Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. A bit of a different newsletter today. Much, much more expensive. The average price of watches today is above €80k. We don’t have many days like these.

In this issue

• The A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Date Gets A Warmer Look With A Pink Gold Case

• The New Porsche Design Chronograph 1 1975 Limited Edition In Blasted Titanium Is Just The Right Kind Of Cool

• G-SHOCK Teams Up With The Surfrider Foundation Japan For The New Conservation Focused G5600SFJ-9

• Credor Goes Full Hand-Painted Art Dial With The Goldfeather Tourbillon Limited Edition GBCF999

• FOR WATCH CLUB MEMBERS Historical Perspectives: Ti …

👂What’s new

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The A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Date Gets A Warmer Look With A Pink Gold Case

For almost all of its 750 issues (woof, what a number), this newsletter has had a very clear structure. And every time I deviate from that structure, I like to remind people what it is, so they know why I’m deviating. The structure goes as follows: the headline watch has to be something very mainstream — a watch that is mostly attainable in price, and made by a major watchmaker — something that will be of interest to the greatest number of people; that’s then followed up by two or three watches from smaller and micro brands with the intent to report on what’s interesting in the market as well as introduce people to watches they haven’t seen before; and the newsletter is concluded with a watch that is usually perversely expensive. But sometimes, like today, a watch is so nice that even it’s extreme price and, honestly, lack of interest from the broadest of publics, will not stop me from leading with it. This is the new A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Date, now in a 18k pink gold case with a grey dial.

This new version of the Zeitwerk Date is based on the updated model from three years ago. You get a rose gold case that measures 44.2mm wide and 12.3mm thick. I’ve played around with the Zeitwerk Date and can tell you that it wears much, much smaller than the dimensions would have you believe. A lot of this has to do with the short lugs. The finishes are interesting, brushed on the sides and polished on the bezel which holds down the sapphire crystal. The crown is located at two o’clock, but you also get two pushers to help you set the time — the one at 4 o’clock advances the hour display, and the one at 8 o’clock adjusts the date. Water resistance is 30 meters, which is great.

The base of the dial is made out of silver, with a grey finish, and that’s interrupted with the signature time bridge, done in German silver. Don’t be confused, this is not silver, despite the name. German silver is an alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc, known to develop fantastic patina. The bridge is part of the movement’s top plate and houses the hour and minute digital windows on either side. Above, at 12 o’clock is a power reserve indicator, while at 6 is a small seconds sub-dial. The hands are made out of matching pink gold. Around the periphery of the dial is a glass ring that displays all 31 dates, with the current date bing displayed with a red marker underneath the ring.

Inside, you’ll find the in-house manually wound calibre L043.8 which beats at 18,000 vph and has a 72 hour power reserve from twin barrels. The movement is equipped with a constant-force escapement which makes sure that the jumping numerals mechanism works precisely and instantaneously. The movement has untreated German silver plates and bridges, a hand-engraved balance cock, polished edges and blued screws. The watch comes on a dark brown hand-stitched alligator leather strap, closed with a pink gold buckle.

The new A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Date in pink gold is priced at €130,000. See more on the brand website.

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The New Porsche Design Chronograph 1 1975 Limited Edition In Blasted Titanium Is Just The Right Kind Of Cool

If you were to force me to say something negative about Porsche Design chronographs, other than I can’t afford one, it would be that they kind of all look alike. Much like the Porsche 911, these watches are built for the obsessive fans who will see huge differences in the tiniest of details, and then make a big deal out of it. And just like the Porsche 911, I’m standing in line to join in on the obsessing. Because the Chronograph 1 is just that cool. Now, Porsche Design is celebrating 50 years since the release of the first Chronograph 1 with a limited edition that gets a really nice case finish.

Inspired by the first 1975 Chronograph 1 which came in an uncoated stainless steel case, the new LE from Porsche Design comes in a media-blasted titanium case. Technically, this isn’t the first time that you could get an uncoated media-blasted titanium case from them, but you would usually have to purchase a whole 911 to get one of those watches. So, this is the first time that we get an uncoated media-blasted titanium case on a watch somewhat available to the general public. The cases measure 40.8mm wide, with a thickness of 14.15mm. That might create a bit of a hockey puck effect on your wrist, since the watch doesn’t have real lugs. On top is a sapphire crystal, out back a solid caseback and you get 100 meters of water resistance.

The dial is also a very basic Chronograph 1 dial. A black base gets a white Tachymeter scale on the sloping flange, and white printing all over. The sunken sub-dials have a snailed finish and are set at the 6-9-12 position, with a day and date aperture at 3 o’clock. Above and below that aperture is Porsche design logo and name. The hands are black, painted with white lume three-wuarters of the way down, giving them a floating look, while the central chrono hand is bright red.

Now, that 6-9-12 position of the sub-dials gives you a very clear hint of what the movement inside is. But technically, it’s not the Valjoux 7750, which has been in the watch since the 1970s. But it is based on it. The movement is called the Werk 01.240 calibre, an automatic chronograph movement built for PD for Concepto. You get 48 hours of power reserve and COSC certification. The watch comes on an H-link integrated metal bracelet with a clasp that has micro-adjustment.

The Porsche Design Chronograph 1 1975 Limited Edition is available now and limited to 350 pieces. Price is set at $9,650. See more on the Porsche Design website.

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G-SHOCK Teams Up With The Surfrider Foundation Japan For The New Conservation Focused G5600SFJ-9

The Surfrider Foundation Japan is a marine-focused nonprofit that puts together marine conservation and the surfer lifestyle. And they have now teamed up with G-SHOCK to release a special edition of one of their most iconic watches, one made out of a very special and important material — bio-resin in a really nice yellow color. This is the new G-SHOCK x The Surfrider Foundation Japan G5600SFJ-9.

Now, before you go calling bio-resin plastic… yeah, it’s basically plastic. Feels like plastic, looks like plastic. But it’s not necessarily plastic. Derived out of bio-sourced materials, it has a much lower environmental impact. But other than the cool new material, rendered in a bright yellow color, inspired by sunrise surfing, it’s the well known G-5600 model. That means that it measures 46.7mm wide, 12.7mm thick, with a 43.2mm lug-to-lug. On top is mineral glass, out back is a stainless steel caseback, and you get 200 meters of water resistance.

Since this is a G-5600, you get all the expected tech, like their Tough Solar and Super Illuminator which charges the watch and illuminates it. You get a 48-city world timer, a 1/100-second stopwatch, a countdown timer, daily and hourly alarms and time signals, and both 12 and 24-hour time formatting. The watch comes on a color matched bio-based resin band.

I’ve seen some reports that say that this is a limited edition, but I can’t seem to find this on the brand’s website. You can get this now, for a price of $150. See more on the G-SHOCK website.

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Credor Goes Full Hand-Painted Art Dial With The Goldfeather Tourbillon Limited Edition GBCF999

The Seiko brand name is almost ubiquitous as the Rolex name. It’s instantly recognizable, even by people who know nothing about watches and, unlike Rolex, they were likely owned by at least someone the general public knows. Grand Seiko, on the other hand, is a bit more niche. A step up above Seiko, it’s their more elegant and more expensive brand that’s not as much of a household name. GS is a watch for watch nerds. But then, there’s Credor. A bit of a mystery for even people well versed in the watch world and Seiko’s haute horology brand. Back in the late 1970s, Credor worked with legendary watch designer Gerald Genta to create one of their most iconic watches, the Credor Locomotive. Over the past few years, Credor started reinventing itself to become a serious contender in the high end space. Just a few months ago we got the Credor GCBD997, with a dial designed by Japanese painter Akira Yamaguchi. It was an interesting open-heart watch, priced at slightly below €20k. Now, however, we have another painted dial. But one that takes things to a whole nother level. This is the Credor Goldfeather Tourbillon Limited Edition GBCF999, the first tourbillon in the lineup, and too many crafts to list here in the opening.

The case of this Goldfeather is about as simple as you can get, while keeping things classy. It measures 38.6mm wide and 8.6mm thick, so pretty elegant proportions, offset by the fact that the case is made out of 950 platinum, giving it plenty of heft. On top is a domed sapphire crystal, out back is a flat one, and the fixed platinum bezel has a slight step towards the case.

But the case is really not important here, as it’s quite clear that it’s all about the dial. The base of the dial is done in black Urushi lacquer. Things get more interesting on the flock of birds that is inlayed into the dial with a variety of techniques. You get mother-of-pearl inlays, sprinkles of gold powder, also known as raden and maki-e techniques. Even more impressive is the kirikane technique of cutting gold plate into fine lines and shapes, and then applied to the dial. The dial is cut out at 9 o’clock to show off the tourbillon which is suspended with a dramatic openworked gold bridge that hold on to the black dial.

I’ll get to the movement in just a bit, because even more impressive than what the movement is, is how it’s mounted into the case. Flip the case over and you’ll see that the movement is not centered inside the case, but rather offset. On the side that is now made free, you get a MOP inlay feather and gold powder sprinkling, perhaps the most beautiful thing you’ll see on the backside of the watch. Followed very closely by the decorations on the in-house manually wound Calibre 6850, which has a hand-engraved radial feather pattern. The movement beats at 21,600vph and has a 60 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a black crocodile leather strap with a 950 platinum triple-folding clasp.

The new Goldfeather Tourbillon Limited Edition GBCF999 is limited to just 10 pieces and priced at €190,000. Which is quite the price. See more on the Credor website.

FOR WATCH CLUB MEMBERS Historical Perspectives: Time Under Pressure - The Longines Legacy with the Bathyscaphe Trieste

The story of Swiss stopwatches behind the Trieste’s historic ocean dives. 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

• That snooty woman with the heavy French accent who showed up out of the blue to start volunteering with Greenpeace in New Zealand in April, 1985? She was a spy from the French government’s intelligence and espionage service. “Frédérique Bonlieu” was part of an elaborate plot to infiltrate the group and plant bombs on the Rainbow Warrior to prevent the ship from undertaking missions in the South Pacific. The French government had been embarrassed by the environmental organization one too many times and they were prepared to strike back with deadly force.

• Not many people think about space weather—it’s not something we can see or feel. However, it is something that could have a far greater impact on us than any storm on Earth. Henry Wismayer meets the people who spend their lives monitoring solar storms, and explains just why we need to keep an eye on what our sun is doing.

• The New Yorker fact-checking department has, of course, long been a source of awe and intrigue, a font of surprising anecdotes about the particular and the detail-obsessed. Still, Susan Choi’s account of her time as a checker for the magazine is an exceptional contribution to the micro-genre of fact-checking essays: less an homage to the hard-won detail, more a piece of quiet praise for the shared pursuit of truth and the surprising intimacy such searches can yield.

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One video you have to watch today

OK, this video is here more of as a question. Do you guys have an interest in EDC stuff? Not just knives, but all the other stuff that would be considered EDC as well? Feel free to respond to this email with your answer.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk