Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Ceramic-and-Titanium No-Date - 210.92.44.20.01.001 (Specs & Price)
The Seamaster Diver 300M is one of the most beloved watches of Omega fans, and one of the best-sellers of the company. Part of this success is due to the link with James Bond, to the point that despite the long Omega Seamaster 300M Professional name, the watch is very often simply referred to as the James Bond watch. After a tasteful facelift done last year on the time-and-date version, we have this year an additional model dressed in black ceramic and titanium – see here – that has more than just different materials to offer. Here’s our early hands-on with the?Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Ceramic and Titanium (ref.?210.92.44.20.01.001).While simplifying this watch to only the “007 watch” may hurt the watchmaking pride of the company, it surely pleases the marketing and sales side greatly. Last year Omega relaunched the Seamaster 300M with a restyling of the watch, using ceramics for both the bezel and the dial, bringing back the famous waves on the dial and

The F.P. Journe Repetition Souveraine (Specs & Price)
When it comes to high-end complications, the Grande Sonnerie is king, and his successor is the princely Minute Repeater. When it comes to ingenious interpretations of these complications, Fran?ois-Paul Journe is the man of the hour. Six years in the making and protected by ten patents, F.P. Journe's 2005 chiming masterpiece, the Sonnerie Souveraine, doubled the complication factor by combining a Grande and Petite Sonnerie. Three years later, in 2008, F.P. Journe came out with his Repetition Souverain, the world's thinnest minute repeater watch at that time. Given its complexity and limited production, this rara avis is rarely spotted in the wild. Luckily, we were able to handle and photograph a Repetition Souveraine for this review.Time on demandBefore the advent of artificial light, most people relied on church bells or striking clocks to tell the time in the dark. According to historical records, the first clock to strike the quarter-hour on demand appeared in England, circa 1675. Th

Richemont Group 1st Semester 2019 Results - Overall Growth, Watchmaking Maisons Remain Flat - Monochrome Watches
Switzerland-based luxury conglomerate Richemont Group has just issued its trading update for the six months ended 31 September 2019. In these unaudited consolidated results, the Group shows overall growth, however, the situation has to be nuanced: on one side, there is positive impact in the Jewelry Maisons and Online distributors, on the other, almost flat sales on the Watchmaking Maisons coupled with a difficult environment in Hong Kong – one of the Group’s main markets.While Swatch Group’s half-year report 2019 indicated a decline in sales and profitability, as well as massive inventories, main competitor Richemont still reports growth – on a group level, with sales increased by 9% at actual exchange rates to EUR 7,397 million (and by 6% at constant exchange rates). The Group shows growth in all regions, distribution channels and businesses. Still, this has to be nuanced, as the results are not homogeneous.First of all, it has to be noted that this 9% growth

TAG Heuer Carrera 160 Years Montreal Limited Edition (Live Pics & Price)
Earlier this year, we mentioned that 2020 will be the year of the Carrera for TAG Heuer, along with the celebration of the brand’s 160th anniversary. Kickstarting the Carrera line-up was the very attractive, vintage-inspired and minimalistic Carrera 160 Years Silver Limited Edition, a winning combination of old-school look and modern mechanics. Following this edition, the brand is now releasing a second model, with the same base but multiple dial evolutions, some poached from another Heuer icon, the Montreal. Here’s the TAG Heuer Carrera 160 Years Montreal Limited Edition, which we were able to shoot right before its official launch.BackgroundThe Carrera Silver Edition was a faithful reissue of the earliest of the Carrera watches, the 1963 Ref. 2447 and its simple, almost utilitarian look that was all about legibility of the chronograph indications. Jack Heuer was a fan of modern, clean design and this showed in the early Carrera watches. But we can’t reduce HeuerR

Expert talk - The Montblanc 2015 Novelties with Ben Clymer from Hodinkee - VIDEO - Monochrome Watches
A few weeks ago we showed you the Expert Talk videos with Suzanne Wong, editor-in-chief of Revolution Asia, and Instagram powerhouse Anish Bhatt a.k.a. Watchanish. It’s always great to discuss new timepieces with fellow watch experts and today it’s time to show you the third video that we recorded during the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) earlier?this year. I’m discussing the new Montblanc timepieces with Ben Clymer, founder and executive editor of Hodinkee.com.?As you could see in the previous videos, we all got to pick a watch from the new collection, which we would wear and discuss during the recordings. Ben choose to wear one of my favourites, the Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum, which is a very nice world timer that we reviewed for you in December of last year. A great watch to talk about, however Montblanc?had so many nice watches to talk about. And that’s actually we at Monochrome noticed, and also?many of?our colleagues were impressed b