Kudoke HANDwerk 1, a typical handmade German watch - Monochrome Watches
German watches are typically free from any unnecessary details. No frills, no fuss, just clean, elegant watches. Whether you look at brands like A. Lange & Sohne, Glashutte Original,?Moritz Grossmann or at smaller independent brands, most of them offer very elegantly, stylish watches. One of these independents is Stefan Kudoke, founder and watchmaker of Kudoke Watches. Besides his intricately detailed skeletonised and engraved pieces, his HANDwerk collection reveals typical German traits. We go hands-on with the Kudoke HANDwerk 1.Who is Stefan Kudoke?Stefan Kudoke is new here on MONOCHROME Watches, but has been active for over ten years now, with his brand Kudoke Watches. Usually, this kind of storyline continues describing the lineage someone has in watchmaking, through either a father or grandfather or whatnot, but Stefan's story is a little different. With no family background in watchmaking, Stefan started his education from scratch. Under the guidance of his teachers, he learn

Introducing the Nomos Neomatik First Edition, including champagne dials & DUW 3001 Calibre (specs & price) - Monochrome-Watches
Remember, a few days after Baselworld 2015, we showed a preview of the new Nomos Minimatik, a brand new design from the Glashutte-based manufacture but mainly a completely new movement, the in-house, ultra-slim, self-winding DUW 3001. We’ve been surprised to see such an achievement from a quite young brand (not so young anymore with?25 yeas of existence) and such a price (below €3,000)… What we didn’t know was?that this movement is now the starting point of a new collection, the Nomos Neomatik First Edition (based 5 watches from the brand: Tangente, Orion, Ludwig, Metro & Minimatik) that standardize the DUW 3001 and brings champagne dials.Reminder about the Calibre DUW 3001The Nomos Calibre DUW 3001 is a flat movement – a very flat one indeed. And it’s an fully in-house movement, with self-winding mechanism. It’s not the first manufacture?movement from the brand, as they already have in stock the?complicated automatic calibre Epsilon that can be

Value Proposition - Laco Cuxhaven And Bremerhaven (Review)
Laco is a brand that sometimes flies under the radar (notably in America), overshadowed by German counterparts like Sinn, Junghans and MeisterSinger. It should definitely not be overlooked as it offers compelling, military-inspired watches at attainable prices. The brand is also older than two of the three mentioned above and is perhaps best known as one of five producers of the B-Uhren Observation Watches. There's currently a healthy portfolio of Laco mechanical pieces from pilot and navy watches to chronographs and classics (and B-Uhr reproductions). Today, we have the new Cuxhaven and Bremerhaven Navy watches on hand with old-school, hand-wound ETA movements, differentiated only by dial colour. Let's take a closer look at this intriguing pair from a brand you should probably know more about.BackgroundLaco was founded in 1925 as Lacher & Co. (La from Lacher and co from Co.) in Pforzheim, Germany. The original founders, Frieda Lacher and Ludwig Hummel, found success early on and H

Montblanc Star Legacy Orbis Terrarum Gold Limited Edition - Review
Back in 2014, Montblanc introduced the Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum Worldtimer, which brought an accessible price to a traditionally expensive complication. World timers are often the darlings of Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe and the like, but Montblanc helped usher in more affordable options along with Frederique Constant and a handful of others. The new Star Legacy Orbis Terrarum heads north on the price with a limited edition 18k rose gold case and accents but offers a stunning overall package without an astronomical price. Larger than before and with a monochromatic colour palette, Montblanc's latest limited piece is a solid entry into luxury world timers.?BackgroundWorld time was established in 1884 (24 time zones) and it took some time for watchmakers to develop a complication to accommodate world travellers. Swiss watchmaker Louis Cottier created the first mechanism to display world time in 1930 and Vacheron Constantin capitalised on this in 1932 with a pocket watch. It

REVIEW: Oris Artelier Calibre 112 - Monochrome Watches
Although it was launched at Baselworld 2016, we took some time to finally get hands on with the Oris Artelier Calibre 112. One of the reasons was that we had to reflect on the watch, its mechanics and how to position it. Its rather clean, classic, certainly not too small and manly design, is something it shares with a well-known Swiss brand that used to pride itself on these characteristics. Add to that the?10-day power reserve of the Oris and the resemblance only becomes more obvious. One way or another, Oris is delivering a magnificent package for the price, and should certainly be considered if you’re looking for a nice, fly-under-the-radar, powerful watch.?So, without any further delay, please enjoy our review of the Oris Artelier Calibre 112.?Some brief historyIn 2014, entry-level watch brand, Oris, did something completely unexpected. To celebrate the brand's 110th anniversary, the company launched its very own, in-house developed movement: Calibre 110. This was a momentous