Tutima recently added a green dial to its M2 Chronograph Commando collection. When it debuted late last year, this watch was available only with a black dial.
The relatively new addition to this serious aviation chronograph collection veers from conventional pilot colors with a stylish yet still subtle green dégradé dial.
Around the dial however Tutima retains its solid 46mm cushion-shaped titanium case, sapphire crystal and Caliber Tutima 521, a highly customized ETA Valjoux 7750.
Tutima has re-engineered the sturdy caliber to track minutes and seconds via a large center sweep hand, and hours with a subdial. The modified dial train, a proprietary Tutima development, offers a cleaner alternative to more traditional two-subdial or three-subdial chronographs.
Even less conventional are the two chronograph pushers, which lie fairly hidden in their otherwise usual locations astride the crown. The design emphasizes its overall sleek profile. From a distance one might not identify the M2 Commando as a chronograph, a characteristic not lost on Tutima as it so successfully pairs real function with its own somewhat minimalist style.
Prices: $4,900 on a Kevlar strap with titanium clasp; $5,300 on a solid titanium bracelet with folding clasp.
Chronoswiss offers multiple shades of black on a new model within its Open Gear ReSec regulator collection. The Lucerne-based independent watchmaker combines a range of technical finishing techniques to create interesting optical effects on the dark new Open Gear ReSec Black Ice.
The new Chronoswiss Open Gear ReSec Black Ice.
The 44mm watch, with a now familiar multi-layer regulator dial, onion crown and fluted bezel, operates on two levels. On one level is the plate for the bridges, screws and wheels. A second, upper level features screwed-on skeletonized train wheel bridges and a fascinating funnel-shaped hour display.
Named for its premier function (ReSec stands for Retrograde Seconds), the watch’s jumping seconds hand operates in a half-circle, leaping from the thirty seconds position back to start its arc to complete counting each minute. The fan-shaped bridge holding the 30-second retrograde function defines the lower half of the dial.
With its all-black canvas, the Open Gear ReSec Black Ice allows all the luminous hour and minute markers to shine especially clearly. Luminous hands rotate over what appears to be coarse, shiny black sand.
Chronoswiss explains that this eye-catching dial effect requires “heavy metal industrial operations” involving structure-cutting laser beams and a heavy pressure stamping procedure before the solid metal is dunked into a galvanic bath.
“This watch is like fifty shades of black, and the different blacks really contrast each other thanks to the different structures, finishes and coatings,” says Chronoswiss designer Maik Panziera. “Some surfaces are much darker than others; despite the monochrome palette they almost appear like different colors.”
The primary technique Chronoswiss uses here is DLC coating, found on the black matte case and the polished screws securing the bridges. The bridge holding the 30-second retrograde function is sandblasted with a black galvanization. And the subtle contrasts between these two finishes nicely enhance the Black Ice’s multi-level effect.
Chronoswiss also took time to ensure that the back of the watch matched the front. Thus, the rotor of the automatic C.301 movement, visible through the clear caseback, is galvanized black, then skeletonized and finally finished with côtes de Genève.
The rotor of the automatic C.301 movement, visible through the clear caseback, is galvanized black and skeletonized.
As a bonus, Chronoswiss offers the new watch attached to a hand-stitched neoprene strap with a leather base. Chronoswiss will make fifty examples of the Open Gear ReSec Black Ice. Price: $10,600.
Rado’s high-tech ceramic True Thinline Collection, first seen in 2011, this month debuts the Great Gardens of the World collection with three models featuring dial designs meant to recall natural beauty.
The idea for the collection took root in 2017 when Rado partnered with Grandi Giardini Italiani, an association of 300 Italian and Maltese gardens. At that time Rado debuted a trio of True Thinline quartz watches with beautifully colored and patterned dials meant to represent earth, water and leaves.
Rado True Thinline Great Gardens of the World, Chapter 1.
Rado now extends that idea with three more of the sleek 40mm ceramic and titanium watches, each sporting an artisanal dial and powered by an automatic movement.
One model, called Chapter 1, sports a turquoise-colored ceramic case and bracelet and offers a matching mother-of-pearl dial. Rado decorates the dial with filigree and cloisonné-style organic elements and nature-inspired themes, including jasmine flowers. Diamonds mark each hour, while on the back you’ll find the phrase “Great Gardens of the World,” printed on a smoky sapphire and titanium caseback.
Rado True Thinline Great Gardens of the World, Chapter 2.
The second model, called Chapter 2, offers a similar pattern but on a black ceramic case with a dark, matching mother-of-pearl dial. Again, diamonds mark the hours.
Rado True Thinline Great Gardens of the World, Chapter 3.
The Chapter 3 watch presents a more sophisticated small central dial framed by an engraved oak leaf pattern in its mother-of-pearl and a ring of additional diamonds.
All this natural beauty arrives alongside Rado’s pioneering mastery of the ceramic case and bracelet technology, here all sporting richly colored and polished high-tech finishes. Rado builds each watch with a ceramic case, ceramic bracelet and crown, a titanium caseback (framing a sapphire center) and a titanium tri-fold clasp.
Each watch offers a titanium case back with black smoked sapphire and a printed phrase.
As noted, these Rado True Thinline models sport automatic movements. Inside Rado places the ETA-based Rado caliber R763 automatic movement with an impressive 80-hour power reserve and an anti-magnetic Nivachron hairspring, which Rado says exceeds standard test requirements from three to five positions.
Prices: $2,450 (Chapters 1 and 2), and $2,660 (Chapter 3).
IWC expands its Portofino collection this week with the Portofino Chronograph 39 (Ref. IW3914), a new design debuting as a set of three 39mm steel-cased chronographs.
One of three 39mm steel-cased references in the new IWC Portofino Chronograph 39 collection.
The new, smaller-cased models complement IWC’s existing 42mm Portofino Chronograph. The new trio’s dial design emphasizes Portofino’s minimalistic layout with an even cleaner look than previous chronographs in the collection. With a smaller dial, the new models do not include the day/date display at 3 o’clock or the seconds subdial at 9 o’clock found on the larger chronographs.
The elegant Portofino often flies under the radar at IWC, which is best known for its technical focus (Ingenieur and Da Vinci), its range of larger aviation collections (Pilot and Big Pilot) and its nautical (Aquatimer and Portugieser) collections.
IWC has enriched Portofino in recent years to extend the collection’s unisex appeal, notably with an attractive series of Portofino Automatic models offered in 34mm, 37mm and 40mm cases. Throughout the Portofino collection IWC maintains a clean dial design characterized by the spare use of Roman numerals set between simple applied hour markers.
Here two totalizers (at 6 o’clock and 12 o’clock) balance the dial, each partially hiding the display’s only two Roman numerals. A very thin seconds track frames the dial’s primary elongated markers. Inside IWC fits its Caliber 79350, built by IWC from a very highly modified ETA Valjoux 7750.
IWC offers three steel-cased references in the new Portofino Chronograph 39 collection. Dial options are black, green or silver-plate. All models are fitted with top-notch alligator straps. Price: $5,900.
Omega, the watchmaker that has officially timed the Olympic Games twenty-eight times, is currently timing its twenty-ninth at the summer games in Tokyo. And in case you missed it, Omega announced that in addition to three steel-cased ‘Tokyo 2020’ debuts it announced earlier, its final two ‘Tokyo 2020’ models are two gold-cased Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M watches.
One of two gold-cased Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M watches.
These are the fourth and fifth official Omega ‘Tokyo 2020’ Olympic watches.
This Omega Seamaster Co-Axial Master Chronometer is an Omega Tokyo 2020 watch.Omega designed the Seamaster Planet Ocean as a tribute to Tokyo.
Echoing the top medal the Olympic athletes strive to take home, Omega’s fourth and fifth official ‘Tokyo 2020’ watches are cased in gold.
Omega offers the new Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M watches in 38mm or 41mm gold cases, both with blue leather straps. To underscore their Olympic designation, the watches have been laser-engraved with a pattern inspired by the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games emblem. The emblem is also visible on the back of each watch printed on clear sapphire.
Inside the new Seamaster Aqua Terra watches Omega fits its superb Co-Axial Master Chronometer Cal. 8801 (inside the 38mm model) and Cal. 8901 (inside the 41mm model.)
