Looking back at last year's Watches & Wonders highlights
We're only days away from travelling to Switzerland again (yes, finally!) and meeting up with our friends and colleagues from the watchmaking industry and affiliated media outlets. It will be stressful, running from appointment to appointment and seeing tons of watches (boohoo, have pity on us) and get the news out to you as soon as possible so you're all caught up on all the novelties to come. And as ever, when looking forward, it never hurts to look over one’s shoulder in the process. So with that in mind, we've looked back and listed what we think were the five stand-out novelties from Watches & Wonders 2021.IWC Big Pilot's Watch 43mmOut of the five selected watches, this one has certainly caused a lot of debate. While we applaud the introduction of the smaller, wrist-friendlier IWC Big Pilot's Watch 43, we also feel for the fact some people do not consider it a true Big Pilot's Watch. As it does without the emblematic 7-day power reserve indication or at least a subdial o

The Collector's Series - Richard and His Unique anOrdain Model 2
We've all come to this point where we see a watch, like a watch, but have that little tiny detail that somehow feels a bit out of place, or that we would have imagined differently Today, it's the story of a man and his tendency to always challenge the existing, to come and ask the brands if there's a way to change that little detail, to make the watch better to his eyes, more personal, more HIS watch. Richard (@mymese on Instagram) is a 53-year-old mobility data expert from Holland who has a preference for unusual watches, not necessarily the brands that everyone wants. Today, he discusses his special anOrdain Model 2, and this watch is HIS watch, a unique take that turns out to be very personal.?Frank Geelen, MONOCHROME – anOrdain is not a household name when it comes to watches. How did you discover this Scottish brand?Richard – It must have been somewhere online. I think I ran into anOrdain almost the same moment I read about the Paulin Neo (which is a cooperation model

Tudor 2014 News - Or What Would Love To See At Baselworld 2014 - Monochrome Watches
A few days ago, we gave you our thoughts on what could be ’ offering of novelties at the upcoming Baselworld fair. Tudor, having been in the shadow of big brother for some decades, have been working on a rather successful come-back in the past years. While doesn’t dwell on the past, Tudor on the other hand did do that and resurrected brilliantly by using their past. And like its big brother, they guard their secrets and the only way to for us to get a glimpse of their future is to dream up our desired 2014 Tudor novelties. As said, Tudor has quite a crush on vintage, their own vintage models that is. And we join them in having a crush on Tudor models of yesteryear. Like the old Submariner Snowflake, the Sub Big Crown, and the Big Block chronograph. These models found their way into the current collection, as Tudor introduced quite a few vintage-inspired models in the past years. Just think of the Heritage Chrono (inspired by the Monte-Carlo), the Black Bay (inspired by

Urban Jurgensen 1140RG - Hands-On Review (Specs & Price)
Every brand, at least those with a historical background, has?its own hallmarks, those unmistakable signs that create its?DNA, helping people to quickly identify a watch from a certain brand. For some, it is the shape of the case or a hand, for others it could be the complication used. For one brand, Urban Jurgensen, these are small details, however with such a level of execution that they deserve an entire story in this magazine – something that we’ll try to illustrate with the latest addition to the catalogue, the superb 1140RG in Rose Gold with a dark brown dial.The?Urban Jurgensen reference 1140 is a watch that we already covered here, when the brand unveiled a stunning?platinum version, with blue dial and applied Breguet numerals (yes, in this case, the name Breguet doesn’t only refer to the manufacture but also to the shape of the numerals, which have been widely used in the watch industry). In this case, we refer to the classical version of this watch, with a t

Swatch Group Half-Year Report 2019 Indicates Decline in Sales and Profitability - Business News
Swatch Group has just announced its first half-year report 2019 and the results aren’t positive. Both sales and profitability have been impacted, after a positive year 2018. However, the Swatch Group anticipates full-year revenue growth.At just over CHF 4 million, the group’s net sales are down 3.7% at constant exchange rates and down 4.4% at current rates. The operating result is down 13% at CHF 547 million. The net income is also impacted by the decline in sales. Ad - Scroll to continue with article As a comparison, Swiss Watch Exports have grown 4.1% over the first five months of 2019. The export statistics indicate an overall positive market trend. The industry performance is driven by the high-end segment but the entry-level segment – in which the Swatch Group is active with Hamilton, Mido, Tissot or Swatch – is under pressure.Swatch