Interview - Collector Patrick Getreide, Owner of the OAK Collection
Today will be a truly special installment of The Collector's Series. The kind of person and watch collection you'll see once in a lifetime Many people are collecting watches, but few of them have turned watch collecting into as much of an art as Patrick Getreide. The French businessman who started collecting four decades ago is not driven just for the sake of owning timepieces but by passion. We were lucky enough to meet him and take a look at his collection in Geneva a few days ago. Watch collectors are notoriously secretive, and their collections are rarely seen by anyone outside the collectors’ close circle. So it was a moment of sheer indulgence for us to take a look at so many exceptional timepieces gathered in the same place. The good news is that Patrick Getreide has made a selection of watches and will be exhibiting them at the Design Museum in London in May. And there is much to look forward to. The OAK collection – which stands for One of A

Interview with Valtteri Bottas about Formula 1, IWC Watches and what may be next
Following yesterday's interview with Lewis Hamilton, it is now time to talk to his teammate, also a driver for Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport: Valtteri Bottas. As a Finn, I had the idea that this interview would turn out quite differently from the interview with superstar Lewis. And unsurprisingly, it did. Same questions as for Lewis, same focus on racing, style, (IWC) watches - as Valtteri also wears driving gloves with the Big Pilot’s Watch printed on them - and what may be next for him. Here we are with the second part of this interview where Valtteri Bottas talks to MONOCHROME. This interview was conducted right before the French Grand Prix in Le Castellet, on the great “Paul Ricard” track. If the race went superbly well for Lewis (P1 in qualification, P1 at the end of the race), things were slightly more difficult for Valtteri Bottas, who had been involved in a crash during lap 1 with Ferrari diver Sebastian Vettel. Inevitably, this had a huge impact on his rac

Tudor Heritage Chrono Blue Reviewed - Monochrome Watches
This year at Baselworld the Monochrome Team visited Tudor for the first time. That might just have something to do with the introduction of Tudor on American soil. Finally Tudor is available for US customers! Over the past few years Tudor has been building a new collection, that has deep roots in their own heritage. A very rich heritage that is not solely based on tool watches, although we’re going to have a look at one of the most legendary Tudor watches and its newest reissue: the Tudor Heritage Chrono Blue. When we entered the Tudor booth something really amazing happened…I guess I walked in first, met with someone from the Tudor team, and after a glimpse on her wrist I grabbed her hand and was immediately impressed by the watch she was wearing. Funny thing is that pretty much everyone that came in after me, did more or less the same! In all my years visiting many, many brands at Baselworld I have never witnessed something like that. The watch that several people from th

Introducing the Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date Collection
Dive watches don’t really come to mind when thinking about Montblanc, but the brand has a trio of new divers with a classic overall design. Bright, modern dials in blue and green keep things fresh and eye-catching, while a black dial offers a more traditional aesthetic (not featured in this article). Inspiration came from the freezing glacial lakes of the Mont-Blanc Massif, and textures from ice formations are represented on the lacquered dials. The watches conform to the ISO 6425 norm for diving and went through the Montblanc Laboratory 500 Hour Test for durability, so it’s definitely not “form over function”. Meet the new Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date collection.The stainless steel case is 41mm in diameter with a height of 12.9mm and features a brushed finish with polished accents and curved lugs. There’s an engraving of a scuba diver in glacial waters with an iceberg on the caseback. The image was created with the help of advanced laser engravi

Review Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921 40mm White Gold
The Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921, a unique cushion-shaped model with a diagonal display, celebrates its centennial in 2021. One of our favourite models at MONOCHROME, the Historiques American 1921 has a great story behind it and has not lost an iota of its idiosyncratic personality in the past 100 years. Three new iterations of the American 1921 were unveiled during the latest edition of Watches & Wonders – two in 18k white gold and a third in platinum. Today we'll be taking our loupe to the 40mm white gold edition and discover its indisputable and enduring Art Deco appeal.The exhilarating 1920sThe aftermath of WWI heralded a decade of optimism and excess known as the Roaring Twenties. Characterised as a decade of emancipation with flappers dancing the Charleston and jazz music bursting on the scene, it also marked the advent of Art Deco, a style that graced everything from skyscrapers to furniture and from jewellery to watches. Sleek curves, geometric shapes