The Best of Independent Watchmaking 2018 - Part 2 - Monochrome Watches
Yesterday, we started to look at the best watches created by independent watchmakers in 2018, with more “classical” watches (if ever the indie scene could be labelled classical). Today, in the second part of this guide, we move to the most creative, daring, highly technical of them all. Sci-fi designs, unusual displays of the time, ultra-complex movements. The boldest and the craziest models in the watch industry are right here.?The ingenuity, vision, diversity – or simply the smaller size – of indie watchmakers give watchmaking fans a wealth of unique creations in 2018.Andreas Strehler Transaxle TourbillonThis highly-engineered creation by Andreas Strehler combines a tourbillon with a 1-second remontoir d'egalite constructed around the same axle. The remontoir allows the transfer of constant energy to the regulator and to drive a dead-beat second. The twin-barrel movement also displays the remaining power reserve using a small differential gear. Overall, the sk

Pre-SIHH 2017 - Ulysse Nardin Classico Manufacture Enamel and Hourstriker Pin-Up - Monochrome Watches
As you probably?know,?Ulysse Nardin will no longer be exhibiting at?Baselworld and?will instead be part of the Geneva-based show, the SIHH – alongside all the Richemont brands, many independents and the other Kering-owned brand, Girard-Perregaux. Thus, we bring you the first piece of?pre-SIHH piece of news related to Ulysse Nardin. Ahead of?their inaugural attendance at?the show, the brand has already unveiled?2 new watches: the elegant, restrained and refined?Ulysse Nardin Classico Manufacture with an enamel and guilloche dial, and?the?Ulysse Nardin Hourstriker Pin-Up, an automaton and striking watch. Read on for all the details.The?Ulysse Nardin Classico Manufacture EnamelThe first watch?introduced as a pre-SIHH novelty by Ulysse Nardin is a favorite of us here at Monochrome. Why? Well, the?Classico Manufacture combines many attributes. First, there’s the case, elegantly shaped, with a classical and discreet look, a 40mm diameter, not too large but with enough presence on

Buying Guide - Top 5 Cool Sports Watches for Women under EUR 5,000
There is good news for women today: wearing an oversized men's sports watch is a thing of the past, and we are finally getting some of the coolest sports watches on the market in sizes designed to fit our wrists. Watch brands have understood that there are women out there who want the performance and dynamic look of sports watches, but do not want to wear massive men's models. Here are our top five sports candidates that combine resilience, water-resistance and sexy sporty styling – ideal everyday companions that won't fall off your wrist – and, of course, all are mechanical. Ad - Scroll to continue with article Oyster Perpetual 34mmThe Oyster Perpetual is the heart and soul of and a fantastic entry-level candidate. Classic, robust, yet smart enough to wear to the office, the Oyster Perpetual is the evolution of the world's first waterproof timep

Just Because: My Lost Watch and My Endless Quest to Find a Perfect Daily Beater
We, at MONOCHROME, rarely publish so-called “guest posts” and prefer to use our Collector's Series as a platform to share our readers' adventures with a watch. Today, we had to make an exception. The reason is simple. The story was just too good to not be shared. It tells a tale about a watch, something highly personal that, in some ways, will speak to a lot of us, watch enthusiasts. This man, whom we will call “Sweeny Hands” (as he prefers to remain anonymous), spent years searching for his ideal watch. Contrary to many stories you'll hear from collectors looking for bright and shiny new complications, Sweeny's search seemed simple at first, but ended up being an almost endless, desperately impossible quest. And here's the story of his long-awaited Seiko Sea Horse 7625-8031.?Some watch collectors are dragons, hoarding the glitter for the sheer joy of sitting on it. Others are magpies, gathering a little of everything to build a nest where they feel safe. The lo

Ulysse Nardin Perpetual Calendar GMT Manufacture Boutique Edition - Monochrome Watches
To many collectors, the Perpetual Calendar / Quantieme Perpetuel is the complete timepiece; yes of course there are a few more complex mechanisms, but in terms of the practical, day-to-day functionality of a time and date watch, the perpetual calendar covers all bases. In simplistic terms, it is a watch which, if kept wound, will never need manual intervention and will record time, day, date, month and the year. Ulysse Nardin comes with a new version of its?Perpetual Calendar GMT Manufacture, a platinum watch with blue dial made for its boutiques only.So what? Well, considering the varying number of days in the months, it's a pretty sophisticated feat of micro-engineering to translate that challenge into a mechanical solution so that the date is always corrected without changing it yourself. Then consider that oddity which is the leap year, when once in four years the month of February gets an extra day to balance out the books, so to speak. So we're talking about a function which only