Next week Bonhams is going to put three military timepieces up for auction: two from International Watch Company (IWC) and one from a company with the name Record (see the catalog here). This trio belongs to a distinctive fellowship of military watches, created for the British Military under the auspices of the MoD, known to collectors as the Dirty Dozen (Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger LeCoult...
It is good to be the king. In the absence of lineage and title, it is equally satisfying to have the watchmaker of kings cater to one's aspiration. In 1758, watchmaker Jaquet Droz, in a profitable journey to the Spanish court, laded a carriage with six clocks. This inaugural trip paved the way for his automatons, clocks and watches to find their way into the courts of Europe and Asia's kings and e...
What's so special about a Richard Mille watch? We all know about the exclusivity (less than 3,000 pieces per year), the impeccable quality and the celebrity ambassadors. But there are many more features that added up to the success of this highly exclusive watch brand: exclusive materials, astonishing finishing, distinctive complications, innovations and a unique feeling that creates a desirable o...
Yesterday we showed you four WW-II pilot’s watches, one of which was hidden in a prisoner of war’s underpants, and today we can show you the actual Marine Chronometer of the HMS Beagle where it was together with Charles Darwin, for his epic five-year voyage to South America and the Galapagos Islands.??The British Admiralty sold it in?1911, and it disappeared from records, until now! Yo...
Last year IWC introduced not only an entirely renewed Ingenieur collection, at the annual Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie. Later in the year they (more or less) quietly introduced two new models in the Portuguese collection: the Portuguese Hand-Wound 8-Days and the IWC Portuguese Chronograph Classic. Today we’re going to have a close look at the Portuguese Chronograph Classic in p...
Over the past couple of years we've introduced you to a number of Dutch watchmakers. Can we disregard the watch industry in our small but proud nation? No, we can't. We briefly covered Pellikaan back in 2011, with the release of the Limited Edition for Dutch football club F.C. Utrecht. Join us as our own Flying Dutchman' Robin Nooij takes an in-depth look at an interesting timepiece; the Pellikaan...
After the appointment of Jean-Frederic Dufour as new CEO of and of Jean-Claude Biver as CEO of all watch brands of the LVMH Group (see here), it's now the turn of Kering (former PPR) - including Girard-Perregaux, JeanRichard and Boucheron - to name a new CEO. That new CEO is Albert Bensoussan, formerly Sales Director?for Louis Vuitton Watches.?What happened in the watches industry? For a month n...
When you think of the Netherlands, you’re likely to think about tulips, wooden shoes, windmills, canals and probably some of Amsterdam’s other (red light) delights. However do not forget the recently opened Stedelijk Museum and Rijksmuseum, the famous Van Gogh Museum, the Hermitage Museum and of course the Anne Frank House. Amsterdam has always been a magnificent place for tourists, an...
Behind its visual appeal, its design and all those little things that jump out from its specifications sheet perhaps a wristwatch's essence is that it is a highly personal item which also can be used to measure time. Timing events can be for something as simple as making al dente pasta, or more complicated like sport events, aerial manoeuvres, diving time, military actions (artillery arm was the f...
Chronographs are certainly the most common complication in the watch industry, going from affordable luxury segment, such as Longines, to rugged toolwatches such as the Graham Chronofighter that we reviewed a few weeks ago or even highly complicated Haute Horlogerie timepieces like the new De Bethune DB27 Maxichrono. And to think of it, a mechanical chronograph is actually one of the most difficu...
Before Baselworld 2014, we played with the teaser photos and video that Omega released prior to the official launch during the fair, and we showed you the important details first here. When the fair started, we finally got to see and handle Omega’s modern interpretation of a classic. We go hands-on with the new Omega Seamaster 300 Master Co-Axial with the new anti-magnetic movement.In 1957 O...
This is quite something. Just two years ago Patek Philippe introduced a new 5980/1A with white dial (for laymen: that’s the Nautilus Chronograph) and now, two years later, they discontinue the steel 5980/1A models and replace it with a steel Nautilus Chronograph with a second time zone, as we know it from the Aquanaut Travel Time ref. 5164.That means that the 5980/1A-019 (the white dial Naut...
A few months ago, TAG Heuer presented a brand new in-house calibre called 1969. It was clear that Baselworld would be the place for TAG Heuer to present a new watch that with that movement. And they did come with a very nice one, the Carrera CH80, a retro-style Carrera inspired by the very firsts 1960's versions. What we didn't expect, was that the CH80 presented in Basel wasn't actually the final...
End of last year we introduced the new Monochrome Web-Shop and our hand-made premium leather watch rolls. We’re very proud that our customers were very impressed by the impeccable quality. Since we write about the most beautiful and exclusive timepieces of our planet, we feel that our products should be on par with that. So we searched long, to find a very good strapmaker, who makes the very...
Bulgari sets a new record for the world’s thinnest tourbillon. Both for the thinnest tourbillon movement and for tourbillon watch. Bulgari not simply breaks the previous record by a few percent, no, the previous record is simply CRUSHED by what Bulgari accomplished with the new Octo Finissimo Tourbillon. The spectacular ultra-thin tourbillon movement, measures just 1.95 mm, while the entire ...
In the world of watches there are many chronographs. Mostly with mechanical chronograph movements that were developed in the 1960’s or 1970’s. Just recently – now ETA stopped supplying movements to non Swatch Group brands – we see some newly developed chronograph calibers. But nothing comes close to the new chronograph movement that De Bethune has developed. Let’s tak...
We already told you that Tudor has been looking at their own past, for inspiration. In the past years they have introduced quite a few vintage-inspired models, and this year they surprised us with another version of the Tudor Heritage Black Bay, now in ‘Midnight Blue’. For too long, Tudor has been the little brother of ‘the Crown’, searching for their own identity. When we ...
Every year IWC selects one watch from their collection, usually a new model, that will be introduced with a beautiful deep blue dial and with a closed and engraved case back. There’s a good reason for this, that goes further than just a striking blue dial. These blue dial models are ?limited editions that IWC introduces (every year) for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. This year it is ...
Exactly 60 years ago, on April 3rd 1954, Longines filed for patent for its Conquest collection and name. To celebrate the 60th anniversary, Longines has launched the Conquest Heritage 1954-2014, a limited edition in steel, rose gold or yellow gold. And just like the original versions, the case back of these commemorative pieces is decorated with a gold and enamel medallion, the “gold seal of...
No, we’re NOT going to talk about a watch, we’re talking about movements. Omega starts introducing the new Master Co-Axial movements into the collection with 8 new calibres. These new calibres are the first truly anti-magnetic mechanical movements in the watch industry and they can easily resist magnetic fields up to 15,000 Gauss. That’s simply brilliant you’re going to lov...
A few weeks ago, we gave our thoughts on the possible Tudor 2014 novelties. We knew, within the team, that blue was the big crush for the aficionados of the brand and linked to the past of Tudor. We were craving for a blue Pelagos and instead, Tudor comes with a blue bezel Heritage Black Bay, a simple but really nice looking declination of the previous model that you're used to find in burgundy. L...
That's the big one, the event of the year for us and for the watch lovers that you are: BASELWORLD. All the major brands, except the 15 of the SIHH, will be there, showing us their latest models. Patek Philippe, , Tudor, all Swatch Group brands -including Longines, Omega, Breguet and Glashutte Original- TAG Heuer and all the independents watchmakers that we love We will bring you all the hot news...
Remember a few days ago, Omega was teasing us with pictures that looked like a re-issue of the Seamaster 300. We've played with Photoshop and gave you our thoughts on what it could look like. Today, Omega presented a video that shows a more precise image of the future model that will be presented coming Wednesday at Baselworld 2014. And we were close to the reality!Let’s have a look at the n...
F.P. Journe A name that sounds good to our ears. Some might say he's a genius, some are in love with his watches, and some just don't get what is hidden behind those pink gold movements. What is sure is that this man creates feelings, good or not. Back in 2012, he presented the Chronometre Optimum as the quintessential of his researches on chronometric performance. We did have the opportunity to s...
Forget waiting for PBS Antiques Roadshow to appraise the egg - it is worth millions. Here is what we know: the egg is the third of eight missing Russian Imperial Faberge eggs, having been authenticated by Kieran McCarthy who is an expert in Russian artifacts. In 1887, Alexander III gave the egg to his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna on Easter, and many years after the Russian revolution, the egg rec...
Last year Oris already swept us off our feet, with the Aquis Depth Gauge, which features a depth gauge that is as simple as it is brilliant. This year Oris celebrates their 110th anniversary and they do it with the launch of a new in-house developed movement: Calibre 110. An new in-house developed hand-wound movement boosting 10 days of power reserve, at an unbeatable price. Sound very interesting...
Two and a half years ago, the Swiss watch forum Horlogerie-Suisse.com joined forces with Alpina, to created a limited edition Startimer Pilot Manufacture, which was for sale exclusively through the forum. Now Horlogerie-Suisse.com and Habring2 joined forces and created a numbered limited edition of JUST FIVE PIECES of the Doppel 3 (that we just reviewed for you the other week) with a white dial an...
Baselworld 2014 is really close and at Monochrome Watches headquarters we are all craving for the new models that will be presented. A few days ago, we've played with rumours about and Tudor and yesterday Omega posted an intriguing image on their Facebook page. So we've played with Photoshop again, and here is a preview of what we think what Omega’s new Seamaster will look like. Since we a...
“The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry” I blame those kids at Fratellowatches.com, with their ‘Speedy Tuesday‘ presentations for corrupting my latest watch ‘scheme’! Once again in a turn fitting of an Ian Flemming novel, I found myself in London on a dreary, dark, cold day – minding my own business. All of the sudden an agent of a worldwide o...
Most of the readers of Monochrome-Watches.com will be able to identify with this scenario: you buy a watch wear it for a bit. Along comes a character offering you (very nearly) what you paid for it. So out the door it goes. Regret sets in. Suddenly you find yourself trawling through internet auctions looking to get one just like it. I had this experience with an Omega Seamaster Professional 300M G...