Where does the name of your favourite watch model come from? - Monochrome Watches
Ever wonder how watches got their names? A few weeks ago we told you about the brand names and their origin. Today we’re going to look at the watch model names. With hundreds of past and present watches, what has been the inspiration for watchmakers and brands to call them certain names? Some are pretty straight forward, other more obscure. Finding a great name is not an easy task and is often essential to the success of a new watch. It needs to fit within the brand’s universe, while also telling its own story. It needs to be relevant, easily pronounceable, memorable and discoverable (in particular for internet search engines today). Ideally this shall be valid in different languages and for different cultures. Lastly, with the purpose of legally protecting the product's name with a trademark application in class 14 (which includes jewellery and watches), brands need to make sure there is no infringement of an existing trademark. Monochrome looks at the back stories of some

IWC Portugieser Hand-Wound Eight Days Edition 150 Years (SIHH 2018) - Monochrome Watches
IWC is celebrating a major milestone this year and has been previewing pieces from the epic 150 Years collection that are?now presented in full at SIHH 2018. So far, we've seen some exceptionally complicated pieces, like the Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Edition 150 Years and the Portugieser Constant Force Tourbillon Edition 150 years, which highlight the company's technical prowess. Today, however, we're looking at something a little more modest, the Portugieser Hand-Wound Eight Days Edition 150 Years (Ref. 5102).As you may know already, I have something of a soft spot when it comes to the IWC Portugeiser, particularly hand-wound versions. I myself often wear a hand-wound Ref. 5454 in my regular rotation. There's just something about that clean dial layout and the large(ish) but relatively thin case that really works in my opinion. Thankfully, IWC has not tried to do anything too clever with this special 150 Years edition of its iconic hand-wound Portugieser, but has inste

Introducing The New Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton Gets With New Sizes And Colours
The charm of a mechanical watch mostly lies in the fact it is a completely analogue experience. It’s the sensation of a rotor whizzing away as you move or wind a watch by hand, to power a mechanism of gears and levers to tell time the old-fashioned way that excites us the most. Usually, that spectacle is viewed only from the back, if at all, but in some cases, you get a glimpse of a watch’s inner workings from the front as well. One such watch is the Jazzmaster Skeleton, a long-standing model in the ever-popular Jazzmaster range by Hamilton. The new Jazzmaster Skeleton balances the classique aesthetics of the casual yet dressy watch and jazzes it up (pardon the pun) with new dial designs and colours, as well as a new 36mm size.The cases look virtually identical in design to the previous editions of the Jazzmaster Skeleton (and Open Heart for that matter) yet Hamilton has slightly reworked them and now introduces it in a reduced 36mm alongside the existing 40mm size. Accordi

Just Because: The Lang & Heyne Georg Versus Anton
Have you ever found yourself torn between two rather similar-looking watches and not knowing which one to go for? I’m pretty sure we’ve all experienced this at some point, maybe even two watches from the same brand. The choice of a blue or green dial, or any other colour for that matter, can already be a tough one to make. I had that very experience recently when I was at Lang & Heyne and handled the Georg and Anton, two rectangular masterpieces with very similar looks but very different mechanics.The Lang & Heyne GeorgFor those unfamiliar with the Georg and the Anton by Lang & Heyne, they might not appear to be that different. Granted, there are a lot of similarities between the two, but don’t be fooled by its looks alone. The Georg and Anton are the only two non-round (or square, to simplify) watches coming from the German high-end manufacturer. The Art Deco-inspired case comes in stainless steel (Georg only) or

In-Depth - The MING 19.01 With Exclusive Movement By Schwarz Etienne (With Live Photos) - Monochrome Watches
A few months ago, we introduced you to a brand new, Malaysian-based brand called MING and their debut timepiece, the MING 17.01. Designed by famed watch photographer Ming Thein, this break-out watch sold out almost immediately (thanks in no small part to its US$900 price tag.) Impressively, just a few months later, Ming and his team have already unveiled their second watch; the MING 19.01. With a radical design, a Swiss Made movement and an extra zero on the price tag, this new timepiece has definitely gotten the watch world talking. Read on for all the details.MING X Schwarz EtienneBy way of a quick refresher for those who missed all the hype surrounding the first MING watch, the brand's creator and namesake, Ming Thein, is a well-known commercial photographer based in Malaysia. His client list includes brands like Koenigsegg, Nissan, Maybank and the City of London. In the watch world, he's worked with companies like Jaeger-LeCoultre, Van Cleef & Arpels, Maitres du Temps, Richemon