Today marks the start?of the “Monochrome Video Week“. Over the next?five days we will be showing recent, as yet unpublished videos that we shot on?location in Villeret, Neuchatel and Geneva. The week culminates on?Friday with our most-viewed videos, also filmed on location in Glashutte (Germany), and in Switzerland in Biel, Geneva and V.................. 2016-12-12 More

Time for the next give-away on Monochrome to celebrate our 10th anniversary, and this time we can give away 5 sets from A. Lange & Sohne. The beautiful German watch brand, who just launched the renewed Lange 1 Moonphase Day/Night, ?provided us with 5 x the book “Sign of the Times”, 5 x a Lange notebook and 5 rollerballs.?The book, w.................. 2016-12-11 More

Following our previous guides about the best sports watches, the best dress watches and the best ultra-complicated watches of 2016, it’s time for us now to look at one of the main watch categories of them all, and I mean by that the chronographs. Chronographs are amongst the most sold timepieces, they are amongst the most sought-after in auct.................. 2016-12-10 More

I must admit that, when the Tudor Heritage Black Bay 36 Ref. 79500 was introduced at Baselworld 2016, I was quite indifferent towards it. Instead my attention?was focused on?all the other Black Bay's, the black, the total black and the bronze. These I said to myself were proper watches, bold, and greatly executed. The 36mm meanwhile was a watch I j.................. 2016-12-09 More

Today, increasing numbers of shark species are facing extinction. More than 100 million sharks are caught every year whilst continued over-fishing depletes their nutritional resources. To help awareness about this issue, IWC is about to launch a specific limited edition of its Aquatimer Chronograph, the?Edition “Sharks”, with specific d.................. 2016-12-08 More

The?Montblanc 1858 Collection certainly is one of our favorites here, at Monochrome. It indeed pays tribute to the military roots of the Villeret manufacture and the 1930s pilot watches produced at that time by Minerva (now part of Montblanc). Large diameters, highly contrasted dials, cathedral hands… all sounds perfectly vintage and faithful.................. 2016-12-08 More

The Lange 1 has been?the?anchor?of the A. Lange & Sohne collection since the brand’s re-emergence in 1994. Back then it was considered quite a disruptive piece, although still exceptionally elegant… and it still is. Another recurring theme at A. Lange & Sohne is the moon, which can be found on several watches from?the Saxonian M.................. 2016-12-07 More

A few days ago, right from the Miami Contemporary Art week, TAG Heuer and its CEO, Jean-Claude Biver (also President of the LVMH Watch Division), announced the appointment of American street-artist Alec Monopoly as Art Provocateur for the Avant-Garde brand. Well, as you may have seen already (it was all over social medial feeds), some reacted quite.................. 2016-12-06 More

After going through some of?2016's best sport watches and 2016's best dress watches, it is now time for our Christmas shopping guide to gather some of the most striking complicated watches released in 2016. Be ready to break the piggy bank open as we'll go at the cutting edge of watchmaking, with some of the most inventive, complex and intricate me.................. 2016-12-05 More

Following its?launch in 1995, the IWC Portugieser Chrono-graph Rattrapante (Ref. 3712) quickly gained?the status of icon. For a start it was?a?Portugieser (which alone makes this watch totally emblematic of the?Schaffhausen-based manufacture) plus it?also featured?quite a special split-second chronograph complication. Yes, it is a rattrapante but t.................. 2016-12-05 More

The Alpina Diver Heritage, a homage?to the vintage Alpina Seastrong 10, is another retro re-edition of an old vintage diver ‘Super Compressor’ model from?the 1970’s. I think that in this case it’s fair to say Alpina has chosen wisely in?responding to the vintage-inspired trend, a strategy successfully adopted by many other b.................. 2016-12-02 More

After going through some of 2016’s best sport watches, it is time for our Christmas shopping guide to make dressing up easier. You might have noticed that we have a weak spot for nice and stylish dress watches, and we’re pleased that so many new dress watches saw the light of day in 2016. We sat down with the team and selected ten of th.................. 2016-11-30 More

Earlier this?year we introduced you to the stainless steel Ulysse Nardin Classico Manufacture with enamel dial, which?we loved.?Now it’s time to introduce its sister (yes, a watch is female: la montre), the Classico Manufacture with blue sun-ray dial. The other day we had the opportunity to?view this incredibly beautiful looking dress watch?w.................. 2016-11-29 More

When we gave away the first IWC Wall Clock, Monochrome’s managing editor Brice Goulard was enjoying a well-deserved vacation. Today he’s on his way to Miami to join the TAG Heuer team at Art Basel in Miami. However back on topic… we’re giving away a second IWC wall clock! The first give-away was already hugely successful and.................. 2016-11-29 More

Today, our readers on the other side of the Atlantic are celebrating Thanksgiving, and while this day doesn’t make a lot of sense for those in Old Europe or Asia, it however opens the?festive?season. And who says festive season says Christmas and our usual buying guides – and also an overview of the best watches we’ve seen this ye.................. 2016-11-25 More

Pairing up what is certainly the most emblematic sports-car manufacture, Ferrari, with what might be the most hyped watch brand, Hublot, and you have as a result a?strong, flamboyant bond. Since 2011, these two?brands joined forces to create watches that are in the vein of the philosophy of both the car brand and the watch brand: strong, bold, high.................. 2016-11-24 More

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre is a collection that really stands apart in?JLC’s catalogue. The?watches?boast a unique style, practical?complications and exceptionally interesting movement architecture. Ahead of the upcoming Geneva Watch Fair, the SIHH 2017, the brand is previewing?3 new?versions from this collection that will be launched next.................. 2016-11-23 More

Breitling was founded in 1884 and right from the start the company specialised in chronographs. In fact?it’s fair to say that many of the modern-day chronograph characteristics?we know and love can be attributed – at least in part – to developments undertaken by?the company. In 1942, Breitling introduced the first watch with a cir.................. 2016-11-22 More

There's a common saying that car' guys are watch' guys. Behind this aphorism though is a real connection fueled by the love of fine mechanics, performance and passion. As a result collaborations between watch and car manufacturers have flourished - for the better or worse. Case in point, Zenith and Land Rover recently announced their first watch c.................. 2016-11-21 More

Crafted for adventures. Panerai's history was shaped by the needs of the Italian Navy, that it has supplied with precision instruments and watches for years. Designing tool watches, robust products for facing the most extreme situations, is the brand's raison d'¨ºtre. This rugged character made Panerai the perfect companion for Mike's Horn expeditio.................. 2016-11-19 More

At Baselworld 2016, Doxa introduced its 50th Anniversary Sub300 model, a great dive watch with unquestionable pedigree. So we, at Monochrome, eagerly waited for a prototype to arrive at the HQ for a review. Once a black-dial Sharkhunter variant received, we immediately put it to its paces comparing, debating and discussing about it. That is the pur.................. 2016-11-18 More

After several collections based on the Heritage Black Bay, Tudor Watches gets back into the game of the rugged, professional-oriented and modern watches with a new version of its tool watch: the Pelagos. After a first version introduced in 2012, with a black dial, followed by a revamp in 2015, with the addition of a blue dial and the introduction o.................. 2016-11-17 More

As you probably?know,?Ulysse Nardin will no longer be exhibiting at?Baselworld and?will instead be part of the Geneva-based show, the SIHH – alongside all the Richemont brands, many independents and the other Kering-owned brand, Girard-Perregaux. Thus, we bring you the first piece of?pre-SIHH piece of news related to Ulysse Nardin. Ahead of?t.................. 2016-11-16 More

When it comes to unique displays of the time, you probably thought you’ve already seen everything: wandering hours, chains, magnetic balls, liquid-filled capillary, rotating prisms… Same goes in terms of complications and construction?of the overall watch. Well, think again. The?Ressence Type 3 features both a highly unusual display and.................. 2016-11-16 More

Debuted in 2014, the Bulgari Octo Finissimo (Italian for extra-flat) collection is both a design statement and a testament to the brand's watchmaking expertise. This collection is part of Bulgari’s Octo line that comprises of three collections: the Octo Solotempo, the Octo Velocissimo (two years ago we showed you the special edition for Masse.................. 2016-11-12 More

When we refer to Japan and its watch industry everyone, and rightly so, instantly think of one company: Seiko. However, there is more than that. Although Seiko has produced a large number of excellent, iconic and historical timepieces, it is unfair to forget other companies like Citizen. In this article we are going to examine one of the most iconi.................. 2016-11-11 More

Master crafts fuse together again? What do hunting arms and watches have in common? Hunting arms are meant to kill or to keep wildlife growth under control. Watches may be used to kill time but usually it is to read time. Continue reading if you want to know what the similarities are? And why Lebeau-Courally, a sponsor of the Zoute Grand Prix event.................. 2016-11-11 More

Just like?the media and?entertainment industry, the watchmaking world has its own set of awards; the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve or GPHG 2016 – affectionately known as the Watchmaking World’s?Academy Awards. Last year, the Grand Prix was given to Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey?for their Tourbillon 24 Secondes Inclined Vis.................. 2016-11-10 More

As we’ve seen in our two first episodes of “Tudor and its Heritage“, the brand made an important move into sports watches in the middle of the 1950s, starting with the Submariners, followed by the Ranger. These vintage pieces formed the basis for the creation of two current watches, the Heritage Black Bay and the Heritage Ranger, .................. 2016-11-10 More

Yes, this watch is advertised as a ladies’ watch. Yes, it does celebrate 40 years of Royal Oak for ladies (as the first one was introduced in 1976 and?designed by Jacqueline Dimier). But, on the other hand, this watch has everything of?the iconic 1972 Jumbo and the current 41mm men’s version, just in a smaller 37mm case – ?which i.................. 2016-11-09 More

With the?L.U.C Full Strike, Chopard Watches’?high-end collection welcomes a minute repeater, a complication never explored by the brand, and launched as the crowning point of the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the Chopard Manufacture. We’ve seen some tourbillons, some perpetual calendars with?chronograph, super slim and ec.................. 2016-11-09 More

I hated every minute of training, but I said: Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion. Could this be the silver-tongued boxing champion's own version of Don't crack under pressure? Muhammad Ali was not just one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, he was also a vocal civil right activist with a legendary never.................. 2016-11-09 More

While the race for presidency in the USA is going on until the last minute, we’ll of course focus… on watches! And in the world of watches, we also have elections. Just two weeks ago I attended the gala award ceremony for the election of the Watch of the Year, organised by our friends of Chronos24 in Poland. And this Thursday, when we f.................. 2016-11-08 More

When you're on the hunt for your perfect watch, or even just a compulsory purchase, there is a lot out there to lust after. For example, when it comes to dive watches we've seen that there are a lot more than just Submariners, Seamasters or Panerais to choose from, which is great especially if you are shopping with somewhat of a limited budget. Cas.................. 2016-11-08 More

Hublot is no stranger for doing the unorthodox thing, whether it being on the technical side or on the aesthetical side. Talk about innovative technical prowess and the Hublot LaFerrari pops up. Mention weird or wonderful materials and perhaps you think of the Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti, with its leather dials. Now though, Hublot incorporates a .................. 2016-11-07 More

Over the centuries some watch manufactures have grown to an almost mythical status, becoming legends, and not only among watch collectors. Their fame has transcended the circle of initiates to gain worldwide recognition. As always with legends however, there remains gray areas. One such example is Patek Philippe. Many have tried to shed light on th.................. 2016-11-06 More

Telling you that the watchmaking industry is now facing some troubles won’t be the biggest piece of news you’ll have today. It is now known; the Swiss industry is in tough period, sales are decreasing, profits are lower and stocks are massively increasing at retailers. This situation seemed to be quite a secret for a year or so, but now.................. 2016-11-04 More

Last week, we started a new series of articles named “Tudor and Its Heritage“. As you might have guessed, we are here looking at how Tudor Watches successfully drew the lines of the Heritage collection by looking at some of its glorious vintage watches, however not copying them, but re-interpretating some key elements into a modern pack.................. 2016-11-02 More

It is with great pleasure that we welcome two gentlemen?to the Monochrome team, who will be helping us out to cover what we at Monochrome feel are great watches. The Monochrome selection so to say. Tom is Monochrome’s “man in London” and will cover everything that’s important, horologically speaking, from the UK and London i.................. 2016-11-02 More

In the 1970s, the post-war global economic boom came to an end. The new, accurate quartz watches gained popularity and plunged the Swiss watch industry in a deep crisis. As the inexpensive electronic watches began to flood the market, the competition from foreign manufacturers created a major economic turmoil, and with it, the need for Swiss brands.................. 2016-11-01 More