A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Date // Video Review
It is often said that in watchmaking the entry-level complication – understand here any additional indication that isn’t the hours, minutes or seconds – is the date function. While this is true for most of the watches, when it comes to a masterpiece of engineering such as the A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk, adding a date was a veritable technical challenge. Because of the ultra-complex display of this watch, adding a simple date window wasn’t possible. But this wasn’t enough to stop the team managed by Anthony de Haas, director of product development, who today gives us a full explanation of how the A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Date was developed and how it is manufactured, in the video at the top of this article.?What’s so special about a date window? Usually, the answer is nothing. It is the most common, the simplest of all complications. You can find it in the most affordable automatic watches, simply because it is a disc rotating under the dial a

2020 Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Smoked Dial Two-Tone Case (Price)
A year after its introduction, Audemars Piguet’s controversial yet entirely novel collection, Code 11.59, sees its first major evolution with the introduction of five new time-and-date models and five new Chronograph models. When we reviewed the watch recently, our main complaint came from the lack of ‘spices’… Well, here they are, as AP spices up its collection with smoked sunburst?lacquered dials, a palette of deep colours and two-tone cases.new smoked coloursUntil now, the Selfwinding Time-and-Date and Chronograph?Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet were mostly available (at least for the permanent collection) with classic colours – white, black and dark blue. While these colours are certainly elegant and timeless, the execution, even though superb regarding the quality, made these watches too soft, too discreet actually. Ad - Scroll to continue with article

Business Swatch Group Half-Year Report 2017 Shows Signs of Recovery
After two years of consecutive decline and an overall negative mood over the watchmaking industry, it seems that 2017 could be the pivotal year for the watch segment – at least for Swatch Group, as we have seen that Richemont Group 2016-2017 results were showing again a decline. In its?Half-Year Report 2017, Swatch Group contains a number positive indicators, including slightly increased sales and mainly, a reinforced profitability, with a strong increase in operating margin and net income. Overview.While the 2016 Annual Report of Swatch Group was showing signs of decline, with sales dropping by 10.6% and profitability massively decreasing, with 47% less net income than what the group achieved in 2015, the 2017?Half-Year Report unveiled by Swatch Group today is showing signs of recovery. Overall, the Biel-based powerhouse, which includes brand such as Omega, Breguet, Blancpain, Jaquet Droz, Tissot, Longines and many more, has positive results for the first half-year 2017. All ind

The Battle of High-End Chronographs Part 1 - Patek Philippe 5172G - Monochrome Watches
When a model is discontinued and replaced with a new reference at Patek Philippe, two things happen: the old model tends to become even juicier bait for collectors and the newcomer is subjected to intense scrutiny. In March 2019, Patek Philippe introduced the ref.5172G chronograph to replace the longstanding and much-loved ref. 5170. Fitted with the same in-house manual-winding calibre CH 29-535 PS as its predecessor, the latest member of Patek's chronograph dynasty comes in a white gold case with a de rigueur blue dial and a pronounced vintage temperament. Larger, bolder, less classic and more casual than the 5170, the 5172G is one of the contenders in our next battle of chronographs.Editor's note: this review of the Patek Philippe Chronograph 5172G is part of a series of three articles where we will compare two of the most desirable high-end, hand-wound chronographs currently on the market. Two watches with the same concept, but two different flavours. The third article, which will b

Recap: The Best GMT and Travel Watches of Watches and Wonders 2025
We, at MONOCHROME, have long been strong advocates of the GMT, Worldtimer and Dual-Time complications. Why? Simply because when rightfully implemented, these additional features make some of the most practical watches possible – and we’re talking real-life practicality here, not an equation of time that no one has ever really understood (sorry, I had to say it…) And I can tell you that we were happy to see that brands during Watches and Wonders 2025 and the Geneva Watch Week came fully loaded, with an array of GMT and Travel watches. Here are some of the best we’ve seen – with one important?exclusion, the Bovet Recital 30 (an absolutely brilliant watch) that we’ll feature in another selection.?Armin Strom Dual Time GMT Resonance Manufacture SteelLet’s start with the most complex watch on the list (thanks only to the alphabetical order…), which is much more than just its dual-time complication. This model is the second in the line-up, foll