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  • Timex Gives Ironman 8-Laps A Trio Of Metal Cases; Maurice Lacroix Expands Aikon Skeleton Collection; Ollech & Wajs Looks Great In Green; Farr & Swit Drop B Sides; A Different Ulysse Nardin Blast

Timex Gives Ironman 8-Laps A Trio Of Metal Cases; Maurice Lacroix Expands Aikon Skeleton Collection; Ollech & Wajs Looks Great In Green; Farr & Swit Drop B Sides; A Different Ulysse Nardin Blast

Timex Japan just might be the discovery of the year

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In this issue:

  • Timex Gives The Legendary Ironman 8-Laps A Trio Of Metal Cases, And Good News From Japan

  • Maurice Lacroix Expands The Aikon Automatic Skeleton Collection With New 39mm and 42mm Models

  • Ollech & Wajs Teams Up With Norwegian Architectural Design Collective - MIR For Tundra Themed OW 8001

  • Farr & Swit Drop The B Sides Of The Retro Digital - Mix Tape Vol. 1, Now With A Negative Display

  • Ulysse Nardin And Fashion Designer Amoureuxpeintre Team Up For A Very Different UN Blast

👂What’s new

1/

Timex Gives The Legendary Ironman 8-Laps A Trio Of Metal Cases, And Good News From Japan

The Timex Ironman is the stuff of legends. Not only is it one of the more affordable capable digital watches, with a legacy that spans 40 years, it was also used by some notable people. Most famously, by Bill Clinton, whose use of this humble digital clock was lauded as being down to earth. But, what if you want an Ironman while being a bit more classy than Clinton? You could opt for a metal-cased 8-Lap Ironman. There have been a few of them over the years, but Timex Japan just released a new trio of metal 8-Lap Ironmans. So, seeing as how the majority of my readers are not in Japan, why would you care? Oh, please, stick to the end of this section, because there’s some great news coming.

This release is based on the recently introduced OG Edition, designed for Timex Japan with the help of John Houlihan, the designer of the original 8-Lap, only now it gets a metal case. This change in material changes the size of the case a little bit. All three measure 39mm wide, have a 46.3mm lug-to-lug but are likely a bit thicker than the 10.5mm of the plastic version. The cases come in three versions — a bare steel case, black bezel, and strap; a bronze-gold toned case and black resin strap; and a all-black case and black metal bracelet.

Like all the other 8-Lap Ironmans, these watches will show you the time and date, while also being equipped with a chronograph (that can track, you know, eight laps), a timer and an alarm. There’s no Bluetooth or GPS here, just a pure old school digital watch. Sure, they are not the cheapest, but they are very cool. The all-black TW5M66500 is the most expensive, because of the metal bracelet, priced at €335, but the TW5M66600 and the TW5M66700 are both priced at €303.

Now, the best news. You can order these from Japan. Yeah, not only is the Timex Japan website in english, not only does it display the price in your local currency, it will also allow you to ship the watch pretty much anywhere in the world. And shipping is ridiculously cheap, it seems — it costs €15 to ship it to me in Croatia. But it’s not just these. There’s a whole range of extremely cool Timex Japan watches you can order from the website. This is a revelation.

2/

Maurice Lacroix Expands The Aikon Automatic Skeleton Collection With New 39mm and 42mm Models

Someone with less regard for brand history and a bit more cynicism than me would say that the Maurice Lacroix Aikon is just a budget version of the AP Royal Oak. But just the fact that it has an integrated bracelet, a slightly angular case and a patterned dial don’t make a Royal Oak knock off. The Aikon has carved out an interesting niche for itself in the past wight years, from a fun quartz alternative to high-luxury integrated bracelet sports watches into a huge collection that will now give you pretty much anything you’d like, it it’s your stile. And since things are going so well, ML is now introducing an expansion of the Aikon Automatic Skeleton 39mm collection, now with more colors and a larger option at 42mm.

The case of the Aikon is very easily recognizable, with its barrel shape and flat bezel that’s held down with 6 double feet. New is the 42mm wide case which measures 11mm thick, exactly the same as the 39mm version. The case has an overall brushed surface, with a couple of nice polished bevels. On top is a flat sapphire crystal, the same as the back, and on the side is a screw down crown. Water resistance is 200 meters.

The way ML skeletonizes the Aikon is very interesting. It replaces the dial with a sapphire plate with faceted baton hour markers (lumed, just like the hands) and an applied ML logo. This gives you a full look of the movement inside, which has had its mainplate opened up to reveal the internals. It’s these leftover parts that get a color treatment — blue for the 39mm (joining the existing grey) and blue and grey for the 42mm.

The movement you see is a the calibre ML135. It’s technically a Sellita SW200, but it’s been reworked by Sellita to ML’s specifications, including custom bridges and a custom openworked rotor. The movement beats at 4Hz and has a 38 hour power reserve. The watches come on the familiar integrated 5-link stainless steel bracelet that has the same treatement as the case.

The new Maurice Lacroix Aikon Automatic Skeleton models are available now and are priced at €3,600, regardless of size. See more on the Maurice Lacroix website.

3/

Ollech & Wajs Teams Up With Norwegian Architectural Design Collective - MIR For Tundra Themed OW 8001

Most of the watches made by Ollech & Wajs follow a pretty similar template - they are a skin diver-style case made with heavy vintage inspirations and cool uses of colors. They grasp deep from their history as much is linked to military and professional services. Their watches were worn by scientist Wernher Von Braun and NASA Group 6 astronaut Dr Anthony Llewellyn and In 1965, they became the most widely used ‘unissued’ watch brand by military personnel in the Vietnam conflict, delivering up to 10,000 pieces a year. And its this type of watches that Ollech & Wajs have released a lot of last year. But they also have a couple of other watches like, for example, the OW 8001, their integrated bracelet sports watch with a very retro look despite being released in 2023. Now, we’re getting a new version of the OW 8001 called the Tundra, made in partnership with MIR, the Norwegian Architectural Design Collective.

The OW 8001 comes in a very interesting case, one that would surely be interesting to most architects. It measures 39.5mm wide and 12.7mm thick. I assume that the lug-to-lug is also pretty great thanks to the fact it has an integrated bracelet. Also, it’s one of the rare watches out there that has a male endlink. The case is extremely geometric, with sharp angles and blocky sides, something that looks like it fell out of the 1970s. While regular OW 8001 versions feature a 60-minute scale with Arabic numerals, the Tundra replaces it with a bezel that has a series of minute markers engraved into it. Water resistance is great at 300 meters.

MIR is known for exploring the relationship between architecture and the environment, so both the name and the dial make a lot of sense. The dial has a moss green color with an incredible gradient that ranges from almost white in the centre to almost black on the sides. It instantly looks like the mossy terrain of Norway. The hour markers and hands retain the square profile of the regular OW 8001, with a lot of lume inside it.

Inside is the Soprod Newton Precision P092 automatic movement, which beats at 4Hz and has a 44 hour power reserve. It’s COSC certified, which is certainly a great addition. The watch comes on a blocky stainless steel three-link bracelet.

The new OW 8001 Tundra is available now and it seems that it’s not a limited edition. Which is weird for Ollech & Wajs. Price is set at €2,061. See more on the Ollech & Wajs.

4/

Farr & Swit Drop The B Sides Of The Retro Digital - Mix Tape Vol. 1, Now With A Negative Display

 

One of the funnest watches released last year could be yours for $34.99. Or, $59.99 for the pair. It was the Retro Digital - Mix Tape Vol. 1 duo created by Farr + Swit, a Chicago-based brand that’s very into the 80s. If it wasn’t clear in their Solar Chrono release which looked like it fell right out of Tron, it was made certain with the release of the Mix Tape which was, you guessed it, styled after an actual mix tape. It was a fun, very cheap watch, that reached deep into our childhoods. Now, they’re bringing the Mix Tape back with what else than the B Side.

Just like the A Side, this watch comes in the form that will remind a lot of you of the first Casio models that you wore as a kid, both in look and in dimensions. The plastic case measures 35mm wide (37mm with buttons), 8.5mm thick and has a 38mm lug-to-lug. While the first release came in two variants — clear with a clear strap, and translucent blue with a black strap — the B Side comes in a clear case with clear strap or translucent purple/pink with a matching strap they call Atomic Purple.

There are three buttons on the case, all unmarked, which operate the functions of the watch. While the original featured a rectangular positive display, this one comes with the controversial negative display, meaning a black background with light colored numbers. The display is surrounded by a graphic that evokes the look of a blank cassette tape with a hand-written label. Water resistance is 50 meters. The watch is powered by a Chinese-made quartz movement, and the 18mm wide lugs seem to fit Timex Q straps.

The price hasn’t changed at all, meaning that you can get one for $34.99 or opt for both with a $10 discount, meaning you will pay $59.99. See more on the Farr + Swit website.

5/

Ulysse Nardin And Fashion Designer Amoureuxpeintre Team Up For A Very Different UN Blast

I know zero knowledge of modern fashion designers, so everything I know about Amoureuxpeintre has been read from a press release. Supposedly, Amoureuxpeintre is an edgy urban fashion designer. I tried googling him, but the only thing I got was news pieces that Amoureuxpeintre has teamed up with Ulysse Nardin to reinterpret the Blast Skeleton X. And nothing about his design work. That’s because Amoureuxpeintre is his Instagram handle, and his real name is Vsevolod Sever Cherepanov, if you want to do a deep dive. And you might, seeing how extreme the transformation of the Blast Skeleton X under his direction was.

Based on the known 42mm Blast Skeleton X, the watch comes in a dark grey titanium case with a sandblasted finish. The crown has been redesigned to remove the ribbed texture. But what remains are the three lugs that connect the case to the strap, as well as an unmarked fixed bezel that meets the sloping flange. There’s a frosted sapphire crystal on the caseback, which will become relevant soon. On the side of the case is a screwed-in plaque that features the unit number out of 29. Water resistance is 50 meters.

The Blast Skeleton X is best known for its openworked dial which reveals the X-shaped and rectangular bridges on the dial side. But Amoureuxpeintre ditches that look in favor of a frosted sapphire crystal dial, which gives the front of the watch a blurry image of what’s inside. Through it, you can barely see the signature X and rectangular-shaped bridges as well as the movement. It’s all very mysterious and ghostly.

The movement you see through the frosted dial is the calibre UN-371, which beats at 3Hz and has a pretty great 96 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a grey Alcantara strap that’s closed with a grey titanium sandblasted tang buckle.

The new Ulysse Nardin Blast (Amoureuxpeintre) is limited to 29 pieces and they are priced at €33,100. See more on the Ulysse Nardin website.

⚙️I Review A Watch

Exactly what it says on the label — I get a watch, wear it and then review it

if you are a paid subscriber to the newsletter, one of the perks is you get early access to reviews. You can read the review here. If you want to get early access to reviews, along with a bunch of other articles, you can become a paid subscriber here (or here if you use Patreon)

⚙️Watch Worthy

A selection of reviews and first looks from around the web

From the review: There is watch design and there is watch design. Similarly, there is watch manufacturing and there is watch manufacturing. In both cases, one is a process and the other a dedication to quality and craftsmanship. The Trematic Ref. 502 Blue is of the latter, just by looking at its case design and manufacturing. It boasts a fully polished body of 316L stainless steel which shines through its thin and elongated profile, where the lugs turn down towards the wrist like claws, being tall yet gentle on the skin thanks to having a pronounced under curvature – in a way the opposite of twisted lugs.

⏲️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

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

In response to Japan and other world powers rapidly expanding their naval strength, the Washington Naval Treaty was signed in 1922 to impose restrictions on the size and number of warships. However, American military planners were not convinced—rightfully so—that Imperial Japan would adhere to these new restrictions for very long. The United States, surrounded by two enormous oceans, seemed increasingly vulnerable.

Under the direction of Admiral William A. Moffett, Chief of the U.S. Bureau of Aeronautics, the United States began experimenting with rigid airships in 1923. Airships appeared to be the ideal solution for enhancing the Navy’s long-range scouting capabilities.

In 1929, construction began on two of the largest airships the world had ever seen: the USS Akron (ZRS-4) and the USS Macon (ZRS-5). Defended by machine guns and equipped with internal hangars capable of carrying five Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk biplane fighters, these airships were scouting warships in every sense. If they proved successful, there were plans to build at least a dozen more to help patrol the vast Pacific Ocean and keep America safe.

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