Recap: The Best Dress Watches of 2024
As the end of the year draws nigh, the festive season kicks off with Christmas parties, New Year's Eve celebrations and gatherings that dominate our agendas. In short, it is the perfect time of the year to suit up. And that means having the right watch to match your fancy attire, pairing it with your cocktail dress or tuxedo. And yes, the classic dress watch, as we’ve come to know it for many years, has changed, becoming more daring, less formal and more colourful. But that doesn’t change the fact that once again in 2024, we have seen the release of supremely elegant watches. Here are our top 5 Dress Watches of the year.?Chopard L.U.C XPS Forest Green in Lucent SteelSeeing a Chopard L.U.C. making this list shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s long been agreed by the watch community that the brand creates some of the most elegant watches on the market: that’s not an opinion; it’s a fact. The reason we selected this specific model over other potential candida

IWC Big Pilots Watch Perpetual Calendar Spitfire IW503601 // Review
As a regular reader of MONOCHROME, you will know already that each year, Swiss watch manufacturer IWC focuses on a specific collection. Last year, it was the brand's legendary Pilot's Watch series, with a number of cool variations introduced to the market. Here's a video overview of the highlights from IWC's CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr shot at SIHH 2019. With so many new models being launched - and not all from IWC, of course - there were inevitably some we did not get a chance to devote suitable attention to at the time. One such example is the limited-edition IWC Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Spitfire IW503601. So, if you can forgive us for being a year late, here's our hands-on look at this bronze-case beauty.The Spitfire CollectionAs you might have guessed, the Spitfire Collection takes its name from a plane, the Supermarine Spitfire. This was not just any plane, though. It was a veritable legend of the skies, used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, du

Weekly Watch Photo - Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Geographic black dial - Monochrome Watches
One of the watches that was high on my wish-list, before larger sized watches became fashionable, is the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Geographic. Seeing these photos bring back some good memories and make me realize how much the watch industry has changed over the past 12 years.When I started to become interested in watches and bought my first ‘expensive’ watches, a vintage Heuer Autavia and a TAG Heuer Monaco, these watches where considered rather large. The 44 mm sized watches from Panerai were considered HUGE and when IWC launched its Big Pilot watch in 2003 it was considered humongous. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Geographic also grew in size, from 38.1 mm in diameter to a very moderate of 40 mm for the new Master Geographic that I reviewed last year. Ad - Scroll to continue with article That’s a rather conservative increase in size and I actuall

Omega First Wrist-Chronograph Reissue Vintage Movement (Specs & Price)
There’s no doubt that, when talking Omega watches, we all now that the brand has quite a savoir-faire in terms of chronographs. Think Speedmaster, what certainly is one of the most emblematic watches ever created. Well, if you go back a bit earlier in the history (quite a lot earlier in fact), you’ll see that there’s more to discover.?In 1913, Omega produced one of the world's first wrist-chronographs and helped change the way these pieces will be later worn. Today, at the Omega Museum, the brand unveiled an incredible reissue of this antique watch, with equal military roots and, best of all, some historical, refurbished vintage movements inside.?Omega’s first wrist chronograph – 1913OMEGA's first pocket-chronographs were unveiled by the Brandt brothers in 1885. 13 years later, in 1898, their first pocket-chronographs with the OMEGA name and symbol appeared in stores.?Then, when the century turned, the company's reputation flourished once again. In exactly

Montblanc 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter Bronze Salmon Dial - Hands-On Review (Specs & Price)
In late 2015, Montblanc introduced the first version of the 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter. Fitted with a Minerva/Villeret monopusher movement, we were instantly smitten. The initial 18k red gold edition was soon followed by a version in steel, and then a gorgeous bronze number with a champagne dial. This year, Montblanc continues the bronze theme with the introduction of its latest limited edition 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter, this time paired with a striking salmon dial.As you no doubt already know - and if not, you can surely guess by the name - Montblanc's 1858 collection is all about taking inspiration from the past and paying faithful tribute to the rich history of Minerva, the Haute Horlogerie manufacture acquired by the Richemont group just over a decade ago. The aesthetics of the collection are very much inspired by classic design codes taken from the original 1930s Minerva chronographs, including luminescent Arabic numerals, cloisonne cathedral hands filled with beige luminous pa