Watches NEWS
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph Smoked Dial / Platinum 26332PT (SIHH 2018)
Now that the big stress linked to the opening of SIHH 2018 is gone, it is time for us to look at some of the?less important novelties. Alongside the RD#2 (the thinnest automatic?QP ever), Audemars has many other watches to show in the 2018 collection, including this one, a new version of the?Royal Oak Chronograph with a smoked slate grey dial. Nothing revolutionary here, just a cool looking watch – but not for every pocket though.Not all the watches presented in the SIHH 2018 collections are to be seen as highlights. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, as most of the new models are just variations of existing timepieces. This doesn’t prevent us from being pleased by some of them, however. This is exactly what happened with this new?Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph ref. 26332PT. It is just cool… Already known for sure, but still cool. Ad - Scroll to continue with article
Interview - Jupp Philipp, New Owner of Fortis, on Reviving the Brand
Founded in 1912 by Walter Vogt in Grenchen, Switzerland, Fortis is known for manufacturing rugged, functional watches with a forte for pilot and cosmonaut watches. Among the milestones in the brand's rich history, Fortis has to be credited for its role (along with British watchmaker John Harwood) in the development of the automatic wristwatch in the early 1920s. Just a few months ago, the company was acquired by Jupp Philipp.?As the confinement period comes to an end here in Switzerland, we sat down with the new Fortis owner and CEO to talk about his plans to revive this fascinating brand.Xavier Markl, MONOCHROME – Thanks for welcoming us here in Grenchen. How did you manage the confinement period?Jupp Philipp, Fortis – We have taken advantage of the quiet period. There is so much to do when relaunching a brand like Fortis. We worked from home 10 hours a day, planning the future of Fortis with the management team, in particular, the new collections and new design. We have d
Collector's Corner - The iconic Cartier Tank Americaine
We've spent quite a lot of time talking about sports watches in The Collector's Corner. In the last article, we took a look at the Breguet Type XX, but now we head back to the realm of the dress watch. No more dress complications this time - we've had quite a few of those already (both from JLC and from Breguet). No, now we talk about the pinnacle of the dress watch: time-only, and what better way to highlight this than to talk about a watch made by Cartier? The jewellery house excels in unconventional and daring designs, and though many of their most iconic watch case shapes date back to the first half of the 20th century, our subject today is the spring chicken of the bunch.Cartier's iconic rectangular wristwatch, the Tank, was born in 1917 and said to be inspired by the stark lines of Renault FT-17 tanks. In the decades since, the Tank design was iterated on but the focus always lay on elegance and on pushing the boundaries of case shapes (Tank Chinoise or Asymetrique, anyone?). Ind
Hands-On: Some Thoughts about the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6196P
If you ask yourself what’s the most classic dress watch ever made by Patek, and probably one of the most important models of the category, the answer should ultimately be the Calatrava. Not much to debate here. The collection, created in 1932 with the reference 96, has had such an influence on the watch industry that the word icon is legitimate in this context. But in recent years, there’s been Calatravas and Calatravas… with pilot-inspired watches or weekly calendars. What matters today is the 96 lineage, the essential, timeless Calatrava. Luckily, the one we all have in mind has returned this year with the launch of the Calatrava 6196P. And here’s what I think about it.What is a Patek Philippe Calatrava (the 96 lineage)When we think about the Calatrava, we must immediately mention the all-important reference 96 by Patek Philippe, the watch that not only started this collection but also 1. saved Patek back in the days,? 2. launched a new style of case construct
Buying Guide: The Very Best Of The Many Faces Of The Tissot PRX
When launched just a couple of short years ago, the Tissot PRX pretty much became an overnight sensation. Its sleek design, robust mechanical movement and above all its very modest sticker price skyrocketed the PRX to become one of the best-selling watches not only for Tissot but in the whole industry for years. Pretty much everywhere you go, you seem to run into a PRX of some description. With a collection that’s maturing very nicely, and now even ventures into forged carbon, the PRX proves to be quite a versatile gem! But with such a wide and deep range on offer, what are the ones to look out for? Which of the models do we think are the very best of what is an overall very good collection in itself? The answer lies in this week’s Buying Guide, and let’s get straight into it!the basic oneThe simplest can sometimes be the best, so the PRX Powermatic 40mm in classical black remains one of the best in the collection. It was part of the inaugural series of mechanical PRX
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