Timex Twists A Field Watch; Furlan Marri's Sahara; FC And Bamford Crystalize Titanium; Grøne's Take On A Colorful Chronograph; Hublot Brings The Summer Back; De Bethune Kind of Two Is Still Cool

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. OK, at least we don’t have a day with crazy stuff like the Chopard and Blancpain. Do take a look at that Grøne, that’s interesting.

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In this issue

• Timex And Worn & Wound Are Back At It Again With New Twists On The Field Watch

• Furlan Marri Releases Perhaps Their Best Chronograph Yet, This One Sahara-Inspired

• Frederique Constant Teams Up With Bamford For A Crystalized Titanium Highlife Chronograph

• The Grönefeld Brothers Introduce Their Vision Of A More Affordable Chronograph In The Grøne Brand

• Hublot Brings The Summer Back With The Big Bang Unico Blue Ceramic Caribbean

• De Bethune Kind of Two Jumping GMT Gets A New Polished Finish

👂What’s new

1/

Timex And Worn & Wound Are Back At It Again With New Twists On The Field Watch

It’s that time of year again. Oh, you don’t know which time? Perfectly understandable, but it has become an interesting tradition. Timex is steaming up with Worn & Wound once again, for the fourth time, to give their take on a field watch. This time, instead of a very traditional look with cool colors, the duo has taken a bit of a bolder approach to a very classic watch.

Version four of the collaboration continues where V3 left off. You get the same 37mm wide stainless steel case that’s 12.7mm thick (mostly due to the domed acrylic crystal). With an almost square stance thanks to the lug-to-lug of 43mm and the classic barrel shape, you can clearly see the 70s inspiration in it. Water resistance is 50 meters.

There are two dial options and I have to say, it’s a bit shocking how much of a preference I have for one over the other. In fact, I think one is one of the better looking dials of the year, while the other is, well, the exact opposite. Both versions feature bold numerals, a 13–24 hour track, and minute markers laid out in circular — almost sector-like — segments. Between the segments is a railroad track. The main numerals get a very cool italic font that give a very modern look and are printed with thick C3 lume. The two colors are named Storm, which is a sensational combination of shades of grey and blue, while the other is Whirlpool, which is just a series of slightly different shades of blue. I’m not a fan of that one.

The first two versions of the collaboration featured quartz movements, but the previous and this one feature the Seagull TY6, a manually wound Chinese movement that beats at 21,600vph and has a 40 hour power reserve. The watches come on blue and grey nato-style straps.

The new Timex × Worn & Wound Field Watch w/a Twist is available for pre-order right now with deliveries starting in December. They are limited to 500 pieces per colorway. Price is set at €261 for both. See more on the Worn & Wound website.

2/

Furlan Marri Releases Perhaps Their Best Chronograph Yet, This One Sahara-Inspired

Despite the fact that they are not one of those small indie brands that cranks out at least two new releases per day, it’s still pretty incredible to think that Furlan Marri has been around for only four years. In that time, they’ve gone from a Kickstarter project to a GPHG winner. And while they make some pretty cool stuff like the Disco Volante, they often bring it back to the point when it all started, the Mechaquartz. It’s that OG base that they are using now for a collaboration with for the Sahara Edition made in partnership with CLE: The Gallery, founded in London in 2013 by Saudi entrepreneur Yasmine Al Shathry. Originally established as a luxury concierge service catering to collectors across Saudi Arabia and the GCC, CLE has since evolved into a curated destination for design-driven objects, art, and limited-edition collaborations.

Not much has changed on the outside. The stainless steel cases still measure 38mm wide and 12mm thick, with a 46mm lug-to-lug. The watches still feature the Tasti Tondi-style pushers, sapphire crystals and great finishes that include satin brushing and mirror polish. Water resistance is 50 meters.

All of the new stuff happens on the dial, and it’s quite impressive. Gone is the recognizable sector dial, and it’s replaced by a base that has a lacquered gradient from a light brown in the middle, to a darker on the edges. On that central disc, Furlan Marri applies Eastern Arabic numerals at 3, 6, and 12 o’clock, with dots for the rest. Surrounding the disc is an off white minute ring and a more tan colored pulsometer, both of which feature Easter Arabic numerals. There’s a 60-minute chronograph counter at 9 o’clock done in the same off white as the minute ring.

Inside, you’ll find the Seiko VK64 meca-quartz chronograph which uses a quartz movement to keep track of the time, and a mechanical movement to run the chronograph. The watch comes with two textured leather straps, a dark brown and a cream colored.

The new Furlan Marri Sahara Edition is limited to 750 pieces and is available right now, but only at CLE: The Gallery in Riyadh. On December 3rd, however, it goes on sale on the Furlan Marri website. Price is set at SAR 3,110 or CHF 685. See more on the Furlan Marri website.

3/

Frederique Constant Teams Up With Bamford For A Crystalized Titanium Highlife Chronograph

Remember just a few days ago when I wrote about those Citizens that used crystalized titanium for their bracelets and how interestingly high-tech the process was. Well, as it turns out, it’s not just used for pretty bracelets. Frederique Constant, a very conservative watch brand, has teamed up with the much more adventurous Bamford Watch Department for a new look to their Highlife Chronograph Automatic. And that special look is the product of crystalized titanium.

The new Highlife Chronograph Automatic Bamford Special keeps the same dimensions of the regular model, meaning that it measures 41mm wide and 14.63mm thick. But now the three-part case is made out of grade 2 titanium that goes through the same crystallization process as the Citizen, which means that it’s exposed to extreme heats that forms the titanium into a crystal structure. Then, the entire case gets a black DLC finish. On top is a domed sapphire crystal with a thin bezel around it, and you get rectangular pushers at the expected position. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial gets a matte black base with a minute track around the perimeter that has a tachymeter scale in white and turquoise. You get a traditional tri-compax layout with a 30-minute counter at 3, 12-hour counter at 6 and small seconds at 9. The applied hour indices are silver, just like the hands, and filled with white lume. The subdial hands, the small-seconds segments, and part of the central chronograph seconds hand is also done in turquoise. Bamford also does one extra smart thing here — gets rids od the date aperture.

Inside is the FC-391 calibre, an automatic movement wound by a rose-gold plated rotor visible through the see-through caseback. The movement is based on the Valjoux 7750 and modified by La Joux-Perret, to replace the cam-lever system of the Valjoux with a higher-end column wheel. Power reserve is a decent 60 meters. The watches come on three straps — a black rubber, turquoise rubber and black nubuck calf leather.

The new Frederique Constant Highlife Chronograph Automatic Bamford Special is limited to 100 pieces and is priced at CHF 4,495. See more on the Fredrique Constant website.

4/

The Grönefeld Brothers Introduce Their Vision Of A More Affordable Chronograph In The Grøne Brand

The Dutch watch scene, while loved in some circles, doesn’t seem to get the respect it so much deserves. Which is really weird, when you consider how impactful it is. Fratello and Monochrome, two of the top five online watch publications are based in the Netherlands. ACE Jewelers from Amsterdam is one of the most prolific drivers of watch collaborations in the market. And then there’s the brands and watchmakers, ranging from affordable but fantastically designed Batavi, through De Rijke, all the way up to Holthinrichs, the incredible Christian van der Klaauw and Grönefeld. They really do have it all. And another band joined the fray last year — Grøne Oldenzaal — a brand that’s not brand new, but rather started by the Grönefeld brothers as an accessible alternative to their higher end creations. It marries their style and attention to detail with off-the-shelf movements for a lower price tag. Previously they released the Manueel One, their three-hander. Now, we’re getting the Grøne Oldenzaal Moment Meter, their take on the chronograph with some great colors.

The brothers bring a lot of their more exclusive designs to the Grøne line, so the case takes inspiration from the 1941 case. It has pretty great proportions at 39mm wide and 12mm thick. That’s super thin for a chronograph, but it’s a measurement without a crystal. Sapphire crystals are on both sides, with a concave polished bezel on top. There are a lot of neat details here. For example. the crystals use orange gaskets that are visible, and the lugs have a bit of flair to them with a stepped design. Water resistance is 50 meters.

Those orange gaskets are just part of the many well chosen colors on this dial. The base gets a sunray-brushed salmon finish, surrounded by a ring that has a gradient from white to light blue and holds the pulsometer scale and a heart symbol up top for a bit of playfulness. You get raised sub-dials with rhodium plated surrounds. You get trapezoidal diamond-cut polished steel hour markers, blued hour and minute lance-shaped hands, orange chronograph hands with a 1/5th of a second scale.

Inside, you’ll find a manual winding column-wheel chronograph movement made in partnership with Manufacture La Joux-Perret that’s based on the Valjoux 7750 architecture. It beats at 4Hz and has a 60 hour power reserve. Decorations include perlage on the lower plate and Geneva stripes on the main bridge. The watch comes on a blue nylon sailcloth strap.

The new Grøne Oldenzaal Moment Meter is limited to 300 pieces and goes on sale on December 3rd at 3PM CET. Price is set at €3,490 without taxes. See more on the Grøne website.

5/

Hublot Brings The Summer Back With The Big Bang Unico Blue Ceramic Caribbean

Say what you will, but I’m kind of grooving with Hublot releases over the past year or so. Their movements are interesting, their use of color is masterful and, while they might not be for everyone, I overall like their designs. While I’m literally freezing my fingers off as I type this, Hublot has other plans with the release of the Big Bang Unico Blue Ceramic Caribbean, something that would be a perfect summer watch for a rich person. Not me. But a rich person, for sure.

Based on the Big Bang Unico, the shape of the case doesn’t change at all from previous versions. The ceramic case gets a micro-blasted texture and light blue color, measuring 42mm wide and 14.5mm thick. On top of the case is a dark blue bezel held down with six visible screws, and on each side are two dark blue guards also held down by screws. The bezel surrounds a flat sapphire crystal, and on the right side are the pushers and screw down crown, which gives you 100 meters of water resistance.

The dial is almost fully skeletonized, but with enough surface area left over to reflect the dark and light blue scheme. There’s a gradient light to dark blue flange on the perimeter that holds not just the white minute track, but also the large Arabic numerals and indices. Continuing the color scheme are the dial-side movement main plate, bridges and completely exposed date wheel, all done in dark blue, while the small seconds sub-dial at 9 o’clock has a light blue conch. The date window is in the 3 o’clock sub-dial.

Inside the watch is the self-winding Caliber HUB1280 Unico Manufacture flyback chronograph movement that can be found inside other models from the current-production series. Running at a frequency of 28,800 (4 Hz) and offering users a power reserve of 72 hours, the 43-jewel Hublot Cal. HUB1280 is a 354-component column wheel-controlled flyback chronograph that places its column wheel on the dial side of its structure to allow users to view its operation through the skeletonized dial. The watch comes with three rubber straps — blue and white rubber, with an additional sky blue and white rubber options — that close with a titanium deployant clasp.

The new Hublot Big Bang Unico Blue Ceramic Caribbean is reserved for the North American market and priced at €28,400. See more on the Hublot website.

6/

De Bethune Kind of Two Jumping GMT Gets A New Polished Finish

The De Bethune Kind of Two is one of the best ideas in watchmaking, an industry already full of ideas. De Bethune is already very well known for a cool lug design that’s pivots in the middle of the case. That allows the lugs to bend, which makes it more comfortable to wear. But it also allows the lugs to bend the other way. And if you can bend the lugs in either direction, that means that you can wear with either side front or back. And De Bethune has used this idea to do exactly that — create the Kind of Two with two radically different dials, able to be worn on either side. I love that watch. Now, De Bethune is releasing a new Kind of Two Jumping GMT and it’s just as good.

Just like previous versions, this one comes in a grade 5 titanium round case with a fantastic polished finish, measuring 43.3mm wide and 11.4mm thick. Like I said, it has the patented floating lugs that are pivoted around a central axis. Of course, you get sapphire crystals on top and bottoms, since there are two dials on this thing. The crown is well hidden in the case at the 6 or 12 o’clock position, depending on the orientation you have the watch in. Water resistance is 30 meters.

Then we have the two dials, each having its own style and personality — one very traditional, and the other completely modern. The traditional side has an anthracite base with a hand-guilloché centre, applied gilded numerals and one of my favorite complications ever on a watch — a jumping dead-seconds indicator. It’s this classic dial that’s used as the GMT display. On the flip side is a wild dial, mostly exposing the movement underneath. The hours are displayed on a ring that orbits the balance at 6 o’clock, while minutes run on the peripheral scale.

All of this is powered by the hand-wound DB2517 which is capable of showing you two time zones, while keeping tings super simple for the user, as time on both dials is adjusted with the same crown, but in different positions. It beats at 4Hz and has a 96 hour power reserve from two barrels. Finishings include mirror-polished titanium, chamfered bridges, hand-snailed barrels and a titanium balance with white gold inserts. The watch comes on a an alligator strap with alligator lining, closed with a polished grade 5 titanium pin buckle

The new De Bethune Kind of Two Jumping GMT is not limited in number, but is by production capacity. Price is set at CHF 195,000, without taxes. See more on the De Bethune website.

FOR WATCH CLUB MEMBERS Watch School Wednesday: Hitting Pause, Inside the Mechanics of Watch Hacking

How WWII synchronization needs gave birth to hacking movements and why the feature stuck around in modern watches. 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

• My favorite detail from Kelly Jones and Josh Levin’s fascinating history of the Soviet Union’s first Pizza Hut arrives in the middle. Faced with urgent construction costs and unable to pay in anything but rubles, PepsiCo (which owned Pizza Hut at the time) got into the watercraft business to raise some American dollars. “If you counted up all of the submarines and ships that PepsiCo bought and sold around this time,” Jones and Levin write, “they technically managed the world’s seventh-largest navy.” It’s a salty, juicy morsel—a slice of pepperoni right at the center of the pie, surrounded by other tasty bits in this strange history.

• If you’ve been (justifiably) keeping your head in the sand, let me break it to you: humanoid robots are moving a lot more . . . humanly. But even if one robot doesn’t make a revolution, it does convince a lot of companies to make a lot of very bold claims. Good thing James Vincent put on his hype-proof glasses to report out the latest Harper‘s cover story. Now, if you need me, I’ll be researching “robot-proof bunkers you can buy on a journalist’s salary.”

• In the early 2000s, American tech giants established their European headquarters in Ireland, lured by low tax rates and an educated, English-speaking workforce. Meta, Google, and Apple have reshaped the economy, but Jessica Traynor argues in this Dial story that the benefits to citizens have been “intangible at best, and at worst, detrimental.” Building on her previous insights about Ireland’s data centers and strained infrastructure, Traynor describes the country’s unprecedented housing crisis and its deepening dependence on US tech. Reflecting on the transformation of Dublin’s Docklands, she writes, “I think of the strata of the city and how its new skyscrapers are built on the bones of the old docks.” US tech has modernized the country, but what have these companies done to truly improve life for the people of Ireland?

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

I’ve actually always hada a bunch of questions that I would ask Honnold, so this video came at the perfect time.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk