The?Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is an icon born in 1972 from?the pencil of a certain Gerald Genta. It was notable for several reasons – it was the world’s first luxury sports watch, it was imposing, yet impressively thin and, despite being the most expensive watch of its type on the market, it was available only in stainless steel. Collectors had to wait until 1977 to see this ?mini-mast...
Live from SIHH 2017, where Ulysse Nardin is exhibiting for the first time, we’ve just been introduced to what could be one of the (if not the) most ingenious?Regatta watches ever.?While most regatta watches are basically reversed chronographs (which count-down instead of timing an event), this watch is able to do?both, in the most practical possible way. How? By having a bidirectional second...
Here we go. Monday 16th January 2017, 9am Geneva time. The SIHH 2017 is officially opened and what could be?better than this?A. Lange & Sohne Tourbograph Perpetual Pour le Merite to sound the start of the show. In short, this watch is simply mega. If you have been?into watches for already a few years, you might be aware of the 2005?A. Lange & Sohne Tourbograph Pour le Merite, an impressive...
I think we can all agree that the fastest?way to ruin an iconic watch is by completely?redesigning it. It seems that Audemars Piguet subscribes to this idea too and in fact has gone as far as to print it?out in massive letters and put it?everywhere in the design department. Don’t change the Royal Oak, it will only?end in tears and with a final result that is nowhere near as good at what you ...
SIHH 2017 - Ulysse Nardin is about to make some noise at?its first SIHH, showing off?some seriously cutting-edge technology. The watch you're about to see is nothing like anything you've seen before. Every part of this watch boasts an innovation, whether we’re talking about the escapement, the display, the winding system or even the hands. Meet InnoVision 2, a concept watch featuring avant-g...
This is the big one for Montblanc this year, the brand new?TimeWalker collection. After several editions of the SIHH focusing on classical and elegant timepieces – what the brand called “accessible luxury” – Montblanc has decided to do the complete opposite?and present the last thing you would expect: a sports watch collection. In fact, this was Davide Cerrato’s main ...
SIHH 2017 - Vacheron Constantin unveils its first ever Grande Sonnerie wristwatch with the one-of-a-kind Les Cabinotiers Symphonia Grande Sonnerie 1860, a horological masterpiece boasting ingenious security devices, a smart strike-mode selector operated via the bezel and phantom quarters elimination. It's an impressive watch that we present to you today (and one that we'll be reviewing in greater ...
Here we are, live from the SIHH 2017. And as you can imagine, things are quite hectic. That’s?why we?will be bringing you some short stories introducing?some of the best novelties we’ve seen so far. No long articles, just the pleasure of live photos. Don’t worry, we have dozens of longer articles coming too. To start the show, here is the?mighty (understatement) Vacheron Constant...
On the sidelines of SIHH 2017, TAG Heuer and the other watch brands in?the LVMH Group (Hublot and Zenith) will?be presenting novelties to journalists and retailers who have flocked to Geneva for the week. Following on from?the full Black Ceramic Heuer-01 we showed you earlier this week, TAG returns to?the roots of its collection, with a sporty and masculine Carrera Chronograph, dressed in black an...
As previously announced on Monochrome, the Schaffhausen-based manufacturer is revamping its Da Vinci collection in 2017 including a return to the original round case which popularised this collection in the 1980s (read our article here). The SIHH 2017 is just about to get underway and so IWC has finally unveiled all the new editions for this year, including this complex model combining a flying to...
In less than 2 days – Monday 16th January, 9am (Central Europe Time) to be exact – SIHH 2017, the annual High Mass for watches in Geneva, will officially open. While the team here has?already been fortunate enough to have a glimpse of what is about to come (don’t bother?asking, we won’t tell), on this day you’ll be able to discover for yourself just what?the 17 large ...
To most of us Switzerland is the centre of the world, when it comes to watches. The Swiss Made sub-title seems to be the best way for brands to make their watches more appealing,?however that’s certainly debatable these days. Still, Switzerland is known for precision, fine mechanics and cleanness. Germany is also known for precision, cleanness and fine mechanics, and they also manufacture so...
If you are into watches, and most definitely into an icon of watchmaking named the Omega Speedmaster, the word #SpeedyTuesday might familiar. Created in 2012 by our colleagues of Fratello Watches, this must not be sued up to a single tag for social media but more as the?rallying cry of all Speedmaster passionates (and, yes, we’re amongst them). To mark this great achievement – which de...
As most watch lovers will?know, in a few days the first major watch event of the year?– SIHH 2017 – will open its doors.?On the sidelines of this massive event, some other brands (which traditionally exhibit at Baselworld), are also benefiting from the large crowd of?journalists, collectors and retailers that the SIHH draws to Geneva each year. One such brand?is not what you would?call...
In the world of watches, there’s a certain way of categorizing, and this usually refers to two main types of timepieces: sports watches and dress watches. Well, it is kind of short-sighted to split this way. There’s another category that sits right in the middle, which is often forgotten by watch journalists (us included), however watches that represent an impressive part of the sales:...
At the end of last year we announced that Tom Mulraney and Matthew Catellier?would be strengthening our team. Today we can report that Xavier Markl joins our team as Director of Business Development. You might be familiar with his name already, he wrote our Technical Perspective guides, providing a?concise introduction to all things technical when it comes to?wristwatches. Xavier isn’t new t...
Let's be honest, this past season of Formula 1 was not the most exciting between the usual suspects up front, just like the last three seasons have basically seen one team dominate the whole year. The battle within that team however was particularly exciting, right down to the final meters of the final lap of the final race. Amidst all that internal drama however a few teams and driver's still man...
In a recent piece of news, Oris announced a new iteration for?the 42mm Divers Sixty-Five. While this model already exists in?blue or green, it now comes with a rather unexpected dial, which even if strongly playing on the usual vintage theme of the collection (and maybe even more now) is featuring?a silver color, something rather unusual for a dive watch. Well, this?Oris Divers Sixty-Five Silver D...
What if… What if I could imagine and create my dream watch, the timepiece I always dreamed of, the watch that does not exist and that I’d love to own one day. Well, if you read Monochrome on a regular basis, you already know that we’re not shy when it comes to?making predictions and using Photoshop to imagine potential watches (don’t worry, we?will be doing it?again for B...
It has become sort of a tradition for IWC now. Each year, when the SIHH is about to open, we all know that the Schaffhausen-based manufacture will come with an entirely revisited collection. After the 2016 Pilot’s Watches, the 2015 Portugeisers, the 2014 Aquatimers and the 2013 Ingenieurs, it’s now time to revamp the other collection, a range of watches that might not be the most popul...
One of the major trends for?2016 has been the arrival of new-comers to?the market – new brands, created?from scratch, mainly driven by?crowd-funding (see all those affordable “Kickstarter” campaigns), with some of them showing highly interesting concepts. This trend will most definitely continue in 2017, believe us. However, most of these new projects are focused?on affordable, n...
Like we always say, Reviews are crucial for us, at Monochrome-Watches – and for two main reasons. First of all, in order to bring you the best possible stories and the most objective opinions, we need to?have some proper wrist-time with the watches. It’s no debate here: wearing the watch and experiencing it for a while, as if we were owning it, is?mandatory. It is our editorial philoso...
Founded in the late 1990s, Anonimo combines Swiss precision with rugged Italian sports chic, producing highly functional watches with a robust, modern feel. Among its?latest collections - and a favorite within the Monochrome team – the Nautilo Sailing Edition is an attractive red-black dive watch inspired by the marine background of the brand. It was released in the frame of a sailing partne...
“A Carcass” (a must-read;?here) is without doubt Charles Baudelaire's most infamous poem, exploring the idea that beauty can be found in even the most morbid scenes. Like Baudelaire's “Flowers of Evil“, skull watches attempt to extract beauty from horror. These magnificent mechanical works of art emblazoned with the face of death are at once both shocking and engaging. They...
Here’s the last give-away for the year, the last 10th anniversary give-away and we’re super happy that Montblanc generously volunteered to customize 10 watch pouches for this rather unique give-away. These beautiful leather watch pouches are not for sale in Montblanc boutiques, and cannot be bought anywhere. And now there are ten embossed with the Monochrome logo, and they are for you....
As of?the 1st of January 2017, the requirements of?the “Swiss Made” label will change, with the idea being to further?strengthen the?label?and ultimately provide?the end consumer with a more ‘Swiss’ product overall. Specifically, from January 2017, at least 60% of the value of the components within?a “Swiss Made” watch?will have to be?of Swiss origin in order to...
Basically, what you see here is one of the most innovative – and coolest – pilot watches on the market. No, it is not fitted with a super-high-end movement nor does it feature?the most spectacular design ever, but that’s not the point. You’ve already heard about the?Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter, a watch we‘ve reviewed previously. It’s?the world’s firs...
A week before Christmas we start the penultimate 10th Anniversary Give-Away. ?On December 24th we’ll run the last one, however now it’s time to win one of two sets of each two Jaeger-LeCoultre year books (No. Nine and Ten). These books are beautifully made, with beautiful photography, and covering topics from art, travel, and of course the stunning Jaeger-LeCoultre timepieces, often ex...
Today marks the final?day of?“The Monochrome Video Week”. We hope you have enjoyed watching?the in-depth movies presented this week. All of them have been filmed in our own style, by our own crew and feature subjects that we are truly passionate about;?haute-horlogerie finishing at Montblanc, 20 years of visionary?watchmaking at?URWERK, not to mention the inner-workings of two brands t...
As watch journalists, one of the most recurring questions we come across?is how a small wrist accessory (a.k.a a watch) can have a 5 or 6-digit price tag? This is especially common?from?those who are not seriously?into watches, and to be fair is an entirely reasonable?question. In order to get an?answer to this highly complex and delicate question, we dove into a detailed discussion with Davide Ce...