A Technical Perspective - New Devices to Optimize Minute Repeaters
Repeater clocks were invented well before electric lighting, in order to be able to consult the time in the dead of night. By activating a trigger or a pusher, a repeater chimes the time on demand and is often regarded, and rightfully so, as one of the pinnacles of mechanical watchmaking. Dozens of components, manufactured to exact tolerances, must be combined to orchestrate these extremely complex mechanisms. The quality of a minute repeater is also judged by the sound that it produces. Watchmakers pay utmost attention to their acoustic quality, patiently adjusting various parameters to reach the loudest, clearest and richest sound possible. The pace of the chime or the eventual background noise (the buzzing noise produced by the regulator) are also particularly important. In their quest to produce the ultimate minute repeater, watchmakers conduct sound research programs to optimise the chime of their watches.In a minute repeater, sound is most of the time produced by small hammers st

Hands-on with the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 18 Chronograph Telemeter - live photos & price - Monochrome-Watches
Recently, TAG Heuer faced a sort of internal crisis. To be very quick about the story, a new calibre had been introduced last year at Baselworld?with a brand new Carrera watch, then the introduction was?postponed and ultimately cancelled.?The manufacturer faced layoffs, the collection had to be repositioned, the CEO resigned and a new CEO (the well-known Jean-Claude Biver) arrived at the helm of the brand – long, complicated, sad but true story. However, we’re here to talk watches and for Baselworld 2015, the brand decided to move away from these hard times and introduced a watch that we loved at first sight – until some kind of disillusion came. Here are our thoughts about the new?TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 18 Chronograph Telemeter from Baselworld 2015.?The?TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 18 Chronograph Telemeter is basically one of the best looking TAG Heuer watches from the last?years. It looks superb, it feels very nice on the wrist, the dial is perfect and so is the red

Industry News: Richemont Reports 14% Sales Growth For First Quarter 2023, Driven Mainly By Jewellery
Following 2022 with impressive growth for the industry (a record year for exports) for luxury groups involved in watchmaking and jewellery (LVMH, Swatch), indicators and analysts were not so confident regarding the outlook for 2023. Growing inflation, geo-political tensions and a potential economic contraction could have led to lower sales. However, following the announcement by LVMH and Swatch Group of their Q1 or Half-Year sales (respectively +17% and +18%), it’s now time for Richemont Group to disclose its sales figures for its first quarter, which ended 30 June 2023. And here again, sales are up by a solid +14%, with jewellery as the main driver of growth.For the first three months of its fiscal year (Richemont closes the books on 1 April), the Group reports sales up by 19% at constant exchange rates or 14% at actual exchange rates, thus exceeding the 12% sales increase of the prior-year period. Sales are reported at EUR 5,322 million for this quarter versus EUR 4,654 million

Buying Guide - Some of the Best Nautical-Inspired Watches of 2022
Dive watches, pilot’s watches, automotive-inspired watches, traveller’s watches… These might well be the categories of watches we most often cover on MONOCHROME. There’s one style of watch, inspired by the antique concept of the Marine Chronometer, that is somehow a bit more niche, but nevertheless often comes with a cool, summery elegance; the nautical-inspired watch. Meant to look good on land or on the deck of a boat, and in time for yachting or sailing season, we’ve decided to take a closer look at some of the best nautical-inspired watches available now on the market.The Breguet Marine Hora Mundi 5557The Marine collection is all about the exploration of the seas – well, considering its positioning now, it’s more about the exploration of the yacht-club. Nevertheless, it is directly inspired by the past of the brand – when A.L. Breguet was Chronometer-maker to the French Royal Navy – and is the brand’s vision of a sporty-ch

Ochs & Junior Calendario CentAnni Perpetual Calendar
Where other brands choose the path of complexity and try to outdo one another in parts count, Ochs & Junior goes the opposite direction. In a literal pursuit of simplicity, the independent watchmaking brand is famous for doing extremely creative things with as little as possible. This includes an Annual Calendar with only three moving parts and an extremely accurate moon phase indication using only five components. Slightly breaking with tradition, as the latest series of watches will not be customisable, Ochs & Junior continues its dedication to simplification with the new Ochs & Junior Calendario Cent'Anni CCA Perpetual Calendar.Collectors and enthusiasts familiar with the brand will know the history and philosophy, yet it remains a fascinating story to tell. Ochs & Junior is the brainchild of Dr Ludwig Oechslin, a legendary name in the watchmaking world. The Ulysse Nardin Freak is widely regarded as his biggest achievement since it was the first production watch ever