Buying Guide - 5 Superb Watches with Trendy Salmon Dials
Salmon dial watches truly stand apart. These are unusual, unconventional and classic at the same time. High-end watches rarely venture beyond white, silver, black or blue. But salmon dials are superbly stylish, specifically if you are confident in your ability to carry off colours. Often reserved to limited or special editions, they add a degree of elegance with a twist while remaining understated.The salmon dial trend has been brewing for years but it has really picked up momentum over the past few months. Here are five of the most recent examples.Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin Salmon DialIt isn't the first Extra-Thin RO Jumbo with a salmon dial (remember the Jubilee 14802St model) but it is the first time that a pink gold-toned petite tapisserie dial is matched with an 18k white gold case and bracelet. The watch is still 39mm in diameter and just 8mm thick. It houses the self-winding extra-thin 2121 calibre. This subtle and elegant take on the Jumbo is boutique exclusive

Two Monochrome Editions by Harry Winston - Monochrome Watches
A few months ago, we at Monochrome received a call that blew our socks off. The guys and gals from Harry Winston had some great news they wanted to share with us. In preparation for this year's Baselworld, they were looking to do something special besides the annual Opus timepiece. The final suggestion was to debut two watches, one of them being an elegant dress watch and the other a more expressive timepiece.That's how we would have liked to have started this story, but sadly that is not the reality. However we do feel quite privileged to have a Harry Winston watch bearing our online magazine’s name. And the best part is, there is not just one, but two of them out there! Meet the?Harry Winston Midnight Monochrome Automatic and Ocean Dual Time Monochrome.The Midnight Monochrome is the dress watch, with a rather stunning looking grey dial.?The dial is made to look very much like a piece of slate, and closely resembles this stone, which gives it a smooth, yet still kind of rough ap

Introducing: A Trilogy of Audemars Piguet Models in a new Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 Ceramic
Audemars Piguet recreates a colour intimately associated with its first Royal Oak model of 1972. Although the colour described as “Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50” has appeared on many dials, it has never been replicated in high-tech ceramic. Inspired by the clear night skies of the Vallee de Joux, this darker tone of blue ceramic is used on the three models – two Royal Oak Offshore Chronographs and a Royal Oak Openworked Double Balance.Audemars Piguet's blue ceramic pays homage to the famous “Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50” tapisserie dial selected by Gerald Genta for the dial of the first Royal Oak in 1972 (reference 5402ST). Made by Geneva dial maker Stern, the dark blue “Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50” colour was obtained by adding black pigment no.50 to the protective varnish. The nuage or cloud effect was a chemical reaction produced by the small amount of black pigment poured into the liquid lacquer. Today, the distinctive in-house colour used on dials is obtained using

A Day with Jaeger-LeCoultre - Masterclass in Amsterdam - Monochrome Watches
Last month I had the pleasure of attending a Masterclass organized by Jaeger-LeCoultre. Several years ago I attended a similar Masterclass and now I was curious to see how much of my knowledge and “skills” remained.?The entire day was a lovely escape from any daily routine and very well organized, great place, great program, great food. And it gave much insight, again. Want to know how I did? Well, let me put it this way, after the Masterclass I respected watchmakers like I respect a good surgeon.?By the end of the day, we got to see many pieces from the current Jaeger-LeCoultre collection, so prepare for many wrist shots! Ad - Scroll to continue with article The Masterclass is something Jaeger-LeCoultre organizes for member of Le Club and people selected by Jaeger-LeCoultre dealers and their own boutiques. If you’re not a member of Le Club, th

Airain Type 20 Re-Edition Brown Limited Edition - Hands-On, Price
If you’ve been reading MONOCHROME for some time now, you might be aware of something about me; I have a long-lasting love affair with the Type XX and Type 20 watches. It is something I’ve shared over the years on many occasions since the Breguet Type XX is the watch that really started my journey as a collector. So when we received the news, about a year ago, that Airain – one of the original providers of Type 20 watches to the French army – was about to resurface, you can imagine that I was pretty excited. And when we saw the first images of the watch that was about to be launched, the excitement became even stronger. But today, we have a prototype of the Airain Type 20 Re-Edition with us, a brown dial limited edition version, to be precise. And it’s time for a good old hands-on session.?The Type 20 watches and AirainIt is no secret that pilots have been some of the most demanding users of watches in history. Since the conquest of the air, watches have be