A. Lange & Sohne was never a company to overwhelm visitors to the SIHH (now Watches & Wonders) with countless new models and variations of the past references. The Saxon brand always sends a clear message about what the launch of the year is with a huge replica of the essential new product welcoming you right there at the entrance to the ALS booth. The giant replica displays the correct ti...
While all the attention was focused (rightfully so) on the return of the Genta-inspired Ingenieur watch during the Geneva watch fair, IWC actually had more watches to present… at least discreetly. We’ve covered already the new Top Gun Chronograph 41 in black and blue, but more pilot watches have been unveiled. And one of them goes big and green, just like we like it. Here’s the I...
Chopard is out to conquer the Land of the Rising Sun with an exclusive 100-piece edition of its Alpine Eagle watch. By far the darkest iteration of the brand’s luxury sports watch, the dial is inspired by a jet-black tone known in Japan as shikkoku. This intense black colour is obtained from the millenary Japanese lacquerware technique known as urushi. Promoted by Chopard’s ambassador,...
Introduced in 2021, the?Tonda PF collection accomplished two missions: one was to celebrate the brand’s 25th?anniversary and the distinguished career of master watchmaker and founder Michel Parmigiani; the second was more long-term and designed to mark the new roadmap for the watch brand under CEO?Guido Terreni. Positioned as the brand’s luxury sports watch with integrated bracelet, th...
Let’s go straight to the point: Audemars Piguet chose its Code 11.59 to house its most complicated wristwatch, the Ultra-Complication Universelle RD#4, delivering a bold statement and demonstrating the brand’s incredible technical brilliance. It’s complex yet compact, displays the indications neatly, and is simple to operate. Today, we dive in to describe the timepiece to you in ...
Black Bay, Black Bay 58 and now, Black Bay 54. Tudor continues to expand its signature dive watch collection… by reducing it again. The BB is typically a watch that lives with its times, a watch that follows the trends. When it was first presented, back in 2012, the original Black Bay Burgundy watch was in tune with the current market; vintage style in a relatively large case. But things hav...
From the brand with the loudest watch name in history comes an even mightier Spirit of Big Bang model designed by Maxime Plescia-Buchi. Renowned as one of the hippest tattoo artists today, this is his third collaboration with Hublot and one that will not fly under the radar. A confounding juxtaposition of three-dimensional geometric shapes, the imposing Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Sang Bleu beats to...
Despite the fact we’re weeks on from this year’s Watches & Wonders already, there is still plenty of stuff to talk about. Whether it’s simply picking the best new watches of the entire show, or categorizing some of the finest new chronographs, we are far from done yet! And this week’s Buying Guide picks up on another favourite topic of hours; dials! More specifically, c...
It’s no secret that the MONOCHROME editorial Team loves independent watchmakers, as it’s one of the very reasons we exist in the first place. Although we often gravitate towards the better-known names like Dufour, Voutilainen, Moser and MB&F, there’s a host of indies waiting to be discovered. In a quest to bring you new and exciting stories from all over the world, we’v...
Not everybody likes their watches served on the rocks, and it’s evident that Piaget has been listening closely to market trends. With the return to more compact case sizes that swing it both ways, the Piaget Polo Date 36mm sheds its diamond-set indices and returns with a deep midnight blue dial and the relaxed sporty-chic charm that has always characterised this model.Equestrian glamourYves ...
The name Pilot’s Watch at IWC has long meant more than just watches made for military purposes. In fact, it also stands for the long-standing connection of IWC to motorsport. After entering a partnership with Mercedes-AMG in 2004, IWC became the official engineering partner of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1?Team in 2013 and established its own classic racing team, IWC Racing, in 2018. There...
To kick things off, this will be a very personal story, and yes, it is about a mechanical watch. When I first got into watchmaking, I knew very little about the history of the industry or the different regions in the world that dominate it. My knowledge came from magazines, movies and TV shows, billboards and the early days of social media, and that was about it. That is until I joined MONOCHROME ...
Despite the breakthrough in materials, engineering technologies and manufacturing equipment, the new millennium has yet to produce much innovation in mechanical chronograph movement design. Still, upgrades to how chronographs function occasionally impress watchmaking enthusiasts, like the MB&F Sequential EVO or the AgenGraphe by Agenhor. Much to our joy, one of the most beautifully executed at...
The Octo Finissimo collection has been the talk of the town for the past few years at Bulgari, and for many reasons. Finissimo watches broke several thinness records and grabbed public attention and four GPHG prizes, all in a relatively short time. Still, in the segment destined for men, Bulgari offers much more than ultra-thin, technically advanced timepieces that come at a price. Bulgari recentl...
For the latest instalment of the Collector's Series, we meet with Rob. He runs a software company that he founded in Seattle, Washington, thirty years ago, called Inteum. Inteum develops software for managing intellectual property and innovations and has customers around the world in 34 countries at the last count. As he explains, “One of these customers is CSEM (Centre Suisse d’Electr...
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Royal Oak Offshore a.k.a. The Beast, and we have already seen several new models launched by the brand from Le Brassus to celebrate the event, like the ROO Chronograph 43mm Black Ceramic and Yellow Gold, or the stunning Black Ceramic Beast. The latest edition of the ROO is based on this recent one but is dressed differently as it takes you back to the 19...
What started life in 1931 as a pragmatic solution developed by Jaeger-LeCoultre for British officers in India who were constantly smashing the glass on their watches during polo matches is considered a genuine icon in the watch world today. Its patented case, which was “capable of sliding in its support and being completely turned over”, never ceases to fascinate and has offered its du...
If you’re into watches, you’re most certainly aware of the comeback of the IWC Ingenieur… And I mean by that, the return to the beloved integrated style designed by Gerald Genta in 1976, not the slightly disappointing collection that has been available from 2016 to earlier this year. Not only the comeback of the integrated Ingenieur was one of the worst-kept secrets of the indust...
Louis Moinet, the historical 19th-century watchmaker, has been officially recognised as the creator of the world's first high-frequency chronograph. Known as the Compteur de Tierces', this stopwatch – discovered in 2013 –? was designed to time the passage of stars and could measure events to 1/60th of a second, complete with start, stop and reset functions beating at an impressive 216,...
As a brand associated with pilot’s watches and the much-loved Portugieser, IWC‘s stylish yet understated unisex Portofino family is often overlooked. By the look of things, though, IWC is addressing this somewhat neglected collection by introducing new, more complicated models, including a pointer date, a complete calendar and a chronograph. Unveiled at the end of last year, the Portof...
Spring in Geneva means many things, and not just walks around the Lake. It is, of course, the auction season. Alongside the Big Three (Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips), other auction houses will organise their sales in the capital of watchmaking. This year, Swiss Maison Ineichen Auctioneers will hold its first auction in Geneva on May 9, 10 and 11, 2023. And for its first participat...
While chronographs and complex calendars are often seen as the classics of Patek Philippe – and sometimes both combined – traveller’s watches of all kinds have long been present within the brand’s collections. Remember that Patek, together with Louis Cottier, pioneered the concept of the world time watch. There are more travel watches and complications for everyday use avai...
Stefan Kudoke and his unique and intricate timepieces incorporating elements of traditional watchmaking with modern designs and super-fine execution have been known to collectors and watch enthusiasts for quite some time before his Kudoke 2 watch won the Petite Aiguille at the 2019 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG). The high-profile success brought wider recognition and increased dema...
It was impossible to miss the sleuth of new watches presented during last week’s Watches & Wonders fair. The 2023 edition of what is now the biggest watch-related event of the year saw many new and very exciting new watches being presented. We tried to bring you as much as possible already, but there is still much more to come that we haven’t been able to cover yet. But what are th...
Chanel pulled a surprising rabbit out of its chapeau in 2016 with the presentation of its first watch for men. Although the J12 has played it both ways for decades, and the Boyfriend has certain masculine traits, the Monsieur de Chanel marked two firsts for the brand: it was explicitly conceived for men, and it was the first to receive an in-house mechanical movement. Seven years later, this gorge...
Even though it didn’t break records like so many watches in the fascinating Octo Finissimo collection, the Skeleton 8 Days is, nonetheless, quite an impressive watch, to say the least. Managing to extract close to 200 hours of energy from a movement that features a single barrel and that measures only 2.5mm in height is nothing but spectacular. First released in a luxurious gold version with...
Cyrille Vigneron has had a long career with Cartier and has been the brand’s CEO since 2015, a period during which Cartier has enjoyed remarkable growth. Watches & Wonders provided the perfect venue to chat with Vigneron and learn how Cartier is adapting to the times. From a closer look at all the new watches that have been released this year, to more complex topics such as the second-ha...
While most of the watch community has been talking about the new (and objectively very cool) Black Bay 54, with its sleek vintage look and compact case, there was more news to be seen on Tudor‘s booth at Watches & Wonders. And if it appeared to be a discreet release at first sight, the most important launch for the brand in 2023 is a very clever strategic move too. Based on the classic 4...
Rado is synonymous with trendy design-led watch designs and its pioneering use of high-tech ceramics. The True Square, Rado's square watch with an injection-moulded monobloc high-tech ceramic case, is a signature product of the brand. Taking the openworked spirit of the True Square Open Heart in a different direction, the latest True Square models in sleek black, plasma and white high-tech ceramic...
There's nothing like a good story to boost a watch's appeal. The latest DS-2 Chronograph Automatic is a descendant of a famous Certina Chronolympic model that reached the summit and descended Mt Everest in 1970 on the wrist of Japanese daredevil Yuichiro Miura as he skied down the slopes at breakneck speed. Picking up on retro 1970s design cues, the new DS-2 Chronograph flaunts a funky tonneau-sha...