Hands-on - The brutally honest Laco Kiel.2 Chronograph
Despite the fact that mechanical watches today are very much a luxury item and far from a necessity, there was a time when proper timing instrument watches were the difference between life and death. Watches served a true purpose and were used to time extremely important events. This need for precision also arose with the threat of war building in Europe in the 1930s, which lead to the creation of the Beobachtungsuhr, or B-Uhr. These watches became legendary for various reasons, and today, most Flieger watches take after these original timepieces. Some of the brands which produced B-Uhr watches back then still do that today, to an extent. One such brand is Laco, which has been around since 1925. And Laco recently presented the brutally honest, no-nonsense Kiel.2 Chronograph that takes after the historic design of the Flieger Uhr.A brief history of lacoThe German watchmaking brand of Laco was originally founded in 1925 as Lacher & Co. by Frieda Lacher and Ludwig Hummel. After initia

Buying Guide - The Best Dress Watches of 2017 - Part 2
With the holiday season approaching, it's time for us to make our wish lists We already started with a selection of the dress watches introduced in 2017 - part 1, with a focus on watches under CHF / EUR 20,000. Now we move up, with a selection of 6 of the best dress watches, for those with larger pockets.Grand Seiko SBGW252To celebrate the fact that Grand Seiko was becoming a brand in its own right (and not just one collection), the Japanese manufacturer has released three limited editions inspired from the very first Grand Seiko (in steel, yellow gold and platinum). An exquisite, superbly detailed watch with great pedigree - and that yellow gold version really is classy Ad - Scroll to continue with article Quick facts: 38 mm yellow gold case - hand-wound movement calibre 9S64 with hours, minutes and seconds. Alligator leather strap with pin buckle - EUR 21,700

Lung Lung and her Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Frosted Gold Carolina Bucci Limited Edition - Monochrome Watches
It’s not often that a woman is the interviewee in our Collector’s Series, but today Lung Lung Thun is star of the show!?Lung Lung Thun is a 31-year-old securities broker with her own business, working in Hong Kong and Singapore. When she walked past an Audemars Piguet Boutique in Singapore in 2010, looking for her next watch after coming to terms with the fact that the Chanel J12 she had just purchased just didn't suit her at all, she knew it had to be a Royal Oak. Lung Lung is pretty active on Instagram (@lunglungthun) and judging by her posts she’s a proper watch enthusiast. Now let’s talk about that super cool frosted AP Royal Oak of hers!Photo by Anthony KwanFrank, MONOCHROME Watches – How did you personally got to know Audemars Piguet? Do you remember when this was?Lung Lung Thun: I remember it very clearly! 2010. I was walking passed an AP boutique in Singapore. I was looking for my next watch after coming to terms with the fact the J12 I had purchas

Longines Avigation BigEye (Live Pics, Specs & Price)
It's not hard to find vintage-inspired military watches as the market is now flooded with them. If you want something affordable and authentic, Hamilton has you covered. Want to go high-end, IWC and Panerai?have a lot to offer, among many others. Longines even has a wide variety in its Heritage collection. Most are excellent examples of a given time period and fine watches on their own, but few have truly unique personalities. The Longines Avigation BigEye bucks the trend with an atypical chronograph that hits a lot of the right notes, but its provenance is a bit of a mystery. It's also not the first modern big eye chronograph with pieces like the Breguet Type XX?having a similar dial. It's arguably the best vintage-inspired Longines since the Legend Diver, however, and won the Best Revival award at last year's Grand Prix de l'Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG). That's an eye-opening achievement, so let's take a closer look.BACKGROUNDThe history behind the Avigation BigEye Chronograph is anyt

Introducing The Rado True Thinline x Great Gardens Of The World
Rado is renowned for its innovative use of high-tech ceramic and minimalist, contemporary design. Although we usually cover the sportier retro-inspired members of Rado's family on MONOCHROME, such as the Captain Cook and the Diastar, the brand also offers dressier more contemporary models like the Rado True Thinline. Introduced in 2011, this watch has an injected monobloc high-tech ceramic case construction that ensures a super-slim profile. Three new automatic models, with textured dials inspired by endangered plant species in partnership with the Great Gardens o the World organisation, join the True Thinline collection.Great Gardens of the World is a network of gardens across 20 countries. The partnership with Rado has resulted in a series of collections inspired by nature, designated with chapters and numbers. The latest trilogy marks Chapters 8 through 10, and all three watches share sleek, unisex 40mm high-tech ceramic monobloc cases with a thickness of 9mm. Ceramic is also used t