In a community of watch collectors, the concept of a get-together is not exactly new. Such events are mostly dominated by collectors of “the Crown,” but every once in a while, something special brews up. Luckily, we at Monochrome managed to be present for one such event. This event paid tribute to a timepiece that coincidentally does end with the letters “E” and “X...
Anyone who has hit the RPM limiter while pressed back into a bucket seat, anyone who has done the pedal dance of heel and toe, anyone who snapped the rear end, Z rated tires screaming and the muffler thundering, anyone who has done these things knows what it means to go fast.Chopard knows what it means to go Superfast. As ubiquitous as racing legends Prost, Senna, or Schumacher are to the sport of...
The summer is coming, or at least that’s the feeling that I get from the few lovely warm and sunny days, that we enjoyed over the past weeks. OK, the number of rainy, windy, and cold days still outnumber the nice days, but after a very long and miserable winter it feels like a step in the right direction. And when I think of the summer I think of the sunny beaches in the south of France, enj...
The biennial?Only Watch charity watch auction, to be held in Monaco on September 28, will donate all its ?proceeds to research for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Many watch brands donate a piece unique for this auction and we will be showing you all these unique watches here on Monochrome. First and foremost is a piece unique from Patek Philippe, ref. 5004T, which is the fourth known Patek in titani...
A. Lange & Sohne will be supporting the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este for the second time. Maybe you remember the beautiful photos of the Lange 1 Timezone piece unique for this classic car event that we showed you last year (see here and here). This magnificent celebration of the beauty of automobiles is taking place in Como, Italy, from May 24th to 26th.Like last year, Lange & Sohne pr...
Richard Mille is synonymous for luxury sports watches, or maybe even synonymous for the ultimate luxury in sports watches. Whether it’s a big round dive watch with a tourbillon or a an extremely light-weight tonneau shaped watch with a tourbillon that can be worn when playing golf, like the RM038 Bubba Watson Tourbillon; Richard Mille creates timepieces for people who also have a Black Card ...
One of the Ingenieur models that we haven’t discussed in detail, is the Ingenieur Dual Time Titanium ref.?IW326403. It was launched this January, when IWC introduced the completely “re-engineered” Ingenieur collection. During an IWC event earlier this week we had the chance to get hands-on experience with this robust globetrotter.Until now the focus was aimed at the classical Ing...
A few months ago, we at Monochrome received a call that blew our socks off. The guys and gals from Harry Winston had some great news they wanted to share with us. In preparation for this year's Baselworld, they were looking to do something special besides the annual Opus timepiece. The final suggestion was to debut two watches, one of them being an elegant dress watch and the other a more expressi...
I have a confession to make. I am a frustrated watchmaker. I unfortunately lack the fine motor skills to deftly manipulate the tools necessary in assembling a timepiece. Moreover, I have the wrong psychological mindset to patiently toil at a watchmaker's bench.?In the past, apparently simple DIY tasks, requiring the use of tools, have flummoxed me. A red mist stealthily descends on my psyche and a...
Monochrome has been making an effort of bringing you the most stunning watch photos , every week a new set from photographers all around the world. Whether the photos are made by professional photographers, like Bert Buijsrogge (check here and here), Ming Thein (see here) or Martin Wilmsen (see here for an example), or hobbyist who post iPhone photos on a Facebook group called wrist shots (check t...
Patek Philippe just introduced a new reference in their collection, which might easily become a future classic. The new ref. 5200G (the G refers to its white gold case) is part of the Gondolo collection and features an 8-Days manually wound movement with a day and date indicator. Albeit ref. 5200G is an entirely new model, it shares some similarities with two other Gondolo models, both the ref.512...
Heroes are giants – gods among us mere mortals. Heroes are larger-than-life figures who occupy the stratosphere, enjoying the view from mount Olympus as the twenty-four hour news channels immortalize them. In making their feats appear effortless, they gain our admiration, nay our devotion, and sometimes in feats of mythic proportion, our worship. Aviators have ascended this pedestal, and to ...
On the day of the official Opus presentation, Monochrome had an appointment with Harry Winston to view their watches and viewed the latest Opus interpretation. Each year, Harry Winston releases an Opus creation, giving the world a unique horological creation. The tradition of an Opus began with Max Busser, who at the time worked for Harry Winston, and continues by showcasing the talent of notable ...
?Ulysse Nardin presents a world first: a wrist watch with a music box, called Stranger. Why this name you might wonder? That’s because it plays the?melody Strangers in the Night. This brilliant masterpiece was created by?Dieter Meier, the Godfather of Techno-Music who scored hits under the name Yello, and?Dr. Ludwig Oechslin. Ludwig Oechslin is of course no ‘stranger’ (pun intend...
The last few years, Tudor has been heavily inspired by their own heritage and, logically, created an entire Heritage collection. Two years ago Tudor launched the Heritage Chrono that features the exact same looks as its vintage ancestor. Last year they surprised everyone with the Pelagos and the Heritage Black Bay. So two major dive watch releases in one year. The Pelagos, albeit not part of the H...
Monochrome is giving away two passes for an IWC Ingenieur Event at the Zandvoort Race Track. But you need to qualify first! A) You have an IWC Ingenieur and B) you’re living in the BeNeLux (Belgium, Netherlands or Luxembourg). When the answer on both question is yes, and if you like to attend this exiting day with IWC, then you could just fill out the form below in order to become one of the...
Who doesn’t know about Omega’s co-axial escapement? I guess everyone who has an above average interest in (mechanical) watches has heard about the ‘co-axial escapement’. It’s been 14 years since Omega launched their first timepiece featuring the co-axial escapement that was?invented (in 1974) and patented (in1980) by the English master watchmaker, George Daniels. Yes ...
We have told you about the new Vacheron Constantin boutique in Paris when we showed you the stylish and sophisticated B&W photos they used for the portraits (click here) and when we brought the news of the?extremely stylish 1972 Prestige (click here to read our full story) that was introduced for the opening of the boutique.?Vacheron Constantin introduces four new limited-edition Patrimony Tra...
The Russian genius returns with another incredible creation! Once again culling inspiration from the pages of history, the Cinema watch pays homage to an inventor from a bygone era.?The last time we caught up with Konstantin Chaykin it was to discuss the Levitas watch; a watch whose inspiration drew back to Robert Houdin's early 19th century Mystery Dial' clocks. Now it seems that he has turned to...
It’s Sunday, so it’s time for Monochrome’s Weekly Watch Photo. Today we bring you photos shot by?Marcus Behnke from the Watch Lounge, a German watch forum. We shared photos from Marcus before – check his photos of his SDDS here – and there’s much more to come. Today we’re enjoying Panerai’s Madrid Boutique Edition, the Panerai PAM 00418.?Panerai cr...
The inaugural race of the 2013 Formula One season took place at Albert Park, Melbourne on the 17th March 2013. It looks like it is going to be another exceedingly competitive year, where success or failure, can come down to a few fractions of a second.?A rain-soaked qualifying session on the Saturday was prematurely curtailed. The track was water-logged and confined the cars to the pit-lane for th...
After more then two years of Weekly Watch Photos, we’re now at the 118’s edition of Monochrome’s Weekly Watch Photo. And to celebrate the new design of Monochrome, we go entirely Dutch. Monochrome’s Dutch roots combined with the Dutch watch brand Gronefeld – you know we love the One Hertz – and a Dutch photographer who specialized in watch photos, Bert Buijsrogg...
Over the past years Monochrome has grown to become one of the defining blogs about Haute Horlogerie, and for that I’d like to thank you. Your feedback, continuous visiting Monochrome and reading our stories has been great. And of course I’d like to thank all my favorite watch brands and independent watchmakers for supporting me, inviting me for events, shows and continuously inspiring ...
The number 1815 is a significant date in the history of A. Lange & Sohne. It is the year Ferdinand A. Lange was born in Dresden. The founder of the company began his apprenticeship with renowned watchmaker Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes.The brand today creates some of the finest?timepieces in existence. I make the?statement with some authority having?witnessed the craftsmanship first hand ...
Omega will be launching something new tomorrow, something exiting, but I don’t know what! Because of this, they are showing some incredible mechanical art pieces and Monochrome will share these as our Weekly Watch Photo. A slightly different WWP, but as good as the normal WWP.?From time to time, I’m browsing through Ebay, searching for some new, something old, something… well, so...
After HYT put the horological world upside down with the introduction of their H1, and seduced all of us with this hydromechanical wonder, they are now launching the follow-up, named H2.The H2 was created in cooperation with Audemars Piguet’s technical wizards of the design subsidiary Renaud et Papi, who also collaborated with Gronefeld to create their magnificent One Hertz. The H2, which is...
Montblanc gave us the opportunity to visit the Montblanc watch manufacture in Le Locle together with one of Monochrome’s readers. So early February we posted the sweepstake and ended it, as announced, a month later on Friday the 8th of March.?An overwhelming number of 883 of our readers have registered for this sweepstake and I’m totally overwhelmed by this. Thank you all for registeri...
AskMen just launched their first Watch Awards for the upcoming 9 days you can vote for your favorites. Just two weeks ago we announced the winner of the Timezone Watch of the Year. AskMen offers us to vote for our favorites in five different?categories, catering options for everyone. ?Beginners Watches, Sports Watches, Special-Occassion Watches, Watch-Snob Approved and Brand of the Year are the fi...
You might think that Monochrome is about wrist watches, not about pocket watches. Well, I think the truth is in the middle, and I should know. We have covered some pocket watches in the past, which were very well worth mentioning.?Just think of the hefty URWERK UR-1001 Zeit Device – which I wouldn’t recommend to put in your pocket, as its weighs 420 grams -, the Parmigiani Tonda Transf...
Until now the earliest patent for a chronograph dates back to 1844, and was filed by Adolphe Nicole. Another watchmaker, named?Nicolas Rieussec, name barer of the Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec collection, created his chronograph for the French king in 1821.?Louis Moinet now claims that their ancestor, Louis Moinet?(1768 - 1853), created the first chronograph ever! And more over it had a beat rate of?...