Just days ahead of the launch of the 2018 edition of the SIHH – the Geneva-based watch fair where all the watchmaking brands of the Richemont Group present their novelties – the Richemont Group posts its financial results for?the last quarter of 2017. The positive trend continues with an overall 7% increase in sales for the Group.Firstly, note that growth is mainly registered at consta...
Here, at MONOCHROME, we’re not huge fans of the smart-watches, to say the least. We cherish and celebrate watches in their purest (probably old-school) form: ME-CHA-NI-CAL! We love gears, pinions, hand-decoration, complications but also all the devoted people that work behind the scenes. Smart-watch, as tech objects, never ticked the boxes. However, we have to?keep up with the times and admi...
2 years ago, Oris presented the first?Carl Brashear Limited Edition, a bronze vintage-inspired dive watch with a lovely contrasting blue dial. No need to say, it was an instant hit. The watch went sold-out quickly and pleased collectors. Today, we have the second edition. Using the same bronze/blue dial combination, still based on the Divers Sixty Five, this time the brand adds an unprecedented co...
Now it makes zero sense to compare the very first luxury sports watch to the very latest in this desirable segment, at least not from a consumer’s perspective (the vintage AP RO Jumbo is of course not for sale anymore.) However, it does, when looking at if and how the luxury sports watch segment has developed over the past 4.5 decades. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref. 5402ST was introduced...
Since its introduction in 2006, the?Patek Philippe 5396 Annual Calendar is amongst the most classical options in the brand’s collection. It offers a cleaner and a slightly more modern option to the conservative reference 5146, the sub-dial based Annual Calendar watch. In addition to the?existing versions, with silvery-white or grey dials (with appliques or Breguet numerals), Patek has decide...
It’s true… The SIHH 2018 hasn’t started yet. However, as every year, the game of the “pre-SIHH” watches (novelties introduced as teasers for what is to come during the fair) brought its dosage of new watches. In order to prepare yourself for what’s coming in a week, here is a short recap of the main novelties already introduced as part of the SIHH 2018 collectio...
As you well know, dear reader, we manage to get our hands on an enviable number of incredible timepieces here at MONOCHROME. Some, like the stunning Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance with guilloche dial by Kari Voutilainen, make their presence immediately felt, whilst others, like the Tudor Heritage Black Bay steel, are decidedly more understated, although no less appealing. Today, we are getti...
While some of the watches introduced by Ulysse Nardin at the SIHH 2018 slightly surprised us, including the Marine Torpilleur Military (and surprise doesn’t mean negative feelings here), the brand also had something resolutely classic up its sleeve in the form of the?Classico Manufacture Grand Feu, which we reviewed here. Endowed with glossy enamel dials, a subtle yet original design, and an...
The horological landscape is a complex and interesting one, filled with not only mechanical marvels for your wrist but also myriad other interrelated products. The connection with some, such as watch winders, is obvious, whilst others are a little more abstract. Berd Vaye horological sculptures definitely fit into this latter category, displaying vintage watch parts from around the world in a whol...
I always have a little bit of a tough time stomaching car, football club or otherwise branded Limited Edition or commemorative timepieces. Some try way too hard to get across what they are, other than a standard series watch with often little more than a few details that have nothing to do with watchmaking. Don't get me wrong, there are examples that come out just right in my book, and yes it is o...
The end of the year is close, so it is time, before 2018 starts, to recap what happened in 2017. Yesterday, we looked at the industry and the 5 main highlights of the year. Today, we move back to watches, with the 5 pieces that created most conversations. Controversial, innovative, unexpected or loved… There were some great pieces in 2017 and these 5 are the ones that, for us, should be reme...
As 2017 is coming to an end, and before the new horological season starts with the SIHH (as of January 15th, 2018), we thought it was important for you to understand what happened this year in the watchmaking industry. The idea here isn’t to focus on watches, we’ll have another recap article for that.?In all fairness, 2017 has been an eventful year. From the?game of musical chairs at R...
A great looking simple dress watch has a certain “je ne sais quoi”. Of course there’s is only so much you can do as a designer, at least that what most laymen think. And also to us there are some very simple 2, or 3-hand watches that are just… perfect. The size, the shape of the case, that small bevel on the lugs, and that lovely straight-brushed case-band, or any other det...
Recently, we had the pleasure to publish what has been one of our most demanding projects of the year, “The Speedmaster Chronicles”. We wanted to celebrate an icon of the watchmaking world, a watch that is known by most of us, a watch that carries an immense history, a watch that made it to the moon and, overall, a dream machine. You name it: the Omega Speedmaster. 5 movies, 5 guests, ...
In mechanical engineering, compliant mechanisms (monolithic or joint-less structures) are flexible mechanisms that transfer an input force or displacement to another point through elastic body deformation, using the elastic properties of matter to affect the motion of mechanical components. These monolithic, compact and precise components replace several mechanically assembled parts. The absence o...
If you’re a long-time reader of MONOCHROME, you should already be familiar with Brellum, a young Swiss-based brand responsible for the Duobox. This watch is everything of a no-nonsense chronograph: slightly vintage-inspired, robust, very well built and overall, cool to wear. We now have the first main evolution of this watch, the?Duobox Pandial. The racing inspiration is now clear, with a tw...
Just in time for the holidays, we bring you seven great watches - for men and women - under USD1,000, as selected by women insiders in the watch industry. This article was initially conceived of in response to the male-insiders-only article written in the New York Times just over a week ago. For that article, entitled A Watch With Snob Appeal for Under $1,000? Six Watch Insiders Offer Picks the au...
Recently, Xavier and I had the pleasure to visit Patek Philippe’s manufacture, from the case and bracelet factory to the Haute Horlogerie ateliers. It’s only once you’ve been there that you can understand that something truly special is going on, especially at the HH workshop. Patek Philippe minute repeaters, which are manufactured there, have always been known to be best-in-clas...
Piaget and ultra-thin are two words that go together very well. For over 60 years now, the brand has developed a true expertise in ultra-thin watches and movements (don't forget that Piaget started its life as a movement manufacturer and not as a jeweller). From the Calibre 9P to the recent 900P, the brand has gone from one world-record to another. Last year, a certain Italian-rooted brand unveile...
A good watch doesn’t have to break the bank. Thankfully, there are plenty of worthy options if you are looking for something affordable, yet stylish and well-crafted. We have put together 5 respectable watches priced under EUR 1,000. Of course, because you are reading MONOCHROME, these 5 timepieces couldn't be anything else than automatic. And they all come from well-established brands. Did ...
Vintage-inspired watches have been one of the hottest trends of 2017 and this looks set to continue in 2018. Automotive-focused watches from the golden era of the 1960's and 1970's, such as the Bell & Ross Vintage Bellytanker and the Heuer Autavia, have been particularly popular, no doubt helped along in no small part by the $17m sale of a Daytona owned by some guy. Not everyone can afford t...
Today is the fifth and last episode of “The Speedmaster Chronicles“. We’ve been looking at the past (the NASA story, the vintage collector) and the present (auctions and markets, Speedy Tuesday movement) and today we need to close the circle. It’s time for us to understand what the Speedmaster represents?for Omega and to look at the future, to see what it will mean in the c...
The Former NASA Program Manager and Aerospace Engineer who certified the Speedmaster, the journalist turned watch-designer who initiated “Speedy Tuesday”, a seasoned Speedy collector… What could have been the next step when it comes to the Omega Speedmaster? At a certain point, when you look at such an iconic watch, you have to talk auctions and markets. So no shortcuts, we asked...
Last year, Oris introduced their first watch made in partnership with Rega,?a private, non-profit air?rescue?service that provides emergency medical assistance in?Switzerland. Based on the powerful and unique?Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter, we even tested it right where it should be, in the Swiss mountains. Today, Oris presents the Oris GMT Rega Limited Edition, the second watch made in support of t...
Our series of videos “The Speedmaster Chronicles” started with two insiders. One is the fFormer NASA Program Manager and Aerospace Engineer who tested and certified the Moonwatch before going to the Moon. The other is no less than Mister Speedy Tuesday, our dear friend Robert-Jan Broer. Today, for Episode 3, we move on the other side of the watchmaking planet, with a collector. We won&...
Today is Tuesday. What else then, except?having the one-and-only?Mister Speedy Tuesday featured for our second instalment of “The Speedmaster Chronicles“. Yesterday, we started this series of videos with the man that certified the Omega Speedmaster to go to the Moon. Today, we give the floor to fellow watch-journalist?Robert-Jan Broer, founder of Fratellowatches. Most importantly, RJ (...
The Reverso… A classic among the classics. It is indeed such a watch, however, there’s nothing wrong with a good old classic watch and the Reverso proves it after almost 90 years of existence (its creation dates back 1931). Done in dozens of variations, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduces a new model as part of the Pre-SIHH 2018 collection: a Reverso Tribute Duoface elegantly dressed in pink g...
Here it is: Episode 1 of our series of videos dedicated to the one-and-only Omega Speedmaster “Moonwatch“. Certainly one of the most iconic watches ever created, many stories have been written about this stopwatch. Yet, today, we are proud to have a special guest with us for the first episode of “The Speedmaster Chronicles“. Without him, the Speedmaster would have never bee...
Last year, at the SIHH 2017, Montblanc introduced an entire collection focused on sports, the new Timewalker. The main source of inspiration for this collection was certainly Motorsport… But that was just a fraction of where these watches came from. In fact, there’s a longer story behind them, as the?TimeWalker collection takes its DNA from early stop-watches made by Minerva (now owned...
Today, we’re extremely proud to announce that tomorrow, 11 December 2017, our largest video project ever (and we’ve done quite a few – see here) will go live, and it will last for no less than 5 days. It took us some great efforts to gather all these amazing guests, to find the right angle, to define what it would look like, and of course to film it… Here it is, “The ...