A Visit to The Hour Glass Malmaison Boutique in Singapore - Monochrome Watches
Singapore has a host of attractions to lure business and leisure travelers. Boasting a population that is virtually 100% watch enthusiasts, the city-state can claim a boutique that takes luxury living to the next level!?Over the Chinese New Year's holiday I was in Singapore with my family. ANY trip to Singapore necessitates at least one jaunt to Orchard Road to look for my two vices, watches and fountain pens. It was on that jaunt that I came across Malmaison. The fa?ade and window display had enough to lure me in: several high-end brands of watches and a large sign signifying that it was part of the Hour Glass group of stores. Ad - Scroll to continue with article (For those of you who do not know the Hour Glass, they are the top retailer of luxury watches in Singapore, and have outlets throughout Southeast Asia.)Walking in you are greeted by familiar faces': Hu

Pre SIHH 2015: The new IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Pure Classic - Monochrome Watches
Shortly before Christmas, and also shortly before the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie starts. This means that we get to show you more novelties, and today we get to show you the newest IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Pure Classic: a?classically styled, hand-wound, dress watch. Although that might sound boring for some, we suggest to take a closer look because it’s an IWC, and there some typical IWC ingredients as well.IWC’s Portofino collection?is a clean, simple and lovely balanced collection. No loud colours, no crazy design. However the size of pretty much all models in this collection was quite… manly. The diameter of most all models are?42mm or 45mm,?except?the Portofino Automatic that measures a modest 40mm in diameter. Just a few months ago IWC added no less than?20 new models?of more discrete dimensions?that comprise both Portofino Automatic models (40mm) and a new mid-size models that measure 36mm. The newest addition to the collection is the IWC Portofin

Hands on: The Nivada Grenchen Chronosport
Returning to the scene in 2020 with Guillaume Laidet at the helm, Nivada Grenchen had plenty of tricks up its sleeve thanks to its rich repertoire of mid-20th-century tool watches. Reviving some of its most famous models –? the Chronomaster, the Depthmaster, or the Super Antarctic – Nivada Grenchen has gained a cult following among fans of vintage revivals that won’t burn a hole in your pocket. However, the Chronosport we'll be looking at today is a true rarity that never made it into full-scale production. A multipurpose instrument with chronograph functions and 200m water-resistance, the Chronosport, which surfaced as a prototype in the early 1970s, has provided the blueprint for its 21st-century revival.Founded in 1926 by Jacob Schneider in Granges, Nivada Grenchen was one of the first watch brands to produce automatic watches in 1930. It introduced its first automatic waterproof model, the Antarctic, in 1950. If you are interested in the brand's history, Brice's a

Hands-On - Patek Philippe 5320G-011 Perpetual Calendar Salmon (Price)
Some watches are more special than others… The fact that we’re talking about a perpetual calendar manufactured by Patek Philippe is already a first clue. The fact that it’s a salmon dial watch with a white metal case is only adding to this specialness… Right, but what truly makes the 5320G Perpetual Calendar special, whether this new salmon version or the recently discontinued cream-coloured version here, is the design, its inspiration and its overall vintage elegance. This watch was surprising when first launched in 2017, and the new rose gold-coloured opaline dial brings an even more desirable dimension to this watch. And here is it live.?A watch inspired by multiple historic modelsAs we’ve explained recently in our articles about the Annual Calendar Travel Time 5326G and the Green Lacquered 5270P, Patek has changed. It has evolved mostly on the design side, with watches that are in line with the expectations of a new, younger clientele who desire edgier

In-Depth: Diving with the New ZRC Grands Fonds Heterium
ZRC is a Swiss brand that seems to live on the shadowy periphery of the watch world. Despite being founded over 120 years ago, I can count the times they have come up in casual watch conversations on no hands. That is to say, it never happens. Even when I agreed to take this new ZRC Grands Fonds Heterium for a diving test and check it out, I was thinking to myself, “Those are the ones with the crown on the bottom right?” and “…something to do with the French Navy?” This represented my entire knowledge of the brand, so I was excited to do some research and finally learn a concrete fact or two. After digging into it, I have concluded it's a crying shame that we don’t talk about ZRC Watches more often, so hopefully we can turn over that new leaf together, starting right here and right now. Let's start with a little history.Brand HistoryFounded in 1904 in Geneva by Edmond Zuccolo and Joseph Rochet, ZRC spent their early years as a purveyor of chains for