Bell & Ross is well-known for the “circle within a square” design aesthetics, initiated by the BR 01 and BR 03 collections. While the brand produces fully round watches too, the square cases have been exemplary in creating an instantly recognizable range of watches. In 2019 the brand launched the BR 05 collection, a more contemporary, softer style of the square case, with clear ...
There are understated watches, and then there are statement watches, timepieces with abundant character that tower above your conventional round cases. Gerald Charles's Maestro Chronograph is certainly a contender in this category. Gerald Charles was founded in 2000 by Gerald Genta, one of the most acclaimed and prolific watch designers of our time. His iconic Maestro timepiece of 2006 was revisit...
Bianchet is a new horological independent watchmaker founded by Rodolfo and Emmanuelle Festa Bianchet, located in the Neuchatel area. Following a career in Fintech, the Festa Bianchet couple embarked on a new entrepreneurial project, following their passion and desire to create their own watches. On the occasion of the Geneva Watch Days, we were able to meet them and take a look at their first cre...
Travelling… Crossing time zones, getting away from it all, changing view… For a year and a half, this reality has also been on lockdown, but not for long now. Summer 2021 signalled a return to travel, and as we’re all back at work, it is time for us to consider travelling again, for fun and for business, and for that, nothing better than a traveller’s watch. GMT, Dual-Time,...
Last week, during the 2021 edition of the Geneva Watch Days, we enjoy the ability to visit brands and discovering their latest creation, in the metal (something that has been unfortunately rare in the past 2 years). Since we were able to touch and feel these new watches, we also took the time to talk with the teams behind their creation and we’ve already published multiple videos on MONOCHRO...
Geneva-based watchmaker Frederique Constant has had quite a year so far. We knew that the accessible luxury specialist was capable of great things with the development of multiple complications based on in-house calibres, but the highlight of this year for FC, the Monolithic Oscillator, is a true gamechanger. Last week, during the 2021 edition of the Geneva Watch Days, we visited Frederique Consta...
For over 85 years, with the introduction of its first aviation timepiece in 1936, IWC Schaffhausen has been flying high with its pilot's watches. Since then, IWC has been perfecting the functional requirements of the Flieger watch with first-hand feedback from pilots, a crucial factor in developing mil-spec service watches. Today, the Schaffhausen-based brand releases three new ceramic chronograph...
Last year, 2020, the planned dates for Baselworld and Watches & Wonders were pretty late in the year. Usually, the SIHH, predecessor of Watches & Wonders, took place in January and Baselworld was often around March. These proved to be good moments in the year for the watch business, as retailers purchased new watches, new inventory, shortly after the Christmas sales and that kept a healthy...
As the world-leading watch retailer, Bucherer has a solid reputation when it comes to creating special editions available solely through its worldwide network of boutiques and e-commerce platform. With all watches revolving around a central theme, which is the colour blue, the result is often striking, to say the least. The latest introduction is the very contemporary and evocative Girard-Perregau...
Audemars Piguet has learned a lesson or two since the launch of Code 11.59 in 2019 and repeats the success story of its 2020 models with gorgeous smoked dials. Although the smoked blue dials appeared in 2020 inside pink gold cases, this is the first time this smoked blue sunburst lacquered dial is married to a white gold case. Available in automatic time-and-date and chronograph versions with iden...
Every year, the watchmaking industry celebrates creativity and ingenuity with the?Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve?(GPHG) or the so-called Oscars of the Watchmaking Industry C?see the report for the 2020 edition here, and the Aiguille d’Or awarded to Piaget. The most advanced, the most innovative and the most creative timepieces will be awarded prizes this year again, at the GPHG 2021. Befo...
The new Certina DS Powermatic 80, a straightforward time-and-date collection joins the Heritage Collection with an initial offering of five dial colours and steel or golden PVD-coated cases. Inspired by the DS Chronograph Automatic of 2020 – a re-edition of a? Certina chronograph from the 1940s – the new Certina DS Powermatics borrow certain vintage codes of the chronograph and are fit...
Last week were the Geneva Watch Days 2021, a great initiative that allowed us to visit brands exposing to this self-managed and (yes, something rare these days), physically-organised event. While most of the MONOCHROME team was attending the event, reporting live with multiple articles displaying the new models presented during the fair, it also gave us the opportunity to meet with brands and thei...
Atelier de Chronometrie makes its first appearance at the Only Watch auction with the donation of an absolutely stunning handmade watch to raise money for research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The AdC21 is not part of a collection and was specially designed for the Only Watch charity auction. Like other timepieces created by the independent brand, it evokes a vintage 1930s and 1940s design et...
If TAG Heuer is, without a doubt, mostly known for its involvement in motorsports and its impressive collection of racing chronographs, the brand has far more to offer than just these watches. Case in point, during the 2021 digital edition of Watches & Wonders, the brand has presented a revamped Aquaracer Professional 300 series, its take on the dive watch concept. More refined yet still very ...
In addition to being the world’s largest watch retailer, Bucherer is also known for its in-house collection of special edition watches, all focused around the brand’s signature colour, blue. Dubbed Bucherer BLUE, this now impressive collection gathers attractive models that are, in certain proportions, using blue to create unique versions of existing watches. Now, it is time for the wi...
During the Geneva Watch Days 2021, we had the chance to see the latest model to join the emblematic dive collection from Oris. The new Aquis Date Upcycle is part of the permanent collection and comes in two sizes. The watches are fitted with a special type of dial, each one unique in execution, even though neither is limited in terms of production numbers.Oris has a reputation for making solid, ro...
Longines is a brand with a rich history, and in many fields. One that stands out above the others is the field of aviation watches, a type of watch that has long been dear to the brand and where the winged hourglass?has excelled, putting its instruments on the wrist of many?pioneers. A?classic pilot's watch that combines old-school design cues with a contemporary execution,?available in multiple e...
If you were asked to list the most common types of engines in cars, you'd probably answer: in-line, boxer, V-shape and end it there. And you'd be right actually, as these are the most widespread types of engines in the industry. Some might even mention rotary engines or electric engines, but that's probably it. Despite the fact that there are loads of configurations within these types of engines, ...
Bvlgari never does things by half measures. The latest trilogy of women's watches pays tribute to Bvlgari's longstanding fame as one of the world's most revered jewellery houses and its position as one of the most exciting and innovative watchmaking players on the scene today. In June 2021, Bvlgari unveiled Magnifica, the most valuable high jewellery collection it has produced in its 137 years of ...
Ulysse Nardin has a long and storied history when it comes to nautical navigation and marine chronometry. For decades, if not centuries, marine navigation relied on the position of celestial bodies. The introduction of precision instruments such as marine chronometers revolutionized navigation at sea. Founded in 1846, meaning the brand celebrates 175 years of watchmaking this year, Ulysse Nardin q...
Twenty-eight years after its debut, the Royal Oak Offshore of 1993 is back with three new references in 42mm steel, titanium or pink gold cases. Respecting the essence of the original timepiece, there are, however, several interesting evolutions, including the incorporation of the latest in-house automatic flyback chronograph movement and a novel interchangeable bracelet system. To enjoy a view of...
IWC has been issuing special edition watches since 2006 to support Laureus Sport for Good, which has over 250 programmes in more than 50 countries. Nelson Mandela is its Founding Patron and said in 2000: Sport has the power to change the world. The goal is to end violence, discrimination and disadvantage, and more than six million children and young people have been reached. IWC has issued all kin...
Part of the novelties for the Geneva Watch Days 2021, Bvlgari revisits its magnificent Papillon Tourbillon with jumping hours, patented Papillon (butterfly) minutes and central tourbillon in an Octo Roma case. Introduced in 2015, Bvlgari combined Daniel Roth's innovative “butterfly” time display complication with a spectacular central flying tourbillon to create the Papillon Tourbillon...
By now, most of us, if not all of us, are fully aware we are living on borrowed time. The Earth’s climate is rapidly deteriorating, provoking natural disasters and the extinction of many species. One of the biggest challenges we face is reducing the production of plastic and its disposal. According to studies, a truckload of plastic waste leaks into our oceans every minute. Once again, Oris ...
With Geneva Watch Days in full swing, Breitling introduces a capsule collection of chronographs inspired by three iconic American sports cars from the 1960s: the Chevrolet Corvette, the Ford Mustang and the Shelby Cobra. Animated with bold colours and a distinctive retro vibe, the dial and caseback of each chronograph feature the logo of each sports car. Although the capsule collection is not limi...
Resuscitated by Chopard's Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, the high-end brand Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud pays tribute to Ferdinand Berthoud's horological legacy by offering exceptional timepieces manufactured in exclusive quantities. Powered by an exceptional movement with tourbillon and fusee-and-chain, the brand's first opus, the FB1 chronometer received numerous industry accolades – includi...
While the roots of the brand date back to Fran?ois Czapek, a Czech-born Polish watchmaker who fled to Geneva in 1832 after fighting in the Polish uprising, Czapek & Cie. was resuscitated in 2015 thanks to equity crowdfunding. In just a few years, the brand presented four different collections, the elegant Quai des Bergues, the Place Vend?me Tourbillon, the Faubourg de Cracovie Chronograph and,...
Visionary watchmaker and designer Gerald Genta left a legacy of iconic designs. As a pioneer of genre-defining sporty-chic models, Genta revolutionised the concept of the luxury sports watch with the creation of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. But the Genta legacy goes way beyond the luxury sports watches he designed for Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe or IWC. Alongside his collaborations with famo...
Alongside the GMT and the Chronograph, a Worldtimer can be considered one of the most practical, everyday complications. And with the world opening up to travel, the practicality of such a watch makes sense again. It comes as no surprise that many manufacturers have a GMT or a world timer in the collection. New for 2021, Bvlgari introduces the Bvlgari Octo Roma Worldtimer in two distinct versions:...