Hands-on with the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Tourbillon Chronograph (specs & price) - Monochrome-Watches
Everything that can be said has been said about the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak – its introduction in 1972, as a watch more expensive than any gold dress watches from the same era, an exquisite mix of luxury and sportiness, elegantly designed by Gerald Genta and a product that is now an icon. At the time of its launch, who could have thought about such a long life for the AP RO? However, the story still goes on and Audemars Piguet keeps impressing us with some editions like the?Royal Oak Concept Laptimer Michael Schumacher – or with the?Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Tourbillon Chronograph, a mix between two different faces of?the brand: the robust sports watches and the Haute Horlogerie movements.What is the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Tourbillon Chronograph about? This watch was revealed during the 2014 Edition of Watches & Wonders (a growing watch fair, a.k.a the little SIHH from Hong-Kong) as an evolution of an existing model. Not only the watch evo

Weekly Watch Photo - Voutilainen Observatoire - Monochrome Watches
When it comes to classic and extremely desirable timepieces, Kari Voutilainen’s Observatoire is on the short list of many collectors. In today’s Weekly Watch Photo we show you an Observatoire and tell more about its (base) movement, the competition chronometer Peseux 260. The stunning photos are from Gary, the proud owner of this magnificent beauty.?Before we turn to the chronometry competitions and the Peseux caliber 260, let’s have a closer look at the dial. It’s a perfect example of a hand guilloche (engine turned) dial as can be found on all Voutilainen timepieces.?Some of the few remaining Rose engine turning machines (click here for Wikipedia)?that can be used for dials, can be found in Voutilainen’s atelier. Dials adorned by engine turning (or hand guilloche) are a rare commodity now-a-days, as the Rose engine turning machines and the skills required to use these machines properly are both becoming extremely rare. Lucky for those in the position to

Buying Guide - Six New Watches Showing All Their Mechanics Dial Side
Despite the fact a carefully crafted full dial can be extremely satisfying to look at, there's something magical about seeing the inner mechanism of a watch. I remember when I first got into watches seeing a mechanical movement through a transparent caseback at least as rewarding as the front side of the watch. As my experience, and subsequent passion, grew bigger and bigger, the more I got intrigued by a watch's inner workings. The classical way of satisfying that hunger would be to dive into a fully-skeletonized watch, but there's another option as well. Instead of skeletonizing all the components of a movement and/or dial, you can also expose the mechanics by mounting them dial-side. With that in mind, here are six watches that do just that.Chopard L.U.C. Full Strike TourbillonDuring the recent Watches & Wonders event, Chopard unveiled a stunning trio of repeater watches. From complex to super-complex, to oh now you're just showing off complex, this trio epitomizes the brand's c

Recap: The Best GMT and Travel Watches of Watches and Wonders 2025
We, at MONOCHROME, have long been strong advocates of the GMT, Worldtimer and Dual-Time complications. Why? Simply because when rightfully implemented, these additional features make some of the most practical watches possible – and we’re talking real-life practicality here, not an equation of time that no one has ever really understood (sorry, I had to say it…) And I can tell you that we were happy to see that brands during Watches and Wonders 2025 and the Geneva Watch Week came fully loaded, with an array of GMT and Travel watches. Here are some of the best we’ve seen – with one important?exclusion, the Bovet Recital 30 (an absolutely brilliant watch) that we’ll feature in another selection.?Armin Strom Dual Time GMT Resonance Manufacture SteelLet’s start with the most complex watch on the list (thanks only to the alphabetical order…), which is much more than just its dual-time complication. This model is the second in the line-up, foll

Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 Steel-and-Gold Blue Dial (Price)
Released last year and based on a vintage watch produced by the brand during the 1970s, the Tissot PRX?has become a hit for the brand. Released first in quartz and later with an automatic movement, the success is easy to understand, with this combination of great looks, trendy integrated look and affordable price. Following the steel models, the brand released a (not so affordable anymore) steel-and-gold version with a fluted bezel and brown dial. Now it’s time for a new edition to jump in, again with the two-tone look, and now combined with a blue dial.?Behind the Tissot PRX is a vintage model of 1978. Having such a watch in its heritage collection, and aware of the current trend for sports watches with integrated designs, the brand somehow had to re-issue this Seastar (later named PRX) watch. And they did, with the PRX Powermatic 80. Great design, textured dial, nice proportions, a lot of content and a price that is hard to beat. For the second round of versions, the brand deci