VIDEO - The Seamaster Chronicles - Part 2, How the Omega Seamaster Became an Icon?
Last week, we launched our new video project in association with Omega, “The Seamaster Chronicles“, which you’ve probably guessed, takes a deep dive into the world of the Omega Seamaster. This follows our other project focussed on the Moonwatch,?the Speedmaster Chronicles. In our first instalment of the “The Seamaster Chronicles”, we took a close look at the history of the Omega Seamaster, a watch born on the foundations of the military watches delivered to the Royal Air Force, a watch that evolved to become an entire collection of elegant or rugged sports watches. A “war-tested” watch commercialised as a “child of peace”. Today, we’re proud to introduce the second part of?“The Seamaster Chronicles”, in which we explore how it attained its iconic status.In this second instalment, our guest speakers are none other than President and CEO of Omega, Raynald Aeschlimann, and Auctioneer Thomas Perazzi from Phillips.In th

Hands-On - Montblanc 1858 Geosphere WorldTime Watch (SIHH 2018)
It isn’t the first time that Montblanc surprises us with an original (and of course rather accessible) complicated watch. Indeed, we can easily recall the?Orbis Terrarum, which at EUR 5,500 was definitely impressive value for the money (we even compared it to much more expensive pieces here). For 2018, Montblanc does it again, with a new Double-Hemisphere, a sporty version of the WorldTime complication, with the original and vintage-inspired?1858 Geosphere… And we have it live, here on MONOCHROME.The name “Geosphere” might sound familiar to some. Indeed, this is not the first time that Montblanc has created a watch that displays the WorldTime complication with?two turning hemisphere globes. Yet, it was previously seen in the high-end Villeret?Tourbillon Cylindrique Geospheres NightSky… A superb and entirely hand-finished watch, with a price tag of EUR 275,000. Bringing the same concept, of course in a much simpler and rationalized way, is the?Montblanc 185

Only Watch 2015 - Unique IWC Ingenieur Automatic Edition Tribute to Nico Rosberg - Monochrome-Watches
The Ingenieur?is a pure icon in?the IWC collection. Its design (not the first one from 1954 but instead the one that we know now, based on 1975 Geral Genta’s idea) is recognizable amongst every other watches and seen as a very desirable sports watch. For Only Watch 2015, the charity auction to fund?research for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, IWC will offer a one-of-a-kind edition of the Ingenieur that pays tribute to one of its main ambassador: Formula 1 driver Nico Rosberg –?even if it looks extremely close to the classical edition, this unique IWC Ingenieur Automatic Edition Tribute to Nico Rosberg has something really technical hidden in its case.Don’t be fooled by the illustrations. This watch is unique and is far from being a production edition. How come? For sure, its case is shaped like all the other IWC Ingenieur watches, with integrated lugs and a round bezel secured by 5 screws. For sure, its carbon fiber dial has already been seen in other race-oriented editi

VIDEO - A Unique Insight to Omega's Atelier d'Excellence
In all its 174 years of existence, if you take its origins as La Generale Watch Co. into consideration, Omega has left a profound impression on the watchmaking industry. With countless iconic watches and collections in its archives, and of course, always striving for innovative materials, applications and complications, Omega is widely considered to be one of the best in the business. Then, now, and very likely into the future as well. And while we tend to focus on watches like the Speedmaster and Seamaster, both leaving their mark in history for obvious reasons, there’s far more to discover. Naturally, the Master Chronometer certification is part of the story, as well as the Co-Axial escapement, one of the few serial-produced escapements other than the industry standard Swiss Lever escapement. However, there’s one element of Omega’s watchmaking operations that people seem to rarely talk about – the art of Haute Horlogerie. Inside the very modern Omega manufactu

Value Proposition Marloe Haskell Hand-Wound ETA (Specs & Price)
Marloe Watch Company is a brand of only a few years, but already has a nice portfolio of affordable, mechanical watches. It has chosen to use hand-wound movements in all four of its lines and I'm a big fan of this decision. I like the daily interaction that comes with winding a watch and the view from an exhibition caseback is more detailed without the interference of a rotor. Most of its watches use either Seagull or Miyota movements, but its flagship Haskell now has a Swiss ETA beating inside. I hesitate to claim that an ETA movement is superior to a comparable Miyota - is a Ferrari superior to an Acura NSX or Lexus LFA? - but the perception surrounding Swiss movements is real and I applaud Marloe for a well-executed piece with Swiss technology. Let's take a closer look at the Marloe Haskell.BACKGROUNDMarloe Watch Company is based in Oxfordshire, England and was founded in 2015 by two watch enthusiasts and friends, Oliver and Gordon. They have a shared passion for hand-wound watches