Industry News: LVMH Acquires High-End Clockmaker L'Epee 1839
Known as the largest luxury group in the world, owned by the Arnault family, LVMH continues its development in all fields related to rare and artistic crafts. Already the owner, through its Watches Division, of TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith (as well as jewellery brands Bulgari and Tiffany, not included in this division), the group expands its portfolio by announcing the addition of a renowned yet niche company, L'Epee 1839, through the acquisition of its owner Swiza.?Founded 185 years ago and based in Delemont, in the Swiss Jura, L'Epee 1839 is one of the few surviving clockmakers on the scene. The brand and its owner, Swiza, have unique expertise in this field. The production of these unique timepieces brings together a wide range of craftsmen and savoir-faire, with more than 80 designers, engineers, watchmakers, mechanics and employees working alongside Arnaud Nicolas, CEO and Creative Director of L'Epee 1839.The T-Rex Table Clock of MB&F made together with L’Epee 1839When i

Video - New Bvlgari Octo Roma Watches & Gerald Genta Mickey Mouse
Last week were the Geneva Watch Days 2021, a great initiative that allowed us to visit brands exposing to this self-managed and (yes, something rare these days), physically-organised event. While most of the MONOCHROME team was attending the event, reporting live with multiple articles displaying the new models presented during the fair, it also gave us the opportunity to meet with brands and their representatives. Among them was, of course, Bvlgari (the initiator of the GWD) that was presenting multiple new models, including new Octo Roma watches and, best of all, the ultra-cool Gerald Genta Mickey Mouse. In this video interview, we’ll talk to Antoine Pin, Managing Director of the Bvlgari Watch Division, who will guide us through the 2021 collection.?The Bvlgari Watch Division must have had quite a prolific product meeting before Geneva Watch Days 2021, seeing all the new models that were introduced during this event. The focus of the year clearly is travelling, with two new, an

The Auction Hammer: 4 Essential vintage chronographs at Boule Monaco - July 28th - Monochrome-Watches
Recently, we showed the best of the es that will be auctioned the 28th of July by Boule Monaco.?But is not the only brand that deserves some attention, and while sneaking around the catalogue, we found timepieces to fulfil our love for vintage chronographs: 2 amazing aviator tools from Breguet and 2 highly desirable and uncommon Longines vintage chronographs. We believe that an overview of the pieces is not only in order, but even essential.Lot 568 – Breguet Type 20 – The perfect oneThe Type 20 is one of our favourites here at Monochrome-Watches. Alongside the full review we’ve been doing of the modern TypeXX, we also recently sourced a vintage edition from Airain. Type 20 refers to specifications and not to a precise model, as we already told you. But as a collector, Breguet will always be on the top of the list. The Boule auction holds no fewer than 3 of these beauties and this first example from 1960 may be the perfect one. Why? Because it has just been refurbis

Panerai Luminor Due 3 Days Automatic Acciaio 38mm PAM00755 - PAM00903 - hands-on (Specs & Price)
In the collective psyche of watch enthusiasts, Panerai is synonymous with large, robust, instrument dive watches. After all, that’s how the brand was conceived back in the 1930s. The brand wasn’t shy about making a 45mm watch its standard offer, and even to introduce 50mm pieces (or more). However, that was the 2000s and demand has changed. In 2016, Panerai introduced the Luminor Due, a range of?smaller and thinner watches, with a hint of elegance. Today, downsizing goes a few steps further, with the introduction of the?Panerai Luminor Due 38mm (and no, it isn’t advertised as a ladies’ watch).The SIHH 2018 collection brought several new watches in the Luminor Due collection. However, the main novelty concerns the?introduction of a smaller diameter: 38mm. Yes, there are no typos, Panerai now offers watches under 40mm! And no, they aren’t, as such, made for ladies – even if, of course, some of our female readers will spot an opportunity to finally wear

Certina DS Powermatic 80 Collection 2021 (Specs & Price)
The new Certina DS Powermatic 80, a straightforward time-and-date collection joins the Heritage Collection with an initial offering of five dial colours and steel or golden PVD-coated cases. Inspired by the DS Chronograph Automatic of 2020 – a re-edition of a? Certina chronograph from the 1940s – the new Certina DS Powermatics borrow certain vintage codes of the chronograph and are fitted with the modern and robust Swatch Group Powermatic 80 movement. And in keeping with the brand's commitment to offering robust quality at competitive prices, the price of the new Certina DS Powermatic watches is very attractive.Double SecurityDS at Certina stands for double security, a concept introduced by the brand in 1959 to make watches more resilient, reliable and water-resistant? What might seem like givens today were, in fact, quite novel in the late 1950s. Like the hard shell of a turtle (adopted as the brand logo in 1960), the idea behind the double security was to protect the mech