Tudor Introduces F1-Themed Black Bay Chronograph In Carbon Fibre; Doxa's Polished Bezel Sub 200 Collection; Vaer Makes Simple G5 GMT; Sarpaneva Recreates One Of Its Wildest Watches, The Supernova

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I’ve had a chance to handle the new Doxa watches in Geneva, and I very much like the polished finish on a diver. So cool.

In this issue:

• Tudor Introduces The Black Bay Chrono Carbon 25 Inspired by Visa Cash App Formula 1 For The Miami GP

• Doxa Ads A Polished Bezel To Their Entry Level Sub 200 Collection

• Vaer Makes A Simple But Rugged GMT With The New G5 Series Watches

• Sarpaneva Recreates One Of Its Wildest Watches, The Very Versatile Supernova

👂What’s new

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Tudor Introduces The Black Bay Chrono Carbon 25 Inspired by Visa Cash App Formula 1 For The Miami GP

We knew that this was going to be a big year for Formula 1-themed watches, mostly because TAG Heuer replaced Rolex as the main timing sponsor of the series. And while TAG already introduced a bunch of cool watches to go with the race, it doesn’t mean that other watch sponsors are sitting by and letting TAG have all the fun. That’s why, in time for the Miami GP that took place yesterday, Tudor released their new watch in partnership with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team for the second year in a row. Last year, we got the Black Bay Ceramic Blue. This year, we’re getting the Black Bay Chrono Carbon 25 Visa Cash App Formula 1. Quite a mouthful, but also quite a watch.

The inspiration for the watch comes from the Formula 1 cars which are made out of high end materials, the most prominent of which is carbon fibre. The same material is used to make the case of this watch, a case that measures 42mm wide and 14.3mm thick. While it may be completely imperceptible, it’s nice to note that that’s 0.1mm thinner than the steel version. In general, we see CF cases be thicker than the steel counterparts. On top is a carbon fibre fixed bezel with a tachymeter scale. The only things not Cf are the PVD-coated titanium pushers and the PVD-coated steel caseback and crown. Water resistance is 200 meters.

The dial takes inspiration from the new Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team cars, and it looks good. The base is opaline white, with a blue ring around the outside. That’s followed by a blue seconds track, and there’s more blue on the Tudor logo and all the writing. The two sub-dials at 3 and 9 are made out of carbon fibre, and the date disc at 6 o’clock is also black. The markers and snowflake hands are familiar, framed in black and filled with white lume.

Inside, you’ll find the familiar calibre MT5813 that’s based on the Breitling B01. It features a silicon balance spring, a variable inertia balance and beats at 4Hz, with a 70 hour power reserve. The movement is COSC certified, with an accuracy rating of -2/+4 seconds per day. The watch comes on a hybrid leather-rubber strap with blue stitching, a tyre pattern and a pin buckle.

The new Tudor Black Bay Chrono Carbon 25 Visa Cash App Formula 1 is a limited edition and 2,025 pieces will be made. Price is set at €7,400. See more on the Tudor website.

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Doxa Ads A Polished Bezel To Their Entry Level Sub 200 Collection

One of the best things about modern Doxa, especially after a few years of developing the lineup, is the sheer size of the collection. If you’re looking for a dive watch, chances are you’ll find one in the Doxa catalogue. And the cool thing is they’re expanding it still. The latest release comes to their entry-level 200m water-resistant dive watch introduced in 2019, the Sub 200. With the new collection, the Sub 200 Steel Bezel Inserts Collection you get all the good things of the Sub 200, but now with a polished bezel on top.

The format of the new Sub 200 Steel Bezel Inserts Collection remains quite familiar. That means that it measures 42mm wide and 13.8mm thick. It sounds quite large, yes, but like with moth Doxa watches, it wears much smaller, thanks to the short lug-to-lug measurement, despite it having the classic lyre lugs and not the helmet-style case. On this one it measures 46mm, which is something you would find on a 38-39mm wide diver. The stainless steel case now gets a polished finish to match the new bezel on top that has a fully graduated 60 minute scale. I have a soft spot in my heart for polished divers (I fell in love with the idea when I had the Sherpa Ultradive in for a review), so I love these. The bezel surrounds a domed sapphire crystal and water resistance is 200 meters.

Since Doxa likes giving you a choice, there are eight dial colors to choose from — Professional (orange), Sharkhunter (black), Divingstar (yellow), Whitepearl (white), Searambler (silver), Caribbean (navy blue), Aquamarine (turquoise) and Sea Emerald (green). All of the come with matte surfaces, except for the Sea Emerald which has a sunray-brushed finish. The baton indices and hands remain unchanged, with lume in them, and there’s a framed date window at 3 o’clock.

Inside, no surprises. It’s the trusty Sellita SW200-1 which beats at 4Hz and has a 38 hour power reserve. It can be had on either a steel beads-of-rice bracelet or an FKM rubber strap matching the dial colour, both with a folding clasp and diving suit extension. In addition, the Sea Emerald can also be ordered on a green Nato strap.

The new Doxa Sub 200 Steel Bezel Inserts Collection is available now, priced at €970 on the Nato, €1,100 on the rubber strap and €1,150 on the steel bezel. See more on the Doxa website.

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Vaer Makes A Simple But Rugged GMT With The New G5 Series Watches

Sometimes I miss a release exactly when it comes out, especially if it’s from a smaller brand, but that doesn’t stop me from writing about it weeks after it’s come out. Doubly so if it’s as nice as this new trio of Vaer G5 GMT watches. Ok, to be fair, I’m not that late with the release, as they came out just three weeks ago, but still, I should pay more attention to Vaer. They make some pretty cool stuff.

In the lineup of Vaer, the G5 is one of their more premium watches. The G5 collection is a continuation of the original G5 released two years ago, and it’s an improvement in every way, especially in the size department. This is a new and completely redesigned stainless steel case, measuring 38mm wide, 13mm thick and with a 46mm lug-to-lug. That thickness is most notable, as it’s more than 2mm thinner than the previous version and it’s just 11.8mm if you don’t measure the box-shaped sapphire crystal. Surrounding the crystal is a bi-directional 120-click bezel with a coin-edge rim and a 24-hour scale. There are three bezel options — the Meridian Green, which has an all-green bezel; the Meridian Navy/Black, with a more traditional blue and black split bezel; and my favorite, the Pacific Steel, an all steel bezel with black markings. Water resistance is 200 meters.

There are two dial colors to choose from — black and green. The flat black shows up on the Meridian Navy/Black and the Pacific Steel, while the Meridian Green gets a sunburst green dial. The Meridian models get a mix of tapered batons and circles for markers, filled with white lume, while the Pacific Steel gets just tapered batons filled with aged-looking lume. The hands are sword-shaped, again with the white and aged lume, depending on the model. The seconds are a lollipop hand, and you get red GMT hands.

Inside is the Miyota Cal. 9075 automatic GMT movement. It was the first accessible third-party movement with a flyer-style GMT, meaning that you independently adjust the local hour hand, and it still dominates the market. It beats at 4Hz and has a 42 hour power reserve. While the movement is not extremely accurate from Miyota, Vaer regulates it at assembly to -0/+10 seconds per day. There’s a choice of straps to be had, from a black waffle-textured FKM rubber strap, to a NATO or leather strap, all the way up to a stainless steel bracelet with either three or five links.

The new Vaer G5 GMT collection is available now with prices ranging between $849 to $999, depending on which strap options you go for. See more on the Vaer website.

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Sarpaneva Recreates One Of Its Wildest Watches, The Very Versatile Supernova

When you think of Scandinavian watchmakers, you might think of clean and minimalist designs. It might, then, come as a surprise to hear that Stepan Sarpaneva is one of the most prominent indie watchmakers from Scandiavia. Because his watches are as far as you can get from clean and minimalist scandi-design. They are complex, highly detailed odes to the Scandinavian nature with very creative applications of lume. But that’s the modern, suave, Sarpaneva. A decade ago, Sarpaneva was making much bolder watches, true wrist statements. Stuff you haven’t seen anywhere else before. Stuff like the Sarpaneva Supernova. Now, almost twenty years later, Sarpaneva is recreating the Supernova, with its raw case and a whole range of dials.

I mean, you have to start with that case, which is almost identical to the original. Despite the very chunky look, it’s actually not that large. It measures 40mm wide and 11.2mm thick, with a super-short lug-to-lug measurement of just 42mm. The chunky look comes from the huge stainless steel bezel that has eight substantial scallops cut out in it. The bezel has circular brushed surfaces and eight exposed screws. The side of the case is just as interesting as the bezel, as it meets the bezel on the edge and then cuts down significantly, giving off a slightly UFO-like design. Water resistance is 50 meters.

Thanks to the large bezel, the opening for the dial is relatively small. But when it comes to the style of the dials, there’s pretty much nothing that can’t be done as the watches are going to be made-to-order with full customization options. However, there are two basic layouts — a time only and a Sarpaneva signature double-moon display. The time-only options will have openworked, handmade stainless steel hands over a choice of stone dials, ranging from stuff like malachite, all the way to meteorite. The double-moon dials will be made out of 5 metal parts, giving it a lot of depth. There’s a choice between stainless steel, red, yellow or white gold.

Inside, it’s not a special movement that’s used as a base. It’s the Soprod A10, beating at 4Hz, with a 42 hour power reserve. What does make it special is the in-house module used for the double-moon watches, and the magnetar turbine that winds the watches, inspired by the rare and powerful explosion of a magnetar, a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field. There’s a number of leather straps offered for the watches.

The new Sarpaneva Supernova doesn’t seem to be a limited edition, but will be made by order only. Prices start at €16,000 for the time only and €24,500 for the double-moon, both without taxes. See more on the Sarpaneva 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

• John Fetterman is the weirdest man in American politics, and that’s saying a lot. I’ve been following the exploits of this strange ogre ever since he showed up on the scene and it seems we’re about to get something new from him. Fetterman insists he is in good health. But staffers past and present say they no longer recognize the man they once knew.

• Someone I know has quit her really well paying job in IT to become her own boss. Awesome, one would say. Only, she believes she will become her own boss by selling essential oils in a pretty messed up MLM scheme. There’s no point trying to talk her out of it, but it’s also sad to see how far a person can fall down this rabbit hole, loosing tens of thousands in the process.

• This is an older article, but easily one of my favorites. It’s not about the sinking of the Titanic, but rather why we are all still obsessed with it.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Haven’t seen a good Vice doc in a while, but this one is on my favorite subject — narco pilots. My Instagram algorithm is made up of mostly cooking, cute dogs and narco pilots landing on inhospitable runways.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk