For autumn 2022, Audemars Piguet will be introducing a dash of coloured ceramic to some of the more complicated watches, including members of its Code 11.59 collection. Aware of the fact that there are few marriages in the watch world sexier than pink gold and black ceramic, AP has chosen this provocative dress code for its complex Code 11.59 Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph. More than ju...
High-tech ceramic is the big protagonist of Audemars Piguet's releases this autumn and makes its way, for the first time, into tourbillon and chronograph models of the Code 11.59 collection. So far, we've seen ceramic on the cases of the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar and the ROC Tourbillon GMT. Now it's the Code 11.59 Tourbillon Openworked’s turn to get the ceramic treatment. Marking a depart...
For many of us, a concept watch is designed to show off a brand's technical skills and potential direction for the future. Like the concept cars the idea was borrowed from, concept watches tend to be cutting-edge, humongously complex, far-out timepieces that are eventually toned down and evolve into tamer commercial editions or never see the light of day. At Audemars Piguet, the first Royal Oak Co...
Audemars Piguet has long demonstrated its ability to break the rules of classic haute horlogerie, using traditional complications and high-end, hand-finished movements of the highest level and encasing them in bold, polarising watches with a genuine contemporary approach to design. Today, the Le Brassus-based manufacturer presents a new collection that pushes the concept even further, using colour...
There is no hiding the popularity of the Royal Oak as a collection. Audemars Piguet‘s luxury sports watch, the initiator of the genre born in 1972, is one of the few truly iconic watches on the market and celebrated its grand 50th anniversary earlier this year. If most Royal Oak models are highly coveted, there are a few pieces crafted in ceramic that hold an even more coveted and special pl...
Massena LAB, the design studio founded by industry veteran William Massena has long been associated with Austrian independent watchmaker Habring2. And we can’t blame him, we’ve also followed this path… But today’s watch is a bit special since it’s not based on an existing model but actually launches a brand new reference for Habring2. And not just a simple watch but a...
As the story often goes, there’s a lot to discover through the magic of the internet and social media. And with that, a whole new world of creativity opens up to each and every one of us. A world beyond borders, that stretches to the far corners of our planet. In today’s case, it stretches to China, as we discover Chinese watchmaker extraordinaire Qin Gan. This man, in his fifties, dem...
The 1960s were a decade of rapid technological, style and fashion evolution with often remarkable creative freedom. The world made huge strides in creating striking, sometimes polarizing designs. Well, if you are 1960s-ready and seeking a dose of nostalgia, Rado celebrates the 60th anniversary of their quirky Diastar, a disruptive model marketed as the first scratchproof watch. It does so by re-ed...
Delma‘s Cayman dive watches were introduced in 2019 as a reflection of the brand's 1970s skin divers. They're stylish and more compact than professional counterparts, although a bit larger than the usual skin diver at 42mm (traditional skin divers are under 40mm in diameter). The collection finds a nice balance between pro and recreational wrist companions, although, with an impressive depth...
One of the most popular categories of watches in recent years is the revival watch. Bringing back a historic model and paying tribute in a very faithful manner can result in truly cool watches. And it’s not something done only by mainstream manufacturers like Longines or Tissot, but also by smaller, lesser-known manufacturers. And it becomes even better if a re-edition of a watch comes in th...
Imagine the responsibility and challenges of having to produce 50th-anniversary watches to honour the forerunner and undisputed leader of the luxury sports watch. Luckily, Audemars Piguet is not daunted by challenges and has feted its Royal Oak's 50th birthday with standout models like the Jumbo Extra-Thin 16202 with a newly developed movement. A couple of months after the initial euphoria, AP unv...
Longines can proudly flaunt its status as one of the oldest Swiss watch brands. Founded in 1832 in Saint-Imier, Longines celebrates the grand 190th anniversary of the brand with three commemorative pieces from its Master collection. Relying on an unusual mix of contemporary matte textured dials and hyper-classical engraved Breguet numerals, the Master Collection trilogy honours the past and presen...
Today,?Salanitro SA?has just announced that Patek Philippe has acquired a stake in its capital. The amount of the investment and the size of the stake were not disclosed. This entry into the capital of the gem-setting company materializes the coming together of two independent Geneva-based family businesses. If Patek Philippe requires little introduction, Salanitro SA is an institution in the Swis...
There are not so many watchmakers that are able to celebrate their 200th anniversary. So is Bovet. Among the different events organized to mark this milestone anniversary, MONOCHROME was honoured to be invited to spend a day at Bovet's headquarters, the Motiers Castle. There, we were able to discover their brand-new museum, to attend masterclasses – watchmaking, engraving and miniature paint...
The Portofino has been IWC's elegant round watch proponent since 1984. Clean, sober dials and a range of case sizes have made the Portofino an attractive unisex option, while its classical 1950s looks have earned the collection the much sought-after distinction of being timeless. Since its introduction, the Portofino Chronograph brings a dash of vintage sportiness to the collection with its pronou...
A Swiss brand specialised (mostly) in rugged watches meant to be used onboard planes or in outer space, Fortis continues its restructuring and revamping its collections. Last year, the brand relaunched one of its most important watches, which for once isn’t made for the air, but for exploration of planet Earth, on land and underwater. A typical all-rounder for adventure, the Fortis Marinemas...
The Laureato, Girard-Perregaux's take on the luxury sports watch, has a surprising history and was launched in 1975, just three years after Audemars Piguet unleashed Gerald Genta's game-changing Royal Oak. Following a period of hibernation, the Laureato made a tentative return in 2016 to celebrate the brand's grand 225th anniversary, followed by a fully-fledged collection in 2017. Having been trea...
The scale and pace of human activity on the planet demand changes. Sustainability is everyone’s responsibility, and the watch industry must embrace better practices. With this in mind, Watches and Culture, the cultural division of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (the organiser of Watches & Wonders), will hold its Watch Forum 2022 on 13 September in Geneva. Lasting the entire day, th...
There are many perks of working as media in the watch world. The watches, of course! The trips and the access to the designers and teams behind the scenes are excellent. But putting the glitz and glamour of the Monaco press trips and fancy lunches aside (which are great for the gram but not the reason I got into this). The truth is, making friends and sharing a passion is what it’s all about...
Independent watchmaker Krayon was created a few years ago by Remi Maillat. Besides his developments behind the scene for other brands, Krayon made a remarkable debut with the mindbogglingly complex Everywhere, the first mechanical watch able to compute the sunrise and sunset times everywhere on the globe. This impressive world-first earned Krayon a well-deserved accolade at the GPHG 2018 with the ...
It is time for us to start adjusting our perception of Chinese watchmaking. It is no longer ‘just’ about cheap labour and (mildly put) unoriginal designs. Instead, some watchmakers are shifting into intriguingly original mechanical creations and occasionally Haute Horlogerie levels of watchmaking. One such brand hard at work to change the perception of the Chinese watch industry is CIG...
For those who have been keeping a close eye on MONOCHROME Watches, and Circula Watches in particular, it should come as no surprise that we like the strategy of employing the “power of the people”. And honestly, the resulting collections are often fine examples of well-built, honest watchmaking. When creating a new watch, Circula enlists the help of watch enthusiasts and collectors to ...
As one of the main initiators of the Geneva Watch Days, the second most important watch fair of the year that we attended last week, Bulgari somehow has a mission to come up with big news… And they did, with close to 10 new models introduced during this cool and relaxed watch event. Of course, this event was the perfect time for us to sit down with the always enthusiastic CEO of the brand, J...
Multiple elements define Grand Seiko’s style, all gathered under an important set of rules known as the Grammar of Design. The instrument behind this series of guidelines was a watch known as the 44GS, a sharp and unmistakably GS watch born in 1967, and one that will set in stone what the brand’s creations will be for the future. We’ve seen multiple releases this year celebrating...
Talking about a success story, the Baltic MR01 has recently been one of the most discussed and sought-after models on the micro-brand scene. And rightfully so, as with its Calatrava-styled case, its thin micro-rotor movement, its charm-packed vintage design and its accessible price, there was a lot to love… so much that the watch is still in shortage a year after its release. But today is yo...
The Bambino has been one of the best-selling collections of Japanese watchmaker Orient for years. Introduced a few weeks ago, the new versions of the model stand out with their more compact case – 38.4mm versus 40.5mm previously. We had been quite intrigued by the looks and specs of this automatic dress watch retailing at just EUR 275. So we thought we would ask for a model to review And, wi...
We’ve just finished bombarding you with news coming from Switzerland’s capital of watchmaking, Geneva, for the entire week as the 2022 edition of Geneva Watch Days returned to the shores of Lac Leman. And it’s perfectly understandable if, at some point, you felt overwhelmed by it all as there were more than 20 brands participating in this year’s celebration of watchmaking. ...
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first-ever Bulgari Boutique in the United States. And although that might seem insignificant to some, Bulgari has taken the occasion to present a tantalising limited edition based on one of its most iconic watches: the Octo Finissimo Automatic. This horological sculpture, with its mix of sharp, straight lines and a round bezel, hardly needs introducing. ...
Colour is the new protagonist at many watch brands, often making up for a lack of novelties but admittedly bringing a more lighthearted mood to the scene. As you will have noticed, classical black and silver dials are being replaced with bolder and bolder colours. Ulysse Nardin rides this trend during Geneva Watch Days with the launch of two 39mm Lady Diver models and a 45mm Blast Tourbillon, both...
Geneva Watch Days 2022 brings us a fun trio of Oris Aquis Date models, this time with reserved, unisex cases and earthy mother-of-pearl dials. Don't let the relaxed aesthetics fool you: these are serious divers with a pro depth rating and sophistication that Aquis Date watches are known for. They follow similar yet larger models like the Aquis Date New York Harbor Limited Edition with a green moth...