Watches made by Richard Mille are usually bold, extremely technical, rather large and not really?discreet. Nothing wrong in that… That’s also part of the pleasure. Except a few watches, like the RM 033 we reviewed a few weeks ago, we can’t really add the word elegant and dress next to Richard Mille watches. And this is especially the case?when it comes to tonneau-shaped watches, ...
A long time?ago I saw this extremely beautiful watch with its black face and several small sub dials with, for me at the time, unknown indications. It was the first time I saw a perpetual calendar and it was the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Perpetual, belonging to the older Master Control series. This watch is etched into my memory and has been one of my all-time favorites ever since. All the better no...
When you think “Lumen“, you know it’s going to be rare, you know that’s it’s going to feature sapphire and you know it’s also going to be superb… At A. Lange & Sohne, the name “Lumen” means rather unusual watches, which are bearing a smoky sapphire crystal that partially reveals the top side of the movement and the date / hours discs. It al...
Renewing an icon is not an easy?task?(not an easy task at all!) However, as iconic as it is, the?Vacheron Constantin Overseas has been in the collection, with an?unchanged design, for the past 12 years. The Overseas?had its last update?in?2004, and the only alterations have been cosmetic, meaning new dial colours, and adding some complications. Until now, the Overseas collection didn’t compr...
The history of Panerai is probably well known, with its link to?the Italian navy, and in particular the frogman commandos of the First Submarine Group Command of the Royal Italian Navy. The Florentine watchmakers created timepieces for the Royal Italian Navy; in?1936 they created the very first ‘Radiomir’. In 1940 the Radiomir was slightly changed (now Radiomir 1940) and in 1950 the le...
When IWC offer you the opportunity to fly on-board their Junkers JU-52 aircraft, you take it. This trip was to coincide with the launch of the new pilots range, which we covered here and here. As you would expect, it is far from just any aircraft. For many years, the Schaffhausen based manufacturer have nurtured a partnership with Swiss airline?JU-AIR?through their mutual admiration of the Junkers...
Here is the deal… TAG Heuer has just released a new Carrera watch featuring?(please, take a seat…) their?own in-house chronograph and tourbillon movement for JUST 15,000 Swiss Francs including taxes. Yes, you read it correct, there’s no typo here. We’re not talking about 150,000 Swiss Francs but really fifteen thousand Swiss Francs, including 8% Swiss taxes. Frankly, this i...
If there was only one thing to embody?about Cartier Watches it?could easily be?how the brand?masters shapes. Round, Square, oval, rectangular, deconstructed… There are many variations at Cartier and most of them are full of elegance, somehow eccentric but never overdone. The Old Maison is good at it, as we’ve seen recently with the Cle de Cartier of the Crash Skeleton.?For the SIHH 201...
You maybe were wondering why the Collector's Series hasn’t featured any vintage watches. Well, in truth, there is no reason. To rectify this, we sat down to?discuss who maybe an appropriate candidate?to?kick things off. The jury was unanimous: it had to be?someone with many years hands on?experience so we decided to ask our friend over Phillips Auctions, Mister Paul Maudsley, to introduce to...
It has to be said: the 2016 edition of the SIHH showed a focus on more accessible watches and the renewal of icons (IWC Big Pilot, Vacheron Constantin Overseas or JLC Reverso, among others). In the middle of the industry’s heavyweights, Greubel Forsey also had to slightly change its strategy, by offering something less technical, less complicated, maybe more useable on a daily basis, and mai...
This year, the manufacture Girard-Perregaux, known for its impressive tourbillons (under three bridges or working on several axis), its?minute repeaters but also for the iconic 1966 collection, is celebrating its 225th anniversary. As you might expect (this is the rule in the watchmaking industry), the brand will come with several special watches dedicated to its?rich past. The first one we’...
There are quite a few things to say about this new watch by Omega. Yes, indeed, it looks like most of the others?Seamaster Planet Ocean 600m, with the same style case, the same sort of hands and dial and the same diving capacity. However, 3 things are new and you can see it in its name:?Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600m / Master Chronometer / 39.5mm / Sedna Gold. You spotted it: new movement (and ...
The SIHH 2016 will be the edition of the Reverso, an icon at?Jaeger-LeCoultre, a watch that celebrates its 85th anniversary this year. We’ve seen several watches introduced already, like the Tribute editions or the new Classic versions – and the best is about to be introduced in Geneva. However, for those in a need for something different, no worries as JLC also has some more, some nic...
Towards the end of last year, Montblanc released a new collection: the Montblanc 1858 Collection. The Meisterstuck of this collection is the Montblanc 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter in pink gold (ref. 112637) that houses the beautiful calibre 16.29 movement from the brand’s Villeret collection. The new 1858 collection also includes another model, named the Montblanc 1858 Small Second, which?fea...
The news-storm from SIHH is in full effect, and quite literally, the renewal of the entire Big Pilot collection is BIG thing. After the limited edition IWC Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 48 & 55 (inspired on the B-Uhr watches), there are also a bundle of new Chronographs in the collection. Of course a new Petit Prince, but also a new Spitfire Chronograph. Here's an overview of the new IWC Pi...
For this 2016 edition of the SIHH, the entire Pilot’s Watch collection of IWC is about to be renewed, with first some highly cool vintage inspired editions but also the classics: the Big Pilot’s Watch and the new Mark XVIII for instance. However, IWC isn’t just about to refresh some known models but they are also?about to launch a brand new watch, which certainly is one of the mo...
Now that the SIHH?is opened, we have already seen the main novelties of IWC, Jaeger, Lange and Vacheron for example. However, we shouldn't forget another brand, which despite being the most exclusive one also creates interesting and well-priced timepieces. Usually playing on the classical side, this year Baume & Mercier goes bold and sporty. After the first editions we showed you here, here ar...
Last year Montblanc introduced the Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum and that was the brand’s first?worldtimer. It was an instant succes, and received so much positive comments from both collectors and laymen. This year the brand not only celebrates their 110th anniversary, but also the 10th anniversary of the 4810 collection that was introduced a decade ago for Montblanc’s 100 anniversar...
The moon has always played an important role in people's lives, whether it is related to tides, ceremonies, harvesting or tracking time. The moon-phase complication is one of the traditional complications, dating back to pocket watches. The Saxonia family already includes an Annual Calendar with Moonphase and a brand new collection launched in 2015. Now a new member joins the family: the Saxonia M...
Jaeger-LeCoultre already proved that they are capable of?housing a Gyrotourbillon in a dress watch. But it was a big watch, measuring 55mm by 36mm. The platinum case added to the weight. At the 85th birthday of the Reverso they have taken the combination to the next level by trimming width and thickness by 30%. Here is the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Gyrotourbillon.The ReversoThe reverse ...
Montblanc has been coming with an extremely strong offering, this year again, and during the fair they literary are the talk of the ‘town’. The high-end complication, like the ExoTourbillon Slim and the limited editions with hand-painted dials, the Tourbillon Cylindrique Pocket Watch 110 Years and the 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter?are awe-inspiring. At the same time, the ExoTourbillon an...
The Richard Lange Jumping Seconds watch is yet another exemplary achievement of the watchmakers from Glashutte. The watch is all about precision and innovation but also about history and heritage. The 39.9mm timepiece will be produced in platinum and is limited to 100 pieces. It combines a display of seconds in strict one-second intervals with some other clever features in honouring F.A. Lange's i...
Today we’re going to show you yet another spectacular piece that Montblanc created to celebrate their 110th anniversary. The brand with German roots and Swiss made timepieces shows?its?prowess in the world of high-end watches again. Yesterday we showed you one of the most affordable, if not THE most affordable, tourbillon watch in the world of high-end watches, the Montblanc 4810 ExoTourbill...
In the new Overseas Collection, Vacheron introduced the highly desirable ultra-thin edition of the Vacheron Constantin Overseas. This watch clearly brings back VC where it deserves to be, in the top 3 of the luxury sports watches. However, there’s a major issue with the ultra-thin edition: it is rather expensive and not every collector will have pockets large enough to afford it. No worries,...
We all know the Datograph, THE most iconic chronograph?of?A. Lange & Sohne – and clearly, one of the most desirable chronographs of the actual production (if not one?most desirable watches?of the actual production). We also know the more complicated edition, the Datograph Perpetual, that the brand renewed last year, with its stunning grey dial and a QP. For the 2016 edition of the SIHH, ...
In terms of Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the choice is vast and you could easily find the right one. You’ll have the classical one (the 15400), the luxurious and slim one (our favorite here at Monochrome-Watches, the 15202ST) but you can also go for sportier ones, with the Offshore collection, that includes the recently renewed Chronographs and the Diver edition (also one of our favorites here...
It’s already 14 years ago since IWC revived the now iconic Big Pilot’s Watch and this year they treat us on a new and improved version: the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch IW500912. Moreover, IWC also launches three more Big Pilot’s Watch models, being the Big Pilot’s Watch Spitfire (ref. IW500917) in 18k red gold, the Big Pilot’s Watch Top Gun (ref. IW502001) in black ce...
It is an undeniable fact that the IWC Mark (Mk) is one of the most important military/aviation watches ever created. What started as a life saving tool watch for the navigators and flying officers of the British RAF transformed, as all mechanical watches have, into an elegant wristwatch, which in parallel keeps all the qualities of its ancestors. In many ways the latest versions of the Mark consti...
This year Montblanc celebrates the 110th anniversary of the Maison, and they have worked on something rather exceptional to highlight this year. To understand the gravity of this we have to look at last year’s novelty, the Montblanc Heritage Chronometrie ExoTourbillon Minute Chronograph. It featured the very clever and patented ExoTourbillon that used to be exclusive for the ultra high-end V...
Here we are, 2016 has just started and the new horological year too, meaning that the SIHH 2016 is about to open its doors and to reveal the novelties of?Richemont Group brands. This year for the very first time the SIHH also gives the floor to several independent watchmakers. Known as the?Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, the SIHH will be this year more interesting than ever before. In ...