The Wind Up – Watch News #320

Watches and Wonders 2025 was a wild, wild ride, but now that the dust has settled and we get back into some kind of normality, we thought it prudent that we hit you with the latest and greatest since the doors at Watches and Wonders shut. In this week’s instalment of The Wind Up, a handful of watches caught our attention, including drops from the likes of Seiko, Blancpain, along with something very special from Louis Moinet. Enjoy the read and the week ahead, fellas. 

Seiko 5 Supercars SRPL54K

• Brand: Seiko
• Model: Seiko 5 Supercars
• Reference: Ref. SRPL54K
• Diameter: 42.50mm
• Thickness: 13.40mm
• Material: Stainless steel
• Movement: Calibre 4R36
• Power Reserve: 41 hours
• Water Resistance: 100 metres
• Price: AUD$695 (Limited to 2,205 pieces)

Fans of Australia’s Supercars rejoice. You asked, Seiko delivered. Here is the Seiko 5 Supercars SRPL54K, a celebration of Seiko’s partnership with the Repco Supercars Championship. The Seiko 5 Supercars SRPL54K draws on some tactile inspiration to Australia’s premier motorsport, including grid-inspired bezel markers and the Lumi Brite 12 o’clock marker — an homage to the race’s starting lights.

Beyond that, you have an asphalt-textured inner dial, with red dial highlights and of course the Seiko 5’s signature day-date aperture at 3 o’clock. Expanding on the watch’s sporting nature, you have an enlarged crown and 4 o’clock and a leather-nylon strap. Inside, the timepiece is powered by a calibre 4R36 automatic movement, which boasts 41 hours of power reserve and stellar accuracy. Best of all, the new Seiko watch comes in a box shaped like a track map of the legendary Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst and houses a scaled replica of the pit lane watch tower.

“We are incredibly proud of our long-standing partnership with Supercars,” said Daniel Findlay, Seiko Australia marketing Manager. “This Limited Edition Seiko 5 Sports watch is a testament to our shared passion for performance and precision. Every detail has been carefully crafted to capture the essence of the racetrack, offering fans a tangible piece of Supercars memorabilia.”

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique 42mm

• Brand: Blancpain
• Model: Fifty Fathoms Automatique 42mm
• Reference: Ref. 5010 1130 71S
• Diameter: 42mm
• Thickness: 14.30mm
• Material: Stainless steel
• Movement: Calibre 1315
• Power Reserve: 120 hours
• Water Resistance: 300 metres
• Price: AUD$28,700

Blancpain unveiled its all-steel Fifty Fathoms Automatique 42mm, paired with a matching steel bracelet. This steel model expands on the titanium and red gold variants, and comes with four strap options including a steel bracelet, a sailcloth strap, a tropic rubber strap and of course a NATO strap.

Inside, you’ll find the automatic calibre 1315 movement, which was first introduced in 2007, and it continues to deliver remarkable precision and endurance under extreme conditions. Equipped with a five-day power reserve, three-series coupled barrels and a silicon balance spring, it features an 18-carat red gold oscillating weight with NAC treatment (a direct callback to the original Fifty Fathoms from 1953). Flip the piece over to observe the high-performance movement and its meticulous details through a case-back window of crystal sapphire.

It’s not a showstopper, but the Fifty Fathoms Automatique 42mm operates in a zone where it’s sort of the ultimate IYKYK diver. It’s big and expensive, but it does hold a lot of merit as it is cut above a lot of cheaper, more well-known dive watches. 

Moritz Grossmann Art Edition Max Frintrop

• Brand: Moritz Grossmann
• Model: Art Edition Max Frintrop
• Reference: Ref. MG-003869 / Ref. MG-003580
• Diameter: 41mm
• Thickness: 11.35mm
• Material: Stainless steel; Rose gold
• Movement: Calibre 100.1
• Power Reserve: 42 hours
• Price: €39,500 (Stainless steel); €55,400 (Rose gold) (Limited to 8 pieces in each configuration — total of 16 pieces)

Moritz Grossmann might not be a name you’re all too familiar with. A. Lange & Söhne, surely. Glashütte Original, possibly. NOMOS Glashütte, likely. But the German Moritz Grossmann is a maison that quietly makes some of the finest, most intricate and most beautiful watches in the world. And in the Art Edition Max Frintrop, we have a clash of the finest order between genuinely brilliant watchmaking and art.

Available in 16 piece unique watches, each Moritz Grossmann Art Edition Max Frintrop model features a dial made from fragments from the floor of the artist’s studio. Available in either stainless steel or rose gold, the Moritz Grossmann Art Edition Max Frintrop boasts a random, abstract piece of artwork on the dial. 

Louis Moinet 1816

• Brand: Louis Moinet 
• Model: 1816
• Reference: Ref. LM-150.20.60
• Diameter: 40.60mm
• Thickness: 14.70mm
• Material: Titanium
• Movement: Calibre LM1816
• Power Reserve: 48 hours
• Water Resistance: 30 metres
• Price: Price on request

When the inventor of the chronograph drops a new chronograph, then you best pay attention. Categorised by the third counter which was revealed in 1816, Louis Moinet’s creation paved the way for many iconic chronographs to follow suit. And now, drawing inspiration from that faithful original, we have the modern 1816 reference.

Boasting a titanium case with a matching titanium bracelet, the new 1816 pairs a historic aesthetic with some very modern materials. The dial is the focal point here. Stylised typography, a frosted dial texture, blued steel hands and circular brushing make for a very appealing aesthetic.