The Speake-Marin Magister Tourbillon, the back to basics watch - Monochrome Watches
Peter Speake-Marin is going back to his roots with a tourbillon, after an incursion in the world of sports watches. This complication is of very special significance for him. This is a good reason to take a closer look at his Magister Tourbillon, bringing together a host of details characteristics of his watch design we have been enjoying for some 15 years.Background / Reminder about Peter Speake-MarinAfter qualifying as a watchmaker at Hackney Technical College in London, Englishman Peter Speake-Marin moved to Switzerland in the late 1980s. There, he further learnt his trade at Wostep, the renowned watchmaking school in Neuchatel. Returning to London, seven highly formative years to set up and run the antique watch restauration department at Somlo antiques in Piccadilly London were an influential period on his career, allowing him to discover the valuable works of past masters. In 1996, he was attracted back to Switzerland to develop high complications for Renaud & Papi, the high-

Interview: In Conversation with Benoit de Clerck, The New CEO of Zenith
Earlier this month, LVMH, the French luxury powerhouse, reorganized the management of its watch division. Frederic Arnault was named CEO of LVMH Watches – overseeing TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith – Julien Tornare subsequently took over as CEO of TAG Heuer while a former Richemont executive, Benoit de Clerck, was recruited to run Zenith. Just ahead of the LVMH Watch Week, we had the opportunity to sit down with the new CEO of Zenith in Geneva.Xavier Markl, MONOCHROME – Benoit, thanks for having us. What is your background, and what brought you to the head of Zenith? Ad - Scroll to continue with article Benoit de Clerck, CEO of Zenith – I have been versed in the watch industry for the past 25 years. My journey began with TAG Heuer when I opened their office in the Middle East before its acquisition by LVMH. Subsequently, I joined Richemont w

The Collector's Series: Frank's first 'Indy Watch', the Sarpaneva Korona K1 - Monochrome Watches
It's the one you have all been waiting for! It's time to sit down with our very own Executive Editor and Monochrome-Watches' founder, Frank Geelen. I love nothing more than talking watches with enthusiasts but this one was extra special. To give you a bit of background (in case you were unaware): in 2006, Frank started Monochrome-Watches as a blog. By all accounts, his friends (and family) thought he was mad! Day in day, day out, writing about high-end mechanical watches. Nine years on however, Monochrome-Watches has grown to become one of the most important high-end watch magazines in the online space and Frank is acknowledged as one of THE experts in the watch-community.Frank has been a tremendous mentor of mine. He is, quite simply, a wonderfully nice guy (with a dry sense of humour) but first and foremost an expert on high-end, complicated watches and independent manufactures. Frank has chosen to discuss his (seriously cool) Sarpaneva Korona K1 in this, his first appearance on the

Introducing: The New 2024 Speedmaster First Omega In Space (FOiS)
Without a doubt,?one of the most iconic chronographs ever produced by the Swiss watchmaking industry is the Omega Speedmaster,?born in 1957 (as part of a trilogy of Master watches). However, the Speedmaster shot to notoriety in 1969 when the watch landed on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission – earning its title as the Moonwatch. However, before it became flight-qualified by NASA and before it became the watch on the Moon, the space story of the Speedmaster took shape gradually, just like the American Space programmes. And it all started 62 years ago, on October 3rd, 1962, onboard the Mercury-Atlas 8 mission, on the wrist of astronaut Walter “Wally” Schirra, wearing what would become “the first Omega in Space.” In 2012, Omega released a special edition Speedmaster FOiS, discontinued in 2021. But lo and behold, the Speedmaster First Omega in Space is back in 2024, with tons of vintage touches, a modern movement and a surprising grey-blue dial.THE FIRS

On the Road to Baselworld 2018 - What Youll See on MONOCHROME - Monochrome Watches
, Omega, Patek Phillipe, Tudor, TAG Heuer and many more… Tomorrow, the 2018 edition of world’s largest watch fair, Baselworld, will open its doors. Hundreds of new watches will be revealed to members of the press, retailers and collectors. Even though the general consensus around the fair itself seems quite negative, the industry is in relatively good shape and this won’t prevent the MONOCHROME team to “veni, vidi, referi”?– “go, see, report” live from the fair, with an incredibly?large coverage. Baselworld is coming, and we are on the road to Switzerland.We know that this edition of the Basel Watch Fair will be into the limelight, as the show itself has been widely criticized. Expensive, outdated, old-school, unadapted to the current market and to new consumer behaviours… Baselworld has never been in such a position – and these bad feelings come from all parties: brands, retailers and press members. While in 2015 there were