Universal Genève Is Back With 11 Pole Routers And The Nina Rindt Compax; Cool New Fears; Zach Weiss Launches The OraOrea; The Personalized Trilobe Trente-Deux Secret; The Hautlence Sphere Series 4

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I covered 17 releases from Universal Geneve today, and I’m not sure that’s even half of the watches they just introduced. What a wild first day for a brand revival.

In this issue

• Universal Genève Is Back With A Full Lineup, 11 Versions Of The Pole Router Leading The Way

• Universal Genève Brings Back The Nina Rindt With The Very Diverse Compax Collection

• Fears Introduces First Pilot’s Watch, Updates Round Case With New Dials, And Releases New Jump Hour

• Worn and Wound’s Zach Weiss Launches OraOrea Watch Brand With Coriolis Pointer Date

• The New Trilobe Trente-Deux Secret Edition Comes With The Ultimate Personalization Option

• Hautlence Gives The Sphere Series 4 Earthy And Olive Tones

👂What’s new

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Universal Genève Is Back With A Full Lineup, 11 Versions Of The Pole Router Leading The Way

The revival everyone in watches has been waiting for is finally here, and Universal Genève is doing it in style. Eleven new Polerouters are launching at once, split between a permanent Prêt-à-porter line and seasonal Capsule collections. It's an enormous opening statement from a brand that has been dormant for decades, only recently acquired by Breitling.

The anchor of the new collection is the 39mm Prêt-à-porter trio — references UGPO001, UGPO002, and UGPO003. At 9.5mm thick and 47.6mm lug-to-lug, the proportions are pretty good, especially in comparison to vintage revivals from other brands very recently. The case is unmistakably a Polerouter: smooth bezel, twisted lugs, sapphire front and back, and 100 meters of water resistance. Steel comes in blue or black; rose gold gets a chocolate brown dial. The brick bracelet on the blue steel reference looks genuinely excellent.

The dials are impeccable. UG has taken the crosshair, a signature of the Polerouter, and given the segments a mixed finish, alternating sunburst and matte sections. The outer index ring is heavily textured, the date window takes its shape from vintage trapezoid references, and the dauphine hands have gently tapered tips.

Then, there’s the 37mm Prêt-à-porter pair (UGPO007 and UGPO009) which slim down to 9.35mm and 46.2mm lug-to-lug, drop the date and lume, and push toward dress territory — one in steel with a black dual-finish dial, one in diamond-set rose gold with mother-of-pearl.

The Capsule collections break into two groups. The Hardstone trio (UGPO004–006) shares the 39mm case and uses bull's eye, lapis lazuli, and tiger's eye dials with stone marquetry along the crosshair. The Camaïeu trio (UGPO010–012) goes in a different direction entirely: 37mm diamond-set cases in mint, toffee, and berry, with dials that use tonal shading within a single colour to differentiate the sectors.

All eleven references are powered by the micro-rotor automatic developed for the revival. At 3.8mm thick it's a hair stouter than an ETA 2892 with its full rotor, but it has a double-sided balance bridge, beats at 4Hz, and delivers 72 hours of power reserve from dual barrels. The rotor, which UG call a three-quarters rotor rather than a true micro-rotor, has sunray engraving. Finishing includes perlage, stripes, brushed barrel covers, thin anglage.

The Universal Genève Polerouter 2026 collection arrives in Autumn 2026. Prêt-à-porter pricing runs from CHF 14,000 (steel on leather) to CHF 34,000 (rose gold with diamonds). Capsule Hardstone from CHF 20,500 to CHF 65,100 depending on stone. Capsule Camaïeu from CHF 17,000 to CHF 40,320. Read more about them on the Universal Genève website.

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Universal Genève Brings Back The Nina Rindt With The Very Diverse Compax Collection

While the Polreouter is certainly the most recognizable and arguably significant Universal Genève, the nerd’s choice have always been their chronographs. These are also coming back (I mean, they released dozens and dozens of watches, of course they have a chronograph) as a full Compax collection — six references split between a permanent Prêt-à-porter line and a seasonal Capsule run. The Compax name carries weight among vintage collectors, especially since we’re getting a new variant of the "Nina Rindt" reference from the 1970s. The watch is named after Nina Rindt, the wife of Formula 1 world champion Jochen Rindt, a style icon in her own right, and her association with the Compax, worn on a bund strap.

The case comes in at 39.5mm wide, 12.45mm thick, and 47.8mm lug-to-lug — grown from the original 36mm but still genuinely compact for a chronograph in 2026, both in width, as in thickness. The case has classic lyre lugs and an engraved ceramic bezel on top. Steel and rose gold are your material options, with an 18k yellow gold appearing exclusively in the Capsule line. The Prêt-à-porter steel reference comes on an alligator bund strap, a nod to Nina Rindt herself, but made even groovier with the use of alligator leather. You get sapphire front and back, and 100 meters of water resistance.

The permanent collection covers the expected ground: a panda-dialled white, a reverse panda in black, and a midnight blue dial which comes in the gold case. The dial design pulls from multiple Nina Compax references rather than copying any one of them — the applied "U" logo and split brand name from the early references, the block sub-dial hands from later examples. The Capsule dials go in a different direction entirely — linen-textured lacquer in indigo, lavender, and sage green, with colour-matched straps.

Under the caseback sits the UG-200, an in-house automatic chronograph with column wheel, vertical clutch, and 72-hour power reserve. The surprising part is the micro-rotor. MY brain isn’t really computing right now, but I’m not sure if there’s a single modern micro-rotor powered chronograph. Micro-rotors, however, have been an important part of the development of the chronograph. The early Calibre 11 or Intramatic Heuer/Breitling/Hamilton/Büren was based on a micro-rotor movement by Büren with Dubois-Depraz providing the chronograph module, which is another deep-cut Breitling connection for modern UG. Finishing includes perlage, Geneva striping, and thin bevelling between them. For this price bracket, it's competitive with what the Polerouter offers, which is already good value for the level of decoration on display.

The Universal Genève Compax Prêt-à-porter and Capsule collections are available from Autumn 2026. Prices run from CHF 15,500 for the steel bund strap reference (UGCO001), CHF 17,000 for the steel bracelet (UGCO002), CHF 18,500 for the steel Capsule in indigo (UGCO004), CHF 38,010 for the rose gold Prêt-à-porter (UGCO005), and CHF 39,900 for the rose gold and yellow gold Capsule references (UGCO006, UGCO007). See more on the Universal Genève website.

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Fears Introduces First Pilot’s Watch, Updates Round Case With New Dials, And Releases New Jump Hour

Fears has become one of my favorite watch brands to follow — a sentence I wouldn’t consider a few years ago. The Bristol brand has been on a productive streak: the Brunswick cushion case has evolved into a full family, the Redcliff gave them a round-case everyday option with real character when they relaunched it in 2024, and the Jump Hour platform has proven it can carry a variety of dial. In that time I fell deeply in love with their watches. And their updates for 2026 are right in my wheelhouse, especially the new Brunswick 40 Filton, a sensationally cool pilot’s watch.

Obviously my favorite of the three is the Brunswick 40 Filton, which marks Fears' first pilot's watch in 180 years. The cushion case has always had a quiet visual kinship with mid-century military tool watches, and the Filton leans into that — named after the Bristol suburb that housed the historic Bristol Aeroplane Company and where the British components for Concorde were built. It comes in at 40mm wide, 11.9mm thick, with a 46.5mm lug-to-lug, with a screw-down crown, and 150 metres of water resistance. Two dials are available: Raven Black, with a sunburst centre and a raised matte outer ring with circular grooving, and Squadron Green, which adds a yellow seconds hand for the military-spec touch. Both use wide white hands and Grade A BGW9 Super-LumiNova-filled markers. The movement is the La Joux-Perret G100, automatic, 28,800 vph, 68-hour power reserve, with Côtes de Genève finishing, and a custom-decorated rotor carrying the Bristol Flower motif. Price is set at £3,350 on the chocolate brown buffalo leather strap, £3,550 on the five-link bracelet.

Moving on to the Redcliff 39.5, Fears' everyday round-case watch. Until now its dial options have been fairly conservative: Pewter Grey, Cherry Red, Raven Black at launch. For 2026, Fears has gone somewhere quite different with it. Three new pastel dials — Sherbet Yellow, Soft Peach, and Pale Lilac — open the collection to a wider audience, which is clearly the point. The case remains the 39.5mm stainless steel round at 10.37mm thick and 47mm lug-to-lug, 150 metres water resistant, with the La Joux-Perret G101 automatic and the same 68-hour power reserve. Each comes on an Alcantara strap with white stitching and a Fears Cypher pin buckle, with the optional 3-link bracelet available. £2,750 on strap, £2,950 on bracelet.

The third model is the Brunswick 40.5 Jump Hour in a new China Blue dial. The Jump Hour platform has been through a few iterations now — the original launch, the silver Edwardian Edition at British Watchmakers' Day 2025 — and each version has found a visual concept strong enough to earn the complication. This one references Wedgwood pottery from Stoke-on-Trent: the blue-and-white ware that furnished British homes for generations. The dial splits into a silver-white barleycorn-patterned outer section and a China Blue matte lacquer centre, with the large hour aperture at 12 dominating the composition. The blue is soft and specific — genuinely close to the pottery — and the barleycorn texture reads almost like a fabric at close range. The case is the 40.5mm stainless steel Brunswick at 12.8mm thick and 47mm lug-to-lug, with 100 metres of water resistance. Inside, same as the previous Jump Hour editions: Sellita SW200 base with the Christopher Ward JJ01 jumping-hour module attached, 38-hour power reserve. Storm grey Alcantara strap or five-link bracelet. £4,250 on strap, £4,450 on bracelet.

All six watches are available now and you can see them on the Fears website.

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Worn and Wound’s Zach Weiss Launches OraOrea Watch Brand With Coriolis Pointer Date

Zach Weiss spent years running Worn & Wound and organizing the Windup Watch Fair — arguably among the most influential platforms in the collector-focused corner of the watch world. He is also a really good watch designers, as evident by the Worn & Wound collaborations with a myriad of brands, where his master use of color was instantly obvious. Like few from the media side of the business before him, Weiss has decided to launch his own watch brand. It’s called OraOrea and it’s certainly a surprise to me as I was expecting something way more playful and way more colorful. Instead, we’re getting a trio of watches in the Coriolis Pointer Date, which is a somewhat eccentric watch built on very classic looks.

The stainless steel case is 38.5mm wide and 12.1mm thick with the domed crystal, which drops to 9.3mm without it. Lug-to-lug of 45mm helps keep the watch wearable. The flat, fluted crown measures 6mm and carries the brand logo in colour. Finishing looks to be very good, with brushed surfaces paired with polished bevels. Water resistance is 100 meters.

Three dial variants available at launch — Skyline Silver, Venetus Teal, and Rhodium Black — all share the same architecture: concentric rings built around a laser-cut, hand-polished layer for hours and minutes/seconds indication. The outer ring uses even Roman numerals for hours; an integrated railroad-style track divides it from an inner ring carrying odd Roman numerals. Small gold hemispheres mark each hour on both sides of the minutes ring, which is either charming or fussy depending on your tolerance for layered complexity. Closest to centre, a printed date ring with in-house designed numerals sits raised above the brushed surface, completing the pointer date display. The hands are three-dimensional and sharply finished, with slight colour shifts between variants. They also have great shapes that I can’t exactly describe so go look at them.

Power comes from the Sellita SW386-1, a pointed date variant of the slim SW300 platform and adapted for the central pointer date complication. It runs at 28,800 vph with a 56-hour power reserve. Weiss opted for the top grade with D4 finishing, which brings upgraded finishing and a customised rotor visible through the sapphire caseback. A leather strap with quick-release spring bars and pin buckle handles the wrist side.

The OraOrea Coriolis Pointer Date is priced at $3,950, with deliveries expected in late 2026. See more on the OraOrea website.

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The New Trilobe Trente-Deux Secret Edition Comes With The Ultimate Personalization Option

Trilobe's whole proposition is that telling time doesn't have to involve hands. They’re not the only ones to do it, of course, but they sure are one of my favorites. Since the brand launched in 2018, every watch has worked the same way: three rotating rings, three fixed pointers, everything in motion all the time. It's a compelling idea, and the Trente-Deux — sportier and thinner than the Nuit Fantastique, and powered by their own X-Nihilo calibre — is where they applied it to a more wearable format. The Secret Edition goes one step further by turning the dial into something completely individual: a star map depicting the constellations at the exact date, time, and location of the buyer's choosing.

The case is 39.5mm wide and 10.15mm thick, built from seven components with a mix of satin-brushed, microblasted, and polished finishing. The fluted bezel has polished ridges against recessed grooves. You can get it in either steel or as a new rose gold option. Water resistance is 50 meters.

Each dial is unique. Trilobe uses astronomical calculations — based on the work of Belgian meteorologist and astronomer Jean Meeus — to reproduce the precise star positions for whatever moment the client specifies. The constellations are pad-printed in successive layers of metallic pigment, giving them a subtle three-dimensional quality against the lacquered background. Stars look suspended above the blue surface, which is fantastic. You also get Trilobe's rotating-ring with hours indicated on the outer ring via the trefoil pointer, minutes in a small digital aperture, seconds on a guilloché wheel combining azuré and Clou de Paris finishing. The circular flange is satin- and mirror-polished.

The X-Nihilo movement, developed and assembled in Paris, beats at 28,800vph and delivers 42 hours of power reserve. It drives the three rings through a patented mechanism and is visible through the sapphire caseback, where an openworked rotor and well-finished bridges are on show. The steel version comes on an integrated steel bracelet, with a rubber strap as an option, while the rose gold variant comes on a blue rubber strap.

The Trilobe Trente-Deux Secret Edition is made to order. Pricing starts at €21,500 in steel; while the rose gold version is €39,500, both without taxes. See more on the Trilobe website.

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Hautlence Gives The Sphere Series 4 Earthy And Olive Tones

The Hautlence Sphere line has now produced four distinct editions — all sharing the same rectangular titanium case, the same A82 calibre, the same three-axis rotating hour sphere — and each one differentiated by color. Purple for the latest Series 3, olive and sand for this new Series 4. At CHF 74,800 a piece, with 28 made, Hautlence is essentially selling a wardrobe of the same extraordinary mechanism to a very small number of people. There are worse business models.

The case is grade 5 titanium, satin-finished and polished, measuring 37mm wide and 45mm tall, with a thickness of 17.4mm, or 11.5mm if you discount the domed sapphire crystal sitting above it. I got to see the Series 3 live and it’s far from a thick watch since most of that top thickness is transparent crystal. Water resistance is 100 meters.

The dial is split in two. On the left, the hour sphere: grade 5 titanium with a sandblasted coating in sand-beige, engraved hour numerals filled with white Super-LumiNova. The sphere rotates on three axes, driven by a system of four bevel gears arranged around two crossed axes inclined at 21 degrees. It’s an incredible and instantaneous jumping effect up close. On the right, the retrograde minute hand traces a 180-degree arc over a sapphire dial with applied minute numerals in Globolight, before snapping back to the start. The rest of the dial is fully skeletonised, rhodium-plated brass with a frosted finish, revealing the movement architecture underneath.

The hand-wound A82 calibre runs at 21,600vph and delivers a minimum 72-hour power reserve. The skeletonised barrel lets you read the remaining power reserve visually. The strap is olive green suede leather on a titanium folding clasp.

The Hautlence Sphere Series 4 (ref. DA82-TI01) is a limited edition of 28 pieces, priced at CHF 74,800 before taxes. See more on the Hautlence website.

⏲️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

• It is hard to imagine watching a video of your loved one falling to their death—but the fall of David Moudy‑Miller’s son, alpinist Balin Miller, was captured on a TikTok livestream and now lives online forever. Moudy‑Miller recounts watching the clip for the first time and trying to reclaim his son after thousands of strangers had already seen it and passed judgment. His grief is raw and spiralling, and this essay captures the messy, looping nature of a mind trapped in trauma.

• When tools like Chat-GPT first gained widespread popularity, their tendency to hallucinate citations and references led to shame for scientists and attorneys who slipped those citations into their own briefs and studies. The pattern was troubling, but also avoidable—a little extra due diligence could weed out the confabulated referents. But as Nature finds in a collaboration with the screening company Grounded AI, scientific studies are increasingly filled with hallucinations that are slipperier than they appear. A title that matches up with a cited author’s area of study; co-authors that have published together previously; even volume/page numbers that sync to the supposed journal and date of publication. The result is a piece of microfiction, an imagined work of research that is fully plausible, but doesn’t actually exist. Remember when we bemoaned the erosion of “truth” just one short decade ago? As it turns out, we ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

• Some time ago, Paul Collins began documenting deaths that occurred in clothing donation bins, whose designs are hostile and can be lethal, depending on the interaction. In his enthralling feature, Collins explores issues of design, regulation, homelessness, and invisibility, utterly transforming our understanding of a commonplace community fixture.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Remember the Afroman story I told you a couple of weeks ago? It’s even better when he tells it.

Thanks for reading,
Vuk