5 Mechanical Marvels from Baselworld 2018 - Monochrome Watches
On the contrary to?most of the other buying guides we’ve published, the present one is more of a “wish list” or a “dream list” rather than a proper guide – so consider it a guide for those who already have everything they need but want to be genuinely surprised. Nothing here is rational, it’s all about passion, ingenuity, creativity and impressive mechanics. From the thinnest automatic watch ever created to a signing automaton or an atomic?sympathique?clock, here are the five most marvellous mechanical creations we’ve seen at Baselworld 2018.Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon AutomaticLet’s start straight away with one of the hottest brands of the moment: Bvlgari. Yes, the Italian Maison is a proper watchmaking expert and as a demonstration of this savoir-faire, it has created several record-breaking ultra-thin watches – the thinnest tourbillon, the thinnest minute repeater and here is the new thinnest automatic watch AND thinn

Introducing the IWC Big Pilot Watch Edition 'Le Petit Prince' - Monochrome-Watches
IWC comes back with a new limited edition, honoring?one of its favorite ambassadors (unfortunately not with us anymore), Antoine de Saint-Exupery, pilot and writer, and its most famous character, ‘le Petit Prince’. Using the same concept as several other editions of the Pilot collection, it is now the Big Pilot that is paying tribute to one of the most classical books of all time. Please welcome the?IWC Big Pilot Watch Edition ‘Le Petit Prince’.Several other watches of the Pilot collection had been used to serve as a tribute to Antoine de Saint-Exupery?and ‘Le Petit Prince’. Remember in 2013, we introduced you to the?IWC Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar and Mark XVII Limited Special Edition ‘Le Petit Prince‘. This year we had the chance to get our hands on the chronograph edition. If you look closely at those 3 watches, they are all sharing a same scheme: pilot watches adorned with a special dial, a distinctive strap and, of course, a casebac

Introducing: The Powerful Nivada Depthmaster Pac-Man now in Bronze
Nivada Grenchen was something of a secret among seasoned collectors of instrument dive watches from the 1950s and 1960s, but with ever-increasing exposure on specialised websites, you could say that the cat is out of the bag. Founded in 1926, Nivada Grenchen produced its first waterproof automatic watch in 1950 – the Antarctic – that was put to the test by members of the U.S. Navy during the Deep Freeze 1 expedition to the South Pole in 1955-1956. Taking waterproofness to the next level, Nivada introduced the record-breaking 1,000m water-resistant Depthmaster model in 1965, an impressively robust tool watch that blew contemporary rivals out of the water. Unable to fathom the quartz deluge, Nivada sunk into oblivion in the late 1970s but was refloated and launched re-editions of its famous divers, the Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver and Depthmaster, in 2020. The latest addition is a very handsome bronze version of the Depthmaster with a black ceramic bezel insert and Pac-Man

The Ubercool Tudor Pelagos FXD Now Comes In Black
The diving heritage of Tudor can be basically split into two chapters. On one end you have the very retro-inspired Black Bay line-up, and on the other end the more professional Pelagos collection. Either of the two are fan-favourites and perform very well in most circumstances in life. But, in a surprising twist, two years ago Tudor released a very special take on the Pelagos with the Pelagos FXD. This watch paid tribute to past watches used by Combat divers and was developed with the Marine Nationale, the French Navy. It had fixed lugs and a special inverted diving scale on the bidirectional bezel. Now though, Tudor introduces a new take on the Pelagos FXD, in a black colour scheme and with a regular bezel.The case is yet again machined out of titanium and measures 42mm in diameter and 12.75mm in thickness. From lug end to lug end, you’re looking at 52mm in length. On top of the titanium case is a titanium rotating bezel, unidirectional instead of bidirectional. The black cerami

Music To Our Ears: Ulysse Nardin Performs Vivaldis Violin Concerto in E - Monochrome Watches
For us, this is the most wonderful time of the year. The manufactures have all been working so hard to prepare their latest offerings for Baselworld. Everyone honing and refining his or her novelties to capture the most attention from the press. Sometimes, the urge to show-off (or maybe psyche-out their competitors) is just too strong and we get a little peak under the tent as we have today. Ulysse Nardin bring us the second installment of their Musical Watch collection to prove that what makes a watch smart' is not always being able to sync to a satellite feed or trawl down to the depths of the oceans. A watch that plays music at the push of a button,?without an MP3 file anywhere to be found.It must be nice to not have anything to prove to people. Ulysse Nardin don't have anything to prove to anybody. They have ticked all the boxes for dress, dive and chronograph watches. They have offerings that present the highest traditions of watchmaking both in technical expertise and craftsmansh