Why I Don't Understand The Hate For The AP Code 11.59 Anymore
What do you do when you want to launch a new collection alongside a truly legendary range that once redefined what luxury watchmaking was? Do you tweak a design and pray it doesn’t get any banter because it looks too much like your precious icon? Or take off in a completely different direction altogether, to find new inspiration and break new grounds in terms of design? Either way, it’s a tough thing to do for sure, but Audemars Piguet took the gamble in 2019 when they introduced the Code 11.59 collection. Hugely different from the famous Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore, but somehow it didn’t capture the heart of collectors and enthusiasts. Was it really that bad? And is it still to this day, that bad? No, it wasn’t back then, and even less these days, which watches like the Code 11.59 Universelle have clearly proven. Through clever use of design, materials, colours and by now extremely complicated movements, the Code 11.59 has seriously matured. But somehow, i

Video - JC Babin on 2020 Bvlgari Watches and Geneva Watch Days
Last week, a large part of the MONOCHROME team attended Geneva Watch Days, a self-managed event combining physical and digital presence with a flexible, lighter format. And an important one, since it will be one of the only major watch fairs to be organised this year – the result of the current sanitary situation. Altogether, it gathered 17 brands from mainstream manufactures to independent watchmakers. On this occasion, we took time to sit down with Bvlgari’s CEO Jean-Christophe Babin, the main promoter of the event, to talk about the fair as well as, of course, the new watches presented this year by the Roma-based brand – and there were some good ones!Since the cancellation of the two main watch events of the year, Baselworld and Watches & Wonders, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no way for the brands to physically present their new creations and to meet with their partners, press and retailers. A sad situation for sure that some brands decided to counte

BCHH x Andersen Geneve Celestial Voyager Word Time - Hands-on, Price
The name BCHH might not be familiar to you, but it is the result of a dream, that of a longtime seasoned collector to create his high-end watchmaking brand. The acronym of Benjamin Chee Haute Horlogerie, the brand was founded in 2019, the man behind Celadon (created in 2012) and Mille?chron (created in 2018), to put his country, Singapore, on the map of traditional watchmaking. And talking about maps, the new watch to surface from this project couldn’t be more relevant, being a classical and refined world time watch. Today, we take a look at the BCHH Celestial Voyager, a series of seven ultra-exclusive watches made together with Andersen Geneve and showing impeccable, traditional execution.?BackgroundBehind BCHH is a man named Benjamin Chee, who’s been collecting watches for some years and decided to move to the other side, by creating his own brands. Chee first created Celadon in 2012, with a focus on dress watches and decorative crafts. In 2018, he then inaugurated a seco

Introducing: The Fabian Pellet Essential
The interest in high-end independent watchmaking has risen to great heights over the past few years, and with it, new and exciting names pop up every now and then. Names that might come fresh from school, or in the case of Fabian Pellet, can rely on over two decades of experience. Presenting his debut piece, called Essential, it shows all the hallmarks of a very refined mechanical watch. A gorgeous case and dial, a stunning movement, and ample amounts of traditional finishing. Despite the fact the first series of the Essential is sold out already, it’s still worth having a closer look at this rather classical stunner.As you might have been able to tell from the first images, Fabian Pellet has a passion for traditional watchmaking. Born in Lausanne, and educated in the Vallee de Joux, he specialized in complications and the restoration of antique watches. Following his graduation, he joined Breguet in 2003 and worked on minute repeaters at first, followed by a ten-year stint in th

Porsche Design 1919 Globetimer UTC All Black - Hands-On, Price
For a while, the pandemic put on hold any thoughts we might have had of covering traveller’s watches. Thankfully, the very idea of travelling, as well as crossing borders and time zones, isn’t dead, and we can’t start wearing our GMT, dual-time or world time watches again. And, talking about this, there’s a new Porsche Design model that has just landed, a new take on the brand’s ultra-practical, clever Globetimer watch. And this new version couldn’t be more in line with the brand’s idea of stealthy, streamlined design. Let’s have a look at the new Porsche Design 1919 Globetimer UTC All Black.The 1919 Globetimer UTC isn’t a new watch per se, having been first introduced at Baselworld 2019. What this watch is, is typical Porsche. Even though it is one of the rare models of the brand equipped with a complication (apart from the classic chronographs), this extra layer of features, like the rest of the watch, has been designed with pract