Editorial - What I Will Remember from 2021 Regarding Watches
2020 has been a difficult year for many of us. The combination of a pandemic and lockdowns has been dramatic for our lives and, because you're reading a magazine dedicated to watches, for the watchmaking industry. This year, 2021, has certainly been better on multiple levels, but not yet ideal, as we're still living in a world full of uncertainties. Looking at the bright side of things, 2021 has been a great year for MONOCHROME. We've enlarged our core team with new members, we've published more articles than ever before (over 1,100 articles in total) and we successfully launched two collaboration watches – the Montre de Souscription 1 and the Montre de Souscription 2 – that sold out faster than we ever dreamed of. In this regard, I think 2021 has been a great year for us. But, as said, not everything was perfect. As we're about to turn the page on this year, I wanted to share with you what I will remember from 2021, the ups and downs, the trends, my feelings on the overall

Habring2 Doppel-Felix (by the man who created the IWC Doppelchronograph) - Monochrome Watches
In 2012 Habring2 introduced the Doppel 2.0, an affordable split-seconds chronograph based on a Valjoux 7750 chronograph. This was the same recipe that Richard Habring once developed for IWC Schaffhausen, which initially incorporated this movement in the Pilot Doppel Chronograph and later in other watches. When the patent expired, in 2012, Richard Habring was free to use this complication in watches with the Habring2 name on the dial, and that led to the Habring2 Doppel 2.0. In 2013 the Doppel 3.0 was introduced and last year?Habring2 presented the new Doppel-Felix that comes with an in-house split-seconds chronograph from Austria. Here’s the?Habring2 Doppel-Felix!?The Doppel 2.0 was an immediate success when it was launched. It sold out almost instantly and won the Sports Watch Prize at the 2012 GPHG.?A year later, Habring2 introduced the Doppel 3.0 (see here for the review) – again, a great success for Maria and Richard Habring. Now, with the Doppel-Felix, they have added

Patek Philippe Aquanaut Travel Time 5164 - Monochrome Watches
Patek Philippe released a new Aquanaut at Baselworld 2011, featuring dual time zones. The new Aquanaut Travel Time ref.5164 is just the perfect traveller’s watch!Stylish, functional and extremely comfortable are the words that come to mind when putting the new Patek Philippe Aquanaut Travel Time on the wrist. It’s a true dual time zone watch, telling not only home time and local time, but also date (attached to local time) and a day/night indicator. Ad - Scroll to continue with article Photo credits go to Robert-Jan from Fratellowatches, who accompanied me for the meeting with Patek Philippe and did the photography.By pushing the pushers at the left side of the case, local time can be adjusted with steps of an hour in two directions. The date will follow the local time adjustment, also when this means jumping a day back in time. The day/night indicat

The Handsome De Bethune DB27 Titan Hawk JPS
The stylish black & gold John Player Special livery, made famous by the Lotus F1 team in the 1970s, is enjoying a revival with offerings from brands like Hamilton, Bell & Ross and TAG Heuer, all the way up the ladder to niche indie brands like De Bethune. Earlier this year, De Bethune unveiled a JPS version of its sporty DB28GS kitted out in black with gold accents. Paying tribute to the golden age of competitive motorsports in the 1970s, De Bethune revisits its DB27 Titan Hawk in pure JPS livery with a black zirconium high-tech case body and yellow titanium accents. Like the souped-up engines powering F1 cars to the finish line, the DB27 Titan Hawk is equipped with De Bethune’s potent 60-hour AUTOV2 engine.The classic edition of the DB27 Titan HawkReleased in 2012 and refreshed in 2018, the DB27 was positioned as the brand’s most straightforward, sportiest entry-level collection. Nevertheless, as a true DB child, it is incredibly crafted and packed with in-house te

Vacheron Constantin Overseas Dual Time Black Dial / Review & Price
Vacheron Constantin's Overseas family is the brand's luxury sports watch proposal, a well-furnished collection with everything from simple three-handers?to sophisticated perpetual calendars, tourbillons and chronographs. The third-generation Overseas family was introduced in 2016 and given its vocation as a travel watch, the appearance of the Dual Time model in 2018 was a welcome addition. The latest Dual Time model, which we have for our hands-on session, is this black beauty. With an automatic manufacture movement, a highly practical dual-time function, resistance to water and magnetism, a beefy power reserve of 60 hours, dashing good looks, not one but three different straps, and the easiest interchangeable strap system on the market today… the Vacheron Constantin Overseas Dual Time is packed to the gills with assets.?ProvenanceThe genesis of the luxury sports watch has been told countless times. Suffice it to say that the leader of the pack was AP's Royal Oak of 1972 followed