The Flyback: Timex Parks It, Rado Lobs It, And Franck Muller Slams It

It’s been too long since the last edition of The Flyback. Simply too long. To make amends, I’m adding a few bonus watches this time around! This enhanced roundup has releases from Mido, Perrelet, Rado, Maurice Lacroix, Timex, Benrus, Franck Muller, and Hublot. We’ve got taupe, and national parks, and tennis, and all sorts of stuff for your horological pleasure. As always, sound off in the comments about these releases and any other that might have piqued your interest over the last — *checks notes* — month and a half (yikes)!

Rado Captain Cook X Tennis Limited Edition

You probably didn’t even realize you could collaborate with an entire sport! That’s just what the brilliant innovators at Rado have done. This new release is basically a smaller, muted version of the Captain Cook x Cameron Norrie, and that’s not a bad thing. The 39mm case of course uses a ceramic bezel (ceramic is Rado’s thing), and the grey dial has the same tennis ball plots at 12, 3, 6, and 9 (Love, 15, 30, 40). Unlike the Cam Norrie edition, it comes on a beads of rice bracelet and includes three NATO straps, which is quite a package and should ensure plenty of versatility. My favorite part is the caseback, which has a tennis ball at the center of three segments, finished to resemble clay, hard, and grass courts. The watch runs on the R763 movement with an 80-hour power reserve. Limited to 1958 pieces and priced at $2,800 USD. More at Rado.

Perrelet Lab Peripheral Salmon

The most exciting thing about this Perrelet is that it’s not a turbine watch with porn in the background (sorry if that’s your thing, but it shouldn’t be). The Lab Peripheral isn’t new — it was introduced in 2021 — but the salmon dial color and bracelet are. There’s a date version and a dual-time version, and the 42mm watches’ lack of turbine make them so much better. One, they aren’t nearly as gimmicky as the Perrelet Turbine watches, and two, they show off the peripheral rotor of the 42-hour in-house movements. Priced from €4,080 EUR. More at Perrelet.

Maurice Lacroix 1975 Vagues du Jura

The 1975 is Maurice Lacroix’s classic dress watch, and the new Vagues du Jura limited edition pieces bring a lovely pattern to the dial and introduce the brand’s only GMT to the collection (or at least until they sell out). The pattern is said to represent the rolling hills of the Swiss Jura above the brand’s manufacture in Saignelégier. I’d say it captures rolling hills pretty well, but can’t speak to the hills of Jura’s appearance. In addition to the silver GMT limited to 200 pieces, the 40mm watch is also offered in a blue date model limited to 888 pieces and a green day-date model limited to 500 pieces. Priced from $1,600 USD. More at Maurice Lacroix.

Mido Ocean Star Wordltimer

“This worldtime bezel makes me irrationally angry.” and “I just like the bund strap.” were two of the reactions from the ABTW team when this Mido release came to our inboxes. I can’t explain liking a bund strap, but I don’t mind the world time bezel. If it’s got you confused, recall that most world time watches don’t stack cities because most correlate to some sort of 24-hour scale on the dial. Here, you have the city that is ahead and behind the same amount. Rotate the bezel to align your local time to the hour hand and you’ve got an instant readout, without mussing with 24-hour scales, or something. Don’t get me started on “Rio de J.” though. Priced at $1,070 USD. More at Mido. 

Hublot Classic Fusion Essential Taupe

Taupe is not and has never been essential. Priced at $8,900 USD. More at Hublot.

Benrus Type 1 M1

I’ve heard it from countless veterans that served throughout the 1970s: “I wish the Type 1 had a champagne dial.” Now all those brave servicemen are finally getting the watch they wish they’d had on the front lines. Benrus has taken the classic asymmetrical Type 1, sized it up (to the 41.5mm Type 2 case) added a pinkish champagne dial. It’s fitted with a ceramic bezel with yellow-orange markers that to my eye clash. Unlike the classic black and white dial of the original, you get tone-on-tone here, with the M1 relying on black outlines and accents for legibility. This watch isn’t unattractive at a glance, but it seems to fall apart upon closer inspection. Let me know if you disagree. Priced at $1,900 USD. More at Benrus. 

Franck Muller #FR2NCK MULLER Vanguard Beach Limited Editions

You didn’t think I’d feature a Perrelet and not feature sex dials, did you? Ridiculous. Franck Muller has collaborated with Japanese streetwear person Ryo Ishikawa and his #FR2 (Fu**ing Rabbits) for a trio of watches exclusive to the Asia-Pacific market. Primed for summer fun and exhibitionism, the watches are housed in the brand’s signature Vanguard tonneau case, all of which are made of a glass fibre composite for bright colors. The white dials feature color-matched beach scenes with two rabbits going at it, and the white nylon straps feature designs and branding that coordinate with the rest of the watch. Priced at $14,700 USD. More at Franck Muller. 

Timex National Parks

Go ahead and spend $79 for yourself when you visit a National Park. Or do it for your friend who’s been traveling a lot with his RV, or his camper, or his really old truck, really loves the outdoors, and keeps saying he’s going to make it to all 63 U.S. National Parks. He probably never will, but wouldn’t it be nice if he had a token to remember the trips he did make and wouldn’t be it a nice thing to buy him something he might enjoy? Buy him all seven. He needs this. Priced at $79 USD. More at Timex.