2024 has been a stellar year for IWC Schaffhausen. They launched the new look Portugieser collection at Watches & Wonders 2024, which I felt was one of the best collections released at the fair this year. Whilst other brands focused their efforts on just a few models or high complications, IWC took the opportunity to re-vamp the entire line, with new colourways reflecting the times of the day and in steel and precious metals. They also had an epic soundtrack playing in their booth, which could be heard throughout the Palexpo, so it was almost as if IWC provided the soundtrack to Watches & Wonders 2024.

They also released the Portugieser Eternal Calendar as part of this collection which was the brand’s contribution to the high-end pieces we saw throughout the fair, which then went on to break the Guinness World Record for most accurate moon phase in a wristwatch, and most recently taking out the Aiguille D’Or, the top prize at the GPHG awards last month.

So with all this playing out with the Portugieser collection, we’ve been lucky enough to get our hands on a couple of the new releases this year. Chamath was seen sporting the IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar in Horizon Blue (my personal favourite of the entire collection), last month for a bit, and I’ve now been able to wear the Portugieser Chronograph 41 in the ‘Dune’ colour for a week.

First impressions

Well, it is really my second, actually, third first impression with this piece, having had the chance to see it first at Watches & Wonders, then a few months ago at an event in Brisbane with IWC and The Hour Glass. But each time was a little fleeting, and with lots of other people, so this was the first time I had it in my hands and all to myself to get a proper “First Impression” of the watch.

The Dune colourway is unique in the fact there are not too many other watches on the market today that have a similar colour dial. I’m getting more and more into watches that are not your typical watch, and while that is a broad statement, when it comes to dials, something a little different to the standard black, white or dark blue is refreshing.

It is an elegant-looking watch as well, which is kind of the point of the Portugieser collection. It’s part contemporary and part historical, something that Christian Knoop, Chief Design Officer at IWC Schaffhausen talked to us about when we caught up with him earlier this year in Geneva.

“In the Portugieser you have to respect that it is more consistent and is going in a continuous and timeless direction. We look at the Portugieser as still a very contemporary watch, and not a kind of traditional watch…It’s not like people look at this and say, Oh, this is a traditional watch! No, it should be received as an incredibly modern watch!”

Christian Knoop, Chief Design Officer for IWC

That being said, I still see the Portugieser as being a little more formal in nature, and with the alligator leather strap, it is even more so than on the rubber, so I was keen to see how I would go with a more dressy watch compared to my usual pure sports pieces. The one area I’ll point out that is different in the ‘Dune’ Portugieser Chronograph is the monochromatic dial. While the other colour variants have contrasting numerals and hands, this is all done in the golden ‘Dune’ colour. More on that later…

The Design

The IWC Portugieser dates back to the late 1930s, and rather than the Art Deco design style, which was popular at the time, IWC went the more German Bauhaus route. This DNA can be seen in the Portugieser today, but with a whole suite of modern design cues, not to mention materials. These design cues are present across the entire range of the Portugieser collection, but in reference to this particular model, the 41mm Chronograph, we can see the modern and clean interpretation of the DNA shining through.

RELATED READING: Legacy Of Iconic Watch Designs – The IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser

The dials on the new collection are the focus points for the Portugieser, so much so that they have been designed with different times of the day in mind. With ‘Dune’, it reflects the way the light permeates everything in a golden glow in the late afternoon, that time just before dusk. You can see this coming out in the striations of the beautifully finished sunray dial, and to create this depth and effect, IWC applies 15 layers of transparent lacquer, part of the 60-step process that goes into designing just the dials themselves. Having the symetrical two-subdial design, there is no date window on the IWC Portugiser Chronograph. For me, I love to have a date as it adds to the functionality of the watch, I’m constantly using it. For others, it won’t matter much at all, so it depends on which side of the fence you sit on this issue as to whether this will bother you or not.

The ‘Dune’ Portugieser has hand-applied numerals on the dial, done in a rose gold plating and polished, allowing them to catch the light and reflect it at different angles. This also goes for the hands on the Portugieser Chronograph, finished beautifully with a slim curved profile. This elevates the watch and takes it out of the sports watch category and into a more dress watch category. The sub-dials have a beautiful graining to them, milled directly into the brass dial and then the way IWC prints on them allows for a greater 3D effect.

The one element I found with the dial, being all the same colour, is the lack of contrast. For me, the matching colours of the dial, subdials, hands and numerals were perhaps a little too much. Compare this to the ‘Horizon Blue’, the ‘Obsidian’ or the ‘Silver Moon’ dials which all have contrasting dial elements. ‘Horizon Blue’ has rhodium-plated hands and numerals that are silver to contrast with the light blue dial, the ‘Obsidian’s’ are gold on the black dial and on the ‘Silver Moon’, you have blue hands and numerals that pop against the silvery dial. This is more a personal preference, so depending on your likes or dislikes, may or may not be for you.

RELATED READING: IWC Launches New Portugieser Chronograph Collection

The case is pure Portugieser in the sense that is so recognisable when looking at it compared to the original reference 325. The curved lugs help the watch to get a better fit, and the shape has remained relatively unchanged for almost 100 years, albeit more refined, obviously. This is where the DNA of a watch comes in. Those design cues are iconic and lets a watch transcend time, allowing it to be both modern in style, and timeless in design. It’s a hard line to walk, but the best watchmakers do it well. The Portugieser is no exception and the combination of the brushed steel case, the flat pump style chronograph pushers and the polished raised bezel encompassing the dial let the Portugieser Chronograph fit in with our tastes in 2024, without losing the heritage of the past.

How It Wears

On my 17.5cm wrist, it looks pretty proportionate and the curved lugs make it wear pretty well. It doesn’t seem overly thick either, and at 13.1mm it is in the range of not being thin, but not too thick either. Also, thanks to the case design with only about half of the thickness being attributed to the actual case side itself, you don’t notice it as much. I feel it wears pretty true to the measurements on paper, potentially looking slightly bigger than 41 millimetres perhaps due to the lack of a flat bezel and a larger dial area, but only slightly. It’s really neither here nor there.

From the top down, you get another perspective here, and as a comparison, I’ve added in Champs’ wrist to show the 17.5cm circumference of my wrist compared to the 16.5cm of Champs’. While it potentially fits mine slightly better (I also don’t wear my watches as tight as Chamath does), the 41mm diameter and 48mm lug-to-lug on his wrist seems proportionate as well.

If you can get the right fit, it feels fairly comfortable to wear, but as it’s on a leather strap with a folding clasp and pin buckle, you will just need to play around with this and wait for the leather to soften and mould to your wrist after a little bit of wear. Being warm at the moment, I found that my wrist was in between the holes on the strap so a good fit wasn’t easy for me to achieve. As a result, I had to wear it on the slightly loose side, but in the warmer weather, this is most certainly not a bad thing!

One thing I don’t love about the claps on the IWC is it is hard to undo once on the wrist as it’s a friction release clasp, not a push button. So taking it off does require you to grasp it firmly on either side and pull it, alternatively, slide your finger under the clasp as a lever to unclip it. With this style of clasp, which is not unique to IWC I’ll say, they are always a little tricky to open, so my preference would be to have a push button release to make it easier and with less wear and tear.

Now, coming back to the style factor here, being a more dressy watch, I wanted to see how this piece wore around town, and given it’s now summer and the hot weather is here to stay, how I felt with it on in more casual attire. I’m not talking about gym clothing or singlets and boardshorts, but more just your day-to-day wear when out in the city, doing school drop-offs, coffee at a café, that sort of thing. I feel it did play the more casual part, elevating what I was wearing to a point and given that the Portugieser isn’t a dress watch so to speak with more sporty elements to it, you don’t feel like you’re trying to pass it off as something it’s not. This probably exemplifies what Christian Knoop spoke about with the modernity of the piece – those subtle style and design cues allow it to be more than one thing.

I mentioned in a previous review about the way many brands are now doing the reverse style strap, threading the strap though towards the body (if you’re wearing it on your left as most people do), which is the case on the Portugieser, rather than away from the body. I personally find this a little weird, only because I’m not used to it for the most part. I did mention however in the aforementioned review that the end of the strap would catch my pockets as I walked thanks to the longer strap and it protruding a little. It was something I hadn’t considered with the strap around this way, until it happened numerous times that is. Thankfully, the Portugieser didn’t have this issue at all as the strap is a little shorter at the end, and the double strap minders keep it in place.

The Movement

IWC are putting more and more emphasis on their movements these days. Back in 2018, they released the Calibre 69355 which was a full in-house manufactured movement brought out to help celebrate their 150 years. This is part of IWC’s 69000 family of calibres, which is the automatic winding chronograph utilising a column wheel and a bidirectional pawl-winding system. For the calibre 69355, IWC has altered this to drop the chronograph hour sub-dial function, basically due to aesthetic reasons to balance out the dial itself. The movement pivots on 27 jewels, is adjusted to five positions and beats at a 4Hz beat rate with a standard 46-hour power reserve. Yes, the power reserve could be better and bumped up to 72 hours, which is becoming more and more the standard these days, but as this is a piece meant for everyday wear, then it’s less of an issue.

Operating the chronograph, the buttons are crisp, with the start/stop pusher having a small amount of resistance when starting the timer. The reset button is a little bit softer to the touch, with a bit less resistance, but I feel this is a good thing as it makes the chronograph easier to use when resetting it quickly. While I may be a little critical of the way the pushers feel, that is the watch reviewer coming out in me. For the average person however, this won’t matter all that much, or even be noticeable, whereas for me, I’m comparing this to all other chronographs I’ve tried and tested over the years.

The pull-out crown is easy to operate when changing the time. The knurling is enough to offer grip and there is very little movement or give in the crown when setting the time, meaning you’re not turning the crown much before the hands start to move. You sometimes have this on less well-made watches, turning the crown sometimes up to 30 degrees before the hands turn, making it harder to set the time accurately. It’s a big bugbear of mine, and if this happens, it shows that the crown stem isn’t tight allowing movement in it before the ratchet wheel starts to come into play against the gear train.

The winding mechanism also has a great tactile feel in this watch when winding it manually. I would say it is a smooth crispness, not gritty or clunky like some. Again, this is a watch nerd thing, but is one way of seeing, feeling and hearing how well the movement is put together. The crisper and smoother the feel, the better (in most instances) the movement is made.

Final Thoughts

IWC at its core is a brand that has an engineering heart, designing watches with movements that are engineered very well, both in design language and construction. You see this with not only the Portugieser collection but most of their watches across the different model lines. The Portugieser, for me anyway, has always been a collection that is about simplicity and elegance, but with that slightly sportier edge, and because of this, I have slightly mixed feelings about the IWC Portugieser Chronograph ‘Dune’.

On one hand, it’s a great watch, with a timeless design, from a brand that I have a lot of respect for and is elegant with a touch of sportiness about it, as I’ve just mentioned. On the other hand, I’m not sure if the ‘Dune’ colourway was for me personally, and without a date function, and on a leather strap, it’s less of a day-to-day piece for my lifestyle – so I’m slightly conflicted. That being said, this variant is the only steel model of the new chronograph models released this year, with Horizon Blue and Obsidian in white and red gold respectively, so it’s more durable for everyday wear but elegant enough for dressing up for more formal occasions.

My feeling is that for someone like me, who gravitates a lot more towards sports steel pieces, it takes a little while to warm up to. But that’s ok as sometimes watches grow on you the more you wear them, and the Portugieser Chronograph in ‘Dune’ did just that. It grew on me over the week, and because of this, I found myself picking outfits that would better compliment the watch, and I did feel a little dapper with it strapped to my wrist.

Overall I enjoyed wearing it – it gave me something different to wear on a daily basis that pushed me out of my comfort zone so to speak, in a colour that is different to what I would have traditionally chosen. In this statement, there is a lesson for me, and for those readers out there stuck in a certain way when it comes to watches. That is, try on different pieces and get out of your comfort zone. Try something you wouldn’t normally wear and see how it makes you feel, and when it comes to your next purchase, you may just find yourself picking out a watch that adds more variety to your collection!

References: IW371624 ‘Dune’

Specifications:

• Dimensions: 41mm, 13.1mm thick & 48mm lug-to-lug
• Case Material: Brushed and polished Stainless Steel
• Dial: Sunray brushed ‘Dune’ colour with applied numerals, milled subdials and red-gold plated hands
• Crystal: Sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
• Water resistance: 30m / 3 Bar
• Movement: IWC-manufactured calibre 69355 beating at 4Hz (28, 800 VpH) and 27 jewels
• Power reserve: 46 hrs
• Strap: Black alligator with steel folding clasp with pin buckle

Australian Recommended Retail Price: A$13,200

Availability: Available now at IWC Boutiques, authorised retailers or online at IWC.com

Full Image Gallery

The Arsham Droplet is typically Hublot, even though it doesn’t look like anything else Hublot has produced. Ever. That statement sounds like an oxymoron a little, but if you know Hublot, then you’ll know that they pride themselves on creating pieces that are like no other watch brands out there. Just take a look at their watch collaborations. Orlinski, Sang Bleu, and Murakami to name a few. Or their Manufacture Pieces, like the MP-05 LaFerrari, the MP-10 Tourbillon Weight Energy System, or MP-13 Tourbillon Bi-Axis Retrograde. These are all Hublot, and while all very different, all have that distinct Hublot style, embedded with Hublot DNA at their core.

One of the main reasons these are all unique is Hublot gives create reign to their designers and collaborators, to infuse as much of them into the pieces as Hublot. To me, I love this. Rather than sticking a logo on an already existing watch with a new colour dial, Hublot makes its pieces in partnership with those people who work with the brand. Take the latest Big Bang Unico x Djokovic. Yes, it looks like a Big Bang Unico, but it is made with Novak Djokovic in mind, and also in collaboration with him, using his old requests and shirts and making the watch ultra-light and shock-resistant, designed to be worn whilst playing.

Another great example is the long-running partnership Hublot has with Takashi Murakami. What watch would better embody the famous Japanese artist than a flower, the shape and design Takashi Murakami is famous for and incorporates into his art? So a flower-shaped watch it is! So it would come as no surprise that when Hublot teamed up with Daniel Arsham, the multi-disciplined visual artist, this collaboration would be something not seen before. And it was!

First Impressions

This was one of those releases that as much as the images online showcased it, you had to see it in person to understand it and see how it actually looked and felt in the hand. It may have taken 6 months to get our hands on it, but it did not disappoint when we did. Firstly, it isn’t a wristwatch. So this alone puts it into the ‘intriguing’ basket. Secondly, Hublot and Daniel Arsham have come up with a unique drop-shaped, full sapphire watch, which is also a three-in-one piece. While it may sound contradictory, this fact makes it both versatile and usable, but also not at the same time. Again, this is Hublot through and through – a contradiction in terms but somehow, it works.

I’ll say this at the start – pictures don’t really do this justice, and photographing it with the way the sapphire curves and plays with the light isn’t easy, but that is not what is important. It’s how it feels in the hand and looks to the eye. The first time in the hand, you get the appeal instantly as it’s so different, and while you’re not 100% sure what to make of it, you just know you like it.

The Design

The Arsham Droplet is just that, a droplet. When coming up with the design, contemporary artist Daniel Arsham took his inspiration from the way water flows and forms drops in nature. You can see this in the strange asymmetrical-shaped case, which is made from sapphire crystal. It isn’t your typically shaped drop, but more a strange form of fluidity, like the way liquid metal starts to form and pull together when separated. What is instantly noticeable is the clarity of the sapphire, something Hublot excels at. It is as if the watch was dipped into a super clear liquid, and it solidified instantly forming the shape with no impurities or ripples whatsoever. What is more remarkable here is this isn’t one piece of sapphire either, it is two pieces, moulded and put together around an inner skeleton.

Inside the watch is a full titanium skeleton, which you can see in the image above clearly. This skeleton forms the base of the watch and holds all the vital organs in place. The titanium has been shaped with a range of different-sized circles and ovals, which together give the watch structure, but also enhance its visual aspect, assisting in bringing the droplet theme to life even more.

RELATED READING: In Person With Ricardo Guadalupe, Former CEO & Honourary President Of Hublot

Each half of the Arsham Droplet is crafted by the engineers at Hublot’s Nyon manufacture, and placed perfectly on either side of the inner skeleton and movement to create the overall shape. Sapphire is one of the hardest substances to work with, and somehow, Hublot has perfected it. Around the outside is a thin band of titanium, with a light “Arsham Green” rubber inset to assist when holding the watch. The last thing you want is this to slip through the fingers and become a very expensive insurance claim! The ‘H’ styled Hublot screws hold all this in place.

The dial is fully skeletonised to show off the Meca-10 movement. The hour markers with Super-LumiNova are done in Arsham Green varnish and are attached to the colour-matched outer track below the rehaut. At the top of this sits the Arsham logo, and the hands along with the small seconds at 9 o’clock are also done the same semi-matte varnished green. This gives off a fresh colourful vibe, and if this was a wristwatch, I’d be saying here that it just may be a great summer watch.

The watch has Hublot’s one-click system, which makes it easy to change the way you use the watch. The chains for the pocket watch or pendant can be easily interchanged with the click of a button, or with the desk clock mount, the watch can be attached to this. This fact means that you can have the Arsham Droplet on you all day, and when you get home, unclip it and place it in the dock for the table clock.

The chains for the pocket watch and the pendant are also made from full titanium with a combination of polished and microblasted areas. This keeps the weight of the Arsham Droplet down, as the piece itself has weight to it thanks to the full sapphire crystal construction, so the last thing you want when wearing it around the neck as a pendant is a full steel chain to add more weight.

How It Wears (no, wait) Usability & Versatility

This is the part where I usually talk about how the watch wears. The comfort on the wrist, the way the strap feels, how the watch sits on the wrist, the size in comparison to the wearer etc. But, this isn’t a wristwatch, so most of that is a little redundant. So instead, I’ll talk about how it’s used and its functionality, as this piece has been designed for those who want a statement piece of sorts, and one that is totally different from the crowd and used in a (now in modern-day) unconventional way.

Over 100 years ago, pocket watches were the norm. To tell the time, a gentleman would pull out his pocket watch from his fob pocket, which was attached to a chain, flip open the watch, glance at the time and then close it and put it securely back in. Nowadays, we have watches on our wrists, and replacing the pocket watch’s functionality is a phone. At least for most people anyway. So when you see a brand do something left of centre, like the Arsham Droplet, you know it will be appealing to a certain type of person. As we have stated many times before, Hublot is not a brand for everyone, and with the Arhsam Droplet, this is very much the case. There are also only 99 pieces, so by virtue, this is a piece for only 99 people in the world.

As I alluded to earlier in the article, the Arsham Droplet has been designed in a certain way, mimicking the flow of liquid in nature, but also to conform to the contours of the hand. It isn’t something you think about much until you hold the Arsham Droplet. The green rubber inset around the edge makes it non-slip, important when taking it out of the pocket to check the time, and the curvature of the piece itself means that no matter if you are left or right-handed, it fits. While it is larger than most wristwatches, coming in at 73.2mm in length x 52.6 mm wide x 22.5 mm thick, by our normal standards this would be a giant watch. But, it isn’t a wristwatch, so all that matters is this is easy to read, easy to hold, and will fit in a pocket, which it does!

My one small criticism of this piece is the way the crystal shape distors the light, especially around the lower dial. This in on way impedes reading the time, but it does make the lower part of the dial around the power reserve indicator and balance look slightly off. Depening on the angle you view it from, it will either look right, or like those fun-house mirrors. In person, as you can move the watch around in your hand, this becomes less of a problem when compared to still images, but depending no how you look at it, (no pun intended) you’ll either love the quirkiness of it, or you wont.

Now I’m not one for modelling a pendant, it’s not quite my style nor would I do this piece justice as I’m not super fashionable, but Daniel Arsham is, so I’ll show how he wears the piece, as it should be worn. I will say this though, if you’re not used to wearing heavier jewellery around the neck, this piece may not be for you as I mentioned earlier, there is a little bit of weight to the watch. I feel you would only wear it this way sparingly, as a statement piece of artistic jewellery to an event. I’ve been to plenty of events over the years with celebrities, influencers, and those who are into fashion and are at the pointy end of fashion who I can see wearing this easily. But for me, I’d rather have this as a pocket watch, and use it to tell a story, a conversation starter that I can pull out and show people.

The third way of using this piece is as the desk clock. Hublot has come up with an ingenious way of doing this, by detaching the Droplet from the chain and docking it into the clock via the One-Click system. However, the watch itself isn’t large enough to be used as a proper clock, so the mount and display itself is a large magnifying glass, designed with a similar style to the Arsham Droplet itself.

With a titanium base, and two “bubbles” one acting as the crystal clear magnifying glass to show the time, the other in a translucent green to match the Arsham Green on the watch, the clock set up is something unique, and again, a statement piece for the home or office. I’ve always been fascinated by unique and interesting desk clocks, and I would love to have a carefully selected desk clock in my house one day. That is as soon as my kids are a little older and my fear of them taking it and playing with it, thus ending in tragedy subsides. that aside, I could quite easily see the Arsham Droplet as a clock in my house, taking pride of place in the living area for all to see. For me, this is how it would spend most of its time, but it would be undocked occasionally and shown off at events, as per my previous comments about wearing it.

The Movement

The movement is on full display with the Arsham Droplet, which is kind of the point here being a sapphire watch. For this, Hublot has chosen the in-house designed and manufactured HUB1201 Meca-10 movement to power the watch. To me, this makes complete sense as you are not wearing it on your wrist, so you need a manual wind movement, and when it comes to Hublot, there is no better manual winding movement than the Meca-10. You can power it up, and then not have to worry about it for a full 10 days. While it would be great to see more of the movement through the reverse side of the Arsham Droplet, there is Daniel Arsham’s logo on the back in the Arsham Green and black, so this does obscure it somewhat. Personally I would have loved to have seen the Meca-10 on full display with the three bridges being visible – a hallmark of the Meca-10 movement which resembles Meccano sets.

For those that are not aware of how the Meca-10 movement was developed, or why, you can read about it in a lot more detail in our Watch Education Article on the Movements Of Hublot. For those who want the abridged version, then the inspiration for Hublot to create the Meca-10 began when the designers looked back into their childhood days (remember those?) when imagination was limitless.  As a homage to all those who spent hours designing and building with Meccano, a more sophisticated version of Lego Technic that includes plates, wheels, and gears, Hublot created the Meca-10 range. So groundbreaking at the time, the Meca-10 won the Red Dot Award back in 2017 for innovation, so it doesn’t stand as a testament to Hublot’s movement capabilities.

RELATED READING: Hands-On With The Hublot Big Bang Meca-10 Ceramic Blue

The HUB1201 Meca-10 is a hand-wound movement, with a full 10-day, or 240-hour power reserve stemming from two barrels inside the movement, both delivering 5 days’ worth of power to the watch. Unlike most watches, those with the Meca-10 are best viewed from the front, as this is where it is on full show. The genius of the Meca-10 is the way it both distributes the power, but more so, the way it lets the user know how much power it has left. This is shown on the two discs at the front, with the smaller wheel at 6 o’clock telling you how many days power if left, then on the larger disc at 3 o’clock, the oval-shaped window shows starts to go white when the power reserve is down to 48 hours, a little like your car when almost empty.

The other unique factor with the Meca-10 is the way it drives the power reserve indicators. The top barrel in the movement drives the rack and pinion mechanism, which can be seen just behind the Hublot logo at 12 o’clock, this in turn drives the power reserve indicator at 3 o’clock. Another throwback to Meccano sets and the way the gears and mechanisms all come together to make the models work.

Final Thoughts

The Arsham Droplet is unique. It is quirky and serious at the same time, embodying everything that Hublot does best – meticulously crafted and shaped sapphire, an award winning in-house movement, and collaborating with an artist to design and develop a piece that other wont, or can’t! In addition to this, they have gone outside the box to develop a watch that is to be worn and admired, but not on the wrist.

This last statement is the reason why I said at the start, this piece is a little bit of a contradiction in the fact that it is versatile in it’s own nature, but at the same time it is not. However, this is not a bad thing at all, it’s just how you approach a watch like the Arsham Droplet. If you fully appreciate what Hublot and Daniel Arsham have come up with, then you’ll love it. If you fail to see the concept, then you’ll not, but then this is not a pice that is for you, or for everyone.

The price point will also make most of us think twice about it – at A$132,000 it’s definitely a piece for those who have means, and by virtue of the watch itself, as well as the price, it will be a piece for collectors who are looking for something new that is nothing like they have in their current collection. If I had the coin for this, would it be on my radar? Short answer – Yes, as it would look great in my house on display for me to admire, and for anyone who came over, a great talking point. I also fully appreciate how this piece is made, and what it represents, not just from a timekeeping perspective, but as a piece of functional and wearable art. Not to mention bringing it out at watch get togethers would be fun and something very different from the stock standard pieces you always see.

Reference: 916.NX.5202.NK – MP-16, limited to 99 pieces

Specification:

• Dimensions: 73.2mm in length x 52.6 mm wide x 22.5 mm thick
• Case Material: Polished Sapphire with anti-reflective coating, inner titanium skeleton with outer band made from titanium and rubber
• Dial: Skeleton dial in grey PVD with matte varnish Arsham Green hands, hour makers and small seconds. 10-day power reserve and low power indicator at 3 and 6 o’clock
• Movement: HUB1201 Manufacture Manual-winding Skeleton Power Reserve Movement. Beating at 21,600 VpH / 3Hz and pivoting on 24 Jewels
• Case-Back: Microblasted M3 Titanium Skeleton, engraved and printed Arsham Green logo
• Water resistance: 30 metres / 3ATM
• Power reserve: 10 Days / 240 hours
• Necklace: Full Titanium with Polished Links / Shiny Microblasted Clasp and One-click Tip
• Pocket Chain: Full Titanium with Polished Links / Shiny Microblasted Carabiner and One-click Tip
• Table Stand: Microblasted Titanium / Polished Green Arsham Colour Sphere and Mineral Magnifying Glass

Australian Recommended Retail Price: AUD $132,200

Availability: Available through Hublot Boutiques or enquire online at Hublot.com

2024 has been a celebratory year for A. Lange & Söhne. The Saxony brand has celebrated two birthdays this year, the first being the 25th Anniversary of the Datograph, which was showcased at Watches & Wonders this year with the stunning Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold Lumen and the Datograph Up/Down, but the second, and maybe the most important was the 30th Anniversary of the Lange 1, the first modern watch the brand created after being brought back to life.

RELATED READING: Happy 30th Birthday to A. Lange & Söhne’s Lange 1!

So, it is safe to say that the Lange 1 is a special piece when it comes to A. Lange & Söhne, and when we interviewed A. Lange & Söhne’s Asia Pacific Managing Director, Nicolas Gong, a couple of months ago, he had this to say about the Lange 1, and I think he summed it up perfectly:

“It’s the first watch that we launched and part of the first collection we launched. For me, it was a striking launch because basically A. Lange & Söhne disappeared for 40 years and up to that point, no one had seen anything contemporary from the brand, so it’s the start of contemporary watchmaking for us. It was really unique at the time because if you look through the Lange 1, you have the outside state, which is inspired by the 5-minute clock (talking about the large date window), and you have all the details behind the watch, meaning the movements. You have the hand polishing, you have the three-quarter plates, a signature of German watchmaking and A. Lange & Söhne. It’s everything related to the Lange history.”

First Impressions

A. Lange & Söhne has been somewhat of an underappreciated brand in my view, and only recently has started getting the attention it rightly deserves. In a world where Swiss watches reign supreme and the Geneva Seal is coveted, the way A. Lange & Söhne creates, crafts, and finishes their watches is sublime. What is also astounding is that even though the brand was resurrected in 1990, and the first watch not being released until 1994, in that time, A. Lange & Söhne have been able to bring back the craftsmanship Ferdinand Adolph Lange started back in 1845, and over the past 30 years, have created 73 in-house movements, all with impeccable finishing I might add.

When it comes to a beautiful dressier piece, then I can think of no better brand than A. Lange & Söhne to put on the wrist, and if you’re going to have such a nice piece, then why not add in a complication or so just to top it off? Enter the Lange 1 Time Zone. Now I can’t stress enough how nice these pieces are on the wrist, and it is one of those things that you need to try for yourself. The weight of the watch, combining the white gold case and German silver in the movement and dial has a sort of luxuriousness about it. The leather strap compliments the piece beautifully, and while it is 42mm, A. Lange & Söhne has been able to pack all the functionality of this piece into a case that is less than 11mm thick. Its clever design and engineering, both something the Germans are renowned for.

The Design

The design of the Lange 1 is unmistakable. The offset main dial, smaller sub-dial, and large panorama date are all hallmarks of the brand, as are the smooth polished case and welded lugs. In the case of the Lange 1 Time Zone, these hallmarks are all there, just more. A. Lange & Söhne have cleverly added more functionality to the watch and showcased this on the dial with ease.

You still have the asymmetrical dial design, with the man time zone centre left, and the small seconds have been moved from the main sub-dial normally at 4 o’clock down to the bottom of the main dial. In its place is the second time zone with a day/night indicator at 4:30 allowing you to see at a glance a secondary time, which, depending on your destination country, can be set by the pusher at 8 o’clock. Pushing this allows you to cycle through the world time disc on the outer dial, which is aligned to the white gold arrow hand with the red marker between the 4 and 6 on the sub-dial. If the marker is red, it indicates that the city has daylight savings time, if it is not, then the city doesn’t observe this. While this is useful, you still need to set the time based on this, as there is no way the watch is able to adjust for the 1 hour time difference at certain times of the year. It’s one issue with 99.9% of all mechanical world timers, all but the Bovet Recital 28 Prowess 1 which just won the GPHG Mechanical Exception Prize, being the first mechanical watch to solve the daylight saving time zone issue automatically.

The Lange 1 Time Zone also indicates the day/night with the small blue rings on the inner of the main and second time-zone dials, which you can see in the image above. When the hour hand is in this zone, it means the time is between the hours of 6pm and 6am, thus indicating night. In the above image, the main time would be 1:50pm in the afternoon, and the second time zone would be 6:50pm in the evening.

RELATED READING: The Legacy Of Iconic Watch Designs: A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1

On the outer part of the dial on the right is the power reserve indicator, showing how much of the 72-hour power reserve you have left. AUF = full, and AB = empty, (this isn’t the literal translation from German to English, it’s more to explain the points on the scale), so it’s a handy function for those who may not wear this piece each day, and like all Lange 1 models, the large outsized date at 1:30. Now I love the look of the outsized date, but the one thing that has always bugged me about it is the start of the month, specifically between the 1st and the 9th of the month. When the date is in double digits, I.e. 10th onwards, it looks great, it’s balanced. But between the 1st and the 9th of the month, only the numeral in the right window appears with the left window empty, and thus, looks unbalanced. Personally, I’d love to see the single-digit dates represented as “01”, “02”, “03” etc to keep the consistency with the other 66% of the time.

A. Lange & Söhne has designed the case with 18-carat white gold (in this model specifically) and has the lustre you just don’t get with steel. The case is a combination of high polish on the bezel, lugs and underside of the case, and the middle section is brushed, which gives it more texture and alleviates some of those pesky surface swirls you get with polished white gold. As Lange opts to do most things the traditional way, the case and lugs are separate, with the lugs being welded onto the case, and then hand-finished to create a clear definition between them. What always amazes me is how sharp the artisans can get the join, with almost no signs of the welding apparent, and a nice clean finish that sightly angles or steps in at the top of the lug where it joins into the case.

How It Wears

The 42mm, well, 41.9mm to be specific, sized case may seem a little large for some, as A. Lange & Söhne have used the Grand Lange case for the Time Zone, but the proportions for me seem pretty spot on for a watch like this. You need the dial real estate to show the numerous functions clearly, which there is plenty of here, but that being said, the domed bezel helps to effectively slim, or shrink the watch down visually across the wrist.

With a lug-to-lug of just under 50mm, the Lange 1 Time Zone does feel a little broad across the wrist, but it’s not overly so thanks to the broader than normal 22mm lug width of the Grand Lange case. This actually gives the watch a better proportion, and as you can see below, the lugs in combination with the 41.9mm case still has plenty of wrist on either side.

At just 10.9mm thick, this is not a thick watch, especially when you consider that A. Lange & Söhne have packed in a dual time zone, geographic or world time, power reserve, small seconds indicator and an outsized date into the piece along with a display case back. Even so, the Lange 1 Time Zone wears slightly thinner on the wrist thanks to the stepped case back, meaning the watch sits into the wrist a little, and there is less side case visible. The domed bezel also helps to thin it out in addition to making it seem a little smaller in diameter thanks to the curvature of it.

In terms of style, Lange 1’s are not sports watches. For me, they sit in the dress watch realm, but I’ll caveat this by saying they are technically not dress watches by definition. They are however, a good blend of traditional style meets modern tastes, a watch that can be dressed up or down depending on what you’re wearing on the day. Would I wear this to a kids sports match on the weekend? Probably not. Would I wear it on the weekend out to lunch or afternoon drinks? Definitely! I feel shorts and a T-shirt would be a stretch, but a nice pair of jeans and a polo shirt would be elevated by the Lange 1 Time Zone, equally, a suit would perfect the look also, hence my choice of business casual for the photoshoot here. I may have gone too Don Johnson with the cream-on-white look, but it worked nonetheless.

Taking the above comments into account, I would say this: The Lange 1 Time Zone is probably not an everyday watch for most people. Yes, it is versatile enough to be worn with different outfits for different occasions, but don’t forget this is a white gold watch, and as such, needs to be treated with respect. By this I mean you can’t just do your everyday activities with this watch and expect it to hold up over time. Gold is soft remember, and scratches easily, so you would need to care for it as such. If you’re a corporate type in a suit and in the office, you could get away with this piece on your wrist each day. However, if you’re like me and are not in such a job, and you’re out and about, doing different things for work or otherwise; kids pick-ups, photoshoots etc, then this is more of a special piece that would come out when the need calls for it.

RELATED READING: Getting To Know A. Lange & Söhne Up Close In Sydney – Photo Report

The Movement

This is the second generation Time Zone, which has now been around for four years, originally coming out in 2020. Inside this beats the manufacture calibre L141.1. At its core, you have a 72-hour power reserve which comes from the energy stored in two barrels in the manual winding movement. It beats at 3Hz or 21,600 VpH, which is not on the high side compared to other modern watches these days, but I would say that this helps extend the power reserve out of the two barrels, meaning the barrels can effectively be smaller, allowing room in the movement for all the other complications.

The movement itself is a work of art, and when it comes to finishing, very few are at the level that A. Lange & Söhne are at. One of the distinct hallmarks of the Lange 1 is the three-quarter bridge, made of German Silver that covers the barrels and drive train. Now don’t be fooled, German Silver isn’t actual silver, it is a Nickel/Copper/Zinc alloy that has a warm hue, and while it’s highly corrosion resistant, it can still tarnish and change colour over time. This is one reason why the watchmakers at A. Lange & Söhne have to be highly trained and no bare fingertip can touch the German Silver components otherwise that small area can oxidise from the oils in the skin and change colour at a greater rate.

Delving a little deeper into the movement, every surface is finished, and I mean finished! All of the edges are bevelled and polished, even the service hatch in the middle of the main bridge has hand-polished bevelling. The use of both blue-fired screws and black-polished screws is evident and showcases Lange’s desire to incorporate different finishes to create an overall aesthetic. Even the rubies are set into gold chaton cups, surrounded by three blue-fired screws, which is reminiscent of historic German pocket watches, as is the rest of the movement.

I’d add as a last point on the movement, A. Lange & Söhne is famous for having to assemble, disassemble and then re-assemble their movements once fully finished to ensure both accuracy and quality. The watches are also tested in 5 positions once cased, so you can be sure that not only are you getting an impeccably finished movement, but it’s also robust and accurate as well!

Final Thoughts

All good things must come to an end, and this sums up my time with the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone. When you’ve worn a piece like this for a while, it’s hard to give back. I mentioned at the start of the article that a beautifully designed precious metal piece on the wrist is like no other and you need to try it on to see what I really mean. The combination of the gold weight mixed with the finish of the watch, and a very stylish alligator strap makes you feel like a million dollars, and somehow, just that little more sophisticated.

While no watch is without its flaws, every now and then some pieces come close, and for me personally, the Lange 1 Time Zone is one of these watches. Yes, it has aspects that I don’t LOVE, but at the same time, none of these are deal breakers and to be honest, I’ve had to nitpick here. With A. Lange & Söhne only making around 5,000 watches in total a year, and with their strict adherence to quality and craftsmanship, not to mention their ability to develop so many in-house movements, I would expect their pieces to be mostly flawless, and thankfully, this has been my experience here.

I’ve always looked at Lange 1’s as the epitome of class, and should a more dressy piece find its way into my collection, it would be hard to go past a Lange 1 of any variant. The Time Zone takes it up another notch with the additional functionality, and when you’re travelling overseas several times a year, it would come in very handy. Will I be seeing one on my wrist as the proud owner any time soon? I’ll see if I win that Powerball jackpot this week and tell you. But if not, then it’s a grail addition for sure, another one added to the list of watches I need to own in my lifetime.

Reference: 136.029 / LSLS1363AG

Specifications:

• Dimensions: 41.9mm, 49.8mm lug-to-lug & 10.9mm thick
• Case Material: Brushed and polished 18k White gold
• Case back: Brushed and polished 18k White Gold with sapphire crystal display
• Dial: Black galvanised Sterling Silver with two-time zone displays, world time function, power reserve indicator, outsized date and day/night indicators, white gold hands and indices
• Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment
• Water resistance: 30m / 3bar
• Movement: Calibre L141.1 hand-wound movement beating at 3Hz / 21,600 VpH and pivoting on 33 jewels
• Power reserve: 72 Hours
• Strap: Brown sustainably sourced alligator leather strap with double folding 18k white gold clasp

Australian Recommended Retail Price: $99,000 AUD

Availability: Available now from A. Lange & Söhne in Martin Place, Sydney. Enquire online at Alange-soehne.com

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TAG Heuer and Formula 1 seem to be inextricably linked, not surprising given the Swiss brand’s history with motorsport all the way back to the 1960s. This link is further solidified with their watches – one carrying the famed sport’s namesake in the TAG Heuer Formula 1, the other with the Monaco, one of the most iconic F1 races, gaining fame thanks to Steve McQueen wearing the piece in his 1971 film, Le Mans. Yes, it wasn’t F1, but a screen legend wearing a sports watch prominently on the wrist in a film about another iconic motorsport event helped to put the Monaco front and centre. While the materials and designs these days a lot more modern, the classic Monaco DNA is still there and instantly recognisable.

So it comes as no surprise that TAG Heuer would drop their latest Monaco just ahead of the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, and this time it’s a hot pink skeleton version, emulating the colours of the famous Glitter Strip! Now normally we would be writing up an article about the release of the new piece, but this time, we had the opportunity to review the watch ahead of its release, and what’s a better way to introduce you to the new piece than a review on all the ins and outs of the new TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph Skeleton in pink?!

First Impressions

The TAG Heuer Monaco is one of the several iconic pieces in the TAG Heuer stable, and funnily enough, it’s the one piece that I was yet to actually review properly and have on the wrist for an extended period of time. Needless to say, I was quite looking forward to wearing a Monaco for a week or so and getting to spend some quality time with it. The bonus? It was the new black DLC titanium model with a pink skeletonised dial, yet to be released.

Now, I’m not one to love a pink watch, or red for that matter, the colour doesn’t seem to work all that well on me. But, the pink on the new Monaco really stands out against the stark black and for some reason, I was liking it. What helped it in my eyes was the pink isn’t in your face as it is done in the same way the turquoise and blue variants have been done with just enough colour on the black skeleton dial to give it some colour and depth.

I’ll say at the outset, I’ve never been a big fan of square-shaped watches. I appreciate them for what they are, but I’ve never really warmed to them all that much – probably because I’ve not worn them too often and my association of them with dressier timepieces. Plus, familiarity often helps, so if you’re not used to wearing something specific, you’ll probably not love it at first. Call it a comfort zone thing. Nonetheless, I wanted to give this piece a chance and hoped that with a longer period of time, I’d get used to the square shape on my wrist.

The Design

The design of the new TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph Pink is similar to that of previously released skeleton models, from the original trio released last year prior to the Monaco F1 Grand Prix, to the Monaco Dark Blue released in May. The case has been made from grade 2 titanium, and coated in a black DLC to give the watch that stealth look, which admittedly looks great on the newer Monaco models. The pink dial however really hits home here and stands out quite a lot, and for this reason, you’re drawn into it.

RELATED READING: TAG Heuer Unveils Three Brand New Monacos Ahead Of The 2023 Monaco Grand Prix

The dial is really the focal point of this watch. I mean, it’s pink, you can’t miss it, but in a good way. Given that this is a watch that was designed with the Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix in mind, the pink makes sense. But if you put that aside, it is still a good looking piece that stands out. TAG Heuer has done the two subdials and their hands in pink, as well as the hour indicators on the dial and chronograph seconds hand, which is done in a pink lacquer.

The skeletonisation has been done well, showing the movement and its elements beneath the surface, along with the date disc running along the outside of the dial. The bridges are all sandblasted, and at the top of the dial sitting over the barrel at 12 o’clock is the TAG Heuer Monaco logo finished in rhodium plating.

Like its predecessors, the new Monaco is comprised of a grade 2 titanium case, which has been given a black DLC treatment to give it a stealth look and enhance the durability of the piece. The titanium and black DLC is sandblasted as well, making sure this is a sports piece through and through. This treatment has been given to the crown and chronograph pushers as well so you have a seamless blacked-out look for the entire case, and it works!

The one aspect of the Monaco that I loved, and originally didn’t think I would was the faceted square crystal. This does a couple of things for the watch. The first is the raised crystal, which allows the watch case to be thinner, giving the movement, dial, and hands more room inside without adding extra depth to the case dimensions. The second is that this helps aid the watch’s overall appearance, with fewer flat surface areas to draw your eye to. The third is, well, it just looks super cool and not something that you see every day on a watch.

How It Wears

This is where the rubber hit the road for me, the wearing experience. As I mentioned, not having had the chance to take out a Monaco before and wear it over a longer period of time was an injustice that I was looking forward to rectifying. The first thing that I immediately noticed was the weight or lack of it. The grade 2 titanium means the watch is light to start with, and then adding to this, you have skeletonised elements on the dial and the watch is paired with a rubber and leather combination strap. So as a sports watch, and a watch that evokes the vibe of F1 where weight is paramount, it ticks this box very well.

I really wanted to talk about the size of the TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph. On the surface, it does looks like a chunky watch. Square sports watches often do as they take up more wrist space than a round watch does, but being square, the all-important lug-to-lug dimensions are often shorter. In the Monaco’s case, this is true. With a case dimension of 39mm in diameter, a lug-to-lug of 47.4mm and a thickness of 15.2mm, the Monaco isn’t large in diameter, but a 39mm square watch will traditionally wear more like a 41mm piece. However, with small lugs, they, and the strap don’t protrude much at all, so across the wrist, you still have plenty of space left. As a result, the watch appears proportionate on my wrist, which is 17.5cm in circumference.

Initially, when I first looked at the Monaco, the 15.2mm thickness had me a little worried, given the 39mm diameter. Would it feel too thick on the wrist? The short answer is no, not really. As I’ve said many times before, measurements on paper can deceive and it all comes down to how the watch is designed. If you have too much flat surface area on the case and sides, a watch will look thicker and wear bigger. Break these areas up with bevelling, rounder case shapes, stepped sides, a multi-faceted bezel etc, and all of a sudden, the watch won’t appear as thick. Where the new TAG Heuer Monaco alleviates this feeling of a thicker watch is the crystal, which accounts for about 2mm of the 15.2mm, and blends into the background almost when looking at the watch. The case is also angled on the top and bottom, so the side of the case doesn’t have as much flat surface area as if it was just a full block of titanium. Couple these factors with an all-black watch that is quite light, and your perception of the watch changes when wearing it. It just doesn’t feel thick at all.

TAG Heuer has equipped the new Monaco Chronograph Skeleton Pink with a combination rubber and leather strap. The leather on the top side is done in a checkerboard weave pattern and set into the rubber, giving the strap some texture and detail, which I really like and appreciate. The underside is rubber so it protects the strap from unwanted sweat and moisture, but also makes the strap comfortable to wear. The addition of the titanium folding clasp means you can easily do up or undo the clasp, plus it has the clamp style fastener so you can un-clamp it, and slide the clasp up and down the strap to get the perfect fit and then push the clamp back down to secure it.

The Movement

Like all modern TAG Heuer Chronographs that are at the higher end, the new Monaco Pink has the calibre Heuer 02 TH20-00 inside. We’ve written about this movement quite extensively in the last couple of years as it is TAG Heuer’s in-house developed movement under the guidance of Carole Forestier-Kasapi. You will find this movement now in many of TAG Heuer’s chronographs which are outside the standard. The new Glassbox Carrera, Carrera Extreme Sports, and the Monaco Skeletons and limited edition pieces as examples.

With an 80-hour power reserve off a single barrel, and a column wheel and vertical clutch mechanism, the operation of the chronograph is fairly smooth as it should be. The pushers have the right amount of resistance with very little lag thanks to the column wheel, and the way the pushers are designed is easy to use as the top of the pusher is angled to suit the angle of your finger when using it. The same goes with the reset pusher at 4 o’clock.

Now while the TH20-00 movement isn’t COSC (Yet!), the accuracy of it is very good. In this particular case, I measured the accuracy over a 48-hour period which included time on my wrist and off my wrist. Over that period, the watch lost about 3 seconds a day, which is very acceptable in my book. The crown is a pull-out crown, not screwed, and I would love to see this as a screw-down crown given the sporty nature of the piece. No, it’s not a dive watch, it’s a racing chronograph, but it is a sports watch with 100m water resistance, and for me, it’s that additional safety knowing it can’t come out accidentally when wet.

Final Thoughts

The TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph Skeleton in pink is a prime example of taking your time in order to get to know a watch and if it’s right for you. At first, I wasn’t sold on the pink, a mostly black watch or a square watch. But as the saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover, or in this instance, a watch at first glance. The pink took me some time to get used to, but I actually grew to really like it as it is such a contrast to the rest of the watch and in all honesty, made this a little more wearable for me as I tend to shy away from all black watches. It breaks the black up, and stands out, so I’d say that if you’re not a pink person, give it a try!

The case could be a little slimmer, maybe shaving off a couple of millimetres. It does feel slightly thick on the wrist when you first put it on, but as I explained, the case design, raised and faceted sapphire crystal and lightness of the watch makes it feel less so once you’ve had it on the wrist for a little while. On that note, I found it super easy just to pick it up, throw on my wrist, and go to the point where for me it could be a daily watch.

I didn’t think I’d love wearing a square watch as in general I don’t normally go for them, but this has given me a new appreciation for them, and should I buy a square piece, then the iconic TAG Heuer Monaco would be a contender for sure. Am I 100% sold on a square watch? Not yet, but I’m halfway there! The other thing the Monaco did for me over the week was also my non-love of black, stealth watches. This piece has now got me considering something a little more stealthy, and something in the titanium or ceramic world especially given the lightness and ease of wearing.

At A$16,300, the Monaco Skeleton in pink is at the same price point as the other black DLC Monaco Skeleton pieces in TAG Heuer’s catalogue. While I have heard some pushback on the price in wider watch circles, the reality is all watches are now more expensive than they were 2,3, 4 years ago, and when you look around at other watches with an in-house movement, titanium, skeletonised and a chronograph, there are not a lot of other options on the market, especially with the same level of iconic history the TAG Heuer Monaco has.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with the piece and got quite used to looking down and seeing that pop of pink against the black. I also got quite accustomed to the lightness as well, so putting on a steel watch after felt a little foreign and heavy I must admit. We always say at Watch Advice that there is no such thing as the perfect watch, only perfect for the individual, and the Monaco is not perfect. BUT, I grew fond of it and was one of the few pieces I’ve had for review this year that I did not want to give back, and that sentiment and feeling right there tells me something…

Reference: CBL218B.FT6236

Specifications:

• Size: 39mm, 47.4mm lug to lug & 15.2mm thick
• Case Material: Titanium grade 2 sandblasted black DLC
• Case back: Grade 2 Titanium with sapphire crystal case back
• Dial: Pink and black sandblasted dial, Rhodium plated TAG HEUER applied logo, 6 o’clock date with blue Super-LumiNova®, pink indexes with blue Super-LumiNova® and pink lacquered hands on the chronograph seconds, minute and hour counters
• Crystal: Beveled, box sapphire crystal
• Water resistance: 100m / 10bar
• Movement: Calibre HEUER 02 TH20-00 Automatic Column Wheel Chronograph
• Power reserve: 80 Hours
• Strap: Embossed black calfskin & rubber strap. Sandblasted titanium grade 2 folding clasp with double safety pushbuttons: TAG Heuer shield

Australian Recommended Retail Price: $16,300 AUD

Availability: Available now from all TAG Heuer Boutiques and online at tagheuer.com

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Breitling’s Chronomat has been around for a little while, 82 years in fact, and the original watch resembled a Navitimer more than the modern Chronomat we know today. In fact, the Chronomat was Brerilting’s first slide rule watch and was designed for mathematicians to do complex calculations with the watch – hence the original name CHRONOgraph for MAThematicians, Chronomat. At the time, is was a world first, and what Breitling dubbed, the worlds first “Smart Watch”. It’s a nice play on words and back in 1942, it was revolutionary and was one of Willy Breilting’s most loved products.

However, the modern Chronomat as we know it today doesn’t date back as far, nor does it stand for Chronograph for mathematicians. In 1983, Breitling, under Ernest Schneider’s leadership, designed a watch in conjunction with the Frecce Tricolori, Italy’s jet display team (similar to the Blue Angels). Bucking the quartz trend, this watch was a mechanical automatic chronograph with a Rouleaux bracelet and rotating bezel with large rider tabs to make it easy for the pilots to use. The following year, this watch was released commercially but with a new name, the Chronomat. Whilst the name “Chronomat” wasn’t new, this version was a new incarnation of the name, this time being an amalgamation of the words chronograph and automatic. It became an instant classic and hit with collectors and watch enthusiasts alike. For those fans of ’90s sitcoms, Jerry Seinfeld was quite often seen wearing his Chronomat on screen, along with other Breitling pieces.

So it’s no surprise that for Breitling’s 140th Anniversary, they’ve brought out a limited-edition Chronomat, and here in Australia, we’re lucky to get this as a regional edition, only available in Australia and New Zealand, and 140 pieces of course! Given it is a local special edition, we had to go hands-on with it…

RELATED READING: Breitling Introduces Their 140th Anniversary Collection

First Impressions

As I have just written, the Chronomat is not a new watch for Breitling. Having been around for 40 years in their modern incarnation, I’m pretty familiar with the models and their looks, design codes etc. I’ve also tried on numerous models over the years and had a decent play around with them, so again, holding the new Breitling Chronomat Australian Limited Edition in my hand felt somewhat familiar. The case hasn’t changed a lot over the years, and the Chronomat is famous for its longer reverse-onion crown (as I call it), the bezel and rider tabs to make it easy to grip and turn, and on this piece, the Rouleaux style rubber strap, taking the place of the steel Rouleaux bracelet looks great and is super flexible.

What stands out to me is the dial – done in an “Arctic White” and contrasted with the black sub-dial registers, the watch looks fresh and the white dial gives it that super clean look. The case isn’t overly big, and putting it on my wrist for the first time, felt pretty good – so far, so good! I had this piece for just over a week, so I had time to get used to it, and wear it out and about a fair bit, and for a few days, replaced my normal daily piece.

The Design

The overall design of the Chronomat has evolved over the years as all models do, but with the Chronomat, whilst there are subtle changes as a product of its evolution, very little has actually changed when looking at it as an overall piece. This is one thing that I like about the watch industry and certain brands – their ability to evolve without deviating too much from what made the selected watch iconic in the first place. The one thing that is noticeable when you look at the overall design is how Breitling has cleaned up the appearance with less clutter on the dial and the bezel. Gone are the notches on the bezel that were found in the original and up to the mid-2000s, as are the etched numerals. Instead, you now have a cleaner looking bezel, high polished and with the numbers at 3, 6 and 9 on the rider tabs.

The dial was what caught my attention when I first viewed this and its sister piece in Sydney a few months ago. The dial, which Breitling calls “Arctic White” looks great on the Chronomat. White dials always look good, and if done right, have that silky smoothness to them, which this does. It isn’t a lacquer dial, but gives off that impression almost, so Breitling has done a good job here. The tachymeter scale runs the circuit of the outer dial, again, assisting to keep the bezel easy to use and less cluttered, and the applied hour markers with steel and Super-LumiNova add depth to the dial, also allowing for better legibility in the day time without losing them due to being plain white with a white dial.

Recessed into the dial are the three black circular-grained sub-dials which track the minutes and hours for the chronograph at 3 and 6 o’clock, and the small seconds at 9 o’clock. Rather than being a full dial with the circular graining, Breitling has opted to keep the outer third smooth, and the inner two-thirds grained to give it a little more texture here. These little details all add up, as does the stepped rehaut with the aforementioned tachymeter and minute percentage scale.

The Breitling Chonomat Australian Edition’s case design aids the way the case wears, which I will talk about in the next section of the review. Yes, the watch is 15.1mm thick, but the main case is actually quite a bit smaller, with almost half of the thickness being taken up by the screwed case back, bezel and crystal, which you can see in the images below. The crown is done in the curved reverse onion style, and the chronograph pushers are now flatter thanks to the re-design of it back in 2020. This modernises the watch a little more and fits with the overall aesthetic of the piece.

With this version of the Chronomat, Breitling has given the watch the rubber version of the Rouleaux bracelet. It’s not individual links like the steel, but the design look and feel do justice to it. It comes equipped with a steel folding push button clasp that is combined with a pin buckle. This set-up does two things: The first allows you the convenience of quickly slipping it on and doing it up without hassles, and the second is if you need to adjust the sizing, it’s as easy as your normal pin buckle set-up. Best of both worlds.

How It Wears

The Breitling Chronomat Australian Edition is more sports watch than anything else, but it is more of an elegant sports watch that you can dress up or down depending on your style. The combination of brushed and high polish surfaces gives it more class, the rubber Rouleaux strap brings it back into the less formal arena, but from a distance as other people would see it, you could get away with this in a dress shirt or a suit.

On the wrist, I feel the Chronomat wears fairly true to size for the most part. Being 42mm in diameter and 50.5mm lug-to-lug, its in that ‘not too large’ range for me on my 17.5cm wrist. As I touched on before, 15.1mm thick is not a slim watch, but the case design seems to allow this to be thinner on the wrist due to not having a huge amount of flat surfaces to draw your eye to. As I’ve said many times, the way a watch looks on the wrist can be very different to the numbers on paper and what they would suggest.

The strap is super comfortable thanks to the rubber and design. The Rouleaux style strap means the faux rivets give it a little more flexibility than a standard flat rubber strap and as a result, it really hugs the wrist nicely. In all honesty, it’s one of the better rubber straps I’ve worn in recent times. I mentioned in my review of the Breitling 140th Edition Super Chronomat a few weeks ago the same rubber strap didn’t hold the watch properly on the wrist unless done up tight due to the size and weight of the 18k rose gold. This isn’t the case here as the smaller case and steel means the weight of the case and proportions of the strap – case-to-strap ratio if you will, is a lot better here.

RELATED READING: Hands On With The Breitling Super Chronomat Perpetual Calendar 140th Anniversary

The one aspect that I am not a fan of is the way the strap is reversed on the watch, threading through towards the body, not away like conventional straps are. This isn’t new, and definitely not unique to Breitling or this watch as it seems to be more of a trend recently. The main reason is the strap has a tendency to catch pockets as you walk and your arms pass by your body. Look, it could just be me, but it seems to happen a bit with this style of strap. The simple solution is to flip the strap around if you don’t mind the clasp being the other way.

As it’s coming into summer here, actually given the past few weeks, I think it is here already with the warmer and humid weather being a daily occurrence, the rubber strap held up well in the weather, not getting too hot or sweaty and with minimal movement on the wrist as well. With this style of strap buckle, there isn’t a micro-adjust at all, very few folding clasps like this have one, but you could always pair this with a different strap with the folding clasp with micro-adjust.

Outside of this, reading the time when on the wrist is quick and easy thanks to the dial design I mentioned previously, and the ergonomics of the watch seem balanced, making it easy to operate the chronograph function and bezel while on the wrist. I will say that the blue anti-reflective coating does become visible outside a bit, which depending on your personality can be a little annoying or not. I didn’t love this fact, but it’s not a deal breaker in any way for me.

The Movement

Inside of the Breitling Chronomat Australian Edition beats the heart of the Breitling Calibre B01 Chronograph movement. This is an in-house developed and manufactured calibre with a 70 hour power reserve, 47 jewels and a 4hz beat rate / 28,800 VpH and like all Breitling movements, COSC certified. This was a calibre that was developed in 2009 by Breitling, and the first that Breitling had brought out in the modern era. As Breitling has always been synonymous with chronograph movements, it made complete sense that in the modern era and moving into their own in-house calibres, Breitling would produce a chronograph as their first – a tribute to the chronographs that set Breitling apart back in the 1930s.

Via the display case back, you can see the movement is nicely finished and partially open-worked to showcase more of the movement. The Côtes de Genève on the rotor stands out as it does on the top bridges, and underneath, you can see the balance, column wheel and clutch along with the gears in the gear train. It’s a nicely finished movement and what you would expect from the price point.

Operationally, I found the chronograph pushers a little stiff, so starting the chronograph was a little easier off the wrist, but I find with brand-new watches, this can sometimes be the case. Once started, however, the stop and reset mechanism felt nice to operate with just enough resistance so you didn’t accidentally stop the timing function.

Setting the time and date is a breeze with the screw-down crown, the usual positions changing the date in position 1 and the time in position 2. The date sits at 6 o’clock inside the chronograph hour sub-dial, and it is very unobtrusive, almost to the point it blends in and you have to look twice for it. This will be music to those people’s ears who don’t love a date window on the watch, ruining the balance or aesthetics. However, this placement doesn’t detract either for people like me who prefer a date. This being said, the crown shape did make it a little tricky to screw back in as I felt it was slightly harder for a conventional crown to grip properly and push and screw in at the same time. I don’t have large fingers by any stretch, but again, those with smaller fingers will probably find it a little easier to manipulate.

RELATED READING: Breitling Celebrates Their 140 Years & Heritage Exhibition In Melbourne

Final Thoughts

Breitling has several iconic models in its current catalogue, and when choosing what models to help it celebrate its 140th Anniversary, would have been a hard one. As Breitling CEO Georges Kern stated when the 140th Edition Collection was released at Geneva Watch Days, Breitling couldn’t just do one model, so they chose three. With regards to those three models, the standard Chronomat didn’t get a start, instead opting for the larger Super Chronomat 44 model thanks to the Perpetual Calendar and skeletonised dial. So it’s great to see that the Chronomat 42 got the celebratory treatment in the form of the Australian Limited Edition.

Speaking to people about this particular model, and something we at Watch Advice have debated as well, there was mixed sentiment over the design and what made it Australian. We’ve quite often seen limited editions for countries, regions or even clubs and publications done, in fact, they are done all the time. Sometimes there are very evident design cues, colours and references to the collaboration or limited edition, which in all honesty can be met with criticism if not done well. Other times, there are no real references at all, just slight changes to the watch and then sold exclusively as a limited edition. Which way is correct? Well, this is the debate and I would say there’s no right or wrong answer here! In this case, the Arctic White dial with black sub-dials is the design change, not being found in any other Chronomat 42 or Super Chronomat 44. There is no reference to Australia at all, colour-wise or even on the case back, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’ll elaborate…

Personally, I don’t mind this. I’ve seen collaborations and limited editions done badly with inclusions of logos, colourways that don’t match the watch’s overall design, motifs that detract from the watch, large writing over a display caseback that hides the movement, the list goes on. For the Breitling Chronomat Australian Edition, the uniqueness comes in the form of the Arctic White dial. It is a unique colour for the region, only sold here, and the colour in no way detracts from the watch at all. So in my eyes, it’s a good move. Would it have been nice to include “Australian Edition” written on the caseback somewhere? I think so, as it would have given it a little more regional relevance without detracting from the overall piece. However, not having it doesn’t detract from it either.

Overall, it’s a good-looking watch and wears true to the way it should. I enjoyed wearing this piece around for the time I had it, and it does to a point fly under the radar, but still has a little wrist presence with the white dial and the polished surfaces. As Breitling states, this is their all-round everyday watch. My final point is the price – Kudos to Breitling for pricing this piece exactly the same as the rest of the Chronomat 42 Chronograph range. At A$12,190 it sits within the range of other mid-range luxury chronographs out there such as the IWC Pilot’s Watch, the Omega Speedmaster and even Breilting’s own Navitimer. There is a second version of this piece, on steel with a diamond set bezel for those who want a little more bling and something even more unique, but for those people looking for a well-built chronograph, that has a little bit of exclusivity to it, the Breitling Chronomat B01 42 Australian Limited Edition is a great option!

Reference: Chronomat B01 42 Australian Limited Edition – AB01344B1A1S1

Specification:

• Dimensions: 42mm diameter x 15.1mm thick and 50.5mm lug-to-lug
• Case Material: Brushed and polished stainless steel
• Dial: “Arctic White” metallic dial with black sub-dials and Super-LumiNova filled hands and indices
• Movement: In-house Calibre B01 chronograph movement beating at 28,800 VpH (4hZ) and COSC-certified
• Power reserve: 70hrs
• Water resistance: 200m (20 ATM)
• Crystal: Cambered sapphire, glare-proofed on both sides
• Case back: Screwed stainless steel with display sapphire crystal
• Bracelet/Strap: Black Rouleaux rubber strap with stainless steel folding clasp and pin buckle system

Australian RRP: A$12,190

Availability: Limited to 140 pieces. Available through Breitling Boutiques and at Breitling.com

Full Image Gallery

Bremont is a brand not without some controversy, well, at least this year when they and CEO Davide Cerrato revealed an all-new brand identity and logo, along with new releases at Watches & Wonders this year. Since then, we have spoken at length with Davide, (stay tuned for that interview in a few weeks), and while time will ultimately let the public see this all come together, the way he describes it, his grand plan makes sense. That being said, whilst the changes took many off-guard, us included, rather than getting involved in the online rhetoric, we thought we would do what we do best – get our hands on the new range and see how the watches are in real life, in the hands and on the wrist. After all, you can never really give an opinion on a piece until you’ve had experience with it and even more so when you can spend considerable time with it over a few weeks. So this is exactly what we did!

First Impressions

Full disclosure, this isn’t the first time that I have seen his piece, so my first impressions for this hands-on review is more like second impressions. However, the first time was at Watches & Wonders 2024 and was for about 5 minutes, which is all you get with any given watch when the brands are showcasing the new watches to the media. So this time around, I had a little more time, in fact, all up about 2.5 weeks with the Bremont Terra Nova Chronograph. So here’s what I thought for my (second) first look.

Overall, the watch looks good. A fact that was backed up by a few watch guys who we showed it to. The vintage style numerals, done in solid block Super-LumiNova suits the style of the piece, given it’s designed to be a field watch, taken out into the wilds. The case is solid, the new bracelet design is a lot better than the old Bremont bracelets and the chronograph is easy to read. The addition of the compass bezel is a good touch and again, makes sense given its intended purpose but, the watch is on the larger side and wears possibly larger due to the case design, and depending on your wrist size, may or may not suit. Something I’ll delve into more later.

The Design

Bremont has designed the new Terra Nova 42.5 Chronograph to emulate early pocket watches and then field watches of the early 20th century – the style of the numeral font, the fauxtina-coloured lume in the day, and even the old school sub-dial design, similar to that found on aviator watches in the 40s and 50s.

Bremont has created block numerals out of Super-LumiNova for this piece and applied them to the dial for a great 3D effect, not to mention maximum light absorption. The sub-dials are circular-grained in a subtle way, and these blend seamlessly into the dial as they lack the outer ring that you often find which breaks the sub-dials out from the main dial. However, these are recessed so there is an element of depth to them, which I like. I do feel the circular graining could be a little more prominent, but this is a personal preference, so doesn’t detract anyway from the watch.

The case is fully brushed steel and with the new Terra Nova collection, Bremont has moved to a 904L steel, which makes these pieces a little more durable and resistant to corrosion, not to mention having a slightly more luminous hue to it. To me, I’m not 100% sure the move to 904L steel is entirely necessary due to the fact that it is harder to work with and does increase the production costs a little, whereas 316L steel does the trick for most brands without any issue. That being said, it in no way detracts from the watch at all, and the average person won’t be able to tell for the most part, but they’ll feel safe in the knowledge that it is harder wearing.

The new bracelet design Bremont has come out with is a winner. Style is always subjective, so you’ll either like it or you won’t, but for me, it gives me more vintage vibes here and something unique on the market. The design also aids in the wearability of the watch, something I’ll talk more about in the next section. The bracelet does come with quick-change spring bars, so you can easily detach the bracelet and swap it for a strap. Just be aware that you’ll need to have a second set of spring bars to swap it out, but this is an easy fix with a 22mm lug width. Bremont does have a leather strap which is also equipped with quick-change spring bars as an option, and also a Nato strap, however the Nato will need a spring bar tool to attach it as it isn’t quick change.

The one design element that I felt could have been addressed is the balance between the case and the bracelet. For me, the case of the watch seems a little too big for the bracelet, or if you look at it the other way, the bracelet seems a little too small and refined when compared to the case. Had the case been a little thinner or smaller, I feel that it would blend better into each other, but it’s a minor criticism for an overall well-constructed bracelet.

How It Wears

Putting the watch on, it feels nice. Yes, that seems like a vanilla statement, but sometimes it is just that – nice! The case sits flat on my wrist, and the slightly angled lugs help with the way the bracelet moulds around the wrist. I did find the end link a little stiff where the second link rubs against the inner lug, but again, this is a minor thing and if you have larger wrists, or if it’s done up a little tighter, you’ll have less movement in the bracelet and won’t bother you at all.

Speaking of the bracelet, the way Bremont has designed it means that it is more refined than the previous Bremont steel bracelets. With smaller links and a flatter inner surface, the bracelet wears much more comfortable and is a much better fit for a steel sports watch. In addition, with the double folding push button clasp, doesn’t irritate the wrist at all – something that can happen with this style of bracelet and those afflicted with arm hair!

RELATED READING: Hands On With The Bremont Terra Nova 40.5 Power Reserve

As mentioned, the size of the Bremont Terra Nova Chronograph isn’t overly large on paper, but the design seems to lend itself to the watch wearing a little larger than the specs suggest. At 42.5mm in diameter, 14.8mm thick and a 48.8mm lug-to-lug, the Terra Nova is smaller than say, my Panerai 312 or Sea-Dweller, but to the eye, feels a little larger on my wrist. The bracelet and case balance I mentioned earlier probably add to this. However, this is a watch designed for adventure and exploration, so it’s not intended to be under a suit and jacket cuff, so the thickness shouldn’t worry you all that much given it is more illusion than actuality. Case design is in most cases, always the main factor in how the watch wears vs the measurements.

On my 17.5cm wrist, when looking at it in the 3rd person, the Terra Nova Chronograph doesn’t look any bigger than some of the other pieces I’ve worn recently around the same size. Bremont has made this for functionality, which is the whole premise of the Terra Nova collection, and Bremont as a whole. Easy to read, an easy-to-grip bezel, and an easy-to-operate chronograph – tick!

Functionally, this watch works well, and does exactly what it is designed to do. The chronograph pushers are not too stiff when pushing them in, but does give a little resistance which will avoid accidental starts or stops. The chronograph seconds hand is rose gold plated, which again adds another warmer element to the watch and plays into the vintage style of the piece, although it doesn’t stand out as much as the white counter hands on the sub-dials, but that’s probably neither here nor there. The lume glows bright green, aided by the solid block letters, and as you can see below, glows brightly even in the daytime inside.

While I had this on my wrist, the weather was a little up and down, so my wrist did go through the usual 0.5-1cm fluctuations I get between the cooler, drier days, and the warmer and more humid days. As my wrist is prone to this, I noticed that the watch was either perfectly fitted when my wrist was at its biggest, but did move around a bit when it was at its smallest. Now this is a me issue, and I have this problem with any watch that doesn’t have a micro-adjust or on-the-fly adjustment system – essentially most integrated bracelets or bracelets with a double folding clasp. But I thought I would mention it as something to take into consideration if you have the same issue with fluctuating wrist sizes like me.

The Movement

Inside the Terra Nova Chronograph, Bremont has the Modified Calibre 13 1/4’’’ BE-50AV. Bremont doesn’t hide the fact that their movements are modified calibres (it’s in the movement name). In this case, it is an ETA 7750 that Bremont has used as the base and then tweaked and played with it to get it to their specifications. The Terra Nova Chronograph has a closed case back, so while you can’t see the movement, and with this style of watch, I wouldn’t expect a display case back at all, what you do get is a nice motif of a world map, with the Bremont and Terra Nova markings on it, along with the water resistance of 100m.

I touched on it before, but the chronograph movement seemed to be fairly smooth when I tested it out and had enough play in the pushers without too much resistance. I will say it was probably on the stiffer side of what I would prefer, but then again, buttery smooth chronograph pushers are few and far between, and this one sits squarely in the middle range, and is appropriate at its price point. The one thing I would have loved Bremont to have used is a screw-down crown. For a sports watch that is designed for adventure and exploration, it is probably the one major improvement I would have made to the watch given its intended use. Had this been a watch that was more formal or a generic everyday watch, I wouldn’t worry as much, but the fact remains that it isn’t. The chances of the crown popping out while in water or wet are pretty slim I would think, but I’m erring on the side of caution here.

Overall, it is a workhorse movement, most ETA’s are, and if Bremont has adjusted it like their other models which have chronometer certification via ISO 3159, you’ll find it highly reliable. While Bremont doesn’t state this is the case for the Terra Nova, I have the strong feeling that they are and just not tested, which means they can’t state it as fact. In the time I had the watch, it ran pretty accurately and gained about 2 seconds per day while wearing it over the few days I tracked the accuracy. With a 56-hour power reserve, you won’t be left out of power easily, and if you’re wearing this as your everyday watch, or on a frequent basis, there will be no issues here.

Final Thoughts

Having now had several pieces from the new line, like the Terra Nova 40.5 with the power reserve Sam reviewed a few weeks ago, the standard time only and now this, the 42.5 Chronograph, evaluating the watches on their own merits has been great as it has allowed me and the team to cut through the online noise and really look at the pieces for what they are.

Over the two or so weeks I was able to wear the new Bremont Terra Nova Chronograph, I found it easy to wear, and could imagine getting out exploring with this piece on. Call it the wanna-be adventurer in me, but I always find myself imagining what would be on my wrist should I be a Jimmy Chin, or Aldo Kane type (both Bremont ambassadors and people who I’ve followed well before they become one). The Bremont Terra Nova Chronograph does tick a lot of these boxes and seems up to the task. While I wore it around town for the most part, running about with work, kids, etc, I never found the watch overbearing on the wrist, even though to the eye it can look bigger than suggested.

At the almost A$10,000 price point, there is a wide range of other watches out there, (there always is), with different pros and cons, so I would say, as I do always, do your research and try on the pieces to see what is right for you. For me, the Terra Nova Chronograph is a good-looking, robust field watch, and style-wise, there are not a lot of options that directly compare, however, outside of the field watch genre, then aviators, dive watches and racing chronographs are a dime a dozen, so it really comes down to your personal preference.

Bremont are on a new journey, or should I say a new path or era in the brand’s history, and the Terra Nova collection is the first new collection from Bremont of this new era. Like all things new, it is one step at a time, like the improvements to the bracelets, or developing a new collection and then iterating it over time. Talking to Davide a few weeks ago, the plan he has makes sense, and as mentioned, we will have to see how this plays out in real life and over the next few years, but it is exciting to see how it will take shape. It was no secret that the brand was in trouble, multiple media outlets had reported on it, so I won’t go over old news here, but what I will say is that Davide is a smart man, a passionate watch guy and a respected industry professional, so I feel Bremont is in capable hands. For now, we’ll just have to watch this space!

Reference: Terra Nova 42.5 Chronograph

Specifications:

• Case dimensions: 42.5mm diameter, 14.8mm thickness & lug-to-lug 48.8mm
• Case Material: Brushed and polished 904L steel two-piece case
• Dial: Black anthracite metal dial with 3D vintage Super-LumiNova® block numerals, rose gold plated chronograph seconds hand and date window at 6 o’colck
• Bezel: Bi-directional steel bezel with a ceramic insert and directional markers N/S/E/W
• Crystal: Domed anti-reflective, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal.
• Water resistance: 100 meters/ 10ATM
• Movement: Modified Calibre 13 1/4’’’ BE-50AV, pivoting on 27 jewels
• Movement Frequency: 4Hz / 28,800bph
• Power reserve: 56 hours
• Bracelet/Strap: 904L stainless steel quick-release bracelet with double folding clasp. Option of brown leather or grey Nato strap (sold separately).

Australian Retail Pricing: AU $9,050 on steel, or AU $8,600 on leather or Nato

Availability: Available now at the Bremont boutique in Melbourne, Hardy Brothers and online at au.bremont.com

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The Seiko Alpinist is a timepiece that has gained global recognition for meeting the needs of adventurers. The timepiece has long held a special place in Seiko’s lineup, and it is well known for meeting the needs of mountain climbers and outdoor sports enthusiasts.

The Seiko Alpinist was first introduced in 1959, and back then, it was the brand’s first attempt at creating a timepiece specifically designed for mountaineers. During the 1960s and 70s, Japan’s hiking culture was thriving. So Seiko responded by creating a beautiful timepiece that considered what an adventurer’s watch would entail. The timepiece was designed to endure the harsh conditions while still being stylistic!

The very first Alpinist timepiece released in 1959 was actually named the Seiko Laurel Alpinist. The watch was designed with easy readability in mind. This original model featured a 17-jewel manual-wound movement, a 35mm case size and a dial that featured larger hour indices, filled with plenty of Super-LumiNova for easy readability regardless of day or night. The hour indices also featured a unique design for the 3,6,9 and 12 markers, in which they were shaped like triangles to reference the mountains. These four “mountain” points also represented the four main points on a compass. The 12 o’clock marker had a specific design inside the triangle so that regardless of the angle of the watch, the time could be read correctly. While it might seem like a simple design now, back then, it was seen as a useful feature that became central to the design of many other Seiko timepieces.

As the original Alpinist was designed for hikers in Japan, Seiko gave the watch qualities essential for a timepiece to outlast the rough terrains. Some of these qualities can be found in the movement and design, in which the Laurel Alpinist displayed durability, anti-magnetism and shock resistance. While these qualities are more common in timepieces today, back when the Laurel Alpinist was released, they were very useful features in keeping the timepiece reliable.

Even though the Laurel Alpinist was only produced for a limited time, it set the foundation for future models. It became one of Seiko’s most loved vintage timepieces which collectors see as the holy grail of the Alpinist. While the design of the Alpinist has changed over the years, the core identity of the timepiece remains the same. The Alpinist has kept Seiko’s determination to create a watch meant for outdoorsmen and adventurers, all the while being very elegant and stylish.

The modern-day design of the Alpinist takes design inspiration from Seiko Alpinist timepieces released in the 1990s. For example, the earliest Alpinist model that featured a mixture of dauphine-style hour indices and Arabic numerals alongside cathedral hands was a Red Alpinist timepiece released under Seiko’s Prospex line in 1995. The model used a 4S15 calibre movement, which featured a date window at 3 o’clock. The date window on specific models of the Red Alpinist also featured a cyclops window, another valuable tool for easy readability. The Red Alpinist also featured a dual crown design. The second crown at 4 o’clock is used to adjust the internal “bezel”.

In 2006, Seiko released an Alpinist timepiece that became one of the most sought-after Alpinist watches at the time. Seiko released this Alpinist model as the “SARB Series”. The SARB017, in particular, was especially important, not only because it set a precedent for future Alpinist models but also because the watch gained a cult following among watch enthusiasts for the stunning sunburst green dial, the gold hour indices, signature cathedral hands mixed with a beautifully polished case. The timepiece bridged the gap between elegant luxury and outdoor sports watches.

More recently, Seiko has expanded the Alpinist model with modern updates. In 2020, Seiko introduced the Prospex Alpinist collection, which featured timepieces that were reimagined versions of the iconic 2006 SARB model and a single model that reflected the design of the original 1959 Alpinist. The collection even featured a model that used the iconic green and gold dial layout of the 2006 SARB017 timepiece!

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_{The latest Seiko Prospex Alpinist Australasian Limited Edition timepiece.}

This brings us to the latest Seiko Prospex Alpinist model, released a week ago. Now, before we get into it, I have to say that this is not just another Alpinist timepiece. It’s a model that’s dedicated to our beautiful Australian landscape. Not many watch brands out there show as much love to our country as Seiko does, and honestly, it’s great to see the brand giving back to the Australian watch community. Some of the Australia-dedicated timepieces from Seiko include the Australian-only Prospex SRPD50K dive watch, SPB347J ‘Noosa’ Australian Limited Edition, SPB429J Prospex “Whitsunday” Limited Edition and Prospex 1968 “Diver Reinterpretation” GMT 42mm. We can now add this latest Prospex Alpinist Australasia Limited Edition model to that list as well!

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Initial Impressions:

My first chance to see the Seiko Prospex Alpinist Australasia Limited Edition was on the launch night in Sydney. This was Seiko’s first ever Prospex event in Sydney. The event was not only curated to showcase the new Alpinist timepiece but also to show the guests the brand’s existing Prospex timepieces.

Related Reading: Seiko Hosts First Prospex Event In Sydney To Unveil Australasian Limited Edition Alpinist Timepiece

The timepiece was unveiled in a captivating manner, with a display, beautifully decorated to show red gravel and landscaping of Australia’s red deserts, lowered from the ceiling at the centre of the event floor. The display featured four Seiko Prospex Alpinist Australasia Limited Edition models, which we could get up close and get a hands-on feel.

While the watch certainly does look good in the press photos, it was even more beautiful when I saw it in person. Many different elements of the timepiece stood out for me when I saw the watch in person: the sunburst finish of the beautiful red dial, the horizontal lines on the dial you see when rotating under light, and the small wave pattern which you can only see if you take a closer look at the dial.

Prospex Alpinist Case Design:

This limited edition version of Seiko’s iconic Prospex Alpinist comes with the same case and bezel design from the 2020 versions that kickstarted the Alpinist collection. The design takes cues from the original 1959 Laurel Alpinist, staying true to the collection’s heritage. The case measures 39.5mm with a thickness of 13.2mm and lug-to-lug distance of 46.4mm. This slim case design means that the watch will fit well on the wrist, with the curved lugs providing a snug fit.

What I really do like about the Alpinist is that, even thought its a watch made for the outdoors, it has the design and finishing of a luxury and elegant timepiece. The watch case has a satin vertical brushed finish, while the bezel comes with a fully polished finish. This means that the watch shines beautifully under light, even more so when outdoors in direct sunlight. This is a design cue that I like on the Alpinist models, as let’s face it, the majority of buyers aren’t outdoor enthusiasts, which means that the timepiece will most likely be worn to the office, events or daily wear.

If you are new to the Seiko’s Alpinist collection, you may be wondering why the timepiece has two crowns. The standard crown at 3 o’clock, which is a screw-down crown, adjusts the date and time as normal. The second crown, which is also screw-down, adjusts the inner bezel, which can be seen on the outer flange of the dial, curved upwards. This inner bezel acts as a compass, with the four cardinal points, North, South, East and West and the intercardinal markings in between all being displayed. As the watch was originally designed for mountaineering or alpinism, these compass coordinations would certainly have come in handy, especially with the second crown now able to adjust position as required.

Red Australasian Dial Design:

The stand-out feature of this latest Seiko Alpinist is the beautiful, vivid red dial. With Seiko releasing several limited editions dedicated to Australia and its natural beauty through their various collections already (as mentioned earlier), this time, the brand has decided to focus on the Australian desert. The inspiration behind the colour chosen for the dial comes from the rich, earthy tones of the Australian desert at sunrise and sunset.

“The Prospex Alpinist Australasian Limited Edition celebrates Seiko’s rich heritage while drawing inspiration from the rugged beauty of Australia’s striking red deserts. This limited edition captures the essence of the vast, arid landscape with a bold and refined design.“
Seiko Australia

What I like about the dial is that there are many different elements or layers to it. Firstly, the dial has a sunburst finish, which gives it a darker colour in some parts and a lighter red tone in others when rotating the watch under light. As intended, this is a nod to the Australian desert at sunset and sunrise. What I also found was that, when you look at the dial in direct sunlight, it is a stunning work of art! This is not only because of the different elements within the dial itself but also because this sunburst effect really comes to life and is a lot more prominent.

Secondly, the dial has a horizontal “line” pattern, which doesn’t take much to get noticed. When I first held the watch in my hand, this was one of the first things I noticed besides the sunburst effect. The press photos for this watch didn’t show this effect as clearly, but it was certainly a nice surprise when I had the watch in hand.

Lastly, the third element of this beautiful red dial is the wave pattern. When you wear the watch, this is less noticeable than the sunburst effect and the horizontal lines; however, looking more closely, you notice this miniature pattern, which gave me a much higher appreciation for the craftmanship on this timepiece. This wave pattern wasn’t just done for decorative purposes, either. Seiko designed it to mimic sand waves in a desert, much like what you would find in the red deserts of the Australian outback.

Like the Seiko Alpinist SPB121J released as part of the new revamped Prospex Alpinist collection in 2020, and the iconic 2006 SARB model, this model features gold hour indices which are Arabic for the 2,4,6,8,10 and 12 markers, while the rest are dauphine style design. The hour indices have a block design, meaning they have a three-dimensional appearance on the dial. The hands, also in gold, keep the cathedral design that’s iconic to the Alpinist collection. The cardinal points that are on the inner bezel are also a mixture of gold and white markings, with the white markings matching nicely with the white minute track. What I personally like about the gold is that it beautifully complements the red dial design and enhances the overall visual appearance altogether.

The Cyclops date window on the Alpinist can be a love or hate design for enthusiasts. I like it, as the intended purpose of this watch is mountaineering (even though that may not be the case most of the time). While I’m not a fan of having the date wheel not colour-matched to the dial due to the design looking imbalanced, the white background actually works well in this case as it matches the other white inscriptions on the dial, such as the Seiko brand name, Prospex logo and “Automatic” and “20 Bar”.

Calibre 6R35 Movement:

The movement inside the Seiko Prospex Alpinist Australasia Limited Edition is the brand’s 6R35 movement. This movement was first introduced into Seiko’s Alpinist collection, with the seventh generation of the model unveiled in 2020. Prior to this, the brand was using the 6R15 movement, which boasted a power reserve of 50 hours.

This latest 6R35 movement in the Prospex Alpinist collection is a trusted workhorse. Seiko considers the 6R35 movement a high-performance calibre, which they have backed by using it numerous times already for different models in both the Presage and Prospex collections.

The movement operates at a frequency of 3Hz (21,600 VpH) and is able to give out a power reserve of approximately 70 hours. The 20-hour power increase from the previous 6R15 movement is quite a substantial amount, giving the timepiece better value for money as well in return. In regards to the accuracy of the movement, Seiko states that “Caliber 6R35 has a rating of -15/+25 seconds per day in normal temperature conditions (between 5 – 35 degrees C)”.

Besides the movement upgrade, the other notable feature of these latest Prospex Alpinist timepieces is that they come with an open case back. When the seventh generation of the Alpinist was first introduced in 2020, it was the first time in Alpinist’s history that the watch came with an exhibition case back in which the movement can be seen. Seiko also didn’t sacrifice water resistance to allow transparency, with the Prospex Alpinist Australasia Limited Edition retaining the 200m water depth rating. From the case back, we can see multiple different finishing. The most notable finishing is the winding rotor, which has Geneva stripes. The mainplate sitting underneath comes with a beautiful brushed finish as well.

How It Wears:

I have to say, Seiko has smashed it out of the park with the red dial on this Prospex Alpinist Australasia Limited Edition. As I have mentioned previously, the dial has different layers and elements to it, in that the more you look, the more stunning it gets!

Wearing it on the wrist is no different. For me, the 39.5mm case size is a great fit. As you can see from the photos, the watch hugs my wrists nicely, and the lug-to-lug distance of 46.4mm means that the lugs don’t stick out of my wrists either. Persons with much larger wrist sizes (mine measures 16.5cm) may find the watch to sit too small on the wrist. However, as with most things, you must try it in person if possible.

What I like about this Prospex Alpinist Australasia Limited Edition is its wearability. The red dial complements many different attires. The brown leather strap means that the watch can be worn down with a casual outfit or, as I’m wearing in the pictures above, a nice beige blazer for events and functions.

While the brown leather strap does offer versatility, it can also be a negative aspect of the timepiece. A friend of mine said they would’ve liked to see the watch on a steel strap as an additional choice. And I would have to agree. If the strap came with a beautiful polished finish bracelet, it would make the watch even more desirable than it already is! I get the use of the leather strap, as it’s marketed as a tool watch for the outdoors. However, the way the watch is designed gives it an elegant luxury look, which will only enhance this further when paired with a steel strap.

Final Thoughts:

The latest Seiko Prospex Alpinist Australasia timepiece, limited to 1000 watches, is a stunning addition to the brand’s Alpinist collection. This model adds to Seiko’s love for its Australian customers and watches enthusiasts. It also showcases the brand’s dedication to refining their timepieces while paying homage to the spirit of exploration as the unique red dial, with its different layers of finishing, represents the earthy tones of the Australian desert.

While many enthusiasts would want a red dial option of the Alpinist to be a standard colour and not a limited edition, I personally feel like it would lose the appeal that this beautiful, vivid red offers. Having the red dial colour on a limited run gives it more exclusivity and, in the end, a lot more allure.

The Seiko Prospex Alpinist Australasia Limited Edition offers great value for money. Seiko’s attention to detail on this timepiece shines through. As mentioned, from the dial with its sunburst effect to horizontal lines and wave patterns to the internal rotating bezel compass, the beautifully polished case and bezel to the improved movement and now open case back, for the amount of money you pay, you indeed get a lot back in return!

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This timepiece is a tribute to Seiko’s history of creating outdoor timepieces that are not only built for reliability and performance, but also geographical significance, encapsulating the brand’s philosophy of blending functionality with artistry.

Reference: Prospex Alpinist Australasia Limited Edition – SPB489J

Specification:

• Dimensions: 39.5mm diameter x 13.2mm thick and 46.4mm lug-to-lug
• Case Material: Stainless steel
• Dial: Red dial with a sunburst finish and horizontal line and wave pattern.
• Movement: Automatic calibre 6R35
• Power reserve: 70 hours
• Water resistance: 200m (20 ATM)
• Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
• Case back: Sapphire crystal
• Bracelet/Strap: Brown leather strap.

Australian RRP: A$1,250

Availability: Limited to 1000 pieces. For availability, contact your local Seiko boutique or head to Seiko.com.au

As you may well have heard, this year marks the 140th Anniversary of Breitling. It’s a big birthday for the brand, now headed up by Georges Kern, who in recent years has gone back through the history of Breitling and helped to re-define the brand. With new models that harken back to its past, and the vision that Leon Breitling had all the way back in 1884, through to when his son, Gaston took over the business and launched their patented chronograph in 1932, to the days of the icons under Willy Breitling, it’s no wonder there is such a large and illustrious back catalogue to take inspiration from! So celebrate its 140th Anniversary, Breitling released three perpetual calendars, at Geneva Watch Days 2024 – A Premier, Navitimer and Super Chronomat. According to Georges Kern, they couldn’t do justice to the 140 years of history with just one watch, so they went with three models that exemplified the brand. Having spent considerable time with each, I can say (in the words of the old knight guarding the grail in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade) they chose wisely!

What made these releases special is the fact that Breilting created and developed an in-house perpetual calendar movement for the occasion – the Calibre B19. An automatic chronograph perpetual calendar with 96 hours of power reserve and a first for the brand. Now, while I do love the Navitimer, and think the Premier is an elegant piece, when I thought about which one would be great to review, I had to choose the Super Chronomat as this one had that little extra appeal of the skeleton dial – again, another first for Breitling!

RELATED READING: Introducing Breitling’s 140th Anniversary Collection

First Impressions

I won’t sugar-coat it, my first impression of this is, that it’s a large watch! But stay with me here. It is large, but it is designed for those who want something with a major wrist presence and want to make a statement. For me, this is how I see this piece – it’s a statement piece, and one you probably won’t wear every day, but when you do wear it, you’ll enjoy the (insert expletive here) out of it! Put it on your wrist, and you’ll see what I mean here.

Outside of this, the Super Chronomat 140th edition is very much Breitling and very much a modern Chronomat. The rubber strap is great and helps to balance out the gold, and because of this, it’s not as imposing as it would be if it were on a full rose gold bracelet, not to mention less weight. So, first look over, I was keen to strap it on the wrist and take it for a test!

The Design

The Super Chronomat has been around now for a little while, and offers people something a little more robust, and who like a larger watch. For the 140th Anniversary Super Chronomat, Breitling has kept the same case design as you would find in the standard Super Chronomat, albeit 0.9mm thicker to allow for the new Calibre B19 Perpetual Calendar movement. That aside, (I’ll talk more about this in the next section) the Super Chronomat 140th Edition has all the design elements you would expect – the Onion crown, ceramic pushers and easy-to-grip bezel.

Where this piece shines (other than the 18k Rose Gold that is), is the dial and perpetual calendar. For this, Breitling has chosen to skeletonise the dial allowing for the B19 movement to show though. In order to do this, Breitling has stuck with a standard cross formation for the sub-dials, and cut out the surrounds to give the dial the depth.

The sudials, while busy, once you familiarise yourself with the layout and functions, isn’t too overwhelming. With the moonshpase at 12 o’clock, the date indicator at 3 o’clock on the outer, and on the inner of the dial, the 30-minute chronograph register. At 6, you have the month and leap year indicator, and at 9 o’clock, the day is on the outer track, and the small seconds are on the inner. Each sub-dial is done in black sapphire which really elevates the watch, and as you can see in the photo below, these are translucent so you can see the movement coming through.

RELATED READING: Breitling Celebrates Their 140 Years & Heritage Exhibition In Melbourne

As mentioned, the crown and pushers are made of polished black ceramic, and the crown is topped in 18k rose gold with the Breitling ‘B’. The Chrono pushers are also screwed down which adds to the security of the watch when in water, or general life. They also add a more vintage style look to the piece, a throwback to the ’60s and ’70s.

How It Wears

I touched on it a little earlier, the size and dimensions of this watch are not for the slight of wrist, but again, it’s not designed to be either. This sits in the realm of being a statement piece through and through. And for this reason, I love it! At 44mm in diameter, 15.3mm thick and a touch over 53mm lug-to-lug, and being solid 18k rose gold, it’s hefty at 220.2gms, but again, gold watches are heavy, and in my humble opinion, one of the cool things about gold watches – the way the weight feels on the wrist! I’ve 17.5cm wrists, and if your wrists are smaller, then this piece may not suit you if you have anything less than about 16.5cm.

Talking about the weight, the only small downside is the rubber strap on this piece doesn’t allow for a lot of balance with the case of the watch, meaning, you do need to wear this pretty snug on the wrist to avoid any unwanted movement of the case. It’s a small criticism, and one that isn’t specific to this piece as I’ve encountered this on other solid gold watches with leather or rubber straps where the weight distribution isn’t even with the watch itself. To counteract this, you just need to make sure the strap is fitted and tighter on the wrist. if so, you won’t have an issue.

The strap on the 140th Anniversary Super Chronomat is the rouleaux style, and if you haven’t tried one on before, you really should as they are quite comfortable. Due to the style, the small segments of the strap act to make it a lot more flexible and soft, without detracting from the sturdiness of the strap, so it hugs the wrist well. I first tried one on when Breitling introduced them to the Chronomat collection, and at first, I was a little dubious about it. However, that trepidation was laid to rest once on the wrist, as it instantly fits. The strap is also equipped with an 18k rose gold deployant clasp with a pin buckle for extra security. The added benefit of this system is, you can quickly adjust the strap size like a normal pin buckle, but undoing the watch and taking it on and off is easy using the push button clasp. Best of both worlds!

In terms of style, black and rose gold always go together, at least in my eyes! You can dress it up, or dress it down easily, although with the Super Chronomat, it’s more a piece you would wear more casually than dressed up in a suit and tie, but that’s just me. But as a piece you can wear it out to dinner, having a nice lunch with friends or whatever the occasion calls for. For me, wearing what I am in these photos works perfectly.

RELATED READING: Breitling & Watch Advice Takes To The Gold Coast With Their Gold & Diamond Works Showcase

The Movement

For this piece, as well as the Premier and Navitimer 140th Anniversary pieces, Breitling has developed a whole new calibre for these in the B19 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph. The Perpetual Calendar is equipped with the full calendar and moonphase, and adjusts for the individual months with 28, 30 and 31 days, 29 days for February when it’s a leap year, as indicated by the small inner disc at 6 o’clock.

Breitling has decorated the movement in a manner befitting the occasion, with a special gold rotor and on this, a motif that depicts Montbrilliant, the historic Breitling Manufacture which was located at 3 rue de Montbrillant in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. This is where Leon Breitling back in 1892 moved his operations, starting up Breilting’s first watchmaking factory, and as was customary at the time, also his residence with the west wing home to him and then three generations of the Breitling family for the next 80 years!

The B19 Calibre has a 96-hour power reserve or 5 days which is exceptional when it comes to perpetual calendar movements. Comprising of 374 components and beating at 4Hz or 28,800 VpH, the B19 has a column wheel and vertical clutch mechanism allowing smooth operation and less wear and tear on the movement. As with all Breitlings, the movement is COSC so it ensures the accuracy. The onion crown allows you to adjust the time, with pushers on the sides to adjust the perpetual calendar. I will say, while the movement is a great movement, the crown can be a little bit fiddly to unscrew and screw back in due to the shape. Perhaps it’s just my fingers and I wasn’t able to grip the crown all that well compared to other crowns, but either way, it’s a small gripe with something that you shouldn’t have to worry about all that often.

Final Thoughts

I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Breitling, given that my first properly expensive watch purchase was a Super Avenger 48mm. I love that watch, and while it got too large for me as my tastes changed over the years, for the better part of a decade, that watch never let me down and was still running perfectly like the day I bought it. So yes, Breitlings do last and as the saying goes, you look after them, and they will look after you!

The Super Chronomat does give me similar vibes to that Super Avenger I had. Big, bold, and beautiful. It’s a piece that draws your eye to the wrist, and when out and about, makes people look twice at what you’re wearing. At the same time, it has an elegance to it with the rose gold and black ceramic on the case, and the rubber rouleaux strap helps to not make this too over the top and keeps the sporty nature of the watch alive.

At A$82,290 this piece doesn’t come with a small price tag, but, when compared to other Perpetual Calendars in precious metal on the market, it’s pretty well bang on price. Add skeletonisation to the dial and you’re getting good value for money given the limited nature of this piece. As a comparison, other well-known established brands will charge in excess of A$100,000 for a precious metal perpetual calendar with a skeletonised dial, or even without a skeletonised dial.

With 140 pieces of each of the 140th Anniversary pieces available, you won’t see them every day, and here in Australia, with around 5 pieces of each being delivered, even less so. I do know that there are several already sold to astute collectors, so if you are interested in this piece, or the Navitimer or Premier, it’s best to head to your local Breitling boutique to enquire about them, as I have a strong feeling they won’t last!

Reference: Super Chronomat B19 44 Perpetual Calendar  – RB19301A1G1S1

Specification:

• Dimensions: 44mm diameter x 15.35mm thick and 53.5mm lug-to-lug
• Case Material: Brushed and polished 18k red gold
• Dial: Grey skeletonsied dial with black sapphire sub-dials and Super-LumiNova filled hands and indices
• Movement: In-house Calibre B19 perpetual calendar chronograph movement beating at 28,800 VpH (4hZ) with 22k rose gold Montbrilliant motif rotor and COSC certified
• Power reserve: 96hrs
• Water resistance: 100m (10 ATM)
• Crystal: Cambered sapphire, glare-proofed on both sides
• Case back: Screwed 18k red gold, cambered sapphire crystal
• Bracelet/Strap: Black Rouleaux rubber strap with 18k red gold folding clasp and pin buckle system

Australian RRP: A$82,290

Availability: Limited to 140 pieces. For availability, contact your local Breitling boutique or head to Breitling.com

Full Image Gallery

Vintage has been the theme this year for Seiko, and while it may seem we’ve reviewed this piece already, fear not, as this is another vintage re-creation that Seiko has pulled from their archives from 1968. During the middle of the year, Seiko released the Seiko 5 Sports 1968 Heritage Design Re-creation, a piece that has been done as a faithful tribute to the 1968 Seiko 5 Sports, and in their words, done as close to the original as possible.

“Reproduced in a size and shape as close as possible to the original, the reissued design is powered by the tried-and-trusted Calibre 4R36 automatic movement. The new creation strikes a perfect balance between the nostalgic design of the original and the modern watchmaking technology of today.”

Seiko

RELATED READING: REVIEW: Hands On With The Seiko Prospex Marinemaster 1968 Heritage Diver

So when it came to reviewing these pieces, like all vintage-inspired or re-creations, it was great to see that Seiko has stuck to the design codes pretty closely, albeit with some subtle modern differences and of course, materials and manufacturing processes. As you can see from the image below, and compared to the originals from 1968, they seem pretty spot on!

Initial Thoughts

For me, modern watches that are vintage-styled can be a little bit of a hit-and-miss scenario. Some brands take a small amount of style and design cues from vintage pieces and infuse them into a modern watch, which can look good, and other times it just looks a little off. Others will go the completely opposite direction and take the original design of the watch, and effectively re-make it with very little change other than the movement, materials and specs – like water resistance, power reserve etc. And some are in between. So it is nice to see a brand like Seiko that could quite have easily done a vintage-styled reference come out with a piece that has been made to represent the original as close to it as possible.

While there is a trend currently for many brands to do a modern re-creation of a piece, which we’ve seen lately with the Omega Speedmaster FOIS, or the Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar based on the A386 case, these are pieces at a much, much higher price point and I would expect this from them. Seiko however, with this piece in particular, has done a great job of re-creating the 1968 Seiko 5 Sports, and at a price under A$1000, in fact, just A$725. And this was my first reaction, it’s great value for money and one you could add to the collection without thinking too much about the hip pocket.

The Design

As alluded to previously, Seiko has re-created the Seiko 5 Sports 1968 Heritage as close as possible to the original watch from 56 years ago, with some subtle differences of course. Seiko has kept the case size down, measuring 38.5mm in diameter it sits squarely in that vintage-sized realm, and the case design has stayed true to the original, with the oval-shaped curve and rounded-off lugs.

You can see at a glance all the 1968 style cues, which Seiko has replicated on the watch with near-perfect accuracy. On the bezel you have the large lume pip at 12 o’clock, graduated minutes track down to 3 o’clock and block style markers at 3, 6, and 9. The dial has been given the same brushed sunray finish on both the black and silver models and on the dial, Seiko has even given these the vintage “5” logo under the Seiko logo at 12 o’clock, and written “Sports” in the same blue colour at 6 o’clock.

The dials on both the black and silver variants are clean and easy to read, with the applied indexes filled with LumiBrite, and the large day/date window has been kept in the same design code, visible at 3 o’clock. Some purists may say this creates an imbalance in the dial design, but I would say that it adds to the functionality of the piece, plus it was present on the version from 1968 and as a result, is present here. What’s notable is Seiko has done the day/date window in the same style – with the window that is angled, sloping into the day/date wheel. The red seconds hand also pays tribute to the 1968 model and provides another added pop of colour against the silver-grey sun-brushed dial. Something I feel works well on this piece.

One aspect of the Seiko 5 Sports 1968 Heritage that I’m personally not in love with, and this isn’t specific to this watch in particular either, is the crown at 4 o’clock, or almost 4 o’clock as it isn’t quite in line and sits about 18 minutes past the hour if the minute hand was pointing to it. This misalignment may annoy some people, but the other element to this is how much of the crown sits into the case. The crown is a pull-out crown, not screwed in, so this does act as a security measure, but in day-to-day operation, should you need to use it to set the time, or manually wind the watch, it is a little hard to access. Just a small point to note should this type of thing worry you.

Overall, the watch seems well constructed, with vintage-style drilled lugs (purely aesthetic) and the addition of the racing-style leather strap that offsets the dial and case nicely. The watch comes standard on a steel bracelet as well as the inclusion of the leather strap, however, I personally felt that it looked better on the leather strap, adding to the sporty vintage look of the piece. If you want to change the bracelet or strap, you will need a springbar tool however to do so, there are no quick change mechanisms on the watch, so just keep that in mind.

The bi-directional bezel has a great feel when turning it. Rather than being a click bezel, it is fully smooth, a little like what you would find on a watch with a slide rule. However, one minor criticism of this is: Why a smooth bi-directional bezel? Unlike a Breitling Navitimer, this doesn’t have a slide rule, so you’re not needing to set the bezel exactly to a very small number on the bezel to do running calculations. Being bi-directional, it is less useful as a dive watch with it easily being turned both ways and not accurate to a selected minute, and with a lack of numbers, it’s not suitable as a GMT of any kind. I feel that at the very least, this could have been a 60 or 120-click uni-directional bezel that could be used in several real-life scenarios. Seiko still could have kept the design and look the same to not take away from the aesthetics of the heritage styling. Again, not a major issue, and definitely not a cause to disregard the watch in any way. More a constructive criticism of sorts.

How It Wears

The Seiko 5 Sports Heritage is sized pretty well, and done in a way that it should suit most wrist shapes and sizes – up to a point as with all watches. On paper, the dimensions are 38.5mm in diameter, 44.8mm lug-to-lug and a thickness of 12.4mm. This would normally translate to a watch that wears fairly true to size, being not too thick and having a small lug-to-lug. Now depending on your wrist size, and personal tastes, you may find this perfect, or you may not love it.

As I mentioned in the image above, the thicker lugs and the oval-shaped case means this piece wears slightly larger than the 38.5mm case size would suggest. I would say it is probably closer to 40mm than 38mm, but either way, unless you have small wrists, under 16cm, or you have a lot larger wrists greater than 18.5cm, this piece will look fine and not too big or small.

On the wrist, the wearing experience is good, and I would suggest better than you would think at the A$725 price point. The leather strap isn’t too hard, in fact, it is quite soft compared to a lot of leather straps when new, and the racer style adds to the look and feel of the watch on the wrist. It’s bolstered too, so it isn’t thin or flimsy and feels secure on the wrist. The case design means that the watch does sit slightly higher on the wrist due to the main case sitting up a little and the caseback not being fully flush with the main case. This means the lugs don’t sit against the wrist, and will make the 12.4mm thickness appear a little bigger (see my point about the size appearance above). That being said, you won’t find too much of an issue getting this under a jacket sleave, or a looser fitting shirt cuff – again, it’s just over 12mm thick.

Style wise, this is a pure sports watch through and through. I mean it’s right there in the name – “Sports”! All joking aside, this is not a dress piece, even with the steel bracelet, it looks and feels every bit a sports watch. You could get away with wearing this piece with a smart casual, or business casual outfit, but anything more than this, I feel this piece will find itself out of it’s depth. This all comes back to picking a watch for what it’s designed for, and on it’s merits, and for me, the Seiko 5 Sports 1968 Heritage is perfect for weekends, those with an active lifestyle or people who are not in business attire all day.

The Movment

The Seiko 5 Sports 1968 Heritage has the Seiko 4R36 automatic movement powering it. This is a movement that has been around since 2011, and similar to the 4R35 found in the Prospex Shog-Urai among others. The major difference is this calibre has the day and date functionality, where as the 4R35 has just the date only. For the price, it’s a respectable movement, but if you are looking for a high accuracy, then Seiko suggests this runs to an accuracy of +45 / -35 seconds per day. I’ve found that like most Seikos, it will be better than the stated specs, but again for the sub A$1000 price point, then you really can’t complain too much.

The movement beats at 3Hz or 21,600 VpH, and has a 41 hour power reserve. Based on the beat rate, I feel this power reserve could be improved substantially, as other movements at similar price points are now much more. The Powermatic 80 in your entry level Tissots at around A$1,000 is one example here with twice the power.

The movement does however feel solid, and is easy to use. The crown can manually wind the watch when pushed in and turned clockwise, getting it going after being left for a little while, and if you pull the crown out into the first position, you can set the day and the date by turning it either clockwise (Day), or anti-clockwise (Date). The final position allows you to set the time and this does have hacking seconds, so setting it accurately is no dramas.

Final Thoughts

Having spent a good amount of time with the Seiko 5 Sports 1968 Heritage, I can say that it has proven to be a good wearing everyday watch. It will fly under the radar for the most part, which depending on your personality can be a good thing (or not), and it is at a price point that won’t in most cases break the bank when compared to the watch world in general. I can think of several other watches out there that will set you back easily 10x this and won’t give you as much joy!

Seiko has done a great job in re-creating the original model from 1968, almost to the letter (almost!) and this is where I feel this piece shines and ultimately is what it stands for. It’s a journey back into Seiko’s history, and takes the design from 1968 and places it squarely on the wrist in 2024 with a modern movement and materials. It’s also now 100m water resistant, 30m more than it’s ancestor, and with curved Hardlex crystal, so it retains that vintage Hesalite look, but with the durability of a modern material. If you love a good vintage piece, and you’re after a watch that embodies the late 60s and early 70s vibe, and you are not wanting to spend a fortune, then the Seiko 5 Sport 1968 Heritage may just be right up your alley!

References: SRPL03K (Silver) & SRPL05K (Black)

Specifications:

• Case Dimensions: 38.5mm, 44.8mm lug-to-lug and 12.4mm thick
• Case Material: Brushed and polished stainless steel
• Dial: Sunbrushed Silver or Black dial with day/date function at 3 o’clock
• Movement: Automatic winding Calibre 4R36. Beating at 21,600 Vph / 3Hz and pivoting on 24 jewels
• Power Reserve: Approx. 41 hours
• Water Resistance: 100m (10 bar)
• Case back: Steel screwed case back
• Crystal: Curved Hardlex crystal
• Bracelet/Strap: Black leather racer-styled strap with pin buckle and steel bracelet with folding clasp (both included)

Australian Recommended Retail Price: AUD $725

Availability: Available through Seiko Boutiques, authorised retailers or online at Seikoboutique.com.au

TAG Heuer’s motorsport roots are well-known, to the point where if you don’t associate TAG Heuer with motorsport, then I’d say that you’re probably also unaware of the brand. Ok, I’m being a little facetious here, but you get my point. The fact that they have a watch named after an F1 race (The Monaco) and another that was designed in 1963 after Jack Heuer was enamoured by the Carrera Panamericana race in Mexico (The Carrera) should give this away, but also highlights the brand’s close ties with motor racing. This is no more evidenced by the fact that TAG Heuer will be taking over from Rolex as the official timing partner for Formula 1 from 2025 for the next 10 years as part of the deal between Formula 1 and LVMH.

So it comes as no surprise that last month in early September, TAG Heuer launched their latest (at the time) tribute to motorsport, the Carrera Chronograph Extreme Sport. Released in either sandblasted grade-2 titanium or 18K 5N rose gold and with several colour variants to choose from, there is a piece that should suit most tastes, but when I was looking at what to review out of the range, well I just had to go with the rose gold and titanium with the black bezel. I mean, why not!?

First Impressions

They say first impressions count, and in the case of the new Carrera Chronograph Extreme Sport, the looks of this did have me hooked at first glance. Rose gold with a matte black ceramic bezel, skeleton dial and rubber strap. What’s not to like? Many years ago, I owned a TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Sport with a similar open-worked dial in blue, so I had plenty of experience with these pieces, so I was keen to see how the Carrera Extreme Sport line had evolved over the years.

The overall design of the watch was very familiar, the 44mm size, angled lugs typical to TAG Heuer and rubber strap brought back memories of years ago, but the rose gold really elevates this piece and gives it something a little extra, and I’m not just talking about the added weight of the gold! If I could sum up the Extreme Sport in a few words it would be bold, aggressive yet paradoxically, somewhat elegant and eye-catching.

RELATED READING: Introducing the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon x Porsche Panamericana

The Design

The design of the new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Extreme Sport screams TAG Heuer and Carrera, you just have to take one look at the case shape with those angled and pointed lugs. On this particular model, the 18k 5N rose gold case really stands out against the contrasting black bezel, crown, pushers and strap. Black has a way of bringing down the bling factor in a gold watch, one reason why I love this colour combination in watches a lot. The clever thing TAG Heuer has done with the Extreme Sport in rose gold is they have made the outer case from 18k rose gold, but the inner case is titanium. This means that you not only save weight in the watch, an aspect important to a piece such as this, but you also save on costs. Less gold = less money, which is how TAG Heuer has been able to price this piece so aggressively at A$17,800 whereas other solid gold case sports watches will sit somewhere in the A$40k – A$50k range, if not more depending on what’s inside and the brand.

The dial is what makes this piece in my opinion. According to TAG Heuer, the dial is designed to give you the feeling of looking into the engine bay of a car. While I do love the way brands link watches and the design elements to cars (which some do extremely well by the way), I tend to feel that it is more to bring to life the watch through imagination than anything else. In any case, the dial on this piece does suck you in whichever way you look at it, and I probably had too much fun taking pictures of it, as I did take a lot due to the detail and depth in it!

TAG Heuer has used a combination of elements here with this dial to create the look. You have a main layer which is done in Nickel Antracite Coating (NAC) which has been both brushed polished and sandblasted to create a more industrial 3D effect. Behind this, the open-worked date wheel has been plated in 18k rose gold to contrast the black main dial with the date window indicated at 6 o’clock.

TAG Heuer has given the hands, indices, chronograph sub-dials and outer track a treatment of gold as well, all plated in 18k red gold. The circular graining on the sub-dial rings looks great, and stands out, drawing the eye to these when looking at the dial.

The logo at 12 o’clock has also been given a rose gold look, plated in 18k rose gold on the skeleton dial. Under this, you can see through to the movement, with the barrel peaking through. This helps to balance the dial out and while there is a lot going on, if you’re like me, it’s a pleasure to look at as you always notice something new. Honestly, if you’re into your macro photography, this is the watch for you!

On this particular model, rather than polished ceramic, the Carrera Chronograph Extreme Sport continues the edgier theme using a matte black ceramic bezel with gold markings. The use of a matte material against the more polished gold works a treat, adds to the aesthetic and with the gold markings, is easy to read. If this wasn’t enough, the crown has been done in polished black DLC grade-5 titanium with a gold plated ring as has the chrono pushers, minus the gold ring that is!

RELATED READING: WATCH EDUCATION – There Won’t Be Another Like TAG Heuer’s Carrera

With this new generation of Carrera Sports, the rubber strap has been equipped with a black DLC grade-2 titanium folding clasp with push buttons. it also includes the on-the-fly micro adjust, making it easy to get the right fit when on the wrist and out and about on the go. This is something I feel all watch brands need to have as standard on any sports watch – something I’ve said many times before. Thankfully, a lot of brands are catching up. In saying this, TAG Heuer has had this mechanism now for a few years, so they are by no way lagging behind. The one minor criticism I have with the strap is the lack of design elements or embellishments on it. I feel some sort of detailing on the outside would help to deliver an overall better look compared to the flat black rubber. Perhaps some perforations or racing-inspired details?

How It Wears

The one thing I’ve learned about the Carrera Sports line is, that whilst they may be on the larger side at 44mm, they wear a lot better than the specs sheet suggests. Now while I may have been drawn to larger watches in my younger days, these days I prefer slightly smaller sizes, depending on the thickness and design of the case I gravitate towards anything in the range of 40mm to 42mm. I feel this just suits me better for a daily wearing piece. However, there are exceptions – my PAM312 clearly being one of them!. That being said, the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Extreme Sport wears better than most larger watches. This is down to the way the case is designed with facets and beveling to deceive the eye and the way the lugs are designed to angle down and contour to the wrist with the strap.

Measuring 15.1mm thick and 49.7mm lug-to-lug, TAG Heuer has slimmed this new model down from the previous versions, making it more ergonomic to wear, and in real life it actually does what is promised. Now, I won’t go as far to say this is a small watch, and even though it does wear smaller than the numbers suggest, if you have smaller wrists than about 16cm or so, you may find that the Carrera Chronograph Extreme Sport is on the larger side for you. To put it in context, I have 17.5cm wrists, whereas Champs has 16.5cm wrists, and you can see below with both pocket shots side by side, there’s a small difference, but not overly so.

For those who have a more oval-shaped wrist, this will fit better than those who have a more rounded wrist due to the flat caseback and the lug shape. The rubber strap is also comfortable, which is something I’ve found with numerous TAG Heuers over the years. They have a knack for making softer leather straps that don’t need much breaking in at all, and this is also true of the rubber straps. It’s not thin, it’s robust and will keep the watch secure on your wrist and with this comes a small trade-off in suppleness, but only minimally.

The rose gold and black colour scheme also makes this watch versatile, which if you know my preferences as I’ve mentioned numerous times, is a massive plus for me. The rose gold dresses up the piece, so while it is still a sports watch at its core, the toned-down rose gold means it will pair with most outfits. Added to this the black contrasts, and you get a slightly slimmer-looking piece (visually speaking) and makes for a great watch to wear casually, or dressed up.

The Movement

TAG Heuer has done a lot of work with their movements over the past few years. Ever since Carol Forestier-Kasapi came across from Cartier to TAG Heuer to take over the movements division, their movements have taken quite a few steps forward. There is a greater push for more in-house movements, more innovation is being done to increase the reliability and power reserves, and TAG Heuer is even putting more effort into the aesthetics of the movements. According to Carol when we caught up with her at Watches & Wonders this year, these are all just small incremental improvements that TAG Heuer is implementing over time to bring the movements up to where they deserve to be.

In the case of the Carrera Chronograph Extreme Sport, the engine powering it is the TH20-00. This is the newer Chronograph movement that evolved out of the Heuer 01 and Heuer 02. It is a standard movement being used in the newer higher level Carrera and Monaco pieces, such as the Glassbox Carrera Chronograph or the Titanium Skeleton Monaco that were introduced last year. With an 80-hour power reserve, you won’t be left out of gas, even if you take it off for a couple of days.

The movement beats at a pretty standard 4Hz, or 28,800 VpH which is fairly common these days for automatic movements, striking a balance of accuracy and longevity in the power reserve. With a vertical clutch and column wheel, the pushers are responsive without too much resistance or lag. The crown and stem are pretty tight, something I look for now in a movement as it allows you to set the time a lot more accurately with little give in stem connecting to the movement. The one thing I will mention is the lack of a screw-down crown on the Extreme Sport. For a sports watch with 100m water resistance, and someone who likes to wear their watches in the pool or beach during summer or on vacation, I like the added security of the screw-down mechanism. Not that water will get into the watch if the crown is pushed in, but more so on the off chance it gets knocked and comes out while in the water or still wet. It’s a small idiosyncrasy on my part.

Final Thoughts

Say what you want about TAG Heuer, but they are making some great pieces at the moment for different tastes and preferences. If you want a more vintage-styled sports piece, the Glassbox Carrera Chronograph 39mm ticks lots of boxes. A sports diver? Then the new Aquaracer is a game changer at the A$5,000 mark with an exclusively developed movement, COSC certified, 300m water resistance and a dial that is sensational. And if you want more wrist presence and something on the bigger side (which is actually more likely if you’re an average male according to TAG Heuer’s Heritage Director, Nicholas Biebuyck), then the Carrera Chronograph Extreme Sport is a great option.

As I mentioned towards the start of the review, the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Extreme Sport has a retail of A$17,800, which I feel represents good value for money when you look at the overall package. An 18k rose gold outer case that looks great, gold plated accents on the dial, hands and crown, with an in-house movement and 80 hours of power. Yes, the watch isn’t a full solid gold watch, and neither are the hands and dials solid gold either, but I’ll pose the question: Does this matter? You get the benefits of a rose gold piece that is sporty, without the additional $20k – $30k is how I look at it. However, if you’re the sort of person who likes the heft of a solid gold watch, and has the money to spend, then more power to you – you do you. If not, and this is more up your alley, then it is a great choice. I’ve enjoyed my time with the piece and received a few compliments when out and about. Most of all, it has been fun to wear!

References: CBU2050.FT6273

Specifications:

• Case Dimensions: 44mm, lug-to-lug of 49.7mm and 15.1mm thick
• Case Material: Brushed and polished 18k rose gold, with fine-grained hollowed side and a grade-2 titanium inner case
• Bezel: Ceramic black matte tachymeter fixed bezel with golden markings
• Dial: Textured and skeletonised Nickel Anthracite Coated dial with 18k gold plated hands, indices and sub-dial rings
• Crystal: Beveled, domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment
• Case back: Circular brushed black DLC grade-2 titanium screwed sapphire case back
• Movement: In-house calibre TH20-00 Automatic Chronograph, beating at 4Hz/28,800 VpH and pivoting on 33 jewels.
• Power Reserve: 80 hours
• Water Resistance: 100m (10 bar)
• Strap: Black integrated rubber strap, with a black DLC grade-2 titanium fine brushed, sandblasted central link and Black DLC grade-2 titanium folding clasp.

Australian Recommended Retail Price: AUD $17,800

Availability: Available now via TAG Heuer Boutiques, retailers and online at TAGHeuer.com