History of the Patek Philippe Nautilus, Part 1 - The Birth of an Icon, the 3700 (1976/1990) - Monochrome Watches
Stating that the Patek Philippe Nautilus is an icon is probably too easy… but there is no way to evade this. The Nautilus is an icon. No debate. Introduced?in 1976, and designed by one of the most famous watch-designers, who can be seen as the creator of a new species of timepieces – the luxury sports watch. The Nautilus?is praised by all sorts of collectors, and it?is now celebrating its 40th anniversary. Last week we explained the 40th anniversary editions? to you, and now it is time to look at the entire timeline of this watch. The first part of the history of the Patek Philippe Nautilus is of course dedicated to the very first version, the Ref. 3700.BackgroundBefore exploring the history of the Patek Philippe Nautilus, we have to look at a bit of background, to understand the market this watch entered into – simply because we are talking about a game changer. Ad - Scroll to continue with article

The History of the Omega Constellation Collection - In-Depth
The Constellation family has been around for 66 years and is currently one of Omega's oldest collections. What started out as a chronometer for men in 1952 has undergone countless aesthetic transformations, from the pie-pan dials of the 1950s to the ultra-thin quartz watches of the 1970s leading to the consolidation of the collection in 1982 with the Constellation Manhattan and its hallmark claws. Today many Constellation models are equipped with Master Chronometer movements respecting the original vocation of this family to combine luxury and precision. Let's take a look at how the Constellation got its star power and its claws.Born as a chronometer in 1952To celebrate its 100th anniversary in 1948, Omega released the Centenary, its first limited-edition chronometer-certified wristwatch with an automatic movement. Given the positive reaction to this unrivalled combination of precision and practicality, Omega decided the time was ripe for a collection of automatic wristwatches with chr

Hands-On - The 2022 Tudor Black Bay Chrono S&G Champagne Dial
It is far from an industry secret that the Black Bay collection is Tudor's cash cow. And by saying that, I am by no means implying that as a bad thing. Far from it, the Black Bay and its retro-cool vibe have become a formidable and versatile platform for different materials and colour combinations. Heck, multiple iterations of it have found their way into the collection of several MONOCHROME editors. With no fewer than seven sub-collections, stretching to an even greater number if you include all sizes and colour variations, there are many options. And while most might focus on the new Black Bay Pro or the BB58, there's one new release we certainly didn't want to keep from you. The watch in question is the sparkling (pun intended) Tudor Black Bay Chrono with champagne yellow gold dial.Black Bay BackgroundThe Black Bay saga started in 2012, which honestly feels like ages ago. Since then, we've seen it morph from a cool-looking dive watch with an outsourced movement into a ubiquitous col

Richemont Announces Strong Quarterly Results just before SIHH 2018 - Monochrome Watches
Just days ahead of the launch of the 2018 edition of the SIHH – the Geneva-based watch fair where all the watchmaking brands of the Richemont Group present their novelties – the Richemont Group posts its financial results for?the last quarter of 2017. The positive trend continues with an overall 7% increase in sales for the Group.Firstly, note that growth is mainly registered at constant exchange rates. The influence of currencies is rather negative, which has a strong impact on results at actual exchange rates. However, at constant exchange rates, Richemont Group shows a promising growth of 7% overall for the last quarter of 2017, compared to the same period in 2016. Ad - Scroll to continue with article When looked at in detail, we see that most regions grew with sustained double-digit growth. In the?Asia Pacific region, growth is mainly driven by t

Introducing: Alpina Alpiner Extreme Automatic California Dial
Autumn has finally arrived in Europe, marking the annual migration of birds as they flock to warmer climates. Alpina is also taking a break from the cold Swiss air and hot-footing to sunnier locations, more precisely SoCal. Indeed, the latest-generation Alpiner Extreme, the brand's most formidable contender for outdoor adventures, now dons a cool California dial. Coupled with its aggressive price tag, fans of California dials are going to find this one hard to resist.Revamped in 2022, the robust Alpiner Extreme Automatic has a three-part 41mm cushion-shaped case with a thickness of 11.5mm. Designed to endure knocks, blows and bad weather, there are protective bumpers on both sides of the case, and the screw-down rubber-clad crown ensures optimal grip and the 200m water-resistance. The angular case and round fixed bezel – secured by six screws with triangular heads (Alpina logo) – feature brushed surfaces for a sporty look with polished bevels to highlight the dynamic archit