Today, we'll talk about a watch owned by someone that is a voice and face of the watchmaking community, someone that you might have already seen through your screens. Indeed, Marko Koncina is a 29-year-old entrepreneur from Zurich, Switzerland, and he is the driving force behind the Swiss Watch Gang Youtube and Instagram channels. Today, we'll discuss a watch that is supremely elegant, mechanicall...
There’s no denying that the year 2020 has been difficult for all industries, including luxury goods. Due to closures of points of sales, logistics centres and manufacturing sites, as well as the halt in international tourism resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, luxury powerhouses have seen sales contracting drastically. Yet, the end of 2020 and the first months of 2021 are clearly showing s...
For some years now, Revolution, one of the main print and online magazines worldwide, has been creating some rather attractive watches exclusive to their readers. Think for instance about the Sinn 155 Bundeswehr Dark Star or this luminous Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT. Today, Revolution is presenting a new watch made in collaboration with Chopard, a watch that is the second chapter of a story sta...
Few watches in the world can compete with Jack Heuer's brilliant branding coup of his 1969 square-shaped Monaco chronograph with the world's most glamorous F1 race. There was a time in the watchmaking world when innovation' and imagination' were the keywords. Today, they have been replaced with special/limited edition' and titanium'. However, when it comes to golden oldies like the Monaco, the new...
The Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921, a unique cushion-shaped model with a diagonal display, celebrates its centennial in 2021. One of our favourite models at MONOCHROME, the Historiques American 1921 has a great story behind it and has not lost an iota of its idiosyncratic personality in the past 100 years. Three new iterations of the American 1921 were unveiled during the latest edi...
Earlier this year, Zenith introduced a new watch intended to become a cornerstone of its collection, the new standard?sports chronograph of the brand, and a watch that created a lot of discussions too – with highly positive comments, and equally negative ones too. This watch, the Chronomaster Sport, is a model with strong arguments to compete in the luxury sports chronograph category, being ...
Cuervo y Sobrinos, the Swiss brand with Cuban roots, welcomes another member to its growing Historiador collection. One of the brand's most popular collections, the stylized case of the Historiador takes its profile from an original Cuervo y Sobrinos model from the 1950s. In the past year or so, we've seen the Historiador Peque?os Segundos (small seconds), a chronograph version of the Historiador ...
With a history dating back to 1989, and elements of the first Promaster watch by Citizen even further back, the collection has always captured the public’s imagination. First and foremost for their capabilities, being proper diving instruments, but on another note also for the accompanying innovation. It was Citizen, after all, who produced the first Japanese water-resistant watch. The Proma...
There are endless styles of watches, ranging from plain-and-simple to over-the-top, from time-only models to grande complications. While we often categorize watches on certain features or complications (tourbillon watches, sports watches, dive watches, etc…) there are styling choices that are free from restraints and can be found in any category. Today we go through no less than eight skelet...
We've recently covered the gorgeous Laine Watches V38 by Switzerland-based Finnish watchmaker Torsti Laine. And lo and behold, two weeks later, a press release about a unique collaboration project lands in our inbox. The CronotempVs Collectors, an online watch collecting community focusing on very limited watch projects, joins forces with Torsti Laine and introduces the Silver Spur.With 16 project...
When it comes to colours, there are several must-haves in a collection if you are to be taken seriously as a watch manufacturer. Traditional colours like black, silver and white for dials have been around for ages and will never go out of style. Another here-to-stay colour, although slightly newer in watchmaking, is blue. The watch industry is receptive to trends, though, as in recent years, we've...
The passion for watches is something that needs to be shared, and this is what we try to do with this column. While we often discuss watches with men in the Collector's Series, there are also some women who have an utter passion for watchmaking. And today, we have both a story of transmitting the passion from a husband to his wife, who now also collects watches from indie watchmakers. @herindepend...
Gerald Charles, a brand founded by the late watch designer Gerald Genta in 2000, proposes a new iteration of the designer's famous Maestro 2006 timepiece. Renamed the Maestro 2.0 Premier 2021 Edition, the watch comes in an 18k rose gold case with a striking emerald green dial and matching rubber strap. Thinner than the 2020 Maestro Anniversary in steel, the latest time&date model is fitted wit...
The latest Maurice Lacroix Aikon Venturer Bronze 43mm is a culmination of several things: the brand's recent use of bronze cases, the continued evolution of the Aikon line, and a focus on the diver aesthetic that began with the 1990s Calypso collection. This isn't simply a dive watch; it's very much an accessibly priced luxury sports watch as well. A hybrid, if you will. The first Aikon was introd...
As a lot of you probably know, two of our team members are Dutch. Our little nation is actually comparable to Switzerland in land mass, but not when it comes to watchmaking culture – obviously. That is why we tend to get somewhat excited – and simultaneously a little critical – when new projects emerge with Dutch origins. The latest newcomer to the watchmaking game is Reiser Watc...
Back in early 2020, TAG Heuer introduced one of its most appealing watches in recent years, the Carrera 160 Years Silver Edition. An elegant tribute to the earliest versions of this legendary chronograph, it successfully merged its modern elements and technical base with an undeniable vintage charm. This retro-shaped chronograph is coming back this year in a new limited edition, this time with an ...
The presentation in early 2020 of the Grand Seiko “White Birch” or “Shirakaba” already gave us a great impression and it clearly was one of the watches I was eager to see in the metal. There’s no turning around, this SLGH005 represents the best of what GS can do for its permanent, classic collection. Mechanical noblesse, slightly renewed design language merged with re...
Introduced in mid-2020, the Longines Spirit collection was not only a highly important launch for the winged hourglass but also marked an entirely new line from the brand. Inspired by legendary aviators and explorers who rely on Longines watches and combining historical references with modern mechanics and contemporary codes, it is a more “mainstream” collection than the hardcore Herit...
According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, the term razzle-dazzle is used to describe “(confusion caused by) noisy and noticeable activity or very colourful appearance, intended to attract attention“. Eliminating the adjective ‘colourful’ from the dictionary description, it seems to be a fair description of the dizzying black and white geometric patterns donned on the l...
If you’re still here it’s that, actually, our talks over Zoom were somehow entertaining… Well, at least we had fun doing them! So we meet again, Andrew (Time+Tide), Robert-Jan (Fratello), Wei (Revolution) and I, and this time the topic was “Batshit Crazy Watches” but… We all had a different interpretation of this, ending up in a very, very weird discussion and m...
Known on Instagram as @WatchWalker, the man we'll be talking with today is a globetrotter with Belgian roots. By chance, we ran into him on the internet, but haven't had the pleasure of meeting him in real life yet, due to the global pandemic. @Watchwalker has been a watch collector for many years, and although other brands lured him, his passion lies with Zenith Watches. In this episode of our Co...
Yema has been and still is today one of the best expressions of French watchmaking. Founded in 1948, the brand has implemented a new strategy in recent years, gaining visibility thanks to its Heritage collection, re-issuing some of the most iconic models, as well as bringing back the notion of French-made, with proprietary movements. With this Frenchness in mind, Yema has already secured a partner...
Even though it was unveiled without much fanfare, Piaget introduced a new 18k white gold version of its Altiplano Ultimate Automatic watch with handsome blue accents during Watches & Wonders 2021. When it was first released in 2018, the Altiplano Ultimate Automatic was the world's thinnest automatic watch with an overall height of 4.30mm, thinner than Bvlgari's 2017 Octo Finissimo (5.15mm). Ho...
Most of us associate Rado with high-tech ceramic watches and sleek contemporary lines. Rado’s Captain Cook resurfaced in 2017, a dive watch based on an automatic model from 1962. Offered in different case sizes and materials, including trendy bronze with ceramic bezels, the vintage vibe and resilient 300m water-resistance of the Captain Cook was a hit. Named after the famous British explorer...
Oris has a strong reputation when it comes to serious, professional-oriented, highly capable yet relatively accessible dive watches. Under the Aquis and Prodiver collections, the brand has already presented multiple instruments for aquatic purposes. Think, for instance, about the Meistertaucher. Or the new AquisPro. One that has long been in the collection and that has been praised by the diving c...
Although Louis Moinet was a prominent watchmaker between the 18th and 19th centuries, Les Ateliers Louis Moinet was only created 20 years ago. As Watches & Wonders 2021 just ended, we paid a visit to Jean-Marie Schaller, the brand’s CEO, to understand how he embarked on resurrecting Louis Moinet.Xavier Markl, MONOCHROME – How did you get into watches?Jean-Marie Schaller, CEO of Lou...
Those who have met Anthony de Haas, in real life that is, will never forget this brilliant and energetic Director of Product Development of A. Lange & Sohne. Anthony, or Tony for friends, knows watches inside out and has been in the lead for all new Lange watches that were introduced since 2004. During the recent digital Watches & Wonders we talked about the brand new Lange 1 Perpetual Cal...
Even though mostly associated with motorsport and chronographs, TAG Heuer has long been active in the field of dive watches. In fact,?the company that was still just Heuer launched its first dive watch in 1978. Since then, these aquatic models have always been part of the collection, under several names, such as the 2000 series, the 2000 Aquaracer and later Aquaracer-only. Following updates in sev...
At IWC, one of the most emblematic collections is, without doubt, the so-called Flieger or Pilot’s Watch. Inspired by the past of the brand, when IWC was delivering robust observation watches to military forces, they are some of the most revered watches for pilots of the industry. But when you think of pilots, even for IWC, you might have in mind a flight instrument. Yet, IWC also uses this ...
Norqain is still a young brand with regards to the Swiss watch industry… But in 3 years of activity, the brand has managed to consolidate a highly consistent collection of sports, adventure-oriented watches, as well as securing a partnership for?COSC-certified movements made by Kenissi, manufacture jointly owned by Chanel and Tudor/ . This was the occasion of the launch of two series of mode...