Mechanical Exception - Six of the Most Stunning Technical Developments of the Past Months - Monochrome Watches
Mechanical innovation is often regarded as the epitome of fine watchmaking. For whatever reason, I had been under the impression that we had not seen many new developments over the past few months. Well, looking back at some of the latest introductions, some impressive pieces of ingenuity have been presented. We take a look at with some of the most inventive, complex and intricate mechanisms of 2017.A. Lange & Sohne Tourbograph Perpetual “Pour le Merite”The latest of a long lineage, the Tourbograph Perpetual Pour Le Merite' features a tourbillon, a split-seconds chronograph, a fusee and chain and now adds a perpetual calendar, resonating with A. Lange & Sohne perfect craftsmanship and ability to create great complications.?Quick facts: 43 mm platinum case - manual movement L133.1 with hours, minutes , One-Minute tourbillon, chronograph with rattrapante function; perpetual calendar with date, day, month, leap year; moon-phase display. Fusee and chain. Alligator strap

The Auction Hammer - Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo - Monochrome Watches
Another magnificent find is an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo A-series, that is for auction this Saturday. Although the Antiquorum auction is in Hongkong, you can also bid online! Since this A-series of the Royal Oak Jumbo, the most sought-after of all Royal Oaks, featuring the AP logo just above the 6 o’clock position, in stead of positioned at the 12 o’clock position like later Royal Oak Jumbos. This A-series also features the finer hobnail dial, that looks more refined that the bigger hobnail pattern found on later RO’s. Ad - Scroll to continue with article According to Antiquorum this is No. A 745 and it’s made in 1972. The estimated price, between $ 7,800 and $ 10,000 , seems LOW. Even when you know the case has some scratches and the (original) hands are slightly oxidized. The Antiquorum condition report states that the movement is

Habring2 Chrono-Felix (with In-House Monopusher-Chronograph) Specs & Price
Not long ago, we reviewed a watch that many collectors and watch aficionados love (and for good reasons), the?Habring2 Doppel-Felix. Also, we took a closer look at the “simple” 3-hand version?named Felix. The?common thread running through them? The same?pared-down design and the same base movement manufactured in-house (quite an achievement for such a small company). But what if you take these two watches and try to find one that will stand right in the middle? Well, the answer is the?Habring2 Chrono-Felix.It always surprises us to see a company such as?Habring2 display such a high level of creativity – not only design-wise but also in terms of technical innovations. Surprising because Habring2 is actually a true family?business, founded by a couple – Maria & Richard Habring. With two employees they manage to?produce around 200 watches per year… But no generic cases with outsourced movements. What they do are truly in-house-developed watches (design an

In-Depth - A Guide to the Depth Gauge Watches
If scuba diving is a popular recreational sport, it is a dangerous activity that needs to be properly prepared and monitored. If a diver ascends too quickly, this can lead to decompression illness that can be painful and life-threatening. As depth increases the physiological effects become greater. A reliable dive watch and a depth gauge are essential pieces of diving gear designed to monitor depth and track the duration of an underwater adventure. Both variables are needed to use decompression tables. Traditionally, divers used a dive watch and a depth gauge to calculate decompression time at given depths. Although many divers today choose to dive with a computer, some still use a mechanical depth gauge, even if only as backup.The 1960s Favre Leuba Bathy 160 was one of the first wristwatches to incorporate a mechanical depth gauge. It could register depths of up to 160 feetA handful of manufacturers have developed watches incorporating a mechanical depth gauge, starting with Favre-Leu

Introducing The Vacheron Constantin Overseas Moon Phase Retrograde Date (Live Pics)
The Vacheron Constantin Overseas collection debuted in 1996 but was viewed by many as a successor to Vacheron’s 222 models, designed by Jorg Hysek (that wasn’t Genta)?and presented in 1977. The collection, updated in 2016, is built around the popular concept of a sports luxury watch, with various editions of the casually elegant Overseas always in high demand. Vacheron successfully blended high watchmaking into the sporty-chic Overseas line, offering several complications, including a tourbillon, perpetual calendar ultra-thin, chronograph and dual time models. The Maison adds a reference with a moon-phase display and a retrograde date this year.The retrograde indication is a feature found in the Patrimony collection, but until now, it was not part of the Overseas offering. It is worth mentioning that the unusual display made its way into Vacheron Constantin’s assortment in the 1990s, first with the Metiers d’Art collection Mercator models with a double retrograd