Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding 34mm Ceramic Carolina Bucci
A 50th anniversary is a big deal, and Audemars Piguet is making hay while the sun shines. We've seen plenty of birthday treats this year, including the much-anticipated anniversary Jumbo, but nothing quite like this mesmerising full-black ceramic Royal Oak made with Italian jewellery designer Carolina Bucci. Marking her third collaboration with AP, Bucci is renowned by AP fans for her glistening Frosted Gold cases. For this latest project, Bucci puts away her hammer and dreams up a fascinating transformation of the iconic guilloche tapisserie design that Gerald Genta used on the maiden voyage of the Royal Oak in 1972. The unexpected and entirely on-trend face of the Royal Oak beguiles with an ever-changing iridescent rainbow dial that will be as hard to pin down as the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. ?From frosted gold to rainbowsSince its debut in 1972, the Royal Oak became the precursor and has since commanded the market for luxury sports watches. Gerald Genta's iconic design, w

The Re-Birth of Ollech & Wajs (OW) with Accessible Tool Watches (History, Specs & Price)
Some names might not ring a bell with a broader audience, but can still be well-known and highly respected in some collectors’ communities. Ollech & Wajs, a Swiss brand born in 1956 and specialized in tool watches, is a case in point. It took more than 10 years to convince Albert Wajs to pass on his brand… but Ollech & Wajs (OW) is back on track with a new, cool collection of accessible tool watches (in short, the brand’s speciality for decades).Ollech & Wajs – short historyIn 1956, Albert Wajs and his friend Joseph Ollech formed a partnership and opened a watch shop in Zurich. At first they distributed timepieces from Breitling and Omega but eventually decided to establish their own brand: OWZ, for Ollech & Wajs Zurich.Joseph Ollech handled the commercial side of the brand while Albert Wajs was more on the technical side of things in this venture – although he was not a trained watchmaker. Ad - Scroll to continue with article

The 2020 Pasha de Cartier Collection (Specs & Price)
Cartier, the renowned Parisian jeweller and watchmaker, is mostly known for its “montres de formes” and has consolidated an unrivalled legacy in the creation of fascinating shaped watches. With its elegant shapes and eccentric cases, Cartier rarely approaches watch design like the rest of the industry and even a simple round watch is never ‘simple’ in terms of design. For 2020, the brand demonstrates this once again, by revamping one of its icons, the watch with the chained crown. Here’s the new Pasha de Cartier Collection.a 1980s cult watchThe story of the Pasha de Cartier goes as far back as 1932 when Louis Cartier created one of the first waterproof watches – thanks to a very unusual crown protection device. It is said that the watch was commissioned by the Pasha of Marrakesh, hence the name of the collection. He requested a watch that would be elegant but capable of accompanying him on his regular swims and daily bathing. The iconic features of t

The Hands of Time - A Guide to Names of the most used Watch Hands - Monochrome Watches
There are many ways to tell the time: digital watches show us the time using numbers, whereas the first mechanical clocks did not even have faces, and indicated time by chiming it. Hourglasses, candle clocks or clepsydras are other examples. And there’s a segment that we here at Monochrome, refer to as ‘Other Display‘, which include the URWERK’s MB&F’s and Ressence’s of this world. Still, most watches use hands on a dial to show us the hours and minutes, and as is their wont, watchmakers have displayed great creativity in the way they shape hands (for practical or more fancy purposes). These come in a variety of styles and are an integral part of a watch design. It would be tough to come up with an exhaustive list, but we'll take a look at the most used hand designs from watches we have photographed over the past few months.Alpha handsAlpha type hands have a wide base and a narrow stem to connect them to the center of the dial. Example ¡ú Parmigia

Spotted - Robert Downey JR with a URWERK UR-110 in Spider-Man Homecoming
In the world of watches, it’s become de rigeur?to have watches “placed” in movies (and?sometimes, it’s a bit more than just that). It’s a practice known as?“product placement” and, in certain measures, it seems to help selling watches (do you feel the irony here…?) However, the story here is much cooler than the usual “watch in a movie” commercial tie-up, and has been dictated by passion, involving?with one of the coolest watches around. So, what could well be the watch worn by?Iron Man / Tony Stark a.k.a Robert Downey Jr in upcoming movie?Spider-Man Homecoming? And why this choice?Recently, in a post on his own Instagram account,?Robert Downey JR showed himself wearing no less than a URWERK UR-110 Torpedo in Rose Gold, while attending the world-premiere of Spider-Man Homecoming. Even cooler, he posted another image with Yacine Sar, the independent watchmaker’s Head of Communication. So, what to think of that…? The