse panda dial which means a black dial with white sub-dials. Well, they just fixed it on their steel and Moonshine Gold variants. These are the new Speedmaster Moonwatch Black and White.

On the outside, nothing has changed from the regular Speedmaster Moonwatch. The Black and White models are based on the sapphire sandwich version, which means that you get an open caseback and a box-shaped sapphire crystal on top instead of the Hesalite. While you can choose between steel and gold, both watches share the same size — 42mm wide, 13.18mm thick and with a 47.5mm lug-to-lug. The case has the iconic asymmetrical construction and lyre-shaped lugs. Surrounding the top crystal is the tachymeter bezel done in polished black ceramic, a novelty for the model, and a white enamel tachymeter scale with the “dot over ninety” setup. Water resistance is 50 meters.

Then, we have the new reverse panda dials. I gave it a quick look over, and it seems that there is just one other Moonwatch Professional with a reverse panda dial, one Speedy Tuesday release made with Fratello. Both versions have the same basics, with tiny changes in material. The base of the dial has a varnished and lacquered finish, emphasizing the polished look of the black base. The same finish is applied to the stark white sub-dials. The markers and Omega logo are applied, rhodium plated on the steel version and polished solid gold on the Moonshine Gold version. The same applies to the hands on either variant (except for the central seconds hand, that’s PVD Moonshine Gold). It looks familiar and very crisp.

Inside, there are no shocks. You get the in-house calibre 3861, a direct descendant of the movements they have been using for half a century, with a cam-lever architecture and with the co-axial escapement and a silicon hairspring that Omega is known for. It beats at 3Hz, has a 50 hours of power reserve and, of course, it’s Master Chronometer-certified. The watch carries on the same bracelet used on other sapphire sandwich variants, the so called “Nixon” bracelet with brushed and polished finishes done in either steel or gold to match the case.

The new Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional Black and White watches are part of the permanent collection and priced at €10,200 for the steel and €48,600 for the Moonshine Gold variant. See more on the Omega website — steel here and gold here.

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Oris Reimagines Their Iconic Vintage Bullseye Dial On The Big Crown Pointer Date

Oris ended last year on a high note. They had a huge show of force at Geneva Watch Days, with two incredible looking and unexpected models, followed by an incredible Big Crown Pointer Date with Cervo Volante, a Swiss company producing sustainably sourced and vegetable-tanned deer leather straps that came with a beautiful orange dial. Then, just as the year was ending and this one was beginning, they released their Chinese New Year watch, which was incredible (more on that in a later issue). To start 2026, they reached back to their 1920s archive for a two-tone bull’s eye dial and made a perfect modern rendition of it on the new Big Crown Pointer Date Bullseye.

The case of the Big Crown Pointer Date is fairly simple, but in a good way. It has subtle nods to vintage watches, but isn’t very much in your face. The stainless steel case measures a very comfortable 38mm wide, 12.2mm thick, with a 45.5mm lug-to-lug. On top is a domed sapphire crystal, surrounded by a delightfully cool knurled bezel. Out back is a mineral glass caseback, while on the side is a screw-down oversized crown. Despite the crown screwing down, water resistance is limited to 50 meters.

This dial is quite something. It’s done in two base colors — a light grey for the background and an inky black for the chapter ring that gives the bull’s eye colorway it's name. The chapter ring houses white Arabic numerals, pointed to with cathedral style, lumed, hands. But there’s much more to it, creating the best kind of busyness. On the very periphery is a light grey ring that holds the red date numerals, pointed to with a hand that has a red tip. Moving inward is a black and white railroad track for the seconds. Just fantastic.

Inside, you’ll find the Oris 754 calibre, which is a rebranded Sellita SW 200-1 with a pointer date function. It’s modified to have a red Oris rotor, beats at 4Hz and has a 41 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a black Cervo Volante deer leather strap.

The new Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Bullseye is available now, priced at CHF 1,950. See more on the Oris website.

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Maurice de Mauriac And Racquet Team Up Again For The Australian Open-Themed Rallymaster IV

The collaboration between brilliant tennis magazine Racquet, designed Carlton DeWoody and Zurich-based Maurice de Mauriac has quickly become one of my favorite projects in watches. I have a soft spot not just for tennis, but also for Racquet, and I can’t but admire the tenacity of Maurice de Mauriac, one of the strangest watch brands out there — in the best possible way — that are carving out a very special place for themselves in the world. We’ve seen great editions of watches that paid homage to the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, and the Korean Open. Now, as you might expect if you follow tennis, we’re getting a limited edition for the Australian open. This is the new Maurice de Mauriac x Racquet Rallymaster IV.

There’s a lot to like about this watch, including its vintage charm and simple case. Made out of stainless steel, the case measures 39mm wide, 12mm thick, with a 47mm lug-to-lug. Each Rallymaster ties into the tournament they’re named after with visual cues, and in the Rallymaster IV, it’s through the black PVD coating of the case (along with the neon details on the dial) that pays homage to the night tournament sessions that the Australian Open is known for. The crown also gets a black PVD coating, with a tennis ball imprint in it. Water resistance is 100 meters.

Continuing the black theme is a flat black dial with stark white details. The center of the dial has a printed white tennis net, while the small seconds sub-dial (graduated in 20 second increments, to match the tennis serve time) is done in neon pink, dark blue and a light blue, the blues matching the surface the tournament is played on. The hands and circular indices are also done in white, but now lumed that glows blue, and at 3 o’clock is a date aperture that has a black disc inside and a magnifier above.

Inside the watch is the Swiss automatic Landeron 24 calibre, originally designed as an alternative to the workhorse ETA 2824. It is a reliable performer with 40 hours of power reserve and a 4Hz beat rate. You can get a glimpse of it through the transparent caseback which has a printing of tennis racket on it. The watch comes on a black calf rally-stule leather strap, with an additional black stretch fabric with glowing stripe.

The Maurice de Mauriac Rallymaster IV is limited to 100 pieces and available only during the Australian Open tournament. Price is set at CHF 2,200, without tax. See more on the Maurice de Mauriac website.

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Tiffany Releases A Zenith El Primero Powered Chronograph With Their Iconic Blue Dial

Some of the LVMH brands released really nice watches during LVMH Watch Week 2026, some were kind of disappointing and some, like this new Tiffany Timer, were quite pleasant surprises. Prior to the LVMH acquisition, Tiffany focused mostly on watches that show off what they do best — jewellery. However, since the acquisition, they are pushing for a position with the more watch-focused crowd. While the Tiffany Timer certainly comes at a substantial price, it’s an interesting experiment in group-integration and honoring the company history, as this watch celebrates the 160th Anniversary of the brand’s first stopwatch, created in 1866.

Easing the blow of the price is the fact that this watch is made out of polished platinum 950, with the crown — shaped like the six-pronged Tiffany solitaire ring setting — and push buttons for the chronograph done in white gold. The only measurement we know at the moment is the 40mm width. On top and bottom are sapphire crystals and it’s overall a great looking case with long and profiled lugs, with a slightly chunky unmarked and polished bezel on top. Perhaps most surprising of all is the 100 meter water resistance, which is more common these days with chronographs, but considering the platinum and white gold construction is very cool.

The dial, as you might expect, is rendered in Tiffany Blue. A couple of years ago, when the color showed up on select Patek models, it was all the rage and everyone was making Tiffany Blue dials. Thankfully, this didn’t exactly catch on as a major trend. Tiffany Blue on non-Tiffany products always looks awkward. But on Tiffany products… Perfection. Here, the color is rendered in eight layers of matte varnish, with 15 layers of transparent lacquer and looks the part. The indexes are done in baguette diamonds, quite large ones, with a standard tri-compax layout with small seconds as well as 30 minute and 12 hour counters, and a date tucked under the 6 o’clock sub-dial. The hour, minute and sub-dial hands are all done in white gold.

Inside, you’ll find a very familiar movement. It’s the El Primero 400 which beats at 5Hz and has a 55 hour power reserve. It’s an automatic chronograph with a column-wheel architecture that derives a lot of its architecture from the 1969 calibre 3019 PHC. You also get an oscillating weight featuring a hand-sculpted yellow gold “bird on a rock”, a nod to the brand’s past. The watch comes on a taupe alligator leather strap that’s closed by a white gold triple-folding clasp.

The new Tiffany Timer is limited to 60 pieces and priced at $55,000. The watch is still not on the Tiffany website, but I’ll leave the link here in case it shows up.

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Blancpain Traditionally Celebrates Chinese New Year With The Villeret Calendrier Chinois Traditionnel 2026

It’s become a custom in the watch world over the past several years to release a bunch of watches that pay homage to the Chinese New Year. For a second there, it seemed that this trend has died down as we didn’t see too many of these watches. Well, I was wrong. The watch release dates just pushed forward a bit, with the Year of the Horse watches coming out in early 2026 instead of late 2025. And traditionally, Blancpain joins in on the celebration with the Villeret Calendrier Chinois Traditionnel, a super complicated calendar that melds elements from Chinese and Gregorian calendars, a platinum case and a Grand Feu enamel dial.

The watch comes in a polished 45.2mm wide and 15.1mm thick platinum case. It’s a simple case with a thin stepped bezel sapphire crystals on top and bottom, along with a small crown on the right side. Hidden from view, underneath the lugs, are five correctors to adjust the super-complicated calendar movement.

The dial is rendered in beautiful salmon Grand Feu enamel. There are small Arabic date numerals on the periphery, pointed to by a snaking blued hand. At 12 o’clock is a tiny aperture that reveals the animal of the Chinese Zodiac. You get applied white gold Roman numerals and dots at 12, 3 and 9 o’clock, while the moon phase aperture at 6 o’clock features Blancpain’s signature smiling moon face. The three sub-dials feature white enamel Mandarin inscriptions and indicate the signs of the zodiac, double hours, lunar months, lunar days, the presence or not of an intercalary month, the five different elements of the zodiac animal and a yin/yang symbol. Hard core.

To show all of this, Blancpain uses the incredibly complicated calibre 3638. Blancpain was one of the first brands to solve the issue of the Chinese calendar. That’s because the Traditional Chinese Calendar counts time differently than the Gregorian calendar, and it’s still used in China for agricultural production and to determine seasonal holidays. The Gregorian calendar is based on a solar day, while the Chinese is based on the cycle of the Moon and the Earth’s course around the Sun. Additionally, they also feature a different number of days and it adds an extra month depending on which year it is. Like I said, super complicated, but the 3638 manages to figure it out. The movement features three series-coupled barrels, giving it a truly incredible 7 day power reserve. The watch is an automatic that is wound with a white gold rotor that has a horse on it. The watch comes on a brown alligator strap.

The new Blancpain Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar 2026 is limited to 50 pieces and priced at CHF 81,000. See more on the Blancpain website.

⏲️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

• Most people in the watch world were riveted by Perezcope’s discovery that the most expensive Omega sold at auction was a forgery. The story got even wilder when it turned out that the sale was an inside job that included shenanigans from the Omega Museum employees. If you missed it, it’s cool to see the story covered in the Economist.

• “Every year, the park logs more than twelve million visits, some of which go poorly,” writes Paige Williams in introducing us to the myriad misadventures that befall lazy, clueless, and sometimes just plain unlucky people who get injured in US national parks and the highly trained volunteers who risk their own lives to rescue them. Read this piece and you may be suspicious of the wind in a forest forever after.

• A year ago this week, a SpaceX Starship rocket exploded over the Caribbean, something that Elon Musk’s rockets tend to do. The debris from the explosion forced dozens of commercial planes to maneuver quickly out of the affected airspace. Disaster was averted, but that doesn’t mean it will be next time.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Matt Hranek has a pretty cult following online, with hundreds of thousands of people who follow him on Instagram trying to emulate his style. I appreciate him for popularizing the Negroni once again in recent years, his magazine WM Brown is very cool, but what I love most about him is his house. He has one of my favorite houses in the world and I will 100% steal the design one day.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk