A. Lange & Sohne Datograph Up Down - REVIEW with exclusive photos, price and specs - Monochrome Watches
Last year we had the distinct pleasure to review the A. Lange & Sohne Double Split; arguably the most beautiful chronograph movement on the market today. As a follow-up we're reviewing its little brother, the A. Lange & Sohne Datograph Up Down, that also has a stunning movement and features an added large date. The A. Lange & Sohne Datograph is one of the icons of modern watchmaking. And it has only been on the market since 1999! Let's find out what contributes to this almost instant success.This year it has been 15 years since the first generation Datograph was introduced, and two years ago, in 2012, the Dato (as it's lovingly referred to by collectors) was slightly redesigned. The Roman numerals have made place for baton hour markers, the case has been enlarged from 39mm to 41mm, and it now offers 60 hours of autonomy when fully wound (that's 24 hours more than on the previous generation.) Although the visual changes might seem almost insignificant, the new generation Dat

First Look: The new Forest Green Chopard L.U.C Flying T Twin Perpetual
A Chopard L.U.C watch offering a perpetual calendar complication with a tourbillon regulator is not new to the series. In 2013, Chopard presented its L.U.C Perpetual T model, which was then followed by two extraordinary unique pieces in 2018, the “La Santa Muerte” decorated with the Mexican motifs and “Spirit of the Chinese Zodiac” in a homage to Chinese traditions, all powered by the hand-wound, COSC-certified L.U.C 02.15-L movement. In 2019, the manufacture revealed its first automatic flying tourbillon timepiece, the L.U.C Flying T Twin, which featured a micro-rotor for winding and two stacked barrels for a 65-hour power reserve. The new L.U.C Flying T Twin Perpetual can be seen as a culmination of Chopard’s expertise gained during the development of the abovementioned models – it is as much an elegant dress watch as the Flying T Twin as it is a highly complicated and accurate, top-of-the-series L.U.C Perpetual T. We gladly offer you our initial t

¡®Come fly with us - Flying with IWC on-board JU-52 with the new IWC Pilot's Watches - Monochrome Watches
When IWC offer you the opportunity to fly on-board their Junkers JU-52 aircraft, you take it. This trip was to coincide with the launch of the new pilots range, which we covered here and here. As you would expect, it is far from just any aircraft. For many years, the Schaffhausen based manufacturer have nurtured a partnership with Swiss airline?JU-AIR?through their mutual admiration of the Junkers JU-52 aircraft. It is fair to say, this aircraft has a fairly significant story to tell in aviation history.It was brisk Monday afternoon at the Air force Center Dubendorf (near Zurich). 10 or so international press gathered to share this unique experience with me. There were representatives from Germany, Denmark and Portugal. My heart started to beat just a little faster when I witnessed the pilot starting the aircraft manually, by rotating a wooden wheel at the base of his chair. This was followed by an engine test' of 5 or so minutes to ensure they were operating correctly. Before getting

Buying Guide - Discovering some of the finest Compressor dive watches.
Whenever we come across a dive watch that has an inner rotating bezel and a dual crown set-up, we tend to label it as a Compressor dive watch. While it certainly is the correct terminology for the style, it depends on the construction of the case if a watch is actually a proper Compressor dive watch or not. Watches that simply look like a Compressor diver might have you fooled a bit, as most merely capture the visual essence of those early watches. But every now and then, a true Compressor dive watch pops up. Today we take a look at such a watch and compliment the style with a few others as well.An example of a vintage Longines Ref 7042 with compressor case.From a historical perspective, the difference between an actual compressor dive watch and a piece that only looks like one is quite important. Developed in the late-fifties by Ervin Piquerez SA (EPSA), a (Super)compressor dive watch has a patented spring mechanism between the case and the caseback. This system made the watch more wa

Oris Artelier Complication Redesigned 2017 (Specs & Price)
While Oris?might be famous for its dive watches, such as the Aquis or the hype Divers Sixty Five, there’s another collection in the catalogue that is far from lacking interest; the?Artelier range. Offering?the same overall quality at?an affordable price as the rest of the watches produced by the brand, the Artelier collection is a?more elegant and complex (relatively-speaking) offering. For 2017, one of Oris’ defining movements is encased in a redesigned watch, the new?Oris Artelier Complication.With the original version of this watch, Oris was ahead of the curve, for two reasons. First of all, it?launched “The Complication” back in 1991,?at a time when the Swiss watch industry was slowly recovering from the troubles of the Quartz Crisis, and at a time when complicated watches, with a classic look were probably not really trendy. Secondly, with this watch, Oris helped pioneer?the concept of affordable luxury. The watch offered a lot, both technically and visuall