It is the solidity and accessibility of the Longines HydroConquest watch that lends itself as such a useful tool for amateur and professional divers. That said, the robust yet classically designed watches from this collection are more than at ease on dry land too. The Saint-Imier-based manufacturer first launched the HydroConquest watch in 2007 but redesigned it in 2018 with colour-coordinated dia...
Omega's Speedmaster Moonwatch has exerted its gravitational pull on earthlings for over half a century converting Omega's robust chronograph into a living icon. For countless fans of the Speedmaster, Omega's announcement in 2019 that it would be resuscitating its legendary Calibre 321 was as exciting as the Moon landing. The first watch graced with the revered hand-wound column-wheel chronograph w...
American car culture can be a weird thing sometimes, incomparable to other cultures. It is an endless source of interesting stories and cars. It might not be to everyone's liking as there's a wide range of styles and followings. This week we take a look at two stories by two leading manufacturers displaying their skill and know-how in new technology and design. On one hand, we have a transparent c...
Back in March 2020, Grand Seiko was celebrating its 60th anniversary and, in addition to expected special edition watches, the brand struck hard by presenting a fascinating movement, the Hi-Beat Calibre 9SA5 with multiple innovations, such as the novel Dual Impulse escapement. First presented in a gold case, followed by a limited edition in steel, this movement is now finding its way into the perm...
To be fair, the Longines DolceVita has never been the most appealing watch of the brand. Sure, it is elegant and certainly well executed, but its rectangular case and “Cartier-esque” dials could never really compete with the attractiveness of the Heritage collection. It is one of those collections that is simply overlooked by the watch community. However, without entirely changing the ...
I guess at MONOCHROME we do not have to tell you about cultural differences; however, there’s one that stands out for people who are passionate about horology and wristwatches in particular. Watch collectors uniting in a club-like manor is something that did not happen, or hardly, in mainland Europe. Most European watch collectors prefer to fly under the radar and do not feel any urge to sha...
Patek Philippe introduces two new automatic models in its recently revamped Twenty~4 women's collection. In 2018, Patek Philippe overhauled its Twenty~4 collection from head to toe. Introducing 36mm round cases to sit alongside its rectangular-shaped siblings, the feature that thrilled many of us was the inclusion of a mechanical movement. More in line with Patek's tradition of exquisitely crafted...
Most readers of MONOCHROME are well aware that Patek Philippe’s most desirable (sought-after) model, the classic time-and-date stainless steel Nautilus 5711, will be discontinued in a few months. While the brand didn’t officially communicate anything on this topic yet (it was known through the indiscretion of a retailer), Patek’s President Thierry Stern has decided to clarify thi...
The Longines Legend Diver needs little introduction. Indeed, it might well be the most emblematic watch from the winged-hourglass brand's Heritage collection. Based on a historically important “compressor” dive watch from the 1960s, the brand introduced a faithful re-edition back in 2007, and this watch, available in multiple editions, has been around since then. Following the bronze a...
Wilhelm Schmid has been ten years with the brand that ‘never stands still’. After a career at BMW, among others in South Africa, he arrived in Glashutte to be the new CEO at A. Lange & Sohne, the pinnacle of German watchmaking. With a background in sales and a strong passion for mechanics, it seemed like a match made in heaven. Wilhelm Schmid's past ten years at Lange were during a...
The?Avigation BigEye is one of those great Heritage Longines watches that pay tribute to the rich aviation past of the brand. Launched in 2017 in steel with a black dial, it was modelled after an elusive 1930s watch with quite a resemblance with some glorious post-WWII pilot’s chronograph too. Also, as indicated by its name, the watch was characterized by its oversized minute counter, a desi...
With a continuous production of almost 200 years (founded 1832), Longines is one of the Swiss watch brands with the richest history. No wonder by its Heritage collection is filled with some of the coolest vintage-inspired watches currently on the market. The brand is a specialist of the genre, bringing retro-styled watches with modern features and mechanics. Today, the brand revives (again) one of...
Ultra-thin is a truly fascinating area of watchmaking. Ultra-thin is the child of miniaturization, which has always been one of the watchmakers’ goals. Ultra-thin is where design and mechanics meet, where the ingenuity of the watchmaker isn’t guided by the need to pack more and more functions, but by the wish to make the watch as elegant as possible. Ultra-thin is a true watchmakerR...
It’s not often that a woman is the interviewee in our Collector’s Series, but today Lung Lung Thun is star of the show!?Lung Lung Thun is a 31-year-old securities broker with her own business, working in Hong Kong and Singapore. When she walked past an Audemars Piguet Boutique in Singapore in 2010, looking for her next watch after coming to terms with the fact that the Chanel J12 she h...
We've said it repeatedly, but cars and mechanical watches are a natural match. The dedication to precision and fine mechanics, the passion they arouse, and the fact that many car enthusiasts are also watch aficionados (and vice versa) have made collaborations between watch manufactures and car brands a classic cocktail of our industry. But not all partnerships are equal Yesterday, TAG Heuer and Po...
The alliance between TAG Heuer and Porsche is the culmination of a fascinating and entwined history marked by an obsession with speed and motorsports. Envisioned as a collaboration ranging from competition to product development, the partnership between the two powerhouses is celebrated with a 44mm TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph. For many, this partnership is a match made in heaven. Marryin...
Habring2 is a brand that is special on many levels. Not only is it one of the rare manufactures to produce mechanical watches in Austria, but it is also the shared vision of a couple, Maria and Richard, some of the most pleasant and passionate people we know. And of course, the independent watchmaker is also known for making cool, finely crafted and creative watches – with a focus on chronog...
A couple of weeks ago, we explored the comeback of a niche but cult brand specialised in instrument watches, Nivada Grenchen. Mostly known for its Chronomaster watch, also known as the “Super Chronograph” due to its combination of features, a look at the history of the brand reveals far more fascinating watches, pioneers in their own right. Among them is a model known as the Depthmaste...
Omega and the Olympic Games share a long-lasting love story. The Biel-based brand first provided its timing instruments to the games back in 1932, in Los Angeles. Since then, Omega has been the official timekeeper of both Summer and Winter Games, having participated in 29 editions. While the 2020 edition of the Olympic Summer Games has been postponed, this isn’t the case yet for the upcoming...
IWC has a long tradition of pilot’s watches, which goes back to as far as 1936, and includes some icons such as the 1940s Big Pilot's Watches or post-War Mark 11 models. Since the mid-1990s, the concept has become an entire collection of the Schaffhausen-based manufacture. However, there’s more than the classic models and the brand has developed special sub-collections such as the vint...
It is no secret that Bell & Ross has a long history of military-inspired watches. From the earliest days of the brand, Belamich and Rosillo have made clear that pilots and their instruments were the foundation of the design behind most B&R models – such as the iconic BR 01. So much that these watches will end up on the wrists multiple pilots and elite forces. Following a couple of ye...
2021 has kicked off with challenges for the industry, in a rather difficult context, but also important news. Indeed, the LVMH Watch Week 2021 was the opportunity for the brands under the French luxury powerhouse to unveil some of their novelties. It was also the perfect occasion for MONOCHROME to interview Antoine Pin, Managing Director of the Bvlgari watch division.Xavier Markl, MONOCHROME ̵...
During the digital version of LVMH Watch Week, Bvlgari, Hublot and Zenith presented some of their novelties for 2021. It was also an opportunity for MONOCHROME to interview Julien Tornare, the CEO of Zenith, to find out how the brand has navigated 2020 and to take a look at the brand's strategy for 2021.Xavier Markl, MONOCHROME – Needless to say, 2020 was a challenging year. What tactics did...
The connection between Oris and the Carl Brashear Foundation isn't new. It all started in 2016, when the brand introduced its first-ever bronze watch, which also marked the beginning of a long-term relationship between the Swiss brand and the American Foundation. This watch, based on the handsome Divers Sixty Five vintage-inspired model, will draw the design cues that will later be found on two su...
Despite the fact that the global sanitary situation (which struck the industry quite hard in 2020) still prevents brands to expose their new collection physically, with traditional watch fairs, the past week has been quite intense for the LVMH Watch Division. Indeed, 3 of the group’s brands (Bvlgari, Hublot & Zenith) digitally presented some new models to kick off the year. While we didn...
In this week’s installment of The Collector’s Series, we’re talking with Kelvin Sa about his amazing De Bethune DBS. Kelvin, one of the founding members of the Shanghai Watch Gang (@shanghaiwatchgang), knows a lot about the watch that we discuss today and meeting fellow watch enthusiasts certainly contributes to this. Kelvin Sa, or Mr_Kelvinator on Instagram, is a watch collector...
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the face of the world and how business is done. The watch industry is no stranger to the situation and, in 2020, sales have been greatly affected. Another consequence has been the cancellation of most physical watch events, including Watches and Wonders 2020 – which was transformed into a digital edition – and the death of Baselworld, with...
The watch industry has taken a big hit during the pandemic. Swatch Group has just released its 2020 results and, as expected, these have been severely impacted. At CHF 5,595 million, net sales are down 28.7% at constant exchange rate and 32.1% at current rates. The operating results remain slightly positive at CHF 52 million (versus CHF 1,023 million in 2019) while the group records a net loss of ...
Today we look at what certainly are two of the best Speedmaster models. On one side is a true classic, the previous generation?Moonwatch Professional – for all the details on the new one, check this in-depth article. On the other side is a retro-looking watch, the 60th-anniversary edition?released as part of a historically-inspired trilogy. You might ask why looking at two discontinued model...
Although the Timezoner concept isn’t something new at IWC, it remains one of the most practical functions the brand has patented. With its effortless system to change time zones without stopping the movement, the Timezoner relies on a clever mechanism making the bezel and movement interact. After being unveiled in 2016 along with a flyback chronograph, the concept returned in 2019 in a simpl...