Looking back at last year's Watches & Wonders highlights
We're only days away from travelling to Switzerland again (yes, finally!) and meeting up with our friends and colleagues from the watchmaking industry and affiliated media outlets. It will be stressful, running from appointment to appointment and seeing tons of watches (boohoo, have pity on us) and get the news out to you as soon as possible so you're all caught up on all the novelties to come. And as ever, when looking forward, it never hurts to look over one’s shoulder in the process. So with that in mind, we've looked back and listed what we think were the five stand-out novelties from Watches & Wonders 2021.IWC Big Pilot's Watch 43mmOut of the five selected watches, this one has certainly caused a lot of debate. While we applaud the introduction of the smaller, wrist-friendlier IWC Big Pilot's Watch 43, we also feel for the fact some people do not consider it a true Big Pilot's Watch. As it does without the emblematic 7-day power reserve indication or at least a subdial o

First Look: The New Hublot Classic Fusion Tourbillon Orlinski Duo
Hublot, deeply ingrained in contemporary pop culture, took a noteworthy step eight years ago by collaborating with the popular and flamboyant French artist Richard Orlinski. According to Ricardo Guadalupe, Hublot’s CEO, the timepieces Orlinski created are “instantly snapped up by art and watch collectors alike.” Orlinski’s signature faceted, bright-coloured creations include shiny beasts, King Kong included, and cartoon personalities like Mickey Mouse. These artworks, produced in series, utilize a diverse range of materials and have found homes across the globe, making them a familiar sight in recent years Including when worn on the wrist with dedicated Hublot watches.While Orlinski’s work might not be a favourite among art critics, it enjoys immense popularity among affluent clients, reportedly earning him the title of the best-selling French contemporary artist globally. Since 2017, Hublot has allowed Orlinski to unleash his creativity within the Classic

Collector's Series - Camron and his Speake-Marin London Chronograph
Camron shares his passion for watches (with many chronographs and Indie watches) under the pseudonym @cucalichronoguy on Instagram. He’s not the average collector and his collection is pretty… eclectic. Today we’re talking about a Speake-Marin, but not one that you’d think of immediately when hearing the Speake-Marin name. It’s a chronograph, and to be precise, it’s the Speake-Marin London Chronograph First Edition. But there’s more to the collection of Camron than just watches. He’s also the owner of one of the craziest strap collections I’ve ever seen. Dozens and dozens of custom-made, highly personal, straps to match his personality. Today, in our newest instalment of the Collector’s Series, we’ll discuss this cool Speake-Marin chronograph with a restored vintage Valjoux movement, as well as Camron’s passion (dare I say obsession) for custom-designed watch straps.?Frank Geelen, MONOCHROME – Are you a typic

Bubba Watson wins Golf Tournament wearing a Richard Mille RM038 - Monochrome Watches
Now usually you won’t see these kind of titles on Monochrome, however in this case I wanted to make an exception. The reason for this, is that withstanding the shocks and G-forces that a wrist watch endures during a game of golf, are ‘pretty extreme’.Of course we’re happy for 33 year old Bubba Watson. However Monochrome is not about sharing sports results. Richard Mille’s technical achievement is something Monochrome should report about and we will. The recently released RM055 Bubba Watson can withstand forces of no less than 500G; that’s ‘pretty extreme’. Ad - Scroll to continue with article During the tournament, Bubba Watson was wearing his RM038. The RM038 tourbillon is able to work in golf's extreme conditions and was designed with 3 major specifications in mind: lightness, extreme shock resis-tance and comfor

Hands-on TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer-01 Full Black Matt Ceramic - Monochrome Watches
Earlier this year we told you about the TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer-01 Full Black Matt Ceramic, which made its debut at the 2017 edition of the Geneva Watch Fair. Now that the madness of the first half of the year is starting to subside, we thought this a perfect time to come back and give this watch a proper hands-on review.The first thing you notice when you strap the sizable case of the Carrera Heuer-01 Full Black Matt Ceramic to your wrist is just how light it feels. The second thing you notice is just how dark it looks. The reason why is the same for both; the 45mm matte black ceramic case. Arguably one of the most stealth looking watches produced by TAG?Heuer, the matt black case absorbs all the light around it, which ironically makes the watch really pop on the wrist – even though there is effectively almost no contrasting color on the dial. Ad - Scroll to continue with article