I don't know if this makes up for all the terribly designed homages that make up their catalog - but holy smokes, this watch is stunning.

EDIT: I may have jumped the gun here, i didn't know about the MB&F legacy machine. Still this watch is lot better designed than most of their stuff.

I’ve been investigating the exact wristwatch Damian Lewis wore portraying Richard Winters in Band of Brothers.
For years, people have identified it as various versions of the Bulova A-11, Hamilton, Elgin, and other WWII military watches. But I’ve yet to find a photograph of another watch that matches it exactly.
So I started contacting people involved with the production.
To my surprise, Captain Dale Dye, the show’s senior military adviser, personally responded.
He recalled the props and wardrobe departments laying out a selection of period-style watches for Damian Lewis. Most were imitations of the Bulova Hack.
Dye also recalled that the watches were deliberately unbranded, according to the propmaster.
Most fascinatingly, Dye remembered personally requesting the olive-drab webbing strap worn on the watch.
This doesn’t conclusively establish who manufactured the watch, but it offers firsthand insight into its selection.
I’ve now contacted the show’s property master, John Allenby, hoping to learn where the watches originated and what happened to them after production.
My ultimate goal is to locate the actual screen-used watch.
If anyone has firsthand knowledge of the production’s props or wardrobe department, I’d love to hear from you.

Well, it’s been a long battle back to ‘The Grateful Eight’ after losing the original collection (see final picture) to a major Mental Health Crisis (long, long story) but I’m extremely thrilled to have the collection back and to have my nice little group again. Just like everyone else, the last few years (really since 2020) have been a real challenge and struggle, and I’ve found refuge in my watch collection. It’s something “just for me”. But, (and you can laugh and doubt me — I would) I am actually going to retire from the watch game now. It’s time. Time to enjoy life and just relax awhile.

Just looking to ID this watch I used to own. I cannot locate it and I'm looking to buy a newer version of it. Thanks in advance.

I’m torn between these two watches and would love to hear your opinions. The Tudor Submariner 79090 has that classic vintage dive watch look, while the Grand Seiko SBGW283 offers a more refined design with beautiful Japanese craftsmanship. If you had to choose one, which would you go for and why? I’d appreciate any advice from people who have experience with either watch.

I like my cars practical and my watches a complete waste of money 😂 but truthfully, watches have been an outlet for me to enjoy luxury without being seen, which I value.

Although cars are cool, there’s not a stealthy way to go about splurging on them. The best thing about my comfy but only moderately well optioned truck? It leaves me more money to spend on watches ⏱️

Hello everyone!

Unsure if this is the right medium for posts like this but I wanted to see if I’m loosing my mind or this is just how it’s supposed to look. I really appreciate your help.

I recently acquired a 2023 JLC MUT moon from C24. It had the partner certified seal, I took it to a JLC boutique and they told me the watch seemed fine (serial number matched warranty card and their internal system) and it seems to be keeping all its functionalities right. However, it came with a different set of straps (without the release pin) and the silver dial is not really “sunburst”. Went I went to the boutique and held a new one (same reference) the contrast in dial was striking. The boutique one had all the characteristics of a sunburst silver dial, while Mine seemed a bit opaque and more plain silver- I had them both side by side. Everything else seems to check; the mechanism, the engraving, etc.

Any JLC MUT moon owners experienced this? A non sunburst dial on your watch? Pictures attached
.

Reading Note: Some readers on the Android Reddit app report seeing these posts as unformatted run-on text. The fix: it happens when you tap the image—just go back and tap the title of the post instead.

It's Thursday and a lot of cool lume stuff happening today, from the very complex Ming rotating lumes to the lume easter eggs on the Jack Mason. Good stuff.

THIS IS IMPORTANT: if you're a subscriber to the newsletter and have been missing them in your inbox, I've been having some deliverability issues since switching to the new platform. The emails often get caught in spam or promotions folders. Please check those and move the emails to your primary inbox. That should fix it.

I publish this every weekday as part of It's About Time, a free daily newsletter. The newsletter version includes more watch commentary, opinions, columns and a couple of non-watch related recommendations that will get you through the day. Subscribe here if that sounds useful.

---------------------------------------------

1/ Ming and Massena LAB Put the Honeycomb Dial in Motion With the 57.09 Secret Honey

Ming and Massena LAB, William Massena’s design studio, first worked together in 2021 on the 17.09 Honey, which had that honeycomb pattern. So what gives? Are they just re-releasing that watch again? Well, no... The 57.09 Secret Honey looks like a plain dark brown dial until it starts moving. This time the pattern is built from rotating sapphire discs, so it changes through the day. That has to be quite the sight up close.

The case is grade 5 titanium, 40mm wide and 10.17mm thick, with a lug-to-lug of 47.8mm. There’s a polished concave bezel on top, sapphire crystals on both sides and you get 100 meters of water resistance. But that's the boring part. The lugs, on the other hand, aren't boring. They use Ming’s three-step design, and each step gets its own finish: bare titanium on the outside, a TiN coating that looks like yellow gold in the middle, and a TiSiN coating that looks like rose gold on the inside. The ring under the bezel is TiN as well.

The base dial is brass, lacquered dark brown and circular brushed. Just an unrelated note: we need more brown dials. Above it sit three sapphire discs with anti-reflective coating. One turns once a day, one every 12 hours and one every hour, and each is a different color with a different pattern of cut-outs. As the openings line up and drift apart, the honeycomb appears and changes. Ming calls this “dynamic guilloché.” The hour and minute markings are printed on the two faster discs and glow orange. The indices and both logos are engraved into the underside box sapphire crystal and filled with Ming’s Polar White lume, which sounds a bit like a marketing gimmick but is actually the whitest lume I've ever seen. Maybe truly the only pure white lume.

Inside is the Ming 330.M2, which is a heavily modified Sellita SW330 GMT architecture, which is where the 24-hour disc comes from. Ming has skeletonized the bridges, brushed them and coated the bridges and mainplate in anthracite. It beats at 4Hz (28,800vph) with about 50 hours of power reserve. You get two straps: vachetta goat leather from Jean Rousseau Paris and black FKM rubber, both with quick-release spring bars and a steel flying-blade tuck buckle with micro-adjustment.

The Ming x Massena LAB 57.09 Secret Honey is limited to 125 pieces, priced at CHF 7,250 before tax. Orders open today, October 15, at 1:00 PM GMT. See more photos here and the watch on the Ming website.

2/ Fortis Gives the Already Cool Novonaut N-42 Halo Edition a Fully Lumed Dial

You see those milky white dials on the Novonauts in the picture above? That's all lume. While most lumed dials are just painted with lume, Fortis made the whole dial base from Lumicast X1, a special composite material that incorporates lume within it. That's cool. Some background if the Novonaut is new to you: Fortis supplied chronographs to Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, for three decades, starting with the B-42 Official Cosmonauts that went up to the MIR station in 1994. That partnership ended after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and in 2023 Fortis replaced the B-42 with the Novonaut N-42, a tougher, more modern chronograph. Until now it came with a plain black or blue dial on a bracelet. The three Halo Editions add the luminous panda dial and an upgraded movement, and they’re the best-looking versions of the watch so far.

The case carries over from the regular edition: 42mm wide, 15mm thick, with a lug-to-lug of 51mm. It’s made out of recycled steel, brushed all over, and the head alone weighs 115 grams. This is a big chronograph and it's quite proud of it. I'm pretty sure it would look right at home on my wrist. It is tempting... The bidirectional bezel has a fully lumed 60-minute scale on a polished ceramic insert in black, blue or green. There are sapphire crystals front and back, on the side is a screw-down crown with three gaskets, and you get 200 meters of water resistance.

All three variants have a very similar setup, with a panda setup. The snailed sub-dials, day-date discs, Arabic numerals and inner flange are printed in the accent color, and the blackened hands are filled with Super-LumiNova, including a bullseye tip on the seconds. Fortis says it’s the brightest watch it has ever made. I’d believe it, since there’s simply more luminous surface here than on anything else they make. At 12 o'clock is a 30 minute totalizer, at 6 is the 12 hour one, small seconds at 9 and a day-date window at 3 o'clock, right underneath the Fortis logo.

Inside is the new calibre Werk 17 TR, built with La Joux-Perret on the Valjoux 7750 architecture but with a column wheel. The TR update reinforces the bridges, fixes the balance bridge at two points instead of one, and swaps the index regulator for a free-sprung variable-inertia balance adjusted by screws on the rim. Power reserve goes from 60 to 70 hours, and it beats at 4Hz. The Halo Editions ship on a color-matched hybrid strap in FKM rubber and textile with a steel pin buckle. Since this is a massive and heavy watch, built to be used in extreme conditions, it doesn't depend on a spring bar to hold the straps together. Instead, they use screwed pins. That's cool.

The Fortis Novonaut N-42 Halo Edition is available now in black (F2040021), blue (F2040022) and green (F2040023), priced at €5,950. See more photos here and the watches on the Fortis website.

3/ Rado Doubles Down on Cricket With the Captain Cook In Green And Gold

Rado has made its second cricket Captain Cook in quick succession, following the European Cricket Special Edition with a collaboration with Cameron Green, the Australian all-rounder. Being that Australia's cricket team colors are green and gold, this collaboration practically just made itself.

The polished steel case is 42mm wide and 12.3mm thick, with a lug-to-lug of 48.6mm. The bezel pairs a gold-tone PVD ring with a green ceramic insert, and a domed box sapphire sits on top. Green’s signature is engraved on the screw-down caseback with the edition number. Water resistance is 300 meters.

The green sunburst dial is meant to look like a pitch, with three small gold dots at 12 standing in for the stumps. The minute track copies a ball’s stitched seam, and Rado’s rotating anchor sits on a red disc meant to be the ball. Applied gold indices and hands are filled with Super-LumiNova, the seconds hand is tipped in red, and there’s a date window at 3. If you follow cricket, the references are subtle enough to live with every day. If you don’t, you’re looking at a green and gold Captain Cook. So I would say that might be a win-win?

Inside is Rado calibre R763, Swatch Group’s ETA C07.611, better known as the Powermatic 80. It runs at 21,600 vph with 80 hours of power reserve, and its Nivachron hairspring resists magnetism. You get three strap options in the box: a two-tone bracelet with brushed steel outer links and gold PVD rice-grain center links, a green and gold NATO, and a black rubber strap.

The Captain Cook x Cameron Green (ref. R32138318) is limited to 459 pieces, since Green was the 459th man to play Test cricket for Australia and price is set at $4,700. See more photos here and the watch on the Rado website, when Rado goes ahead and puts the watch on there.

4/ Jack Mason Moves the Dr Pepper Strat-o-timer to a 42mm Case and Hides a 1920s Slogan in the Lume

I was 18 when I first had a sip of Dr Pepper. I had to wait so long to try this delicious nectar because it's impossible to buy in Croatia, where I'm from, and only a bit difficult to find in other EU countries. So it wasn't until I moved to the US did I finally get to try this mythical drink that was only a pop culture reference to me. And let me tell you, it's a very good thing that I am currently in Croatia and it's still as difficult to get Dr Pepper as it was 20 years ago. Because, brothers and sisters, if I could walk to the corner store and get a Dr Pep, I would certainly have diabetes. I love that drink so much. Which is why I necessarily automatically like this new Jack Mason Strat-o-timer 42: Dr Pepper 2026 Limited Edition, the brand's fourt collaboration with Dr Pepper. It's also the first in the larger 42mm case, and I'll have more to say about watchmakers moving to larger cases next week. And to close out this intro, this watch has a very cool easter egg hidden in the lume.

The steel case is 42mm wide and 13.2mm thick, with a lug-to-lug of 49mm and 22mm between the lugs. On top is a domed sapphire crystal, surrounded by a bi-directional 48 click bezel which has a sapphire insert. Look at it a bit longer and you'll notice the subtle difference in color for the day and night hours on the 24-hour bezel. On the side you'll find a screw down crown, which gives you 200 meters of water resistance.

The dial has a black sunray finish with gold applied markers and gold hands. The Lone Star logo at 12 is the newer faceted version Jack Mason introduced recently. All the markers are lumed, of course, and they glow blue just like the hands. However, the markers at 10, 2 and 4 glow green, and those hours have a special place in the Dr Pepper universe. Advertisements from the 1920s and 30s told consumers that 10, 2 and 4 o'clock was Dr Pepper time, the best way to drink the soda. They even incorporated 10, 2 and 4 on the bottle label. I wish I could have a Dr Pepper at 10, 2 and 4.

Inside is the Miyota calibre 9075, an automatic beating at 4Hz with 42 hours of power reserve. It’s a flyer-style GMT, so you can jump the local hour hand on its own when you land without stopping the watch. The rotor is new for this edition: gold-tone, skeletonized and engraved with the Dr Pepper logo. It comes on a seven-link steel bracelet with a micro-adjustment clasp.

The Jack Mason Strat-o-timer 42: Dr Pepper 2026 Limited Edition is limited to 230 pieces, each numbered on the caseback, priced at $1,299. It goes on sale October 12 at 12PM ET. See more photos here and the watch on the Jack Mason website.

5/ Czapek Puts a Green Singularité Dial and a Flying Tourbillon in the Gold Antarctique

The Antarctique is Czapek’s integrated-bracelet sports watch, launched in 2020. It has a rounded barrel case instead of the angular bezel most watches in the category use. Czapek later added a flying tourbillon version to mark the brand’s 10th year. There's a collector out there that really liked the tourbillon variant, but just couldn't find colors he liked. So, naturally, he comissioned his own. The result was a beautiful green guilloché dial in a gold case. The watch was so beautiful they agreed it would be a shame if only one were made. So Czapek is now making 10 more.

The case is 40.5mm wide and 11.5mm thick, with the same barrel shape and integrated bracelet as the rest of the Antarctique line. A raised box sapphire sits on the front, with a second one on the back. The finishing is mostly vertical brushing, with a polished bevel along the edges. Water resistance is 50 meters, compared with 120 meters on the time-and-date, Rattrapante and Révélation models. But come on, a gold tourbillon...

The dial is made by the legendary dialmaker Metalem and each one is engraved by hand. The pattern, called Singularité, is made of small rhombus shapes that shrink toward the centre, so the dial seems to drop away into the middle. That very cool texture then gets a green PVD treatment. Other than that, this still has a familiar setup, with a barrel at 12, gear train below it, flying tourbillon at six, with a curved openworked bridge running across the centre. The indices sit on the raised flange so they don’t interrupt the engraving. They are outlined in green and lumed, as are the openworked gold hands.

Inside is Czapek calibre 9, an automatic flying tourbillon movement with 191 components. It beats at 3Hz and has a 72-hour power reserve. The gold rotor is hand-engraved with the same Singularité pattern as the dial. The integrated 18k gold bracelet uses Czapek’s quick-release system, and the watch is also offered on green rubber or alligator leather.

The Czapek Antarctique Tourbillon Victory Green is limited to 10 examples. It's priced at CHF 98,000 on the gold bracelet, CHF 73,600 on alligator and CHF 69,600 on rubber. See more pictures here and the watch on the Czapek website.

---------------------------------------------

Watch Worthy - A selection of reviews and first looks from around the web

• A review of the Glashütte Original 70s
• Hands on with the ArtyA Complexity Métiers d’Art

---------------------------------------------

If you would like to receive some additional watch-adjacent content, as well as this news overview, every morning Monday-Friday in the form of a newsletter feel free to subscribe. However, there is absolutely no need for you to subscribe, as all the news from the newsletter is posted here. It is only if you want to receive a couple of daily links that are not strictly watch-related an occasional long form article and possible giveaways.

Stepped outside the usual for my first watch. For anyone curious, it's the Orient Bambino RA-AC0023E30B. Long name.

Love the feel and looks, just a little worried about the glass since it's mineral. Might swap it for something more resistant if it starts to get scratched. For a first watch though, I'm really happy with it, the domed dial and the dress vibe sold me, and it wears great. Didn't want to go with the obvious beginner pick. Open to any tips from you all.

Hi everyone,

We have a vintage IWC x Turler watch in our family, but I’m having a bit of a hard time identifying it. It could be anytime from 1930-1950s

I will take it to a boutique to open up the back properly (it’s a smooth gold back)

The strap has been changed as it seems to be only gold plated, but not sure if it’s an old IWC strap or an alternative replacement

Got a bonus at work, wanted a new dress watch.
I was hesitating between a FC and a vintage Omega Seamaster, but I was a bit afraid of scams and buying secondhand. I love the moonphase. it really adds something special to the watch. It’s amazing how thin it is.

I am way too deep into this hobby haha, I'm going to calm down a bit now.

I know we're talking very different price ranges... $600 vs $2000 CAD. I like this style very much. I know the Longines is a whole different class, swiss, longer power reserve, etc. I know the spec differences. I haven't dropped this much cash on a watch yet and I'm wondering, is it worth it? Is the quality that different? If this is an obvious question to you, I'd love your pov. I've tried both and I can definitely feel the Longine quality but is it worth 3x the price?

My fiancee recently got this Timex Marlin Quartz 34mm as her first watch and said it'd probably look good on me as well. I was worried it would look too small even though I do have a small wrist but I'm inclined to agree and just wanted to gather other opinions as it would be nice to throw into the rotation with my other 3 watches.

Was grabbing a couple of stuffed animals for my kids at the MoMA store (Gerald and Piggie IYKYK) and saw they were selling their own limited edition take on the classic DW5600 GShock, so I had to pick it up.

Inspired by the 1984 Casio card calculator, shown in the color palette and strap loop design. Plus it has a fun MoMA logo moment when you turn on the light.

Did I do okay?

Sitting down at a restaurant with my family, and a guy approached me asking me where I got my watch. I told him it was a Hamilton from the movie Interstellar (Cooper). He goes, but where did you get it? I told him online. Then he asks specifically which store. I said I couldn't remember.

He was wearing some some sparkly cheap looking watch. Then he goes "you got it from Russia. We have the same watch. I got mine from Russia."

He then knocked his watch against mine, like a fist bump, but with watches, and walked away.

I was totally weirded out and couldn't figure out wtf had just happened.

My steel case is already scratched up, so I don't really care about that. I inspected the sapphire glass, and it seems fine. This is my favorite watch as I love Interstellar, and I bought the Murph watch for my daughter, so it has a lot of sentimental value.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this before?

And I'm glad I did, because it turns out I actually liked these designs a lot more than their Rolex equivalents. Except maybe the Grand Seiko GMT... I'd still probably buy a GMT Master II if it were available.

I’m currently travelling through Korea and Japan and had the chance to try on a few KUOE watches in Seoul.

I’ve been curious about the brand for a while and really like their designs. It’s got me wondering if KUOE could become one of the more successful Japanese microbrands over the next 5–10 years? Curious to hear from anyone who actually owns one.

A little wrist shot of my Tudor Black Bay one in the autumn sunlight.

I’ve been wearing this watch for about a week now, and I honestly couldn’t be happier with my choice.
I spent quite some time deciding between different brands and sizes, but the 39mm turned out to be the perfect fit for my 7 inch wrist.

The blue dial really comes alive in natural light, and I find myself admiring it way more often than I’d like to admit.

My first proper luxury watch, and definitely one I’ll enjoy for many years to come.

Any other Black Bay one owners here?

I just came across this orient watch here while looking for an open heart leather strap watch with roman indices. but I have literally no idea if this is a good watch. I like it in terms of the looks. However there is no reddit post or anything. Anyone owns this watch? Should I get it for $650? Are there better similar watches in that price range? Please let me know! I wonder why except for youtube videos, noone talks about it. there is literally no reddit post about it

The watch is; orient star re-av0b10g00b

Hi all!

I’ve been working in the corporate world for 15+ years and am getting close to reaching my FIRE number. Watches have been a passion of mine for a long time, and I’m excited by the idea of potentially making a career change and working in the watch industry once I reach financial independence.

I’d love to hear from anyone who’s made a similar transition or has experience working in the industry. What kind of opportunities are out there? I’m thinking of roles such as Sales (SA) for a watch brand or retailer, but I’d also be open to exploring other paths, including taking courses in watchmaking and learning how to service watches.

I’d also be really interested to hear what kind of salaries I could realistically expect for these roles, especially from those working in the industry.

I am based in Singapore FYI but not important for my question.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences and advice!

Looking for a solid gold watch, 38–42mm, with some wrist presence and with depth to the dial. Not a typical slim dress watch. Something that works with both a suit and shorts. Budget is $5,000–$10,000, buying pre-owned. Based in Europe.

Narrowed it down to four:
Blancpain Léman 2185-1418-53
Zenith El Primero 06.0250.400
Omega De Ville 4641.30.32
Blancpain Villeret 6263-3642-55

Curious what you’d pick. Especially interested in reliability, servicing costs, value for money and how these hold up long-term.

Which one would you go for? Or avoid?

Hi

I have just noticed Omega announced refreshed AT - it’s only wishlist at this stage, but the previous version is no longer for sale.

1. What difference do you see apart from the new bracelet?
   
2. When will it become available?
   
3. Do you more like the old or new one?

Left - new one - 220.10.38.20.02.004
Right - old one - 220.10.38.20.02.001