All eyes are on Dubai these days as watchmaking brands unveil their novelties for the fifth edition of the Dubai Watch Week. As a participant of the Dubai watch fair and to celebrate its partnership with leading watch retailer Seddiqi, Ulysse Nardin has prepared a pre-launch of just 10 timepieces of its new Diver X Skeleton Black. Although 175 watches will be produced and launched worldwide in 202...
TAG Heuer combines two things into a single Carrera launched during Dubai Watch Week. On the one hand, we have Arabic hour numerals, and on the other, we have a luscious emerald green dial. The colour green is highly symbolic in Islamic culture; green represents hope, harmony and prosperity. It has been a very “on-trend” colour and one that doesn’t show signs of letting up anytim...
Launched in 2002 and inspired by a 1940s B-Uhr watch, IWC’s Big Pilot’s Watch is a champion of the aviator’s watch. In a clear display of the flight path set for its Big Pilot’s family, in 2013, IWC Schaffhausen sealed its relationship with the delightful protagonist of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s “Le Petit Prince” with a spectacular Big Pilot’s Watch...
The fifth edition of Dubai Watch Week kicks off with over 45 participating watch brands eager to unveil their novelties. Oris, the Swiss brand from Holstein, presents a new chapter in the life of its iconic Big Crown Pointer Date. A fundamental piece in the brand's history since 1938, the Big Crown Pointer Date is now powered by calibre 403, the new, in-house developed automatic movement with impr...
Celebrating its 230th anniversary this year, Girard-Perregaux has selected three emblematic models and given them a metiers d’art makeover with spectacular Grand Feu enamel dials and, in the case of La Esmeralda Tourbillon, a host of other artisanal techniques. Dubai Watch Week will be the stage for the unveiling of these Eternity Editions, a name that alludes to the never-fading lustre and ...
What happens when you bring together the creative force behind Rome’s most famous luxury emporium and the creative mind behind some of watchmaking’s most radical flights of fancy? The answer is sheer magic. The collaboration between Bvlgari and MB&F, or rather between Bvlgari’s creative director Fabrizio Buonamassa and MB&F’s founder and creative director Maximilian...
Dive watches are among the most popular models available on the market. Virtually all brands, with only rare exceptions, have embraced the concept and now propose an alternative to the classics that are the Submariner or the Seamaster. There’s a good reason behind this popularity, as dive watches, even though not used for the initial purpose, are perfect for weekends or holidays, and are no-...
One of the key events in the region and in the global watch calendar, Dubai Watch Week returns for its fifth edition from November 24 – 28, 2021. As with previous editions, Dubai Watch Week 2021 will be held at the Gate, a venue with over 70,000sqm in the heart of Dubai's financial district. Over 45 watch brands will exhibit under the umbrella “Reunited for a moment in time“. Sev...
Swiss manufacturer Alpina, now owned by the Citizen Group alongside Frederique Constant, has a rich history. Founded in 1883, the brand made a name for itself with its robust tool watches under the name Alpina 4 and has also been the source of numerous patents and innovative calibres over the years. Today, the brand pays tribute to a vintage piece, but in a rather unusual way. We’re not spec...
The nights are longer, the days are shorter and Christmas is around the corner… Yes, the end of the year is fast approaching and it means that we have to start looking back at what happened this year. 2021 has been a time for changes in the industry, which had to adapt following the pandemic, and everything entailed by the adoption of new business practices. But it’s also been a year f...
Presented in 2019, the Tissot Gentleman Powermatic 80 is an essential all-rounder, with the multi-purpose, versatile style needed for an everyday watch. Not too fancy or formal so it can be used on weekends, not too sporty either so it can be worn at the office. Modern yet classic, it might not be a particularly original design but, it is a very effective one.?And that makes it, alongside the attr...
The watch industry is full of fun, exciting and successful partnerships. Not only between watchmakers, or craftsmen and -women creating unique elements in a watch, but also between artists, retailers and other like-minded people. One such example is the collaboration between NOMOS Glashutte and the Amsterdam retailer Ace Jewelers. Already in its fifth year, this joint venture results in special Li...
The personalisation of timepieces can take many forms, from a classic black coating to the highly debatable integration of stones (the so-called ‘icing process’). But some workshops are on a mission to demonstrate that customisation can be made with taste and Haute Horlogerie in mind. Artisans de Geneve is certainly among the best in this field. Known for radically transforming the loo...
The Beast… This is the name watch enthusiasts gave to the Royal Oak Offshore when it was presented in 1993. If the classic Royal Oak of 1972 was already disruptive, the ROO was a shock, a true rupture, something unprecedented and provocative. But almost 30 years after its presentation, the Royal Oak Offshore has proven to be a finely tuned recipe and has since been derived in a multitude of ...
Born in 1993, the Royal Oak Offshore collection was at the time of launch probably one of the most impactful models the watchmaking world had ever seen. Bold and provocative, it quickly became a reference point for all other future ultra-sporty luxurious watches. Following the chronograph models, Audemars Piguet created in 2005 another important watch, the Royal Oak Offshore Diver?(first entitled ...
A compendium of innovative horological solutions, Chopard's award-winning minute repeater returns in 2021 in a gleaming platinum case with a grey-blue dial. First presented in Fairmined rose gold in 2016, the L.U.C Full Strike has also appeared in white gold, in carburised steel, as well as the recently launched Da de Los Muertos model with a skull on the dial. Endowed with the revolutionary sapp...
Chopard's first L.U.C calibre with a flying tourbillon made its debut at Baselworld 2019 in a rose gold case with a grey dial. The epitome of a contemporary dress watch with a nod to the past, Chopard's ultra-thin flying tourbillon returns this year in an ethical 18k white gold case with a handsome blue guilloche dial in a limited edition run of 50 pieces. Although it exhibits traditional complica...
The Armin Strom?Tribute 1 is the indie watchmaker’s contemporary interpretation of a dress watch and appeared in the System 78 collection earlier this year. The Tribute 1 is a refreshing approach to the dress watch with compact proportions, a new, thin in-house calibre, a modern, minimalist look and exceptional hand-finishings. First released in steel with a grey dial in June 2021, two month...
We don’t often cover auctions at MONOCHROME. Classic vintage watches, such as your regular 1960s Submariner or Daytona, are not our speciality or our primary focus. But since independent watchmaking is on the rise and has gained immense interest recently among the collecting community, it has motivated us to look deeper into what the auction market has to offer. And as you might know, indepe...
Following a turbulent period, the market for luxury goods is well on track for recovery For the 6 months period ended?30 September 2021, Switzerland-based luxury group Richemont recorded strong revenue growth. At EUR 8,907 million, sales were up 63% at actual exchange rates and 65% at constant exchange rates. Compared to the same period before the pandemic – in 2019 – sales increased b...
Dive watches today come in all shapes and sizes, each trying to find its place in a very crowded market. Some are meant to evoke a sense of nostalgia, for the days of yore when a dive watch, a single tank, and a thirst for adventure was all you needed. Some attempt to be that one single watch, straddling the line between toolish utility and stylish dressiness. From the boardroom to the beach and a...
As we’ve said already on many occasions, there are mainstream brands, and then there are so-called niche brands that are mostly known by seasoned collectors But don’t think this makes them less important. In fact, this might give these smaller, often undervalued historic names even more resonance and charm. One of them might ring a bell: Excelsior Park. A brand founded in 1866 and know...
So yes, the news broke yesterday, the new and highly-anticipated Tudor watch made with the French Navy, or Marine Nationale?has been released. And naturally, the watch generated heated debate because there were a lot of expectations and wishes surrounding this model, and in the end, it probably wasn’t what some had in mind. So no, the new Tudor M.N. watch is not an evolution of the Black Bay...
In May this year, Tudor announced a (not so) new partnership with a lot of historical resonance Indeed, we're talking about a long-standing collaboration that dates back to the 1950s, when dive watches were instruments for combat divers. Yes, Tudor has renewed its partnership with the Marine National (of the French Navy), bringing back a military connection that gave birth to some of the most coll...
There’s watchmaking…. and there’s Watchmaking. To me it becomes Watchmaking with a capital when we’re talking about watchmakers who have the knowledge, the ability and the patience, to create a timepiece entirely by hand. I’m not talking about redesigning a few plates or bridges of an existing movement. Although we all love Dufour’s Simplicity (based on a JLC ca...
Not all chronograph watches are created equal; that’s an undeniable fact, and we all know it. And when it comes to tracking elapsed time with great precision, driven by a purely mechanical movement, few brands do it like A. Lange & Sohne. Any chronograph movement is a big step up in complexity over a time-only piece, but an integrated triple split flyback chronograph is pushing boundarie...
When a few weeks ago Certina presented its new DS Powermatic 80 Collection, I personally thought “OK, that looks quite cool and has some serious mechanical content.” But it also made me think about the first mechanical watch… If like me you’re a watch lover, the first mechanical watch is important. And at the same time, you think about spoiled kids on Instagram… There...
As you might have seen, this past weekend was important for the watch collecting community. Like every year, the weekend after the GPHG is packed with auctions in Geneva. Christie’s and Phillips (and others) had their auctions, and last Saturday was the Only Watch charity auction; all benefitting from the presence of the most prominent watch collectors. While the auctions showed a strong, bu...
There are moments in our lives that require us to dress up at least a little. A wedding, a 25 year work anniversary, a high-class event, going to the opera, or perhaps just going out to town and wanting to feel like a million bucks. What would you wear on your wrist for such an occasion? Surely it must be something that costs an arm and a leg, looks dapper and comes from some high-end watch manufa...
Once again this year, the watch industry reveals its best side as more than 50 brands participate in the great Only Watch charity event. Under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II and at the initiative of Luc Pettavino, this year is the 9th edition of the biennial charity auction, whose aim is to raise funds for research against Duchenne muscular dystrophy. A recurring participant of the ...