Is the IWC Pilot Automatic Top Gun still the Cool Cat of the Collection? - Monochrome Watches
I strapped the new IWC Pilot Automatic Top Gun around my wrist and started thinking. Is this contemporary, black ceramic interpretation of the world's most famous war watch actually the coolest iteration to date? Is the predecessor of the famous Mark XI now the cool cat of the collection??Understanding IWC's ever-expanding Pilot's collection is an art in itself. The essential differences between Classic', Top Gun' and Spitfire' (not even mentioning the Petit Prince' and Antoine de Saint-Exupery' editions), are not really worth getting into –? the watches are too cool to lose ourselves in those silly details. Let's just start with sorting things out. Both the Classic' and the Top Gun' collections contain tool watches, but the best way to describe the difference is the latter is the first one with a contemporary twist. The Top Guns are a bit more fashionable and a little bit younger. Also, the prices differ. Ad - Scroll to continue with article

Retrospective: 1997-2023, The Entire URWERK Collection Explained
Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei, the visionary founders of Urwerk, deserve tremendous praise for their exceptional contributions to the world of horology. Their combined talent, innovation, and artistic vision have propelled Urwerk to the forefront of avant-garde independent watchmaking. Baumgartner’s technical expertise and relentless pursuit of pushing boundaries have resulted in groundbreaking timepieces that challenge conventional norms. His mastery of intricate mechanisms and inventive designs has elevated Urwerk to new heights, captivating watch enthusiasts and collectors worldwide. Frei’s artistic sensibility and creative genius have played a pivotal role in shaping the visual identity of Urwerk. His ability to fuse art with horology has given birth to watches that are technically remarkable and visually striking. His unique design approach has redefined what a timepiece can be, transcending traditional concepts and paving the way for artistic expression in watchma

A Quartet Of This Years Highlights Form Our Weekly Automotive Column
Back in 2019, we inaugurated the Petrolhead Corner as a way to provide a break from all the watch-related news we bring you and to share another passion that runs deep for several members of MONOCHROME’s Editorial Team. Our love for cars has since grown into a weekly column full of amazing car stories from all over the world. We try to mix things up by bringing you fascinating tales from the world of motorsports, super- and sports cars, classic cars, auctions, events, movies, restomods and whatever else excites us. And with a year of content to look back on, even though it’s just one story per week, there’s plenty of cool stuff to revisit! So, with this in mind, we’ve put together some of our favourite episodes from the past twelve months.Max Verstappen’s record-breaking year in Formula 1There’s no denying that Max Verstappen has utterly dominated this year’s Formula 1 season in his Red Bull Racing RB19. With 19 wins out of 22 races, he outclas

Caviar Makes an Interesting Addition to your iPhone (Sort Of) - A Skeletonized Watch Movement on your Phone Case - Monochrome Watches
The Omega Point is a theory - not a retail location. It is succinctly postulated by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin by the notion that everything that rises must converge.? Those of us old enough to remember the way that mechanical watchmaking had to pull itself up out of the wreckage of the quartz-age are also well aware of how mechanical watchmaking has to fight for relevance on the manifold fronts presented by the digital age. In a time when you use a phone to take a picture, why not use a phone to tell time too? Now, we have connected watches that look like watches (sort of) but act like smartphones. Perhaps the currents lifting both the digital revolution and the mechanical revolution are putting them on a collision course? TAG Heuer produced a series of Android-based phones. Ulysse Nardin produced a phone powered by a mechanical oscillator. Why even Kari Voutilainen produced a series of dials (just dials mind you - not functioning watches) for some random Chinese smartphone maker (no,

Hands-On - Tudor Heritage Advisor Cognac, one of the very few alarm watches on the market (live pics, specs & price) - Monochrome Watches
In terms of complications, the chronograph is certainly the most widely known – and used – of them all. Then, when you pronounce the words “chiming watches“, the immediate reference goes to the minute repeater. However, one chiming complication shouldn’t be forgotten, one which?is actually rather important historically and one that will immediately link to the “president watch“. Alarm watches are rare, somehow?outdated – especially in our era of smartphones (but like every?mechanical watch) – but also sort of fascinating. One of the very few manufacture to offer one is Tudor, and their proposition comes with a new color this year. Here is the?Tudor Heritage Advisor Cognac.Strange enough, we never covered this watch on Monochrome-Watches. Don’t ask why, we have no good reasons for that. It’s even more surprising, considering that the Tudor Heritage Advisor is the most complicated watch of the catalogue. This issue is abou