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King Seiko VANAC HKF005: a Tokyo City-Lights Dial in 41 mm Steel, 8L45 Inside, €3,400, October Release

Announced September 9, 2026, the eighth VANAC reference is the first with a glitter-flecked night dial. The specs are on Seiko's own product page; the price comes from the European press.

Image: Seiko (King Seiko)

Seiko updated its King Seiko VANAC page on September 9, 2026. The lineup now includes eight references. Seven were already familiar to collectors: SLA083, SLA085, and SLA087 in purple, navy, and silver; the boutique-exclusive ice-blue SLA091; the gold-dialed limited SLA089; and the leather-strapped SLA093 and SLA095. The newcomer, HKF005, carries a dial that Seiko says “evokes the countless city lights shimmering across Tokyo at night.” The “Tokyo by Night” tag is Monochrome’s headline, not Seiko’s.

This is a genuine addition to the 1972 VANAC revival, and Seiko’s HKF005J1 product page carries the full sheet.

What Seiko confirms: all eight references use the 8L45 caliber, which the brand states “achieves a power reserve of 72 hours” and is rated to +10/-5 seconds per day. The HKF005 case is stainless steel, 41.0 mm across, 14.3 mm thick and 45.1 mm lug to lug, with a box-shaped sapphire crystal, screw-down crown, see-through caseback, 10 bar water resistance and a 17 mm interchangeable band. Seiko lists the release as October 2026 and does not flag it as a limited edition.

What Seiko’s US page leaves off is the price. Monochrome puts it at €3,400, in line with the steel SLA083, which Seiko lists at USD 3,300. The dial is not aventurine: it is Seiko’s own glitter-particle finish on a ground that Monochrome describes as somewhere between black and a very dark grey-blue.

For collectors tracking the VANAC revival reference by reference, the practical takeaway is simple. HKF005 is an 8L45 watch in the same 41 mm steel case as the SLA trio, priced alongside them, with the first dark dial in the series and an October 2026 release.

Source: seikowatches.com, seikowatches.com (HKF005J1), seikowatches.com (SLA083J1), monochrome-watches.com

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Christopher Ward Launches the Trident Biscay GMT in 39mm and 42mm

A COSC-rated Sellita SW330-2 caller GMT inside a 200m dive case, offered in two sizes and two colourways, from $1,995 on strap, with pre-orders open for delivery at the end of October 2026.

Image: Christopher Ward

Christopher Ward launched the Trident Biscay collection on September 1, and the GMT arrived with it, alongside the Biscay Automatic and the 39mm Biscay Bronze. The Trident Biscay GMT comes in 39mm and 42mm cases, both 12mm thick and both powered by the same movement.

The movement is a COSC-certified Sellita SW330-2, beating at 4Hz with a 56-hour power reserve. The brand calls it a caller GMT, an accurate term. The 24-hour GMT hand is independently adjustable for tracking a second time zone.

The value proposition is notable: a COSC-certified chronometer, a 200m dive case with a 120-click bidirectional bezel in two aluminium tones, surface-hardened to 250HV, and two case sizes, all on the new Biscay platform that Christopher Ward introduced across three models on the same day.

The dial features applied numerals in gilt frames, a textured surface, and a date window at 6 o’clock. Lume is Super-LumiNova Grade X1 BL, as the brand specifies it. An exhibition caseback shows Colimaçoné finishing and a redesigned rotor. Bracelets use the brand’s iLink tool-free sizing, with Consort and Bader bracelets and hybrid rubber straps in blue, khaki, black, and tan also listed.

Two bezel colourways are offered, Black/Red and Sand/Blue, in both sizes. Missing from the specs: clasp or springbar detail and a reference number for the 42mm.

Pricing starts at $1,995 on a hybrid rubber strap. The configuration shown, reference C60-39AGM1-S0RK0-B1 in 39mm on the Consort bracelet, is $2,275 on pre-order; the Bader bracelet sits between the two at roughly $2,220, per Oracle of Time.

Source: christopherward.com, Worn & Wound, Oracle of Time

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Seiko Brings the 1913 Laurel Into Regular Presage Production With Enamel and Urushi Dials

The HCC005 and HCC006, announced on 13 August and in shops from September, put Japan’s first wristwatch into the standing catalogue at $1,400 and $1,650.

Image: Seiko (Seiko Watch Corporation), Presage collection

Seiko announced two new Presage Classic Series models on 13 August 2026: the HCC005 with an enamel dial and the HCC006 with a black urushi lacquer dial. Both draw from the 1913 Laurel, and according to Seiko, this is the first time the Laurel’s Arabic numerals and enamel dial have appeared together outside a limited edition. Both are regular production, not limited runs, and Seiko schedules them for September 2026 release.

That detail is the real news. Seiko’s designers, quoted on the same page, describe the Laurel as representing “the origins of wristwatch design” for the company, and say they made it the basis of regular-series models rather than limited ones so that more people could experience the design. Permanent availability means no ballots, no allocations, no countdowns.

The Laurel itself was a bold improvisation. Seiko dates its completion to 1913 and calls it Japan’s first domestically manufactured wristwatch. The movement inside was a 12-ligne calibre, around 27 mm, of a size then intended for pocket watches, fitted into a case of roughly 30 mm. Daily production peaked at 30 to 50 pieces. Seiko also traces two firsts to that era: a domestically made hairspring in 1910, and the fabrication of the Laurel’s own enamel dial face in 1913. HCC005 brings back the red “12” from one of the two original Laurel dial variants.

The two watches share one spec sheet. Each runs the automatic Cal. 6R5H with roughly 72 hours of reserve in a 39.6 mm steel case, 12.4 mm thick, rated to 3 atm; the HCC005 gets Seiko’s super-hard coating and the HCC006 a yellow gold-coloured plating, per Monochrome. Seiko’s US pages list $1,400 for the HCC005 and $1,650 for the HCC006; European pricing is EUR 1,430 and EUR 1,640, per Monochrome and SJX.

Source: seikowatches.com, monochrome-watches.com, watchesbysjx.com

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Bulgari and Vianney Halter Put a Four-Dial Dual Time in the Octo Finissimo: Fewer Than 50 Pieces, from CHF 70,000

The Geneva Watch Days 2026 collaboration launched on 2 September in titanium and rose gold, with the new BVF 200 calibre inside a 9.7 mm case.

Image: Bvlgari (Bulgari)

Bulgari revealed its Geneva Watch Days 2026 lineup on 2 September, pairing its ultra-thin flagship with independent watchmaker Vianney Halter. “For the first time, Bvlgari joins forces with independent master watchmaker Vianney Halter,” the brand says on its Geneva Watch Days 2026 page.

The result is the Octo Finissimo Dual Time x Vianney Halter. Bulgari keeps the faceted Octo case, 40.5 mm across and 9.7 mm thick, in sandblasted titanium or rose gold, and hands the dial to Halter, whose signature four-dial architecture defines the collaboration. Inside is the BVF 200, a new manufacture automatic with a micro-rotor, running at 21,600 vph with roughly 60 hours of reserve and showing hours, minutes, running seconds, GMT, date and day/night. Water resistance is 30 m. These are the two launch editions: titanium ref. 104356 at CHF 70,000, limited to 30 pieces, and rose gold ref. 104355 at CHF 108,000, all per Monochrome. Oracle of Time puts the rose gold run at 10 pieces where Monochrome says 15; Bulgari has not settled the figure publicly.

The rest of the slate is a mix of new and recent. The Octo Finissimo 37, cased at 37 mm in satin-polished titanium with the 72-hour BVF 100 calibre, is not a Geneva debut: it was introduced at Watches and Wonders in April 2026, per Time and Watches, so only the BVF 200 is genuinely new here. An Octo Finissimo Dazzle applies laser engraving to a 40 mm, 5.15 mm titanium case around the BVL 138. And Bvlgari Titanio moves the Aluminium collection into Grade 5 titanium in GMT (40 mm) and chronograph (41 mm) guises, both rated to 100 m, per Oracle of Time.

Bulgari’s own page is thin on numbers, so the figures above come from the press kit as reported by Monochrome and Oracle of Time. The one loose end is the rose gold edition size, which the two outlets report differently.

For a collaboration this unexpected, 40 or 45 pieces is the whole story: a Halter dial on a Bulgari case, and very few wrists to find it on.

Source: bulgari.com, monochrome-watches.com, oracleoftime.com, timeandwatches.com

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Oris Releases a Gonzo-Themed ProPilot X, Its Third Muppets Collaboration

The 44mm titanium ProPilot X and hand-wound Calibre 115 power Oris's latest Muppets collaboration, a non-limited edition at CHF 8,500 and a series the brand seems eager to continue.

Image: Oris

Oris has released a Gonzo-themed ProPilot X, the third watch in its Muppets partnership after Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, unveiled at Geneva Watch Days on September 2. Oris describes it in five words: “A joyful watch for a joyful guy.”

The playful design rests on serious hardware. The watch is built on Oris’s titanium ProPilot X platform, which showcases the brand’s movement work, and houses the hand-wound Calibre 115. That calibre offers a ten-day power reserve and is skeletonised, exposing the moving parts, mainspring included. A laser-etched decoration on the mainspring appears as you wind the watch, a subtle, theatrical detail fitting for Gonzo.

The news page keeps the numbers to itself, but Oris’s product listing fills them in. The reference is 01 115 7759 7180-Set, the multi-piece titanium case measures 44mm across and 12.6mm thick, and water resistance is 100 metres (10 bar). Oris lists it at USD 10,500; the CHF 8,500 reported by Monochrome and the £7,900 reported by Oracle of Time are the same price in other currencies. Like the Kermit and Miss Piggy watches before it, the Gonzo edition is not a numbered limited edition, per Gear Patrol, and it is available now.

For collectors, the interesting part is the pattern rather than any one watch. Three Muppets releases in, Oris looks less like a brand doing a novelty one-off and more like one running a license as an ongoing franchise. That changes the calculation for anyone deciding whether to start collecting the set or sit this one out.

Source: oris.ch, oris.ch (product page), Monochrome, Oracle of Time, Gear Patrol

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Beaubleu's La Pièce n°2 Silver Earns a 2026 GPHG Challenge Nomination, the Brand's Second in Two Years

The French independent's Monnaie de Paris dial reaches the Geneva shortlist two years after the Seconde Française, at €1,890 in a run of 888 pieces.

Image: Beaubleu

La Pièce n°2 Silver from Beaubleu Paris made the 2026 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève shortlist in the Challenge category when the nominations were announced on September 1. Beaubleu’s newsroom post calls it an “official” addition to the “prestigious list of nominees.” The Challenge category alone drew over 40 entries; the ceremony is November 7 in Geneva’s Bâtiment des Forces Motrices.

The distinction matters. Watchpro’s September 1 report confirms the GPHG Academy trimmed 320 submissions from 194 brands to 84 nominees. Worldtempus’s finalist list includes La Pièce n°2 in the Challenge category, meaning this is a nomination, not just an entry. It is also Beaubleu’s second in two years: the Seconde Française was nominated in 2024, and the brand says that first nomination “showed us one thing: our way of seeing time resonates beyond our borders.”

Beaubleu details the dial: a monobloc disc struck by the Monnaie de Paris, silver-hued, with a finely grooved radial pattern and a flying seconds hand. The brand calls the collaboration a world first for the mint, a claim that rests on Beaubleu alone. The steel case runs 39 mm by 10.2 mm with a domed sapphire crystal and an openworked back, and the movement is a France Ebauches FE automatic made in France, with a 46-hour power reserve and 5 ATM water resistance.

The published sheet is fuller than the newsroom post lets on. Beaubleu’s product page lists €1,890 on the steel bracelet (€1,790 on leather, per Monochrome), 888 pieces per colour, and delivery in late October. The one gap is the calibre number, which Beaubleu does not give. Challenge covers watches at or below CHF 4,500, and this one sits comfortably inside that ceiling: a strong story, and a spec that holds up.

Source: Beaubleu, Beaubleu product page, Monochrome

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