Buying Guide - From Time & Date watches to Secular Calendars
As we’re coming up to the end of February, our nerdy watchmaking minds always tend to stray in the direction of Perpetual Calendar watches. And even though this year is not a leap year, the fact that a watch can switch from the 28th or the 29th of February to the 1st of March without any corrections is absolutely fascinating to us. But calendar watches, in general, not just QP’s, serve a very practical goal: keeping you informed of other calendar indications besides ‘just’ the passing of time. So from a basic time-and-date model as a start and a secular calendar at the end, today’s Buying Guide goes from the simplest calendar watch to the most complex.?Time & Date – Oris Big Crown Calibre 473One of the earliest time-and-date wristwatches, and quite an iconic one for that matter, is the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date. Born in 1938 and in production pretty much ever since, it has a strong following of fans. What started as an early pilot’s watch

Pre-SIHH 2018 - Ulysse Nardin Classico Manufacture Grand Feu (Specs & Price)
The?Ulysse Nardin Classico Manufacture should be no stranger to you if you read MONOCHROME regularly. It is indeed a watch that we’ve covered several times, and on each occurrence, we loved it. It is, as you could guess by its name, a classic offering from the brand. Available in several materials (yet, mainly with steel cases recently) and with many dial variations, it always remains a strong package throughout, with great value for the money. Prior to the SIHH 2018, Ulysse Nardin presents two new versions?Classico Manufacture, with?“Grand Feu” White or Black Enamel Dials, combined to steel cases – and for less than EUR 9,000, that’s quite impressive.First of all, let’s talk about the new features of these?Pre-SIHH 2018 versions of the?Ulysse Nardin Classico Manufacture. No drama, no massive changes, just new dials. But what dials we’re talking about. Manufactured in-house (something rare enough to be mentioned) by sister company Donze Cadrans

2022 Bulgari Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater and Tourbillon Chronograph
With eight world records since 2014, the Octo Finissimo legion marches forward to consolidate Bulgari's ultra-thin watch empire. Just a few days after the unveiling of the mind-bogglingly thin Octo Finissimo Ultra, the Roman Maison presents new iterations of some of its Haute Horlogerie complication models, namely the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater and Tourbillon Chronograph Skeleton Automatic, with new colourways and new materials.Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Titanium/BlueStanding out by its refined design and technicality, the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater is the thinnest minute repeater ever with a movement of 3.12mm housed in a 6.61mm case. The model was originally presented in 2016. The new version combines a sandblasted titanium case and a matte blue openworked dial. Just like for previous versions, the hour-markers and small seconds are openworked. These apertures allow Bulgari to further enhance the acoustic properties of the watch.? Ad - Scroll to continue with a

Announcing - We're expanding and Tom Mulraney and Matthew Catellier are joining MONOCHROME - Monochrome Watches
It is with great pleasure that we welcome two gentlemen?to the Monochrome team, who will be helping us out to cover what we at Monochrome feel are great watches. The Monochrome selection so to say. Tom is Monochrome’s “man in London” and will cover everything that’s important, horologically speaking, from the UK and London in particular, while Matthew will be handling our selection of value propositions and cool Kickstarter brands.Tom Mulraney joins as Monochrome's unofficial “man in London” and will be covering everything from boutique openings, events or?in-depth hands-on reviews.?I first met Tom via email many, many years ago when we were both starting out as aspiring watch bloggers. At that time I hadn't met too many watch nuts from Down Under but I am pleased to say our paths have crossed many times since over the years, most often during the madness that is Baselworld. Ad - Scroll to continue with article

Interview: Italian Watchmaker Marc & Darno And A Fascination For Astronomy
It’s no secret that the MONOCHROME editorial Team loves independent watchmakers, as it’s one of the very reasons we exist in the first place. Although we often gravitate towards the better-known names like Dufour, Voutilainen, Moser and MB&F, there’s a host of indies waiting to be discovered. In a quest to bring you new and exciting stories from all over the world, we’ve been to South Korea, India, Australia, Canada, Germany and beyond. Today, though, we make a stop in Italy to bring you the story of Marc & Darn¨° and his very intriguing astronomical watches.Robin, MONOCHROME Watches – Marc & Darn¨° Watches is an unknown name to us and many others. Can you tell us who you are and what you do? Ad - Scroll to continue with article My name is Marco Guarino, and I was born in Chieri, a city in the province of Turin, Italy, in