Introduced in 1984, the Portofino is IWC's interpretation of a classical, stylish yet understated unisex watch collection. The minimalist round case design of the Portofino family can trace its lineage to the 1970s when IWC made a pocket watch based on a large Lepine movement. Combined with clean, uncluttered dials, the Portofino has earned the much sought-after distinction of being timeless. Toda...
While considering how to describe this new watch best, I got sidetracked thinking about how many vintage-inspired and retro-looking contemporary editions were so popular and unanimously accepted. What constitutes their appeal? Why do we keep saying how beautiful they are? Marketing efforts and sentimental issues aside, one train of thought suggested that the watchmaking business that flourished in...
In 2014, the “seed of AdC was sown in a coffee shop in the city centre of Barcelona“. Two years later, the newly born Atelier de Chronometrie presented the AdC1, the company’s debut watch, powered by a largely restored and hand-finished Omega calibre 266 movement with multiple aesthetical and functional improvements. The watch was a tribute to competition chronometers from the 19...
Launched as part of the renewal of the entire collection in 2016, the?Overseas Chronograph has long been seen as the sportiest and boldest watch of?Vacheron Constantin‘s luxury sports watch range. Initially available with a full-silver or blue dial in steel or with a silver dial in an 18k pink gold case, the collection has been expanded with a brown dial, a reverse panda dial and a blue-and-...
Last week, Audemars Piguet released an array of new watches, ranging from steel Code 11.59 to an astonishing Grande Complication watch – to be precise, the most complicated wristwatch ever created by the brand – as part of its first semester 2023 collection. In the middle of that, as a slightly more discreet release, was a model that clearly raises the cool factor to a higher level. Ro...
Although the Royal Oak was duly feted last year when it turned fifty, this year kicks off with a host of releases of Gerald Genta's iconic luxury sports watch. This special edition trilogy – composed of Selfwinding, Selfwinding Chronograph and Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon models – shares 41mm white gold cases, smoked light blue Grand Tapisserie dials and latest-generation in-house aut...
Piaget‘s watches across all the collections often embody bold and creative designs, admired by the public. Still, the brand’s watchmaking history is rooted in creating original and high-precision movements. Since 1874, the manufacture has been producing movements for its watches, and it has been a supplier of the most complex “engines” for many eminent watch brands in Switz...
Music legend, husband of another music legend and one of the most lucrative record producers of his generation, Shawn Carter, a.k.a Jay-Z, is known for his acquired taste in many things. Let’s start with cars and his unique Rolls Royce Boat Tail (equipped with a?bespoke Bovet 1822 watch). And because you’re reading MONOCHROME, he’s got some pretty fascinating watches too. His D...
Part of the 2023 collection, Audemars Piguet unveils a mesmerising version of its Code 11.59 Flying Tourbillon with a smoked green enamelled aventurine dial. Also referred to as fume or gradient dials, the effect produces a lighter tone in the centre of the dial that intensifies as it reaches the periphery. Presented in a two-tone 41mm pink gold and black ceramic case, this iteration will be launc...
One of the few brands capable of crafting such a chiming watch, Audemars Piguet’s Grande Sonnerie mechanism is a patent display of the brand’s formidable mechanical prowess. Combine that with the brand‘s patented Supersonnerie technology and a carillon, and you’re looking at a remarkable chiming machine. Proud to reveal the complexity of the movement, the latest trilogy of ...
The Beast, the Royal Oak Offshore, officially turns 30 this year, and as if the relatives were scarce to fill the room for celebration, Audemars Piguet brings another specimen into the family, a cool-coloured Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph presented in a black ceramic case with green anodized elements. Jokes aside, this new watch is a fine addition to the new generation of the Royal Oak...
The Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 has become the collection of predilection for the brand's complications – as seen with the new Universelle with calibre 1000. Among the different iterations of the Code are chiming watches with the impressive Grande Sonnerie Carillon Supersonnerie or the Minute Repeater Supersonnerie. The latter is now fitted with a tinted sapphire dial offering the possibility...
In 2019, Audemars Piguet introduced the world’s thinnest perpetual calendar, with a 2.89mm movement and a 6.30mm case. The watch, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin (or Royal Oak QP Ultra-Thin to make it simple) in a titanium case with platinum alloy parts, was based on the RD#2 concept revealed a year earlier. That year it received the Aiguille d’O...
The launch of a new Royal Oak Concept is always quite of an event. Since 2002, the collection has been a platform of experimentation for Audemars Piguet, blending innovative technical solutions with avant-garde design. A case in point, the new ROC Split-Seconds GMT ref. 26650TI combines a new automatic rattrapante chronograph movement with dual-time function and large date, a new case size and an ...
Audemars Piguet was famous for its use of stones in the 1960s and the 1990s, with dials made from lapis lazuli, aventurine, garnet, mother-of-pearl, opal, ruby, amethyst and other stones. Turquoise is one of the oldest known stones, as Egyptian and Chinese civilizations used it over 3000 years ago. It here finds its place in the collection for its unique colour and spiritual qualities. The new Roy...
No fan of the Royal Oak can forget last year's 50th-anniversary celebrations, which also introduced some design tweaks on a selection of 34, 37, 38 and 41mm Selfwinding Royal Oak references. The party continues in 2023 as three smaller-sized white gold Royal Oaks get new blue smoked Grand Tapisserie dials and an infusion of light provided by the baguette-set diamonds on the bezel and dial. The rec...
The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime and the Reference 6300, the Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4, the Vacheron Constantin Celestia or the Superbia Humanitatis by Piguet/Muller/Gerber… Many watches have claimed the title of the most complicated wristwatch, and all were undoubtedly wonders of miniaturisation and exceptional horological developments. Audemars Piguet is familiar with the concept...
We're back today with a new instalment of our Collector's Series column, where we leave the stage to an owner and his beloved watch. For a relatively unknown reason, Breitling has rarely been seen in the series, but we're about to change this And with a pretty impressive model. Today, we'll be talking with Timerider27, as this 54yo watch collector is known on Instagram. He is a true Breitling fan....
A year after its grand 50th-anniversary celebrations, Audemars Piguet releases a 41mm white gold edition of the Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph embellished with blue baguette-cut sapphires and light blue panda sub-dials. Corresponding to the latest design evolutions applied to the Royal Oak family last year, the spirit of Gerald Genta's 1972 Royal Oak lives on in tones of blue ticking to the sop...
It’s hard to believe, but the Royal Oak Offshore is coming up for its 30th birthday this year. Presented by Audemars Piguet in 1993 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Royal Oak in a bolder, more virile format, the Royal Oak Offshore, aka The Beast, made an indelible impression on the crowds at Baselworld. Its muscular 42mm case bristling with textures and bold combinations of materia...
Launched in 2019, the controversial?Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 collection has seen some drastic evolutions in the past years. Without even talking about the addition of all possible complications, the classic models – time-and-date and chronograph – have been improved already by the addition of new smoked/gradient dials. But as of now, the collection was available primarily in white or...
The ROO Beast in black ceramic… This is it. No need to tease you; you’re looking at the very first iteration of the classic, 1993-inspired version of the Royal Oak Offshore made entirely of black ceramic, from case to bracelet. And not only were we already very enthusiastic about the return of this watch two years ago – in a slightly updated version, technically at least – ...
Following the release last year of an updated Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin collection – the 16202ST, for the steel model – in the frame of the 50th anniversary of the brand’s iconic watch, Audemars Piguet is today releasing a new version that, visually, will feel familiar to fans of the model. If I say 14802PT…? Yes, this extremely rare version of the Royal Oak Jumbo Jubilee ...
In our search for new and surprising independent watchmakers to share with you, we come across many different styles, ranging from highly classical to contemporary and expressive. In recent months we have discovered watches by Alexandre Hazemann, Minhoon Yoo, The Levaltier and several others. All of these struck us in one way or another, which after some digging, often results in fascinating stor...
The TAG Heuer and Porsche partnership is a match made in heaven. It officially started in 2021, with the introduction of this TAG x Porsche Carrera, however, it goes well beyond sponsorships of racing events for marketing purposes, and a special edition watch. In case you do not know yet, and to add legitimacy to the story, in the 1980s, when TAG (Techniques d’Avant Garde) Group bought Heuer...
Chemin des Tourelles… A name that might not be the easiest to pronounce for anyone outside of Switzerland or France, but still a very meaningful one for Tissot. One of the most long-lasting collections of the brand, it’s also one that pays tribute to its history, with a classic design and a name that refers to the street where?the Tissot factory was established in 1907. While keeping t...
Since its creation in 1918, Mido (a brand owned by the Swatch Group) has made a name for itself with its very coherent offering, combining reliability and accessibility. In recent years, the brand has also demonstrated its capacity to create cool, nicely designed watches – the latest Ocean Star GMT being a perfect example of that strategy. If you want something a bit less on the tool/sporty ...
A tiny device that makes a massive change… This is how Omega teased its latest technical development, and the watch to house it. The technical achievement in question has a name, it’s the Spirate System. The watch to feature it too, it’s the Omega Speedmaster Super Racing. And we introduced both to you in an article last week, with quite some details. However, this new device tha...
A couple of weeks ago, as part of the LVMH Watch Week 2023, Hublot presented an array of new models, including a modernized take on the emblematic 1980?luxury sports watch called the Hublot, with the new?Hublot Classic Fusion Original. There was another model that stroke my attention… A watch that, at first, I shouldn’t really liked. Big and bold, colourful and highly present, the new ...
Sustainability is a big thing in today’s society, and rightfully so as we’re heading in the wrong direction very fast when it comes to our beloved Planet Earth. The shift towards more environmentally friendly and sustainable ways of living also found its way into the watchmaking industry, with various brands doing their best to push back waste and pollution in whichever way they can. T...