When talking about pilot’s watches, the name IWC should quickly come into the discussion. The brand is one of the most legitimate manufactures in this field, with its first dedicated watch for pilots dating back to 1936. Then followed B-Uhr models, the famous Mark Series, the 1990s pilot’s chronographs and, of course, the legendary Big Pilot’s Watch. Without surprise, the Schaffh...
Alerts, beeps, bings, vibrations and buzzing sounds are the bane of 21st-century technological gadgets. Whether it's a wake-up tone, an incoming email, a Whatsapp message or a reminder to walk more steps, we are bombarded by acoustic signals 24/7. For those of you pining for the simpler days when a spade was called a spade, and you didn't have 1,500 contacts in your phone, Jaeger-LeCoultre's Memov...
Today is Tuesday… and in terms of watches, you know what it means. Omega didn’t wait long in 2021 to bring its first novelty for “Speedy Tuesday” and, clearly, this is a very important one. Today, Omega updates its most iconic watch, a model that has been practically untouched since the late 1960s, with the current reference dating back to 1997. We, of course, talk about th...
The end of 2020 has been extremely rich in Haute Horlogerie creations for Audemars Piguet. In only a few months, the brand introduced the Code 11.59 Flying Tourbillon Chronograph, the Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon, the full ceramic Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked and, on top of these already impressive watches, the ultra-complex Code 11.59 Grande Sonnerie Carillon Supersonnerie...
While the Western world has celebrated the arrival of 2021 a few days ago, China traditionally has a different calendar and?Chinese New Year commences on the 12th of February, welcoming the Year of the Metal Ox. Multiple luxury and high-end watch brands will participate in the commemorations by introducing timepieces with an Ox theme – knowing the importance of the Chinese market, this still...
Wait… Are we seriously saying that? Well, first of all, let’s make things clear. Nothing is official, nothing is confirmed, nothing is even remotely close to indicate that Patek Philippe’s most coveted model, the classic time-and-date blue dial Nautilus reference 5711/1A, is about to be discontinued and replaced. At least officially. Indeed, a closer look at Instagram, specifical...
The trend for watches with metal bracelets shows no sign of abating, specifically watches with an integrated bracelet. But what if one of your flagship collections is essentially available on only leather or rubber straps? A bracelet can radically transform the look and feel of a watch. Although it is less versatile than a strap that you can easily swap for another one, it often becomes an integra...
2020… What a year… what a year! Both on a professional as well as on a personal level this was a bizarre year, and not only due to that nasty Corona pandemic that is terrorizing humankind. Politics also reared its most ugly head on various sides of the globe and Baselworld, an old watch institution, fell apart. And let’s not forget the extreme fires that raged in Australia at the...
Earlier this year, during the digital presentation of Watches & Wonders, Jaeger-LeCoultre unveiled a refreshed take on its Master Control collection. Among the four watches representing the updated 2020 design features is the Master Control Chronograph Calendar, a captivating combination of complications that immediately caught our eye. Equipped with a column-wheel chronograph and triple calen...
Part of the trilogy of timepieces to celebrate the 175th anniversary of watchmaking in Glashutte, the 1815 Thin Honeygold Homage to F. A. Lange is, along with the Saxonia Thin, the simplest watch in the brand's line-up. As an anniversary watch, the 1815 Thin is cloaked in Lange's delicious Honeygold. As a member of the 1815 collection that celebrates the year of birth of founder Ferdinand Adolph L...
No doubt, the concept of a perpetual calendar luxury sports watch is highly desirable, as combining the visual appeal of a sporty-chic watch with an integrated bracelet and one of the most attractive complications, the QP. But what options do you have? The Nautilus Perpetual Calendar 5740G, the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar or the Vacheron Constantin Overseas Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar are all w...
The dress watch, an accessory that every man needs is the simplest but most elegant type of watch. Refined, discreet, visually simple but mechanically satisfying, they are all about exclusive materials and finishing, balanced proportions and luxurious but not ostentatious appeal. As 2020 comes to an end, here's a selection of five of our favourite high-end dress watches of the year.A. Lange & ...
I've said this many times; dive watches are a dime a dozen these days. You've got , Blancpain and Omega (among others) covering the high end, while Seiko, Hamilton and Oris bring things down to Earth. From a usability standpoint, few things separate these offerings as depth ratings vary from 100 to 300 metres and it's just a matter of finding the right tool for the job. The ultra-deep divers, lik...
While Habring2 is certainly famous for its impressively simplified take on the DoppelChronograph (split-seconds), something Richard Habring developed while working for IWC, there are more displays that are dear to the brand. This includes first a precision display, the jumping seconds or dead-beat seconds. Another one that Habring2 has often used in the past is the foudroyante, or?flashing second ...
Tissot has been ticking in the city of Le Locle since 1853 and holds the distinction of selling more watches than any other Swiss watch brand. In 2019, for example, sales of Tissot watches were estimated at 3.5 million, positioning the brand in seventh position in the top ten Swiss watch brand ranking. Renowned for its outstanding price/quality ratio, Tissot’s long history means that it also...
Like many other members of the Swiss watch industry, Omega is no stranger to the concept of charity watches, which are created to raise awareness and raise funds in order to support a great cause. Since 2011, the Biel-based brand has been supporting international non-profit organisation Orbis, committed to preventing avoidable blindness in the world's poorest regions. This year, Omega presents a n...
The popularity of dive watches is at an all-time high, and there are plenty of big fish in the pond. With stiff competition from all quarters, it's always encouraging to discover a dive watch from one of Switzerland's oldest and most respected brands that hasn't strayed into inaccessible waters. Unlike the popular remakes of family heirlooms in the Heritage Collection, like the vintage-inspired Le...
MONOCHROME has always been, since its inception in 2006, a celebration of fine watches. And by that, we mean mechanical watches in general, from high-end brands to creative independent watchmaking or icons of the industry. While we can dream in front of a superb Lange Tourbograph Perpetual or some of the most complex watches of 2020, we also need to face reality and admit that these are made for t...
Earlier this year, Seiko brought back one of its legendary designs, a watch that not only marked the brand’s history and became an incredible commercial success in the 1970s, but a watch that gained fame after being worn on Captain Willard's (Martin Sheen) wrist in Apocalypse Now. Available in black and in green, and despite the fact that the green version is not historically relevant, I imm...
Themed watches are always fun and Bangalore Watch Company has made them a speciality in 2020. Earlier this year, we showed you the MACH 1 series that paid homage to India's MiG 21 Type 77, the country's first supersonic jet fighter. Many design elements on the dial, crown and case back were directly related to the MiG 21, and an updated design recently debuted as well with the Officer's Blue. The ...
With the festive season looming and difficulties ahead for many of us to be reunited with our families and loved ones, we've decided to get a festive fix and introduce some cheer into our lives with a little help from our faithful horological companions. And what better way to indulge than with the most complex and mechanically endowed member of A. Lange & Sohne's collection? As part of the tr...
Introduced earlier this year as a full range of watches, the Longines Spirit is probably one of the brand’s most important new collections in recent years. Entirely new for the winged hourglass, equipped with high-end features, clearly focused on precision and reliability, the Spirit is a classic pilot’s watch that combines old-school design cues with a contemporary execution. Availabl...
Forget about the usual suspects that are , Omega, Blancpain or Seiko. The world of dive watches is full of surprises, of smaller brands that are to be considered hidden gems… And when you start to dig into the archives of the dive watch history and forget about mainstream models, there are some fascinating vintage watches to discover. Such an example is the Aquastar Deepstar, a watch that I...
Offering well-designed watches from a reputed Swiss company at reasonable prices seems to be a winning strategy for Longines. Introduced in 2019, the Longines Master Collection Moonphase watch continues this story, with a policy of keeping Longines in the price segment that it dominates (700 to 3,500 Swiss francs) – even with complications. Available in two sizes (40mm and 42mm), the moon ph...
The Reverso is a watch of rare longevity. In fact, it is probably one of the watch models with the longest track record. The Reverso was created back in 1931 and since then, its unique concept of a reversible and protective case has been one of the pillars of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s success. As the Reverso approaches its 90th anniversary in 2021, the brand is bound to release several important ne...
There’s far more to Omega than just its iconic sports watches, the well-known Speedmaster and Seamaster. Even though the brand has slightly simplified its offering over the years, two other collections, both focused on elegance, need to be mentioned. First is the Constellation, timepieces inspired by the brand’s precision models of the past. Second is the De Ville, which can be defined...
Tissot's Heritage collection is full of classic throwbacks. Drawing upon a heritage that spans over 165 years,? suffice it to say that the Le Locle-based watchmaker knows exactly what it's doing when it comes to creating retro-inspired timepieces that nod to a bygone era. Towards the end of last year, MONOCHROME covered the Tissot Heritage Visodate Automatic, a value-for-money 1950s dress watch,? ...
In addition to new models designed and launched directly by brands, one of the growing trends in the watchmaking industry (but also in the luxury industry in general) is the concept of collaborations. It can be with the involvement of a sportsman, an external designer, a brand from another field and, as you’ve probably seen with Revolution, Fratello or Hodinkee, a collaboration between a wat...
We’ve said it already and we’ll say it again: the most active and sought-after category of watches for the last couple of years is, without a doubt, the ‘luxury sports watch’.? A category of watches defined by their mix of luxurious appeal, relatively robust cases and integrated bracelets or straps. Dominated for long by the pioneers of the genre – a style defined in ...
Resurrection stories are surfacing quite frequently in the watch industry. Over the years we've seen Czapek, Airain, Vertex, and in a sense A. Lange & Sohne come back to life. The car industry is comparable, so every now and then, ambitious plans are announced to bring an illustrious manufacturer back from the dead. Today's episode of Petrolhead Corner is about one of those projects, which sta...