First Look: The New Black-on-Black AP Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph 42mm
About two years ago, Audemars Piguet released an absolutely stunning watch, the black ceramic Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph, a.k.a the Black Beast. A monochromatic and high-tech take on one of the most important watches of the brand – at least in modern days – this watch merged the classic look of the 1993 ROO with contemporaryrn, stealthy-looking case and bracelet. As part of the new models released by AP for its 2025 collection, is this watch – also a reference 26238CE – with an even blacker look. And while initially we decided to call it the “Blacker-than-Black Beast”, things are actually a bit more complex.?What is an AP Beast? Well, we have to travel back to the early 1990s, when the brand was struggling to sell its classic luxury sports watch, the Royal Oak Jumbo – these were very different times. To boost sales and gain attention, Stephen Urquhart, then AP's Chairman, turned to an external designer – Emmanuel Gueit, then a fresh n

Hamilton Chrono-Matic 50 Auto Chrono - Introducing, Specs & Price
It seems that Hamilton is on fire, with multiple well-received, vintage-inspired releases, such as the Khaki Pilot Pioneer, the Khaki Field Mechanical or the Intra-Matic. As we’re still in 2019 and still celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Chrono-Matic/Calibre 11 movement, the brand introduces another watch modelled on a glorious watch – and this time, it won’t be for the faint-hearted. Meet the new Hamilton Chrono-Matic 50 Auto Chrono “Count-down”.A reissue of the Count-down GMT Chrono-MaticAfter reissuing the Hacked, the H-10 and the Chrono-Matic, ex-American, now Swiss brand Hamilton looks at another of its glorious models, the base for today’s revival watch: the Chronograph-E or Count-down GMT Chrono-Matic. Together with Heuer, Buren and Breitling, helped by Dubois-Depraz, Hamilton was one of the first manufacturers to present an automatic chronograph, a movement named Chrono-Matic or Calibre 11 depending on the brand. This movement is charac

Book Time For A Change, Discovering Vintage Enicar
Last December, Martijn van der Ven published the book Time For A Change, Discovering Vintage Enicar. Although he launched his book without the help of a publisher, it has turned out to be a beautiful and well-researched endeavour. Not only does it describe the rise and fall of this remarkable watch company, but it also features great adverts of the time, the people behind the brand and the difficult times the watch industry had to endure during the quartz crisis. It is, therefore, more than a watch book. We spoke to Van der Ven to find out just what sort of book is this?Flipping through the pages of Time For A Change, Discovering Vintage Enicar is indeed a journey through time. Enicar was founded by Ariste Racine in 1913 in the famous watchmaker’s town La Chaux-de-Fonds. Like most watch brands from that time and place, growth was assured in the first decade. At its heyday, it owned two factories, in Lengnau and Oensingen. Together, they produced some 800,000 wristwatches per year

The Petrolhead Corner - An Ode to the McLaren F1, the Ultimate Modern Supercar
This will create a debate, no doubt about that… Every “petrolhead” will have his own opinion to the question: “What is the ultimate modern supercar?” There are multiple names that could be quoted here, such as the Ferrari F40, the Countach, the Veyron and many more of them that have a special place in the heart of car aficionados. Still, there’s one car that can, objectively, be placed on top of the list. An over-engineered machine, designed by a genius/nerd (choose the most suitable) named Gordon Murray, a car that was meant to be on bedroom walls, a rare, fast car, with true motorsport DNA… The all-mighty, soon-to-be-legendary (well, it is already) and fascinating McLaren F1.Back in the early 1980s, you had a choice of three posters to tape on your bedroom wall: Jennifer Beals in Flashdance, the outrageous Ferrari Testarossa or the even more outrageous Lamborghini Countach. Fat tyres, wide read-ends, useless but oh-so-cool wings… And th

Ulysse Nardin Exo-Skeleton X for Only Watch 2019 - Monochrome Watches
For the 2019 edition of Only Watch, the biennial fundraiser for research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Ulysse Nardin has taken inspiration from the developments of the EPFL (ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) research group REHAssist. Meet the Ulysse Nardin Exo-Skeleton X for Only Watch 2019 with its innovative case construction.According to Dr Mohamed Bouri, head of the research group REHAssist, Autonomyo is an exceptional device which has been designed to be used without crutches. Our goal is to be able to support walking and managing balance for sufferers of muscular dystrophy, for example. Ad - Scroll to continue with article SKELETON DIAL - SKELETON MOVEMENT - EXOSKELETON CASEAs you had guessed, the Ulysse Nardin Exo-Skeleton X is a skeleton watch. But more than that, its 42 mm PVD-titanium case is fitted with an exoskeleton: four flexible blades a