TAG Heuer Unveils Seafarer-Inspired Carrera; MeisterSinger's Very Different Watches; Jacques Bianchi's Blue JB300 Diver; Perrelet's LAB Peripheral; Greubel Forsey's Final Balancier Contemporain

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I’m a sucker for a regatta Heuer, regardless of the fact that it’s limited and expensive.

In this issue:

• TAG Heuer Unveils The Very Nice Seafarer-Inspired Carrera Chronograph 42mm

• MeisterSinger Releases Four Very Different Watches In Quick Succession

• Jacques Bianchi Introduces A Blue Version Of Their JB300 Diver

• Perrelet Expands Its Funky LAB Peripheral Collection With New Dials

• Greubel Forsey Releases Final Version Of Their Iconic Balancier Contemporain

👂What’s new

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TAG Heuer Unveils The Very Nice Seafarer-Inspired Carrera Chronograph 42mm

While there are many, many yacht-timing chronographs out there, it’s hard to argue that there’s a brand out there that had a bigger impact on the style than Heuer chronographs. In the 1950s, collaborating with Abercrombie & Fitch, Heuer released the Seafarer chronograph with tide indication, which laid the groundwork for a whole line of nautical-themed watches that set standards with its creative use of color. Over the years, TAG Heuer has brought back this design many times, very often as a limited edition, and this is exactly what we’re getting today. This is the new TAG Heuer Carrera 42mm Chronograph Limited Edition which carries with it one major downside — it’s available only in France.

The watch comes in a familiar chronograph base — a stainless steel case that measures 42mm wide and 15.7mm thick, with a polished and brushed finish. On top and bottom are sapphire crystals, with the top one being surrounded by a thin steel bezel. If it wasn’t obvious from the picture, this isn’t the glassbox-style case of the Heuer chrono. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial comes in a beautiful shade of dark blue, surrounded by a silver chapter ring that has a blue minute track and contrasted with two silver snailed sub-dials. Even more contrast comes from the sub-dial hands and the central chronograph hand which are all done in yellow lacquer. The 30 minute counter at 3 o’clock has the iconic regatta timer setup which has an alternating turqouise and silver 5 minute segments which are used to time the start of a sailing race. Technically, this is a tri-compax watch, but the sub-dial above the date aperture at 6 is almost invisible, with just three lines and a silver hand used to track the running seconds.

Inside, you’ll find the calibre TH20-00, an automatic column wheel chronograph which has an 80 hour power reserve. Decorations include Côtes de Genève on the bridges and an openworked shield-shaped rotor. The watch comes on a rally-style perforated dark blue calfskin strap with turquoise stitching, closed with a folding clasp.

Like I said, the new TAG Heuer Carrera 42mm Chronograph is limited in both numbers and location — only 500 will be made and they are exclusive to France. Price is set at €7,350. See more on the TAG Heuer website.

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MeisterSinger Releases Four Very Different Watches In Quick Succession

Just to explain what’s happening here. When I’m putting this newsletter together, I have a notepad where I write down all the new releases for easy reference. I then slot these watches into each day accordingly. And I try to keep the newsletter to five or six watches at most, which often means that I build up a bit of a backlog. But I always try that I don’t have two of the same watches in the backlog. That’s kind of hard to fo with MeisterSinger which decided to just dump out their bucket with new releases in just a couple of days. So, now we have the new MeisterSinger × Ferreira Marques Edition Elétrico 28, the MeisterSinger 24H Enamel Edition and the MeisterSinger Pangaea and Neo Johann Strauss Editions to get through in quick succession.

Starting with the most interesting of the bunch, the MeisterSinger × Ferreira Marques Edition Elétrico 28. It is made in collaboration with Joalharia Ferreira Marques, a watch and jewelry store in Lisbon, and pays direct homage to the electric trams, more specifically the yellow tram 28, you find in Lisbon. The 40mm steel case is based on MeisterSinger’s minimalist №03 model and like always, time is told with just one hand. The base of the dial is yellow, paired with red 12-hour numerals and a black hand. The watch is powered by the usual Sellita SW200 movement which beats at 4Hz and has a 38 hour powre reserve. The watch comes on a grey suede strap and is limited to 28 pieces. Price is set at €2,560. See more on the MeisterSinger website.

Then, we have the 24H Enamel Edition. It comes in a 40mm case that has sloping lugs and a dramatic oversized conical shaped crown. The dial, as the name suggests, is made out of white enamel, paired with 24 black Arabic numerals, and time is, to no surprise, indicated with a single heat blued hand. In addition, there are four compass marks: S (south) at 12, W (west) at 18, N (north) at 24 and O (east) at 06, which must make this the most elegant compass watch you can get. Inside is the Sellita SW330 automatic which beats at 4Hz and has a 42 hour power reserve. The watch is limited to 25 pieces and comes on a cognac leather strap. Price is set at €5,490. See more here.

Last, we have a duo of MeisterSinger watches that pay homage to the legendary composer Johann Strauss, the Johann Strauss Pangaea and Neo limited editions. The Pangea comes in a 40mm wide case, while the Neo comes in a smaller 36mm one. Both feature the same wavy guilloché pattern, which pays homage to the Danube, seminal for Strauss who wrote the Blue Danube waltz, with the Pangea having a dark blue dial and the Neo having a light blue one. Both also have a silver portrait of Johann Strauss applied above 6 o’clock, applied hour numerals and, yes, one hand. Inside is the SW200, which has the same 38 hour power reserve and both watches come on a cognac-coloured calf leather strap with crocodile embossing. The Johann Strauss Neo is limited to 75 pieces, priced at €1,999 and you can see it here, while the Johann Strauss Pangaea is limited to 125 pieces, priced at €2,290 and you can see it here.

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Jacques Bianchi Introduces A Blue Version Of Their JB300 Diver

The last time I wrote about Jacques Bianchi, I very confidently called the brand Jules Bianchi. Several times. Let me correct that. Jules Bianchi was a very talented F1 driver who was tragically killed in a horrific accident at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Jacques Bianchi is a French watch brand that was first launched in the 1980s, made famous by their quartz diver JB200. The brand struggled and went under, only to be revived recently. In 2021 the brand launched a Kickstarter campaign for the reissue JB200, a classic looking diver that raised almost €800,000. Since, they’ve released a number of interesting watches, but my favorite is their JB300 series, a recreation of a watch with which Jacques Bianchi won the tender over several other brands to supply the French Army’s dive school CEPAT (Centre École de Plongée de l’Armée de Terre) with watches. Now, the JB300 comes with a blue dial and blue bezel.

The JB300 in blue comes in a familiar and very rugged steel case that measures 42mm wide and 12.7mm thick. And before you say that 42mm is way too large, consider the fact that it only has a 45mm lug-to-lug, making it a super interesting package with those stubby lugs. The case is fully brushed with very prominent chamfers on the edges. On top is a broad bezel with chunky teeth and a 60-click unidirectional mechanism. The insert is matte blue aluminum, which will surely age fantastically. Water resistance is the same as on the original, 300 meters.

The dial also takes a lot of inspiration from the original, and continues where the previous release left off. A matte blue base gets maxi-style painted hour markers — circles, bars and triangles — all with a slightly beige color of lumed paint. Towards the inside of the dial you’ll find a ring of red 13–24-hour markings and at 3 o’clock is a date aperture with a white date wheel.

While the original JB300 had the ETA 2824 inside, the new one has a modern clone of it, the Soprod P024. It beats at 4Hz and has a 40 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a blue Tropic-style rubber strap, with an additional Perlon strap. Or, you can pay an extra €150 for a Jubilee-style metal bracelet.

Now, some bad news. While the previous Jacques Bianchi JB300, which was a limited release, was priced at a pretty great €741, without tax, in November of 2024, the new, blue, JB300 gets quite the price bump and is now priced at €1,079, also without tax. That’s quite the jump. See more on the Jacques Bianchi

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Perrelet Expands Its Funky LAB Peripheral Collection With New Dials

It might not be a household name in everyday watch conversations, but Perrelet has some serious history. Sure, over the years the brand changed hands, but it’s founder and namesake Abraham-Louis Perrelet is one of the most important watchmakers of all time, having invented the self-winding movement in 1777. And Perrelet loves to pay homage to its founder by often using a turbine-style dial which shows of the winding motion of the rotor on the dial side. The LAB Peripheral collection, however, takes this concept even further, by using a peripheral oscillating weight to wind the watch, but then placing the weight on the dial side of the watch, with a cutout in which its rotates. It’s very cool. And now they’re adding a salmon dial, in the 3 Hands Date and Dual Time Big Date setups, to the existing black, silver, blue and green, with a new bracelet to boot.

Both of the new watches come in the same case, one that has a cushion shape and measures 42mm wide and 13.3mm thick. It’s a very interesting case as it’s both rounded and angular at the same time, with two bezels on top — one round and the other octagonal with concave, rounded sides, and a satin finished profile. The brushed midcase features grooves on the sides for a technical look, and the lugs have a nice alternating brushed and polished look. Water resistance is 50 meters.

The new dials have the same setup as previous versions — a multi-layer construction with a central section that has a vertical stripe pattern with a satin finished rim. This is done with a beautiful salmon color, which Perrelet calls Rose. The peripheral oscillating weight is rhodium plated, with a stripped pattern on one half of it, as are the hands and indices, which are filled with white Super-LumiNova. The indices also hang over the opening for the oscilating weight, making it look like they are floating. Around the perimeter is a salmon colored flange which holds the minute track. The 3 Hands Date features a small date aperture above 6 o’clock, while the Dual Time Big Date has the big date dual aperture under 12 o’clock and an additional second 12-hour time zone at 6 o’clock.

The 3 Hands Date is powered by the in-house calibre P 411, while the Dual Time Big Date gets the calibre P 421. They are essentially the same movement, with the P 421 getting additional parts for the big date and second time zone function. The movement beats at 4Hz and has a 42 hour power reserve. On the backside of the movement you can see the large rhodium plated bridges decorated with Côtes de Genève. The watch can be had on an alligator print calf leather strap with a folding clasp, or, for the first time, on a brushed steel bracelet.

The new Perrelet LAB Peripheral watches are available now, priced at €4,080 on leather and €4,180 on steel for the 3 Hands Date, and €5,250 on leather and €5,350 on the bracelet for the Dual Time Big Date. See more on the Perrelet website.

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Greubel Forsey Releases Final Version Of Their Iconic Balancier Contemporain

Greubel Forsey has always been known for their incredible technical prowess and incredible finishings. But to showcase everything they could do, they often had to give their watches large cases. Ones that were difficult to wear. That’s why when the Balancier Contemporain came around in 2019, it instantly shot up to the very top of the bestseller list for GF. It took the same high horological and finishing standards the brand cared for so much, but packed them into a sub 40mm case. Now, six years later, Greubel Forsey is ready to sunset the model with the Final Edition of the Balancier Contemporain, which is as good as you would expect.

The size of this Balancier Contemporain remains the exact same as the first model that they introduced, which means that it measures 39.5mm wide and 12.25mm thick, which are perfectly manageable dimensions. It’s also made out of stainless steel which doesn’t sound all that impressive for any other watch, but it is notable for Greubel Forsey as it is the rarest material in their lineup. The case has a combination of brushed and polished finishes, a sapphire crystal on top that extends to the edge and you get 30 meters of water resistance.

The dial also looks just like the Balancier Contemporains we’ve seen before, only now everything is blue. The dial is done in several levels, made out of gold with a blue finish. The time is displayed on a sunburst blue dial that’s positioned off center of the dial. All the visible bridges are made of nickel silver, which are frosted and spotted by hand. They are complemented by perfectly polished bevels and countersinks, as well as straight-grained flanks. Between 10 and 11:30 you’ll find a power reserve and down at 8 o’clock is a small seconds display. Then, at 6 o’clock the dial is cut off, creating an aperture to what you might, like I did, mistake for a tourbillon, but is instead a huge in-house balance wheel, with a black-polished stainless steel bridge with hand-polished bevels. That’s all mounted over a flat black-polished gold plate that serves as a mirror.

Inside, you’ll find a manually wound movement made up of 256 parts, beating at 3Hz, with a 72 hour power reserve. Oh, and that balance wheel? It’s been aerodynamically tuned to reduce air drag and use less power. The rear plate of the movement is done in gold and engraved with what could be best be described as… inspirational words… That one is a bit iffy, I’ll say. The watch comes on a blue textured rubber strap closed with a stainless pin.

The Balancier Contemporain Final Edition is limited to 33 pieces and it’s priced at CHF 220,000. See more on the Greubel Forsey 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

• For more than seventy years, Camp Mystic has been a sparkling oasis in the Hill Country for Texas girls to escape the heat and learn archery, kayaking, etiquette, and sisterhood. But rising land values, old rivalries, and lawsuits have now hurled the camp’s owners into a four-year, multimillion-dollar family feud that is viciously pitting siblings, cousins, and even former campers against one another. What will become of this fairy-tale summer paradise?

• When astronomers discover an asteroid with a 3.1% chance of hitting Earth, a global network of scientists races against time to track its path and weigh drastic options—from nuclear deflection to last-minute heroics. This is the gripping, behind-the-scenes story of how the world’s planetary defenders faced a potential city-killer—and won.

• Sara Burnett started free diving in July, 2023, at age 39. She entered her first competition on a lark and reached a very respectable depth of 65 meters, which spurred a judge to encourage her to try out for the US women’s team. Burnett did—also on a lark—and made it. As Lauren Larson reports for Texas Monthly, Burnett went from free diving curious to competing at the world level in an exceptionally short period of time.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Lost on everest shines a light on what happened to Andrew “Sandy” Irvine and George Leigh Mallory, who set out to attempt the first true summit of Mount Everest in 1924. A team of professional climbers, filmmakers and experts led by journalist Mark Synnott and Nat Geo Photographer Renan Ozturk attempts to discover whether Irvine and Mallory successfully conquered the world’s tallest mountain.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk