Bestowed with a seemingly endless power reserve, the watch industry continues to tick on. Naturally, we’re back with the August edition of In The Loupe, our monthly watch news series detailing all the latest and greatest—not to mention some downright bizarre—releases and happenings in the watch world.
August 2026 watch news
Welcome back to In The Loupe, our monthly watch news series covering everything you need to know happening in the watch industry. Wind down and get caught up below.
MING makes hammertime great again with the 37.06 Royal Selangor
- Independent watch brand MING has teamed up with Royal Selangor, the world’s most preeminent pewter maker, to create the 37.06 Royal Selangor
- Housed within a 38mm titanium case is a hammered pewter dial, cast from almost 97% tin
- It’s powered by a Swiss-made Sellita for MING SW300.M1 calibre, an automatic movement with a 45-hour power reserve
- The timepiece is entirely assembled in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the first MING watch to do so
Price: $5000CHF
Availability: 88 examples
Model: 37.06 Royal Selangor
Case size: 38mm
Movement: Sellita for MING SW300.M1 (automatic)
Water resistance: ATM
Functions: hours, minutes
Power reserve: 45 hours
Explore 37.06 Royal Selangor via MING.
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new date for the Baltic Aquascaphe MK2 Date
- Baltic has listened to fan requests and put a date on its Aquascaphe dive watch
- The date appears at 6 o’clock in order to preserve symmetry, with the window accented with a finely bevelled edge
- The new addition sits alongside the no date version and is available in 37mm and 39.5mm case sizes
- It’s powered by the Miyota 9015, an automatic movement with a 42-hour power reserve
Price: €655 (approx. $1075AUD)
Model: Aquascaphe MK2 Date
Case size: 37mm or 39.5mm
Movement: Miyota 9015 (automatic)
Water resistance: 20ATM
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, date
Power reserve: 42 hours
Explore Aquascaphe MK2 Date via Baltic.
Doxa revises the oh so functional SUB 200 T.GRAPH II
- Over half-a-century after its original release, Doxa has revisited the SUB 200 T.GRAPH with the SUB 200 T.GRAPH II
- The original was notable for being a dive watch with a chronograph movement, a rare combination at the time
- The new SUB 200 T.GRAPH II revises the proportions of the original, opting for a more comfortable 42mm case size while maintaining the same 200 metres of water resistance, unidirectional bezel, and highly legible dial
- Alongside the Professional orange, Sharkhunter black, and Searambler sunburst silver dial shades, the brand has introduced a new Caribbean blue
- The timepiece is presented on a beads of rice bracelet or rubber strap and is powered by the Sellita SW510, an automatic movement with a 56-hour power reserve
Price: $6490AUD (rubber strap); $6550AUD (beads of rice bracelet)
Model: SUB 200 T.GRAPH II
Case size: 42mm
Movement: Sellita SW510 (automatic)
Water resistance: 20ATM
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, date, chronograph
Power reserve: 56 hours
Explore SUB 200 T.GRAPH II via Doxa.
Mr Jones Watches knows you don’t really care about the time
- It’s all vibes all the time for Mr Jones Watches, with the British brand releasing the &#@%!?
- The &#@%!? pokes fun at the trivialities of everyday life, capturing those times when time seems to move at a glacial pace (traffic jams, laptop updates, that hour before lunch) and those when it’s not so slow
- Doing away with conventional hour and minute hands, the timepiece categorises time into ‘slow as fuck’ (hour hand) and ‘not so slow’ (minute hand), while retaining the seconds hand
- The watch is designed by illustrator and printmaker Rocky Beeson, following her “I see it, I hate it, I draw it” approach to work
Price: £195
Availability: 300 examples
Model: &#@%!?
Case size: 37mm
Movement: quartz
Water resistance: 5ATM
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds
Power reserve: N/A
Explore &#@%!? via Mr Jones Watches.
TAG Heuer and Team Ikuzawa reunite for a stylish Carrera Chronograph
- TAG Heuer has reunited with Team Ikuzawa and Bamford Watch Department for a second collaboration
- The collaboration uses the Swiss watch brand’s 39mm stainless steel Carrera Glassbox Chronograph as a base, applying the Japanese motorsport team’s shades of red and white to the dial
- A white Clou de Paris dial is surrounded by a black flange with a 60-second scale, with red accents on the minute counter at 3 o’clock and the lacquered central hand
- It’s powered by the in-house calibre TH20-10, an automatic movement with an 80-hour power reserve
- The collaborative timepiece is presented in a case inspired by vintage pit lane toolboxes
Price: $15,850AUD
Availability: 150 examples
Model: TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Team Ikuzawa (ref. CBS221M.EB0435)
Case size: 39mm
Movement: TH20-10 (automatic)
Water resistance: 10ATM
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph, date
Power reserve: 80 hours
Explore TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Team Ikuzawa via TAG Heuer.
Grand Seiko refines its Evolution 9 collection
- Grand Seiko has released the latest evolution of its Evolution 9 collection, with nine new references joining the lineup
- The new models comprise five references with a 9R Spring Drive movement and four with a 9S mechanical movement
- The Spring Drive U.F.A. Calibre 9RB2 is notable for its accuracy, with a variation of just +/- 20 seconds a year
- Among the 9S highlights are a blue Lake Suwa dial in a 37mm or 40mm stainless steel case, a black Lake Suwa dial paired with a titanium case and bracelet, and a textured ice blue dial inspired by the Genbi Valley; while the 9R models include a white birch forest dial
Explore Evolution 9 via Grand Seiko.
Steel yourself; the Franck Muller Vanguard Damascus Steel draws inspiration from Samurai swords
- Inspired by the ancient craftsmanship behind Samurai swords, Franck Muller has released its Vanguard Damascus line, named after the new alloy of the same name
- The duo of new watches are crafted from austenitic, non-magnetic stainless steel, which is shock- and corrosion-resistant. Produced in-house, the material undergoes an acid bath treatment which brings out layered patterns on the surface of the case and dial
- The Vanguard Damascus line spans a three-hand model and the skeletonised Vanguard Damascus Racing
- The former is our pick of the two; housed within a 52.7mm x 42.5mm tonneau-shaped Damascus steel case with a Damascus steel dial topped with brass applique numerals
- It’s powered by the calibre MVT FM 800-DT, an automatic movement with a 42-hour power reserve
Price: $POA
Availability: SEA exclusive
Model: Vanguard Damascus (ref. SC DT DAMAS (NR))
Case size: 52.7mm x 42.5mm
Movement: MVT FM 800-DT (automatic)
Water resistance: 3ATM
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, date
Power reserve: 42 hours
Explore Vanguard Damascus via Franck Muller.
Words by Theo Rosen and Henry Blake
