Top Watch of 2019, By All Members of The MONOCHROME Team
As a Managing Editor, I love to challenge the redaction team at MONOCHROME. So a few weeks ago, I gathered most of our editors and contributors and came with THE big question, one that seems simple at first, but in fact, isn’t. One short question: “choose your favourite watch of 2019”, with no other rule than that. No consideration of price, of availability, of manufacturer or of complication, just the watch that they would love to own. And the answers are pretty interesting. So here are the MONOCHROME’s team Top Watches of 2019.Gandor Bronkhorst, contributor – Patek Philippe Chronograph 5172GSure, it's a safe choice. But the Chronograph 5172G is a safe choice because it triumphs in what it was created for: the flagship watch of probably the most prestigious watchmaker in the world. What's even more impressive: it replaces an icon (the 5170), and is actually, to me, better than its predecessor. I love the slightly more modern design, the stunning details a

Introducing the IWC Portofino Midsize Collection and Three Portofino Automatics with Diamond-set Bezel (lots of live photos) - Monochrome Watches
At the Watches & Wonders fair that starts today in Hong Kong, IWC adds no less than 20 new models to the Portofino collection. There are seventeen new midsize models, all adorned with diamonds, and three new version of the 40mm Portofino Automatic, now in new 18K red or white gold and 72 diamonds set on the bezel. Most models come on beautiful hand-made leather Santoni straps, and two come on an extra fine Milanese mesh bracelet. And there are two models equipped with a second time zone and five with a moonphase. The Portofino collection just grew by 600%, from 4 models to 24. Last week we got an exclusive preview of the new Portofino models, before they were shipped to Hong Kong for the Watches & Wonders fair. This fair is becoming more and more important and we see more new models being presented especially for this fair, which is visited both by professionals as well as end-customers. Christiaan Knoop, IWC’s creative director, spoke to us about these new additions to t

Tudor and its Heritage - The 1970s Chronographs and the Tudor Heritage Chrono - Monochrome Watches
As we’ve seen in our two first episodes of “Tudor and its Heritage“, the brand made an important move into sports watches in the middle of the 1950s, starting with the Submariners, followed by the Ranger. These vintage pieces formed the basis for the creation of two current watches, the Heritage Black Bay and the Heritage Ranger, which pay tribute to the rich past of Tudor Watches. However, there's another type of watch that we haven't explored yet, and in this field, Tudor has been very active: chronographs. Today, we are going to look at how, starting in 1970, the brand created some highly iconic and bold chronographs, which later inspired the super-cool Tudor Heritage Chrono.The modern definition of a vintage-inspired Chronograph by Tudor, the 70330N Heritage Chrono Ad - Scroll to continue with article Surprisingly, while many other sports-o

Hands-On - HYT Watches is back With the New Hastroid Green Nebula
If you’re following the independent watchmaking scene, you were certainly aware of the difficulties encountered by HYT Watches, the UFO of the watchmaking industry, creating watches with fluidic indications. After a dormant period of about one year, we can now say it loud and clear: HYT is back in action with new partners to back the business (Kairos Technology Switzerland SA) and a new CEO, Davide Cerrato… A name that should certainly ring a bell. And today, the brand presents the first watch of its new era, the HYT Hastroid. And we were able to spend some time with the Green Nebula edition.?HYT – from concept to rebirthBehind HYT is a concept, a vision of displaying time in an unprecedented and clearly unnatural manner. Instead of using traditional hands revolving around a dial, HYT Watches, created in 2012, uses an entirely novel display based on fluids… Liquids in a watch (along with magnetism, the worst enemy of a mechanical movement)? Yes, that was the who

First Look: TAG Heuer Refreshes its Carrera Day-Date and Carrera Twin-Time Models
Jack Heuer's Carrera chronograph is the stuff of legends. Released in 1963 and named after the dangerous Carrera Panamericana, the Carrera is still TAG Heuer's flagship model. The current Carrera collection has eight sub-families, including the recently introduced Date family, home to the Day-Date and Twin-Time models. Released just four years ago, the Day-Date and Twin-Time GMT models have been upgraded with several aesthetic tweaks and a more powerful movement.While many consider a Carrera without chronograph functions a form of disloyalty, there have been Carreras with three hands in the 1990s and even a Twin-Time GMT model from the 1950s. The Day-Date and Twin-Time Models capture their ancestors’ clean, spartan, legible style but stick to practical day-date and GMT functions. Ad - Scroll to continue with article The five new Carrera Day-Date models and