The Carrera, a pillar of TAG Heuer's identity, turns 55 this year and is feted with a rush of Carrera models, including this racy 45mm Carrera Chronograph GMT fitted with the souped-up in-house Heuer 02 movement. Displaying the 3-6-9 chronograph configuration of the original Carrera, TAG Heuer steams ahead and embraces a contemporary skeletonised look to ensure the Carrera stays in the fast lane.G...
There is something special about the Monsieur Bovet This subtly sophisticated watch is imbued with a sense of nostalgia for bygone elegance and its classical lines are clearly inspired by pocket watches. A truly versatile watch, it incorporates Bovet's patented Amadeo convertible case concept. Not one watch, but four watches rolled into one. Here is our take on the new Bovet Monsieur Bovet.Bovet&#...
On the contrary to?most of the other buying guides we’ve published, the present one is more of a “wish list” or a “dream list” rather than a proper guide – so consider it a guide for those who already have everything they need but want to be genuinely surprised. Nothing here is rational, it’s all about passion, ingenuity, creativity and impressive mechanic...
While A. Lange & Sohne tends to be quite conservative in its design, it can sometimes get a little bit more creative when it comes to limited editions or boutique exclusive watches – think, for instance, about the 1815 Chrono Boutique Edition or the Terra-Brown Saxonia. Today, the brand is unveiling a new version of the Saxonia Annual Calendar, which for the occasion has been spruced up ...
At the SIHH 2018, Jaeger-LeCoultre re-introduced one of its most emblematic collections, the Polaris. Slightly vintage-inspired, superbly executed (the case is superb), utterly JLC in the style but with a sportier look, it has been quite a success. Already comprising multiple models, including a 3-hander, a time-and-date, a chronograph, a chronograph-world-time and, of course, an alarm version (th...
Bvlgari is on a roll setting record after horological record in the ultra-thin category. Who can forget the succession of impressive victories obtained by the 2014 Octo Finissmo Tourbillon, the 2016 Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater, the 2017 Octo Finissimo Automatic and this year's Octo Finisimmo Automatic Tourbillon? Just when you thought that the brand might be running out of steam in the ultra-le...
2017 has been quite a hectic year for the Richemont Group. We’ve?witnessed?the “Big Reshuffle” with the departure of four CEOs (JLC, Vacheron, Piaget, Dunhill) as well as the appointment of Lambert as Head of Operations and Kern as Head of Watchmaking, Marketing and Digital. Everything was planned until Kern announced his departure for Breitling, which led Lambert to be appointed...
Twenty-five years ago, in 1993, Omega launched a model that would become a classic among classics, a springboard into the world of luxury watches and cinematic fame after being worn by Pierce Brosnan in Goldeneye (1995): the Seamaster Professional 300M. If the look of the new model launched at Baselworld 2018 feels rather conservative, the evolution is simply impressive and concerns every single p...
During the 1970s, Heuer was deeply involved in Formula One as the perfect communication tool to promote its racing chronographs. Some Carrera watches – rare ones with gold cases, under the reference 1158 CHN?– were gifted by Jack Heuer to successful drivers. In 1972, Jack gave Swedish F1 Driver Ronnie?Peterson such a watch – a watch that was recently?auctioned. If the original on...
A visit to Les Ateliers (editor's note, the place where most independent watchmakers exhibit) at Baselworld 2018 can sometimes bring very nice surprises - especially if you have a love for old-school chronograph watches. The Claude Meylan Legende 69 is a clean, simple, elegant stopwatch. As its name suggests, it is powered by a vintage Valjoux 69 chronograph movement, entirely refurbished and rede...
The 1950s and 1960s have been all the rage on the watchmaking scene of late inspiring models that satisfy our nostalgia for the past beating with contemporary movements. Vintage mania is at all-time high and the 1970s are inching their way onto the style radar with proposals like this groovy Blancpain Bathyscaphe Day Date 70s oozing a cool 1970s vibe. MONOCHROME fell in love with this watch and it...
After our Top Ten countdown of?the best Dive watches, the best GMT watches and the best Tourbillon watches of Baselworld 2018, it’s time to focus on one of the most important and popular categories:?chronographs. This edition of the Basel Watch Fair proved, yet again, that the chronograph can be morphed into any style: elegant, sporty, modern, vintage, affordable, exclusive. So here is our e...
Patek Philippe unveiled several extremely impressive - and complicated - timepieces this year at Baselworld. The 5270P Perpetual Calendar Chronograph with a head-turning salmon dial was a personal favourite, as was the unexpected, but not unwelcome, Nautilus Perpetual Calendar 5740G. Surprisingly though, it was one of the brand's non-complicated models that really caught my eye. Artistic yet elega...
It's no secret that smaller case sizes are back in a big way, which is something we're pretty pleased about here at MONOCHROME. A particular favourite is the new Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Bronze?(also available in steel), which was introduced at Baselworld last month and boasts a gorgeous bronze case that measures just 36mm. This model came as somewhat of a surprise to us and so we were quite ke...
Georges Kern has been busy dusting off cobwebs and streamlining references (from 600 to 120) since he was appointed CEO of Breitling in the summer?of 2017. With large market segments entirely overlooked by the brand's predominant focus on oversized pilot's watches, Kern has altered the flight plan. His mission is one of expansion and he hopes to attract women and lure the Asian market into the Bre...
This year, Bulgari unites several iconic feats of women's watch and jewelry?making into one incredible timepiece that coils around the wrist in voluptuous beauty. In addition to being ultra sexy, it is the answer to any woman's wishes. Find out why with the new Bulgari Serpenti Tubogas Three Gold.Italian jewelry and watch brand, Bulgari, has many an icon in its history. Additionally, the brand is ...
If Patek Philippe is renowned for its super-complicated watches and its iconic luxury sports timepieces, we often forget that there is something else, something simply exquisite that the brand masters: metiers d’art?or rare handcrafts. Enamelling, micro-painting, micro-marquetry, hand-guilloche… Few manufactures can compete with Patek in terms of the calibre of its artistic work. From?...
After successively launching the thinnest tourbillon watch (the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon), the thinnest minute repeater watch (the?Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater) and, at that time, the thinnest automatic watch (the Octo Finissimo Automatic), we thought that the?Bvlgari Watches team was about to slow things down a bit, just to let us breathe. Wrong! For Baselworld 2018, we were left speechless ag...
In 2017, IWC took us by surprise when presenting the desirable, vintage-inspired and definitely cool?Pilot's Watch Mark XVIII Edition Tribute to Mark XI. Now, it’s time for the Schaffhausen-based brand to focus on the chronograph version of this watch and to apply the same recipe: baton hands, faux-patine markers, cleaner dial and fabric strap. And if the 3-hander was mimicking the Mark XI, ...
It's official. Romain Jerome has been rebranded as RJ and made its debut at Baselworld 2018 with the new Arraw collection, its first line of men's and women's watches that will set the tone of things to come. A derivation of the Titanic DNA and Moon Dust models, the Arraw line is poised to become the building block for future developments and was assembled by the new RJ team in a record time of ju...
De Bethune’s DB25 Starry Varius is a beautiful tribute to the firmament housed in a smaller, 42mm titanium case with an interesting customisation proposal.? Every watch is a unique, one-off model offering you the possibility of customising the night sky to your heart's desire. After a somewhat unsettled period for the brand, Pierre Jacques is back as CEO, there is a new private equity invest...
When introduced back in 2016, the redesigned Overseas was Vacheron Constantin’s answer to the highly coveted market of the luxury sports watch (a market dominated by AP and PP). First launched in blue and silver editions, later followed by warm and original brown versions, there was still one missing colour to complete the collection. Problem solved for 2018, with the introduction of the?Vac...
The tourbillon is often presented as the king of complications. Originally invented to combat the negative effects of Earth’s gravitational pull, it remains today a ubiquitous feature for all high-end brands as a demonstration of watchmakers' capabilities to manufacture such small mechanisms. As for each edition of Baselworld, 2018 has brought its share of new tourbillon watches. We have put...
What a difference a dial?makes! When Gronefeld unveiled the Parallax Tourbillon in 2014, it was the third watch produced by the Horological Brothers, Bart and Tim Gronefeld. After the GTM-06 (Gronefeld Tourbillon Minute Repeater) and the One Hertz, they wanted to showcase a large tourbillon. One that would hover over the dial, or at least on the same level as the dial, so it would have all spotlig...
It is no secret that the future of retail is online. This goes for?most consumer goods but this has also started to affect the luxury world, which includes watches. After several Richemont brands entering e-commerce together with Net-a-Porter and Mister Porter (think IWC later followed by other members of the Group), it’s now time for Audemars Piguet to start testing such retail processes, y...
Patek Philippe has a flair for making complications look beautiful, on every level. With almost 180-years' experience under its belt, the brand's talent for ensuring that the exterior of the watch is as beautiful as its interior is legendary. The new ladies' Chronograph, Ref. 7150/250R, is the only women's chronograph in Patek's current line-up and combines the prowess of a first-class chronograph...
What's old is new again, and Omega's Seamaster 1948 gets a second lease of life in 2018 with two limited edition models that capture the retro spirit of the originals combined with turbo-charged 21st-century engines in the form of Co-Axial Master Chronometer movements. Seventy years down the line, the Seamaster 1948 reappears to seduce a new generation of buyers with two very attractive models, on...
GMT Watches… How not to look at this specific category when the star of the show this year, at Baselworld 2018, featured such a complication. You name it: the GMT Pepsi Steel. Yet, that was not the only Traveller’s watch to be introduced during the fair. In fact, we’ve seen some pretty interesting new offers. Here are 7 very different watches, from an elegant Patek to an ultra-...
This year, at Baselworld 2018, the main novelty for Tudor was the Black Bay GMT – a watch that was a?hot topic of debate, released in tandem with? ’ version of the Steel-Pepsi GMT watch. But was this watch the most important piece in the new collection? Maybe not. Tudor also introduced the?Black Bay Fifty-Eight. A weird name for a watch that, at first sight, seems to be just another Bl...
While Omega’s main focus for Baselworld 2018 was the Seamaster collection – which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year – the Biel-based brand couldn’t entirely ignore its other icon, the Speedmaster. Apart from the modern and surprising Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 edition, Omega also had something very desirable to show: a new CK2998 Limited Edition. Nothing rev...