Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari World's Thinnest Mechanical Watch
If anybody thought the main contenders in the battle for ultra-thin mechanical watches were Bulgari and Piaget, today's news is going to come as a big surprise. Just months after Bulgari's launch of the Octo Finissimo Ultra, the previous world's thinnest mechanical watch with a 1.80mm profile, Richard Mille steps on the accelerator and steals pole position from Bulgari with its mind-blowing 1.75mm thick RM UP-01 Ferrari. However, there is another astonishing fact about the Richard Mille watch, which has to do with its construction. Unlike Piaget and Bulgari's ultra-thin watches, which use the caseback as a baseplate, Richard Mille has assembled the 1.18mm manual-winding movement INSIDE the case. A limited edition of 150 timepieces, the RM UP-01 is the first watch to emerge from the brand's recent alliance with Ferrari.Il SorpassoWho could have seen this coming? In one of the most intrepid and exciting sorpassi (overtaking) in the watch world, Bulgari's 1.80mm thin Octo Finissimo Ultra

The Breitling 765 AVI / Co-Pilot Series of Watches - Part III - Monochrome Watches
The introduction of the automatic chronograph movement was a cataclysmic event for the Swiss watch industry. Up to this point there were only two kinds of watches: the self-winding watch, and the chronograph. In 1969 however this discord passed into history. A fusion of these two became a new reality. In this third and final part of the history of the Breitling 765 AVI / Co-Pilot we are going to examine the impact that the automatic chronograph had for the Avi-Co-Pilot family of chronographs up to their demise in the late 1970's.Returning to the AVI/Co-Pilot series we must stress that initially, the introduction of the automatic chronograph did not have any major impact?in the lineup. However, the year 1969 marked a radical departure. The watches grew up a little bit, from 41mm bezel diameter to a 42.4 mm diameter, however were still powered by the manually wound chronograph calibres. There were three ‘new’ references, plus one. First of all the ref.7650, which was basicall

Buying Guide - Best Automotive-Inspired Chronographs of 2022 (So Far)
There is a good reason why we run the Petrolhead Corner column every Saturday on MONOCHROME. Petrolheads are very often attracted to?watches and watch aficionados usually have a thing for cars too. This is simply the result of a fascination for all things mechanical. In this respect, it comes as no surprise that automotive-inspired watches are legion. Since we are almost closing in on the first half of the year, it is an appropriate time to recap 5 cool car-themed watches of 2022. And without surprise, all are chronographs – because that's what you need to time a race or calculate an average speed.TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf Special Edition Calibre Heuer 02The Monaco is one of the most iconic models in the history of TAG Heuer. Graced with the Gulf livery, it is a watch with a smell of fuel and adrenaline Legendary names such as Le Mans, the Porsche 917, or Steve Mc Queen inevitably come to mind. The 2022 TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf Special Edition is a slightly more refined, less blatant ta

Orange is the New Black: the new Seamaster Planet Ocean Orange Ceramic - Monochrome Watches
Omega introduces the new Seamaster Planet Ocean Orange Ceramic. If Piper Kerman's book, Orange is the New Black, or Netflix's popular series adapted from the book, hadn't seared orange into the cultural consciousness, then Omega brings this orange world premiere of only eight pieces. After a slew of 2013 black watches from various companies, Omega's Dark Side of the Moon Speedmaster being one of them, we find an extravagant redirection.Orange has been a popular accent to the Plant Ocean model, appearing previously on the bezel, but now comes on a ceramic bezel. Ceramic is a light weight, space age material, which is highly scratch resistant and difficult to produce in color. Omega showcases its mastery of the material with an exuberant, patent pending orange ceramic bezel. Now we have a ceramic bi-directional 24-hour GMT orange bezel, orange leather strap with highlight stitching and platinum clasp, an included orange rubber strap with changing tool, orange aluminum 6 - 9 - 12 numerals

The brand new Vacheron Constantin Overseas Automatic 4500V - Monochrome Watches
In the new Overseas Collection, Vacheron introduced the highly desirable ultra-thin edition of the Vacheron Constantin Overseas. This watch clearly brings back VC where it deserves to be, in the top 3 of the luxury sports watches. However, there’s a major issue with the ultra-thin edition: it is rather expensive and not every collector will have pockets large enough to afford it. No worries, if you intend to buy a time-only Overseas, Vacheron-Constantin also has another solution, more affordable and not void of interest (at all). Here is the?brand new Vacheron Constantin Overseas Automatic 4500V, with its stainless steel case (but also a pink gold option) and all new in-house movement.Don’t consider the?Vacheron Constantin Overseas Automatic 4500V as the poor-man Overseas. Consider it at the classical offer and imagine the ultra-thin edition as the luxurious one. In fact, this edition replaces the actual time-only Overseas that we know for several years now – and look