Audemars Piguet Millenary - perfect dress watch? - Monochrome Watches
Sometimes you see a watch that immediately grabs your attention. For me the Audemars Piguet Millenary Piano Forte is such a watch. Is this the perfect dress watch? I can still remember the first time i saw an advertisement for the Millenary Piano Forte. Deeply impressed…?A few days ago i was looking through the catalog of the upcoming Antiquorum auction. Seeing a Audemars Piguet Millenary for sale doesn’t happen too often. A Millenary Piano Forte i have never seen for sale before…. until now. This one will be auctioned in New York at September 17th.?What a beauty…Audemars Piguet Millenary Piano ForteThe Audemars Piguet Millenary has a classic, distinct and unique design. With the oval shaped case, is stand apart from other watch designs. The oval shaped case was?inspired by the architecture of the Roman Colosseum. The case has stunning details and the finish is beautiful with brushed and polished parts. Although it has a classic look of a dress watch, it’s

Collector's Corner - The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Perpetual 1990s
For our new installment of The Collector's Corner, we are returning to a Richemont brand, one that is known as “La Grande Maison”, or the watchmaker of watchmakers. That's right, this week we are looking at Jaeger-LeCoultre, specifically, a 1990s hit that lives on in the current collection. We love complications here at MONOCHROME, and we are switching things up a bit and are going with the Master Control Perpetual Calendar, a watch that I love to name the forebear of the Dr. Strange watch. Let's have a look at a typical complicated youngtimer.?After the quartz crisis led to a culling of the herd in the Swiss watch industry, the 1980s and 1990s were a time of rebirth and re-discovery. In French-speaking Switzerland, in Le Sentier, Jaeger-LeCoultre embarked on a journey to relearn mechanical complications by developing a series of six limited-edition Reversos in rose gold, each made in 500 pieces: power reserve and date, tourbillon, minute repeater, retrograde chronograph, d

Swatch Group Reports 2019 Sales Down -1.8% at Constant Exchange Rates - Monochrome Watches
Following the announcements by the Swiss Watch Federation with slightly growing export numbers and record results by LVMH for the year ended December 31st, Swatch Group has just announced its 2019 results, which aren’t as positive as its competitors and the whole market.?At CHF 8,243 million, the group net sales are down 1.8% at constant exchange rates and down 2.7% at current rates. The operating result is down 11.4% at CHF 1,023 million.?Luxury brands have felt the impact of the complex situation in Hong Kong. The Chinese Special Administrative Region is the largest market for Swiss watch exports – about 12% of the total exports in 2019. Swatch Group comments that its performance was particularly affected by the situation. The drop in sales in Hong Kong for the second semester alone was approximately CHF 200 million. As a result, the profitability of the Swatch Group is down, with a net income of CHF 748 million, -13.7% to the previous year. Excluding Hong Kong, sales inc

The X-ONE H1 - A Pioneering Swiss-Made Mechanical Smartwatch, now Funding on Kickstarter - Monochrome Watches
Over the last few months, and even years, we've covered some pretty interesting start-up watch projects here on MONOCHROME. Advances in modern technology, combined with ready access to start-up capital via decentralised crowd-funding, have helped unlock the floodgates of innovation across multiple industries, injecting fresh blood and ideas. Today, we are pleased to bring you yet another one; the intriguing X-ONE H1 from Conex Watches, a Swiss-made mechanical smartwatch that packs some impressive functionality. Read on to learn more about this bold new timekeeper, including how you can get your hands on one for 50% off retail (for a limited time only, of course).When it comes to new technology, the luxury watch industry generally seems to follow the same trend. Initially, there are always a few pioneers who will trial the idea, be it a futuristic new case material, or the development of a more efficient movement component. Once it is shown to have real promise, widespread adoption of t

Recap: The Best Dive Watches of 2024
There’s hardly a category of watches that is as disputed as the diver. Every year, in all price ranges and all possible styles, we’re seeing hundreds of new dive watches released by watchmakers from all over the world. Choosing the best models in this segment of the watch industry is not an easy task and is always subject to long internal discussions. But the MONOCHROME team has made it, and we’ve come to an agreement… Here are what we think were the 5 Best Dive Watches of 2024, ranging from accessible to high-end – and the funny thing is that both are closely related.?Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 42mm TitaniumThe Blancpain Fifty Fathoms is, without a doubt, one of the most important dive watches ever. Created back in the mid-1950s and one of the first purpose-built modern dive watches, it’s long been one of our favourites – but we had our reservations concerning recent collections. They were either too big or perfectly designed and proportioned but