This Week in Watches: January 25, 2020
Happy weekend folks! It’s time for This Week in Watches for January 25, 2020. Let’s begin…
Parmigiani Fleurier Kalparisma with Snow Setting
Well, we hope you like ice because our first piece for This Week in Watches just happens to be the Parmigiani Fleurier Kalparisma with “Snow” Setting. The front of this 42.57mm x 30.15mm white gold watch is absolutely layered in roughly 6 carats of diamonds. In fact, between the case, dial, and buckle, there are 1,379 of the bright sparklers on this watch! Somewhere inside all the bling, the PF342 in house automatic does its thing with a chronometer rating. Parmigiani uses a black crocodile strap. If you’re interested, figure on handing over $119,800. Head to Parmigiani for more information.
Timor Heritage Field
Next up on This Week in Watches is the Timor Heritage Field and that marks the return of one of the original WWII “Dirty Dozen” watches. These pieces will debut on Kickstarter on February 20th and early backers can get in for 650GBP (pricing raises to 950 GBP at a later time). I like what I see here as the watches are 36.5mm in diameter, have an 18mm lug width, 11mm thickness, 50 meters of water resistance, sapphire crystal, and will be available with either a hand-wound or automatic Sellita. We will do our best to get one of these for a deeper review. Until the Kickstarter event kicks off, you can see all the details on the Timor official site.
Anonimo Militare WRC Chrono
And here on This Week in Watches we have the new Anonimo WRC Chrono that celebrates the brand’s sponsorship of the beloved rally series. This is a Sellita SW300-equipped automatic chronograph that has a 43.5mm PVD stainless case. It’s good for 120 meters of water resistance. The new WRC is available now and retails for CHF 5,250 or €5,000. More info can be found on the Anonimo official site.
Breitling Navitimer B03 Chronograph Rattrapante 45
Breitling sent us word of a new Navitimer with Rattrapante functionality in red gold. With this complication, one can essentially measure two elapsed times. Tactically, the 3:00 crown adds the split-second function as well as time changing. Also note how Breitling split up the “anchor” and script “B” amongst the counterweights on each of the centrally mounted chronograph hands. For €26,270, you get a full view of the movement via a display back and the watch comes on a black alligator strap. More can be found on the official Breitling site.
Blancpain Saint-Valentin 2020
Blancpain sent us news of a 14-piece limited edition ladies watch for Valentine’s Day. That’s a little less than a month away, so you have plenty of time to save up for this €34,640 cocktail watch. The 18 carat white gold watch comes in at 35 x 16mm and has a mother of pearl dial set with diamonds and rubies. Staying true to its vintage cocktail watch theme, a hand-wound caliber 510 is found inside that has 52 hours of power reserve. The watch is adorned with roughly 1.5 carats of diamonds. Personally, I like the look of this one and with only 14 to be made, I am sure it will be gone quickly. Visit Blancpain for more details.
Advisor Supa Diver Bronze
For those looking for something a little larger and a little more bronze, we received word of another micro brand that will launch its watch on Kickstarter beginning February 19th. Enter the Advisor Supa Diver Bronze. We have a 44mm bronze diver that’s good for 300 meters of water resistance and includes the Sellita SW200-1. The watch has a unique bezel with what looks like rivets between the five-minute markers. If you’re interested, head to their page and figure on $429 to land one on your wrist.
Emile Chouriet Lac Léman Classic Chronometer
The Emile Chouriet Lac Léman Classic Chronometer checks the box as our integrated bracelet piece on This Week in Watches…this is a trend we’re seeing more and more of these days. The Swiss brand brings a 40mm stainless case with integrated bracelet and winged step-shaped lugs to the market. Inside, we have a chronometer-certified version of the venerable ETA 2892 that’s good for -4 to +6 seconds per day. At CHF 1,600, it’s an interesting and non-typical option for this price range. More info can be found on the brand’s official site.
Yema Spacegraf Zero-G
Yema has been hard at work with France’s Space Agency (CNES) and their Air Force in designing a watch to help withstand zero-G environments and the result is the Spacegraf Zero-G. Apparently, it was 30 years ago that France began experiments simulating weightlessness with parabolic flights and Yemas have been a part of this activity all the while.
The new pieces are quartz-powered and in 39mm stainless or PVD-coated cases. Inside is the Epson YM90A chronograph movement and one can choose between a black or blue dial. At a pre-order price of $399, it’s a neat watch that looks like it can take a beating. The case back even contains a good-looking CNES logo and calls out the 30th anniversary of the simulation flights in low orbit. I like these…cool watches. More details and ordering info are available on the Yema site.
Certina DS Super PH500M
Next up is a cool special edition (that’s right, seemingly not limited) diver from Certina that harkens back to a model from 1968. The DS Super PH500M is, as the name suggests, a 500-meter diver. It has a bright orange dial with crosshairs that mimics the original. I’d also call your attention to the multi-sided crystal surround that also reminds me of the heritage piece. At 43mm, this is definitely not a small watch, but I am sure it will look good on the wrist with its quick-release rubber strap. Inside, we have the 80-hour power reserve Powermatic 80 and it’s equipped with the anti-magnetic NivachronTM balance spring.
Other niceties are the German diving association “VDST” logo on the case-back as Certina apparently worked with them some 50 years ago to develop the original. If you’re a member of this association, you can even get two additional NATO’s for free! Best of all, pricing will come in at a very approachable 895 Euros when the watch is released in June. I am sure Balazs will give us a hands-on look as he’s usually on top of all things Certina. Again, cool watch! More information is available on the Certina site.
Junghans Max Bill Black & White
Next on This Week in Watches we have a new series of Max Bill watches from Junghans that come to us in black and white. Specifically, the brand will offer versions of its well-known watches with matte anthracite PVD cases, white dials with black printing, and with grey SuperLuminova. You’ll be able to find this color combination on the automatic 40mm Chronoscope chronographs, the automatic 38 & 34mm models with date, and 38mm quartz models.
All will come with grey leather straps and a matching anthracite matte PVD buckle. The watches have not hit the Junghans site as of yet, but you can expect pricing consistent with current models and that means below $1,000 for quartz models to $2,095 for the Chronoscope.
Seiko 5 Sports Brian May Limited Edition
Earlier this week, Seiko told us about a new piece based on the Seiko 5 Sports (we’ve covered it several times) and it’s essentially dedicated to the guitar he made with his father years ago. May is the famous guitarist from Queen and is a well-known wearer of the quartz Seiko 7548. What we have here is a watch that’s “limited” to 9,000 pieces worldwide, has a unique dial and comes in a watch case that resembles a guitar case. Spec-wise, we have the same 4R36 movement inside the familiar 42.5mm stainless case.
At €560, it has a healthy upcharge (nearly double) when compared to normal Seiko 5 Sports pieces. I won’t beat around the bush on this one; this watch isn’t my cup of tea. I simply don’t love the design and I find the script writing on the dial inconsistent with the design. But…I’ve certainly seen some positive responses to the watch on social media and our Gerard seems to be a big fan. So, once again…horses for courses. There is a special page where you can find out more on this watch which ships in May of 2020.
Seiko Astron GPS Solar Novak Djokovic 2020 Limited Edition
Seiko also communicated a 1,500-piece limited edition related to Novak Djokovic. The player won his first tournament in Japan during 2019. To celebrate, Seiko has released a piece with subtle color references both to the Japanese and Serbian flags (Djokovic’s home country). You can see the blue that is in the Serbian flag and that also stands for victory in Japanese culture. Note the red from the Japanese flag on the side around the ceramic bezel. The UTC indicator also calls out the Japanese and Serbian time zones in red on the dial.
The watch contains Seiko’s 5X53 solar GPS Astron movement which is housed in a 42.7mm stainless case with a matching bracelet. Pricing will come in at €2,600 when the watches become available in February 2020. I’m a big fan of the Astron and reviewed my own personal piece several years ago…they’re great daily watches and perfect for travel. Seiko has a special page dedicated to the watch.
Seiko Prospex Black Series Limited Editions
A trio of new Seiko Prospex LE’s hit the virtual airwaves a little over a week ago and have caused a relative stir. The three watches will be available around February and I’ll make sure I provide some hands-on pictures when I photograph them at the Frankfurt Boutique. First up is the SLA035J1 (SBDX033 is the other nomenclature) which is built on the 300-meter diver platform formerly known as the Marinemaster 300. The watch will retail for €3,000. It is the most limited with just 600 pieces available. It has a black hard-coated stainless case, silicone strap, and red sweep hand and font.
It’s a good looking watch and is probably the most anticipated. Next, is the 200 Meter automatic based on the Sumo platform known as the SPB125J1 (SSC761J1). This is a 7,000 piece edition for roughly €829. With its aged lume, grey/black bezel and orange highlights, it reminds me of the “Ninja Turtle” that we reviewed roughly two years back — a huge success. Finally, there’s a 200-meter solar dive chronograph (ref. SSC761J1) that will be available in an edition of 3,500 pieces. We don’t have pricing for that, but it also features aged lume, orange highlights and a grey/black bezel. Here again, Seiko has created a special landing page for all three Black Series models.
Folks, that is plenty of news for This Week in Watches – enjoy your weekend!
