Just Because - The Important Watch Anniversaries to Know in 2023
Welcome to a new year. Welcome to 2023. If there’s one thing that watch brands love, it’s celebrating their heritage. Vintage has been one of the main inspirations for the past 10 to 15 years, and we’ve seen plenty of commemorative models released in 2022 – think about the 50-year Royal Oak. Why should 2023 be any different? There are important anniversaries coming up this year, and we can bet that watch brands will be releasing a spate of commemorative pieces. In fact, some even started at the end of 2022 or earlier today. So here are the watch anniversaries you should know about in 2023.110 Years – The Seiko Laurel (1913)Seiko, even though it was not called Seiko in its earliest days, was created in 1881 as a watch atelier. A few years later (1895), the Time Keeper, a pocket watch made in the newly opened Seikosha factory, was released. However, Seiko's most significant watch might well be the 1913 Laurel, the brand's and Japan's first wristwatch. And it

Girard-Perregaux Laureato 42mm Green Dial (Specs & Price)
The Laureato, Girard-Perregaux's take on the luxury sports watch, has a surprising history and was launched in 1975, just three years after Audemars Piguet unleashed Gerald Genta's game-changing Royal Oak. Following a period of hibernation, the Laureato made a tentative return in 2016 to celebrate the brand's grand 225th anniversary, followed by a fully-fledged collection in 2017. Having been treated to the ultra-luxurious solid pink gold model with a sleek onyx dial just two months ago, GP returns to sportier stainless steel and decks its time-only 42mm Laureato model with a fresh green dial.The first Laureato (Italian for graduate) of 1975 played the nascent luxury sports watch game to a tee. With its raised octagonal bezel, sleek lines, hobnail engraved dial and integrated steel bracelet, the comparisons to the Royal Oak were inevitable and no doubt welcome. However, unlike the Royal Oak, the Laureato was fitted with a slim, ultra-precise quartz movement. After all, GP had pioneered

Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Titanium Black Dial Hands-On
With six world records in six years, the Octo Finissimo legion marches forward to consolidate Bvlgari's ultra-thin watch empire. The Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT, which smashed the world record as the thinnest chronograph watch in 2019, returns in 2021 with a new black opaline dial and an on-trend sporty black rubber strap. And we’ll have a closer look at it today.a Sextet of Lean MachinesBvlgari's conquering campaign of ultra-thin watches initiated in 2014 and was commandeered by the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon with its 5mm thick case. Determined to cover the gamut of classic complications, the tourbillon was followed in 2016 with the thinnest minute repeater, and in 2017 by the world's slimmest automatic watch (recently upstaged by Piaget's Altiplano Ultimate Concept). In 2018 the Octo Finissimo Automatic Tourbillon was released, the thinnest automatic and tourbillon watch at just 3.95mm, succeeded by the Chronograph GMT of 2019. Last year marked the sixth conquest with the wor

Announcement - Xavier Markl Joins MONOCHROME as Director of Business Development - Monochrome Watches
At the end of last year we announced that Tom Mulraney and Matthew Catellier?would be strengthening our team. Today we can report that Xavier Markl joins our team as Director of Business Development. You might be familiar with his name already, he wrote our Technical Perspective guides, providing a?concise introduction to all things technical when it comes to?wristwatches. Xavier isn’t new to the watch industry by any stretch having amassed an impressive career working for some of the most esteemed brands.Xavier lives and works in Switzerland. After working for Cartier in various positions?for seven years, and then a further eleven years for Girard-Perregaux as International Marketing Director, we can safely assume that the world of watches holds no big secrets for him.?In his new role as Director of Business Development, Xavier will be?focusing on new business, and will also continue to support the team with content directly from Switzerland. This way Monochrome Watches has easy

Introducing the IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Monopusher Chronograph (specs & price) - Monochrome-Watches
Recently, IWC introduced a unique edition of the Portofino launched at the occasion of the?Tribeca Film Festival 2015, a watch that later had been auctioned by Christie’s. Surprisingly, this unique timepiece came with a brand new movement,?never seen before in?the rest of the Portofino collection: a hand-wound mono-pusher chronograph. However, we knew?this was?not just a unique attempt, this was?a launching piece for?IWC's new in-house Hand-Wound 8-Days Monopusher chronograph movement – and here is now the regular edition. Please welcome the?IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Monopusher.Basically, this new?IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Monopusher Chronograph is a mechanical (but not visual) evolution of the actual?IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days.?Until now, IWC's Hand-Wound 8-Day calibre, a large movement that can be found for example in the Portuguese Hand-Wound 8 Days - 75th Anniversary Edition, featured a small off-center?second display (at 6 o'clock), a power reserve indicator (at