LVMH Brands Bvlgari, Hublot, TAG Heuer & Zenith all Leave Baselworld - Monochrome Watches
After the “bomb” that was dropped by , Tudor, Patek Philippe, Chopard and Chanel earlier this week, concerning their decision to leave Baselworld, there is no longer any doubt about the (low) relevance of Baselworld for major brands. Subsequently, we have just been told that all four LVMH Brands, those from the watch Division – Hublot, TAG Heuer and Zenith – as well as the House of Bvlgari, have taken the decision to leave Baselworld “in order to preserve their image and their relations with their clients as well with the media“.As of today, most of the top-tier brands that were participating in Baselworld are gone – LVMH, Swatch Group, Seiko, Citizen, Breitling, and sister-brand Tudor, Patek Phillipe, Chopard, Chanel and Gucci (that also announced its departure recently). Almost the entire Hall 1.0 of the Basel fair has lost its exhibitors.As for LVMH brands Bvlgari, Hublot, TAG Heuer & Zenith, the Group justifies its decision by the fa

Hublot Big Bang Unico Bi-Retrograde Paris Saint-Germain (specs & price) - Monochrome-Watches
I’m actually amazed, and kind of speechless now I realise this… It took the watch industry a long time, decades in fact, before there finally is a watch that can be called the ultimate football watch. In the 1960’s and 1970’s there were some chronographs with a 45-minute register, in stead of the usual 60-minute register. But that’s as far as it goes, in terms of football watches (for the non-football peeps… each half of the match lasts 45 minutes). Last year Hublot introduced the very first proper football watch, the Hublot Big Bang Unico Bi-Retrograde, and now they come with a limited edition for the Parisian football club Paris Saint-Germain.While the 1960’s and 1970’s 45-minute chronographs were some sort of attempt to have a watch that was able to measure the 45 minute of each?half of a football match, there was never one that also enabled you to measure the extra time of a match, that is added by the referee. Several years ago Hublo

Chris Cashion and his rather special GoS Skadi - Monochrome Watches
Each member of the MONOCHROME team has their favourites among the many brands and watches we share with you all. One of the brands I have been following closely since I joined MONOCHROME is the Swedish brand Gustafsson & Sjogren, or GoS in short. The duo of Patrik Sjogren and Johan Gustafsson offers very unique watches incorporating hand-forged Damascus steel for the cases, bezels, crowns, dials and more. So when the opportunity to chat with the owner of a very special 1-of-5 GoS Skadi popped up, I just had to follow through.Just as a reminder, as we've covered the watch about a year ago, the GoS Skadi is somewhat of a direct result of the collaboration between GoS and Singer Reimagined Track 1 for OnlyWatch 2019. That specific collab piece was the first time GoS presented a watch with a case in blackened Damascus steel. The Skadi is the first GoS watch to offer a similar styled blackened Damascus steel case as the collab piece. It is combined with the

Industry News: Swatch Group 2023 Results Show Growth, Positive Outlook for 2024
Following the announcement in July 2023 of its half-year results showing an impressive growth of 18% in sales, Swatch Group has just issued its key figures for the entire year 2023. The Biel-based conglomerate, owner of brands such as Omega, Longines, Tissot or Breguet, reports sales up by 12.6% at constant exchange rates, or 5.2% at current rates to CHF 7,888 million. Despite a slightly slower pace during the fourth quarter of the year, which might indicate a switch in the overall state of the business and industry, the Group remains positive in its 2024 outlook and expects “excellent growth prospects” for the year to come.?While not reaching the pre-pandemic sales levels – the Group reported sales of CHF 8,475 million in 2018 – Swatch Group can report strong sales in 2023 with close to CHF 8 billion turnover. That being said, the group also indicated a huge exchange rate impact and a challenging currency environment, with a hugely negative currency impact that

Mido Commander Big Date 60th Anniversary Limited Edition Review
Back in 2018, Mido released the Commander Big Date to celebrate 100 years of watchmaking, an impressive feat for any Swiss brand given challenging events like World War II and the quartz crisis that ravaged the industry. The following year, a special edition debuted to mark the 60th anniversary of one of the brand's most prominent lines, the Commander. The Commander Big Date 60th Anniversary Limited Edition adds some red accents and dial changes for a new personality, and it just might be my favourite piece in Mido's entire portfolio.?BackgroundThe Commander debuted in 1959 and was chosen over the popular Ocean Star and Multifort lines to celebrate the brand's centennial. There are several Commander variants in Mido's collection, such as the vintage-inspired Commander Shade that harkens back to the 1970s and Commander Gradient Calibre 80 with a skeletonized aesthetic under a smoked dial. The Big Date models are the standouts with, according to the company, the largest big date aperture