Interview with Lewis Hamilton about Formula 1, IWC Watches and what may be next
Just ahead of the French Grand Prix last weekend, I had the chance to sit down with two of the best drivers currently racing in Formula 1, both behind the wheel of the Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport W09: Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. IWC is a major sponsor of team Mercedes, and both drivers wear gloves with the well-known Big Pilot’s Watch printed on them. So, as you can imagine, the interview steered onto the watch track and we can even tell you what watches both gentlemen might be designing one day with the brand First part, Lewis talks to MONOCHROME.Lewis Hamilton and Brice Goulard (Managing Editor) talking watches – Photo by Wolfgang WilhelmThe French GP was a blast for Lewis Hamilton who started in P1 and ended the race in P1 The perfect weekend for him. If the French GP was somewhat chaotic (many crashes but also lots of overtaking?¨C always good to see as a spectator), we can't say the same about Lewis's race, which was slightly smoother - and very successful.

Bell & Ross Announces Its Partnership with the "Patrouille de France" - Monochrome Watches
It is no secret that Bell & Ross has a long history of military-inspired watches. From the earliest days of the brand, Belamich and Rosillo have made clear that pilots and their instruments were the foundation of the design behind most B&R models – such as the iconic BR 01. So much that these watches will end up on the wrists multiple pilots and elite forces. Following a couple of years focused on urban inspirations, the brand goes back to the roots in 2021, as it announces a partnership with France’s precision aerobatics demonstration unit, the world-famous Patrouille de France. A natural connection between two French entities.?Bell & Ross, a long-time partner of Squadrons, patrols and Special ForcesBell & Ross?was founded?in 1992 with?a shared vision of functional and tough watches. The idea was to create instrumental pieces, inspired by everything military - special forces, diving commandos, air-forces and field action in general. From the earliest days,

Introducing: The Longines Ultra-Chron Carbon, A First For the Brand
Everyone is familiar with Zenith's high-frequency El Primero automatic chronograph movement, released in 1969. However, not everybody is familiar with the world's first high-frequency diver. The laurels, in this case, go to Longines with its 1968 Ultra-Chron ref. 7970 with a 5Hz frequency and a depth rating of 200m. Reintroduced in 2022, the Ultra-Chron returns in 2025 in a carbon fibre case.No stranger to high-frequency calibres, in 1914, Longines produced a 5Hz handheld stopwatch with a split-seconds hand capable of measuring 1/10th of a second. In 1916, it unveiled its 50Hz, 1/100th of a second stopwatch. Ten years before Zenith's El Primero, Longines produced the first wristwatch with a 5Hz movement (calibre 360) to compete in observatory chronometry competitions (it was manual winding). In 1968, Longines introduced its 5Hz calibre 431 inside a diver's watch, converting the Ultra-Chron into the world's first high-frequency diver with an accuracy of one minute per month. If you'd li

IWC Portuguese Chronograph Classic Edition Laureus - Limited Edition for Charity - Monochrome Watches
Every year IWC selects one watch from their collection, usually a new model, that will be introduced with a beautiful deep blue dial and with a closed and engraved case back. There’s a good reason for this, that goes further than just a striking blue dial. These blue dial models are ?limited editions that IWC introduces (every year) for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. This year it is the Portuguese Chronograph Classic Edition “Laureus Sport for Good Foundation” and it’s limited to 1,000 pieces.?This is the?eighth time that IWC is supporting the good work carried out across the globe by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation with a limited-edition timepiece in characteristic Laureus blue. Last year it was the Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph and in 2011 it was the very beautiful Ingenieur Automatic.At Monochrome-Watches we love the combination of high-end watchmaking and charity! We’re supporting the Polio Watch initiative and we’ve got some gr

Tzoumy watches - unique pentagonal watches launching on Kickstarter
When it comes to watches, there are three, maybe four basic shapes people can expect. The most obvious shape is of course round, simple as that. On the other end of the spectrum, we have watches with a square case. Other than that, we can distinguish cushion-, tonneau-, or helmet-shaped watches but that’s pretty much it. Well, not anymore, as Yvan Monnet is presenting the pentagon-shaped Tzoumy Watches collection, now available on Kickstarter.Yvan Monnet is a Swiss-born watchmaker, formerly working for prestigious brands like Patek Phillipe and Vacheron Constantin. In 2016 he presented a very limited series of watches under his own name, with a unique pentagonal shape for the case and dial. In June last year, a chance encounter with Gerrit Spalteholz, lead to a new project called Tzoumy Watches. A little over a year later, the original pentagonal design by Yvan Monnet is reinterpreted into a new collection, launched via a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. Ad - Scro