When a model is discontinued and replaced with a new reference at Patek Philippe, two things happen: the old model tends to become even juicier bait for collectors and the newcomer is subjected to intense scrutiny. In March 2019, Patek Philippe introduced the ref.5172G chronograph to replace the longstanding and much-loved ref. 5170. Fitted with the same in-house manual-winding calibre CH 29-535 P...
German watches are typically free from any unnecessary details. No frills, no fuss, just clean, elegant watches. Whether you look at brands like A. Lange & Sohne, Glashutte Original,?Moritz Grossmann or at smaller independent brands, most of them offer very elegantly, stylish watches. One of these independents is Stefan Kudoke, founder and watchmaker of Kudoke Watches. Besides his intricately ...
Saturday means another kind of mechanics here, at MONOCHROME. As every week, we share with you our second passion: cars (like real cars, those that smell and make some noise). For this week's Petrolhead Corner installment we visited Red Bull Racing in Milton Keynes to have a chat about the bond between TAG Heuer and Red Bull. The relation between TAG and motorsports isn’t anything new; it wa...
When I think of Hamilton, either a Ventura or Khaki Field Mechanical immediately come to mind. The Swiss brand is much more than that, of course, with a wide collection of models that are among the best value propositions in the industry. Hamilton is also no stranger to quirky designs as the Ventura line attests, and fun ones like the Jazzmaster Regulator Cinema and Khaki Field Murph keep things i...
I strapped the new IWC Pilot Automatic Top Gun around my wrist and started thinking. Is this contemporary, black ceramic interpretation of the world's most famous war watch actually the coolest iteration to date? Is the predecessor of the famous Mark XI now the cool cat of the collection??Understanding IWC's ever-expanding Pilot's collection is an art in itself. The essential differences between C...
The United Kingdom seems to be a hotbed for independent watch brands these days with names like Vertex, Garrick, Bremont?and Pinion, among many others. Farer Universal is a relative newcomer and takes inspiration from 1960s and 1970s watchmaking, adding colourful and sophisticated dials to a variety of styles. We reviewed its Aqua Compressor Endeavour last year and walked away impressed, and its m...
Chelsea legend Frank Lampard achieved his dream this summer becoming the manager of Chelsea F.C, the club where he enjoyed so much success as a player. As far as watches go, Lampard is a big fan of Patek Philippe and has quite a large collection.? During pre-season, before the start of 2019/20 English Premier League campaign, Lampard has worn four different models from the brand…?Admittedly,...
A direct comparison between the large and the medium-sized Santos de Cartier raises the question: what is actually large? Normally the term mid-size' is marketing slang for a ladies' model', but that's definitely not the case here. We put the Cartier Santos mid size and large size, side by side.?With the reintroduction of the Santos, Cartier really hit the right note at the 2018 edition of the SIH...
Like all the seven watches presented over the past seven months to fte the Lange I, the Daymatic is dressed for the party in a? white gold case with blue trimmings on the dial.? As you know, the Saxon brand is celebrating the quarter-century of its foundation watch with not one but ten models. A limited-edition of 25 watches, the Lange 1 Daymatic bears the hallmark features of the iconic Lange 1 ...
Because 90% of the population is right-handed, there’s a convention that watches have to be worn on the left wrist… And that explains why the crown is positioned at 3 o’clock (on most watches, of course). There are exceptions to the rule, though, with so-called “right-hander” or “lefty” watches. Not so common, practical for left-handers and cool for others...
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Aquanaut in 2017, Patek Philippe presented the Jumbo Ref. 5168G in white gold with a larger diameter of 42.2mm, the most Jumbo size of this family to date and the first one to be housed in a white gold case. The fashionable blue dial of the 2017 model now has a sibling with a cool khaki green dial and matching “tropical” rubber strap. In essence,...
In our modern age of smartphones and wearable tech, it's easy to forget just how indispensable the humble mechanical wristwatch once was. Yet even a brief foray into the world of military watches is enough to provide a vivid reminder. Rugged, reliable and entirely fit-for-purpose, these simple timekeepers have played a critical role in the successful execution of military operations that dramatica...
The TAG Heuer Carrera is one of the best-known watches of the industry and the modern editions are sporty, bold or can even be cool, but they don’t fly under the radar – this one, with the previous design, is a good example. The brand has, however, decided to add a new iteration with a more casual, slightly redesigned case and dial. Meet the new TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 16 Chronograph...
Having reviewed both Lange’s and Ferrier’s annual calendars in the previous days, today it's time for a face-off, a chance for these two mid-weight complication champs to engage in a mock battle. The two contestants are clearly very beautiful watches, perfectly matched in functionality and mechanical integrity, so please take a ringside seat and see if you agree with our verdict in the...
The 1815 Annual Calendar is the second complication of this genre in A. Lange & Sohne‘s current line-up. Following the launch of the Saxonia Annual Calendar in 2010 with an automatic movement and outsized date window, Lange came out with the 1815 manual-winding/analogue date Annual Calendar at the beginning of 2017. Two years might have passed, but there's no getting tired of this classi...
On one side you have IWC and its signature, classic chronograph, the Portugieser 3714. This watch, as we’ve explained in this in-depth review, is a modern icon, practically unchanged since its introduction in the late-1990s. A perfect definition of a classic. On the other side, you have Bucherer, possibly the world’s largest watch retailer, known for its blue-themed special editions &#...
In 1969, Heuer (which would become TAG Heuer) revolutionized the watch industry with two great introductions… First is, of course, the launch of the calibre 11, one of three first automatic chronograph movements ever created. Second was the introduction of a watch that would later become an icon (but that wasn’t that successful back then…) You name it, the Monaco. In order to cel...
Saturday means another kind of mechanics here, at MONOCHROME. As every week, we share with you our second passion: cars (like real cars, those that smell and make some noise). This week’s Petrolhead Corner is a “best of the web”, with some of the coolest stories we found. One of the most legendary engines explained, the fun of the summer rallies and the latest (and controversial)...
Operating somewhat anonymously within the watch industry, this company keeps its impressive client list confidential. Yet, if you are into watches, there's a good chance the name Dubois-Depraz will be familiar. That's because it is one of the most prominent suppliers in the industry. The company has made a name for itself manufacturing parts and additional mechanisms (in particular chronographs an...
The introduction of the Aikon collection has been a very good surprise, back in 2018. The pleasure of a good luxury sports watch, without the waiting list or the 5-digit price tag. While the first version of the Aikon was a versatile, retrained model, Maurice Lacroix has decided to introduce a second, bolder, sportier iteration, with nautical/adventure inspiration. Its name is the Maurice Lacroix ...
Some names might not ring a bell with a broader audience, but can still be well-known and highly respected in some collectors’ communities. Ollech & Wajs, a Swiss brand born in 1956 and specialized in tool watches, is a case in point. It took more than 10 years to convince Albert Wajs to pass on his brand… but Ollech & Wajs (OW) is back on track with a new, cool collection of a...
After the announcement by Swatch Group of declining sales for the first half of 2019, followed by Richemont Group showing solid double-digit growth over the first quarter, and mild results for Swiss watch exports (with a bad month of June 2019), it is now time for the world's leading luxury products group, LVMH, to put its cards on the table. The French group recorded revenue up 15% over the perio...
Since I began MONOCHROME in 2006, the information that brands disclosed about their watches has improved significantly. Diameter and height are now in pretty much every press release, and so is the actual movement. However, lately, we are often asked about the lug-to-lug size. Something that brands do not communicate about and neither do we. Here’s why.A good example of a watch that is rathe...
1994-2019 – A. Lange & Sohne’s most iconic watch is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. For the occasion, the Saxon brand has created a series of 10 limited edition pieces, each based on a specific model in the Lange 1 collection (recap just below). Today, it’s time for the Grand Lange 1, the modernized, slightly bolder version of Glashutte’s icon, dressed in th...
Phillips Watches recently announced that on 10 December 2019, at the Game Changers Thematic Watch Auction, ?yet another iconic and long-lost watch will go under the hammer: the famous bezel-less GMT Master worn by Marlon Brando playing Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola's film, Apocalypse Now. But this isn’t the only watch belonging to the actor that has been missing in action...
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. After the introduction last year of a collection of five Tokyo 2020 Speedmaster watches, Omega now unveils two Seamas...
We know all about the Omega Speedmaster ‘Moonwatch’, as the first wristwatch on the Moon, which cemented its place in the history when the Apollo 11 mission successfully landed on the Lunar surface on the wrist of Buzz Aldrin. But there’s a little-known Heuer stopwatch that played a small but very important role when Neil Armstrong was piloting the lunar module Eagle to land on t...
Tissot has solid ties with racing. Swiss driver Loris Kessel wore a Navigator chronograph in the 1970s and was officially sponsored by Tissot in the 1976 Formula 1 Grand Prix. The brand is once again working with Kessel Racing, this time with Ronnie Kessel (son of Loris) to launch the limited edition Heritage 1973. The watch has been updated a bit with contemporary touches but maintains many retro...
Exactly 50 years ago, mankind accomplished an impressive journey. For the first time in history, a human being walked on soil that wasn’t Earth, on an astronomical body that wasn’t its natural habitat. On July 20th 1969, two men walked on the Moon. Their names: Armstrong and Aldrin. Their mission: Apollo 11. On their wrists, a watch that would become a legend, earning its name as the &...
Exactly 50 years ago, mankind accomplished an impressive journey. For the first time in history, a human being walked on soil that wasn’t Earth, on an astronomical body that wasn’t its natural habitat. On July 20th 1969, two men walked on the Moon. Their names: Armstrong and Aldrin. Their mission: Apollo 11. On their wrists, a watch that would become a legend, earning its name as the &...