What do you do when a serious watch making company is gobbled up by a giant in the industry and production is shipped to Switzerland? You step up to the plate, and start over of course! But how do you grab the attention of the masses, or do you focus on a niche? In other words, how do you break… anonymity?The famous Panerai brand was once situated in Firenze, Italy but has been added to the ...
That I’m a huge fan of beautiful photos showing beautiful watches probably doesn’t come as a surprise anymore. Hey, that was the sole reason for starting the Weekly Watch Photo. And that was?one and a half year ago…I still find so many photos that look so good that they have to be shared. Besides cool ‘mood’ photos, like these from A.Lange & Sohne or these from IW...
Our new contributor, Evan Yueng, has a real fetish for the first automatic chronograph. Like me! Although I focus mainly on the outcome of the cooperation between Heuer, Breitling, Buren and Dubois-Depraz, Evan focusses on Seiko’s first automatic chronograph, the Speedtimer.?It’s been years since the craze for the Daytona has began, and even more years since the advent of automatic c...
While Cartier has not really been know because of horological accomplishments in their long, rich history, they are making a huge effort to become a true horological power house. And with effect I might add!?Unfortunately for many Cartier fans, including yours truly, the Collection Privee?Cartier Paris ?had to make place for the Fine Watchmaking collection. While I still yearn for the stylish time...
Every time I see the Nautilus Chronograph, I have the feeling my knees get a bit weak and my vision gets a bit blurry (that means, everything around this watch gets blurry). A typical case and I plead guilty.End of last year I posted Bruno’s photo of his Patek Philippe Nautilus Chronograph or (for connoisseurs) the reference 5980/1A. In that post I wrote about my collection and how we someti...
There are those in the watchmaking community who hear the word Tourbillon' and immediately think of French nobility, sitting in a stuffy parlor, reading the time from a delicate porcelain-dialed watch (Marie Antoinette). Now, place that delicate 18th century escapement in Panerai watch. (Marie Antoinette, holding a machine gun, screaming LET THEM EAT LEAD!). Introducing the Panerai model PAM00396 ...
Audemars Piguet just announce the launch of a limited edition Royal Oak 41 mm Chronograph, dedicated to possibly the best football/soccer player of these times, Leo Messi.?There will be 500 pieces?in steel, 400 in red gold and 100 in platinum, all featuring?a tantalum bezel! By the way, this is AP’s first limited edition Royal Oak in the new 41 mm case and it also features a brushed dial wit...
This piece unique will be presented tomorrow at the opening of the ‘Marcus Anniversary Exhibition’ in London, along with several special pieces from other brands. The Marcus Anniversary Exhibition coincides with the London Olympics.?The Olympics are of course a perfectly good reason to visit London, just to witness such a landmark event. And knowing what Marcus has on display during th...
Our new contributor Angus Davies got hands-on experience with the Richard Mille Tourbillon Chronograph Diver's Watch RM 025 and wonders if it’s too good for diving…I stood in the Richard Mille Boutique in the Hotel Kempinski adjacent Lake Geneva. My charming host Elio chatted to me about the wonderful timepieces on display whilst I sipped a delicious espresso. Watches and caffeine, a h...
Dads and Grads' season is over!? From now until December, if you want a new watch, you're going to have to buy it for yourself.? And, it's going to cost you MORE than you expected to pay! Better make it snappy 007! You don't want Moneypenny to find out!No, prices are not going up (that I know of).? This has nothing to do with the waxing and waning of the foreign exchange markets!? This has to do w...
Some photos need no comment and actually this Weekly Watch Photo is such a photo. It simply shows?the strong contrast between two watches that are intended and can be labeled as sporty/casual.?On top is the Panerai PAM 000372, one of Panerai’s most popular models of the past decade, and below is my own Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref. 5402, the predecessor of the current Royal Oak ref. 15202 t...
Our own contributor Time2tic got some time with a magnificent Jaeger-LeCoultre and shot two gorgeous photos of one of the most desirable timepieces from from this brand: the Jaeger-Lecoultre Master Minute Repeater 1833 in rose gold, a limited edition of 175 pieces.One cannot forget a large rose gold watch on the wrist. The weight of the precious metal and its warmth are constant subtle reminders t...
When I got the call that my local Panerai boutique had a new, ultra-limited edition Year of the Dragon watch for me to inspect I made my way as fast as I could! These dragons will not wait around for long!Panerai and China have a mutual admiration for each other; Chinese consumers love their Panerai watches for their sturdy, over-sized good looks, and their strong statement of individuality! Conve...
One of the type of watch photos that I really like, are the so-called wrist-shots. Photos of a watch on the wrist, in its natural habitat so to speak. Simon C is community manager of Bell & Ross and he frequently posts wrist-shots on his Facebook page.So I figured, let’s share Simon’s wrist-shots to give you an example of what’s possible. Simon C posts his photos here on Face...
It’s becoming a good habbit from Omega, releasing a limited edition Seamaster. While previous James Bond L.E. models were based on the Semaster Professional, this is the third limited edition Seamaster Planet Ocean (and the first in 42 mm size) for a James Bond movie.?Skyfall will be the 23rd James Bond movie and will be released in autumn 2012. And again 007 will again wear an Omega Seamast...
On your mark, get set, go. The gun fires, propelling the runners toward Olympic Gold, and the 2012 summer Olympics are underway. Omega has already found the podium with their Olympic Collection London 2012.What better way to make a splash at the London opening ceremonies than with a commemorative Seamaster. 64 Years after Omega launched the very first Seamaster during the London Olympics of 1948, ...
There seems to become a new trend. Watch brands are making really lovely photos of their timepieces, like the IWC photos of the Big Pilot’s Watch we showed. Now we show you some new official photos A. Lange & Sohne made of the Lange 1 Timezone Piece Unique for Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este that we featured last week.The photos are made inside an old BMW 507 Roadster, a gorgeous classi...
Can a virtual group of watch enthusiasts turn a dream into the reality of a re-edition of a vintage model from a famous brand? In today’s ever connected world, adding “two-point-o” after a word means that we give the user the power of interacting rather than remain a passive receiver of products, services or information.A watchmaking company could very well be at first seen as th...
A. Lange & Sohne created a piece unique for the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, a world-famous car show with classic automobiles, motorcycles and brand new prototypes. The winner of the Best of Show Trophy wins this unique Lange 1 Time Zone!The Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este takes place coming weekend, in Cernobbio on Lake Como (Italy) from 25 to 27 May 2012. Lange & Sohne CEO Wilhelm ...
IWC totally understands how to promote their watches. I think they’ve been looking closely at what watch fans have been doing at forums and what Monochrome also does once a week… sharing beautiful photos of beautiful watches.For the launch of the new Pilot’s watch collection, IWC created a set of very cool photos of their newest timepieces. We already showed you photos of the new...
Jaeger-LeCoultre watches hit record prices at?Antiquorum auction in Geneva, that was held last week. One that particularly tickled us, is the stainless steel Reverso with red lacquer dial. It was sold for CHF 50,000 !!?This Reverso with red lacquered dial is the predecessor of this years JLC novelty, the new Grande Reverso Tribute to 1931 Rouge. Last year the French auction house Artcurial sold a ...
After a slow week I’m gonna start of the new week with a set of magnificent photos. Monochrome’s Weekly Watch Photo shows a watch that brings back memories, a Citizen Automatic Divers, my first watch with an automatic movement.?The Citizen Automatic Divers was specifically bought for vacations and served as reliable vacation watch on many occasions. The Citizen strapped on a NATO strap...
Nicolas Sarkozy is a man of style. He dresses well and he even has a nice watch collection.?This wouldn’t be a topic on Monochrome, if it wasn’t for the photo showing Francois Hollande,?the new French president,?looking at?his watch and actually staring at the clasp! Let’s first look at some photos showing the watches of the departing French president. There’s a Patek Phili...
Two weeks ago we told you about an art exhibition in Geneva. Not just an art exhibition, because there are probably many in the city of Geneva, but one related to watchmaking. Graffiti artist?Magaldi Xavier exhibited his interpretation of mechanical movements?in the Cite du Temps. The exhibition of Magaldi Xavier has ended, but a visit to the Cite du Temps might still be a good idea… Tom Han...
Hublot just released the King Power Alinghi 4000 to show their partnership with Team Alinghi. Alinghi definitely does something good, as Hublot is not the first of their official timekeeping partners.A few years ago Audemars Piguet partnered with Alinghi and that also resulted is some cutting-edge technical timepieces. In fact, this resulted in the world’s first watch with a carbon fibre cas...
The Lange & Sohne Pour le Merite Collection is a pinnacle in fine watchmaking. Our friend Peter Chong, who featured here on Monochrome on many ocassions, wrote a book about the very best watches coming from Saxony, Germany. Friend of Monochrome, Peter Nievaart, interviewed Peter Chong about his passion for A. Lange & Sohne and the book he wrote in honor of the Pour le Merite Collection. Pe...
One of the watches that made a big impression since the first time I laid eyes on it, was the Piaget Emperador Coussin Large Moon. Yes it’s big, however at the time I only saw some photos of it. Recently I got the chance to get some hands-on time with it and strap it around my wrist. It was still as good (actually better) as when I saw it on photo several years ago.With the Emperador Coussin...
One of the watches that was high on my wish-list, before larger sized watches became fashionable, is the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Geographic. Seeing these photos bring back some good memories and make me realize how much the watch industry has changed over the past 12 years.When I started to become interested in watches and bought my first ‘expensive’ watches, a vintage Heuer Autavia an...
Who could have suspected that when Panerai released the Luminor Marina 1950 PAM127 in 2002, it would become such an?incredible?popular watch. Although it wasn’t Panerai’s first 47 mm watch, it sure shocked many watch collectors.?And lucky for those who don’t have $20k for a used special edition from 2002, Panerai has released a watch that maybe even looks better than the original...
Now usually you won’t see these kind of titles on Monochrome, however in this case I wanted to make an exception. The reason for this, is that withstanding the shocks and G-forces that a wrist watch endures during a game of golf, are ‘pretty extreme’.Of course we’re happy for 33 year old Bubba Watson. However Monochrome is not about sharing sports results. Richard MilleR...