Ming celebrates its 5th anniversary in style with the 37.04 Monopusher
Anniversaries are to be celebrated. In life, in work, and in watches, as far as I am concerned. MING Watches apparently thinks so too and does so in true MING Style. Five years after the first watch designed by Ming Thein saw the light of day, the MING 37.04 Monopusher continues to celebrate half a decade of watchmaking under this now well-established name. With a unique style that looks little like anything else, MING has found its niche and knows how to create provocative at a relatively reasonable level. Every now and then, the brand likes to let loose a little and take things to a whole other level. To mark its fifth anniversary, MING? has created the 37.04 Monopusher, with a fascinating movement inside.In just 5 short years MING has established a unique style, with fresh shapes and details, often incorporating very creative design elements. The MING 37.04 Monopusher falls in line with previous models and is part of the Special Projects Cave, a watchmaking program to create small r

Explore the History of Watches from 1700 to Now, With Christie's Education
While we would highly recommend you only read MONOCHROME when it comes to learning about the world of watches (we are our own best advocates), there are many sources around to help up your horological game. The latest on the market has been launched by none other than prominent auction house Christie’s and its “education” department. Launching this September is a new online course on the History of Watches 1700 to Now, presented by Dr Andrew Hildreth, a leading independent watch consultant.Being a real watch collector/enthusiast shouldn’t only mean having the bank account to acquire the watches. As for every passion, knowledge is beneficial and can help you grow as a more seasoned collector – and to a certain extent, I’d say that knowing the watch world, its history and its industry is a must for anyone seeking to become a collector. Knowledge will increase your passion and will help acquire watches that suit you better.For this reason, we’ve a

My traveling companions - Monochrome Watches
I’m just back –?in one piece – from a three week trip to Jordan and the Egyptian Sina? desert, and here are?some photos that I made during my trip. We planned a trip to Jordan and were considering to visit Syria and/or Egypt depending on the available time and travel possibilities. From the Jordan southern coast it was a short boat trip to Nuweiba in Egypt and the reefs in that area are just great, so time for some diving.On this?trip I had two watches with me:?the IWC Pilot Watch Chronograph (ref. 3717) that I?also had on my wrist a few weeks earlier, when I?visited New York. The other one was my all time favorite vacation watch, the Citizen Automatic Diver.?I’m gonna spare you all the travel stories, since?the?pictures will tell the story for me. I have to add that the historical city of?Petra is very, very impressive and well worth a visit. Another thing you may not miss is taking a plunge into the Dead Sea. That’s a funny experience! Jordan s

Introducing: The New Panerai Luminor Marina Collection in Steel
Although the Florentine brand Panerai was founded in 1860, its contract with the Italian Royal Navy to produce precision instruments changed its destiny radically. Panerai's 1916 radium-based powder, known as Radiomir, lit up the brand's future as a supplier of luminescent instruments, underwater tools, and eventually watches for the Italian Royal Navy and its famous frogmen commandos. In 1949, Panerai replaced radioactive radium with Luminor, a harmless tritium-based luminescent substance. A few years later, Panerai patented its Luminor watch with its sandwich dial, outstanding luminescence and crown-protecting bridge. In 1993, the Luminor and Luminor Marina Militare were made available to civilians. Now a flagship collection, Panerai proposes four new Luminor Marina models in stainless steel with increased water-resistance, brighter luminescence and a new 3-day automatic movement.The Luminor Marina's prominent bridge protecting the crown is now responsible for ensuring the higher wat

Hands-On - Ulysse Nardin Freak NeXt - A New Concept with Revolutionary 3D Flying Oscillator
Compliant mechanisms are flexible mechanisms that transfer an input force or displacement to another point through elastic body deformation. Covered in detail here, they offer huge innovation potential for mechanical watchmaking. Further proof of this revolution can be found in the latest version of the Ulysse Nardin Freak. Packed with innovative applications of flexible parts, the Freak NeXt features a revolutionary flying oscillator whose tridimensional architecture is based on flexible silicon blades. Meet the latest model in a long lineage of innovative watches, the Ulysse Nardin Freak NeXt. And if it is still a concept watch for now, it might make it into production in the very near future.Here, we are dealing with the very essence of watchmaking and chronometry. The invention of the hairspring (17th?century, by Robert Hooke / Christiaan Huygens) dramatically increased the accuracy of watches. A thin coiled spring attached to the balance wheel allowed it to oscillate back and fort