Watches NEWS
Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Micro-Rotor - Review, Specs & Price
Except if you’ve been living in a cave for the past three or four years, you might well be aware that the hottest watch category these days is the so-called luxury sports watch. Based on 1970s inspirations, equipped with an integrated bracelet, mixing daily capacities with refined mechanics, they’ve become something of a necessity for any watchmaking brand that wants to be taken seriously. Can we blame them? Certainly not, all of these new contenders are simply answering market demand. Parmigiani Fleurier has recently decided that it wants a seat at the table, and preferably next to the main icons of the so-called Holy Trinity. And for that, it has created a completely new collection, including this Tonda PF Micro-Rotor. But is it any good?What is a luxury sports watch?We’ve explained what we consider are the key traits of a luxury sports watch many times in the past, but since there is no fixed definition, a quick reminder will be helpful. According to our own defini
Habring2 Doppel-Felix (by the man who created the IWC Doppelchronograph) - Monochrome Watches
In 2012 Habring2 introduced the Doppel 2.0, an affordable split-seconds chronograph based on a Valjoux 7750 chronograph. This was the same recipe that Richard Habring once developed for IWC Schaffhausen, which initially incorporated this movement in the Pilot Doppel Chronograph and later in other watches. When the patent expired, in 2012, Richard Habring was free to use this complication in watches with the Habring2 name on the dial, and that led to the Habring2 Doppel 2.0. In 2013 the Doppel 3.0 was introduced and last year?Habring2 presented the new Doppel-Felix that comes with an in-house split-seconds chronograph from Austria. Here’s the?Habring2 Doppel-Felix!?The Doppel 2.0 was an immediate success when it was launched. It sold out almost instantly and won the Sports Watch Prize at the 2012 GPHG.?A year later, Habring2 introduced the Doppel 3.0 (see here for the review) – again, a great success for Maria and Richard Habring. Now, with the Doppel-Felix, they have added
SIHH 2017 - Ulysse Nardin Marine Tourbillon Grand Feu Enamel (Price)
The marine world has been an integral part of Ulysse Nardin's history since 1846, when a young watchmaker named Ulysse Nardin created the first, highly-coveted marine deck chronometers. These precision navigational instruments – once prized by mariners and navies the world over – are?nowadays still the main source of inspiration for the Ulysse Nardin Marine Collection, arguably the best?know range of watches from?this oh so desirable manufacture. At SIHH 2017 we?welcome the Marine Tourbillon Grand Feu, a stunning new timepiece featuring a sleek, elegant and classical design coupled with?a brand new movement.The new?Ulysse Nardin Marine Tourbillon Grand Feu Enamel embodies all the traditional codes of the Marine Collection and of the antique Marine Chronometer that earned?the brand its reputation. It features the classical, elegant and legible Marine dial, with large diameter, clear background, long Roman numerals. and?has the traditional display with two sub-registers at 12
The Collector's Series: Up Close and Personal with the URWERK UR-103
Readers of The Collector's Series and the Collector's Corner know that I sometimes contribute to the column - writing articles for the series is just one more way for me to get excited about vintage watches. I read a little about a specific watch, go deeper down the rabbit hole, and before I know it, I'm looking for listings on Chrono24. Sometimes, I write weird, off-kilter posts like that time in October 2022 when I visited Ond?ej Berkus' atelier (and also a couple of weeks ago) and spent the day talking about watches and life with him. For this artistic freedom, I thank the team at MONOCHROME! This piece falls in that same vein. Call it my way of becoming better acquainted with a piece I own; call it the ramblings of someone who has now well and truly lost all his marbles. In any case, I hope you enjoy the ride. Because the story of this Urwerk UR-103 is quite a complex one.Editor’s Note: @aaaaaaaaaarian should be credited for some of the photos found in this article (images wi
Introducing the White-Dial Airain Type 20 ACE
Founded in 1934, Airain was well known for its Type 20 flyback chronographs in the mid-20th century, supplying the French military along with brands like Breguet and Mathey Tissot. These chronographs could be instantly reset to zero by pressing the 4 o'clock pusher via the flyback function and had specific requirements like a bidirectional 12-hour rotating bezel, 35-hour power reserve (minimum) and lume on both the hands and Arabic numerals. Airain didn't survive the quartz crisis and loss of French military contracts, but was revived in 2020. The Airain Type 20 ACE is the latest chrono model and introduces bold and modern styling from a collaboration with Dutch retailer Ace Jewelers.The stainless steel case is 39.5mm in diameter and 10.85mm in height (without the double-domed sapphire crystal), which is close to the original at approximately 38mm in diameter. There's a bidirectional 12-hour countdown bezel with black numbers and marks, and classic chrono pushers at 2 and 4 o'clock. Th
[Rating:(5 / 5 stars)]
