Watches NEWS
Frederique Constant Highlife Collection (Specs & Price)
Frederique Constant is, without doubt, one of the most impressive entrepreneurial success stories in the recent history of the watch industry. Created in the late 1980s, the Geneva-based brand gained international recognition by manufacturing elegant, classic watches at reasonable prices, even demonstrating a certain mechanical savoir-faire with in-house movements and complications – such as a flyback chronograph, a perpetual calendar and a tourbillon. Frederique Constant now enters one of the most dynamic markets of the industry, that of the luxury sports watch with integrated bracelet. Meet the Frederique Constant Highlife collection.?In 1972, Gerald Genta’s Royal Oak for Audemars Piguet defined a genre that has never seemed more relevant. The archetype is straightforward: match a sporty but sophisticated steel watch with an integrated bracelet and an automatic movement. Robustness and refinement combined. Although most high-end manufacturers have entered this market R
Auction - The Pink Dial Project for Breast Cancer Awareness
Watches and charity… When there’s a good cause, many watch brands don’t hesitate long and donate one of their, often unique, creations. Earlier this year, Wei Koh, founder of Revolution magazine and The Rake, reached out to join forces in order to raise money for breast cancer. He baptized this the Pink Dial Project. Nineteen brands have donated watches and the auction started a few days ago, on October 25th. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and the auction to raise funds for Breast Cancer treatment, research and awareness is ending this weekend, on Sunday the 31st of October.?Every two years, we see how watch brands participate and donate for a good cause, with the Only Watch auction. This year, again, the line-up of remarkable, impressive and uber-impressive watches is just mind-boggling. Every two years the Only Watch auction raises millions! In early 2020, Andrew from Time + Tide Watches quickly organized the Watch & Act! auctio
Interview: Fabrizio Buonamassa on the Bulgari x Gran Turismo Partnership
As the Product Creation Executive Director at Bulgari Horlogerie, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani is renowned for his keen focus on design. While our discussions with him at MONOCHROME typically revolve around watches, this exceptionally versatile designer harbours various talents. The announcement of Bulgari's collaboration with cult video game Gran Turismo provided the opportunity to unveil not only a limited-edition Bulgari Aluminium watch but also the Bulgari Aluminium Vision GT, a stunning concept car designed for use in the racing game.Xavier Markl, MONOCHROME – You’ve been with Bulgari for over 20 years now. If someone had told you 10-15 years ago that you would work on projects with a video game license, would you have believed it?Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani – Honestly, no. That’s what makes Bulgari so interesting. We can embark on unconventional ventures and express ourselves in various domains. The beauty of the brand lies in its diversity. We have hot
Talking to Batavi Watches' founder on the pandemic and other struggles
Batavi Watches is named after an ancient Germanic tribe living along the river Rhine in what is known as the Netherlands. The spirit of the Batavi people resonated with the brand's founder, Ugur Mamak, mostly as the tribe fought off several attempts by oppressors, including Julius Caesar. Going against the grains in an effort to find its bit of the market for a long time coming, Batavi Watches has so far created two interesting watch collections, the Kosmopoliet and the Architect. Catching up with Ugur, we find out how he managed to navigate his brand through the pandemic, what challenged him in his endeavours and what's next or Batavi Watches.Robin, MONOCHROME Watches - Hi Ugur, pleased to catch up again. We have to ask, even though we'd rather not talk about it; how has the pandemic been for you and your company? Ad - Scroll to continue with article Ugur Mamak
Ladoire Geneve - Helvetic timepieces - Monochrome Watches
Ladoire Geneve was launched in 2007 and has since, become one of the major players in the niche of young, innovative, rebellious and extravagant watch brands. Recently I had the chance to visit them in Geneva, homebase of this Helvetic watch brand.Besides extravagant looks Ladoire offers more extravagant treats, like a micro rotor movement that Lionel Ladoire developed together with former Patek Philipe engineer Philippe Michel Ruedin (ASPX Company) and the for Ladoire so typical HMS Planetary complication. This is all packaged in a rather big, punk rock design watch that still wears very comfortable and feels soft as silk. When i first saw the Ladoire RGT Punk White I was totally impressed with the ingenious three dimensional dial. This is the type of watch that will be interesting to look at over and over again. Ad - Scroll to continue with article The first t