Alternatives to Off-the-Shelf Swiss ETA and Sellita Movements, with Seagull, Seiko and Miyota - Monochrome Watches
When talking about contemporary watches, companies generally use either in-house or off-the-shelf movements, the latter supplied by various manufacturers. Many high-end brands like Patek Philippe, Piaget, and Breguet can produce in-house movements that are optimized for their portfolios. A watch company is considered complete when it can produce its own movement, but many still rely on outsourced ones from large Swiss manufacturers like ETA and Sellita. Yet, the market has changed. A few established brands have decided to offer entry-range automatic watches and mostly,?microbrands are all over the place, with the need to offer mechanical movements for accessible prices. Alternatives to?the usual Swiss generic?calibres have thus become crucial.The time and expense to design and build an in-house movement isn't a viable option for many smaller brands, and even major companies with their own movement production facilities also rely on off-the-shelf calibres for many models. It's been th

Introducing: Indie Brand Breva Geneve is back, with the new Segreto di Lario
Swiss brand Breva Geneve was founded in 2010 by Vincent Dupontreue. At one point, the brand garnered quite a bit of attention on the independent watchmaking scene with a series of original but niche complications such as a barometer, an altimeter or even a retractable speedometer! For multiple reasons, the brand unfortunately disappeared for a few years. But in 2025, the independent watchmaking brand is now resurrected by Julien Haenny – Ex-HYT, The Fine Watch Club, Anonimo, Vulcain, Jaeger-Lecoultre and TechnoMarine. And here’s what to expect from the new version of Breva Geneve, an elegant watch with an original power reserve display named the Segreto di Lario.?The first collection for the brand's second chapter and the inaugural model of this resurrection is named “Segreto di Lario” – Secret of Lake Como in Italian. If this poetic name sounds a bit cryptic, it does make sense, knowing that the name Breva itself comes from the breeze that blows over Lake

Chopard Redlines with the New Superfast Collection - Monochrome Watches
Anyone who has hit the RPM limiter while pressed back into a bucket seat, anyone who has done the pedal dance of heel and toe, anyone who snapped the rear end, Z rated tires screaming and the muffler thundering, anyone who has done these things knows what it means to go fast.Chopard knows what it means to go Superfast. As ubiquitous as racing legends Prost, Senna, or Schumacher are to the sport of Formula One, Chopard aspires to be to auto racing in general and takes top spot on the podium, champagne spewing in victory as they introduce a new Classic Racing line with three models, the Superfast Auto, Chrono and Power Control. Sleek, sophisticated and sporty, the Superfast line recalls motorsports at every turn (see our weekly watch photo). Made to dominate Spa-Francorchamps' Eau Rouge turn in the rain or attend such daydreams, the Superfast watches unite the thrill of racing with the art of horology. Ad - Scroll to continue with article

Grieb & Benzinger Blue Whirlwind with Skeletonized Patek Philippe Tourbillon Minute Repeater - Monochrome Watches
Grieb & Benzinger are known for the?mind-blowing masterpiece they create, based on the most lovely old pocket watch movements from Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Minerva chronographs?and others.The newest masterpiece from the “masters of skeletonized watches” is the Blue Whirlwind, an amazing skeletonized tourbillon minute repeater based a rare Patek Philippe caliber in a platinum case. A similar masterpiece (however in a steel case) was donated to Only Watch 2011 and auctioned for 1.4 million Euro! Ad - Scroll to continue with article Grieb & Benzinger found a rare?Patek Philippe tourbillon minute repeater movement, caliber RTO 27 PS, and did their thing with it;?fully skeletonized, guilloche and engraved by hand. Even gear wheels were embellished with guilloche and the 12 finely guilloche bridges and cocks coated with rhodium and rose

Rado Golden Horse 1957 Limited Editions - Monochrome Watches
Most of us associate Rado with design-oriented watches and innovative materials, especially high-tech ceramic. Minimalist lines, sleek profiles and silky smooth ceramic cases and bracelets have defined much of the brand's portfolio since the 1990s. And then, during Baselworld 2017, Rado surprised us with a very convincing reinterpretation of a 1962 Captain Cook model complete with 300m diving credentials. Not only was the Captain Cook a vintage-inspired watch, but it was also a dive watch, two genres that not many of us would have anticipated from Rado. Reaching back even further into the brand's somewhat sketchy past, another golden oldie materialised with the resuscitation of a 1957 dress watch known as the Golden Horse. Resurfacing in 2019 with accurate vintage details but a contemporary automatic movement, there are now four models in the Golden Horse 1957 Limited Edition collection and we got our hands on three of them.From Schlup & Co. to RadoThe brand we know today as Rado s