Most of certainly know the Planet Ocean collection, which in a few years, became a sort of a norm for the Seamaster. This high-performance dive watch is known for its 600m water resistance and helium escape valve but mainly (and that’s what matter for most wearers), it is recognizable because of its rather bulky and masculine design, making i.................. 2016-03-16 More

When the concept?of World Time watch comes in a conversation, the name Patek Philippe will immediately be mentioned – and for good reasons. Patel was indeed one the first brands to use an idea of Louis Cottier to build a watch showing, in an easy, practical and legible way the time zones all over the world on the dial of a watch. For Baselwor.................. 2016-03-16 More

Here we are again, the day before?the official opening of the most important week of the watchmaking industry,?Baselworld. The largest watch fair on Earth is about to open. Big watch?brands like , Tudor, Patek Philippe or Omega are ready to show us what they have been working on, and also many small?independent watchmakers and brands worked hard t.................. 2016-03-15 More

Launched in 2012 with a burgundy bezel, then updated with a midnight blue bezel in 2014,?and finally a?black edition followed in 2015, the Tudor Heritage Black Bay is certainly the brand’s biggest success so far. Why? Because of its vintage-inspired look, its superb quality and its reasonable price. Whether you have a small budget, or enough .................. 2016-03-15 More

Two years ago, in 2013, Carl F. Bucherer launched a new watch, the Manero PowerReserve, housing the in-house CFB A1011 movement. This manufacture movement is based on their highly appreciated and accurate automatic movement, calibre CFB A1000. The CFB A1011 features a date and day indication, an innovative shock absorbing system, a unique automatic.................. 2016-03-14 More

Do not swear by the moon, for she changes constantly. Then your love would also change?William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet –?The attraction the moon exerts on our imagination is almost as powerful as its pull on the tides. Beyond the evocation of the utilitarian ties between horology and astronomy, the reproduction of lunar cycles on the di.................. 2016-03-11 More

Just in case you don’t know what Goodwood #74MM stands for: no worries. I did not either. It stands for the 74th edition of the Goodwood Member Meeting, an event at Lord March’s Goodwood estate that is not only about racing, but also about heritage and responsibility. The event will be held from March 18th to March 20th. Stay tuned as w.................. 2016-03-11 More

As you may know, at?Chopard, there are two distinct collections of watches, which differentiate regarding the level of finishing and complication of the movements. The first one is the?classical?range, with watches like the Chopard?Mille Miglia, yet with in-house movements but not hand-finished. Then you have the Chopard L.U.C Collection, with high.................. 2016-03-10 More

A brand that is about to reissue one of its iconic models isn’t a novelty. Vintage is one of the main inspirations of watchmaking since a decade or so. What isn’t really surprising is that?TAG Heuer will reintroduce the Autavia in 2017. What is really new and unique is that you’ll be able to vote to know which Autavia TAG Heuer wi.................. 2016-03-10 More

When I think back to 2015, there were two new watches that seemed to pop up all over the place: the Tudor Black Bay and the Oris Divers Sixty Five. And for good reason. Both models are great looking and both are positioned to be affordable. We covered the Sixty Five in all it's glory here last year. What I was keen to establish was, is it the Sixty.................. 2016-03-08 More

You know us here, at Monochrome-Watches. We don’t like things when they are too?usual?or?too?classical. We love to look at things differently and to focus on originality. This why, when IWC introduced the new Pilot’s Watch collection at the 2016 edition of the SIHH, we choose to show you?the “Petit Prince” edition of the Big.................. 2016-03-07 More

When you want a unique watch, a truly unique watch, and I’m not talking about a highly limited edition of a few dozen or even a few hundred pieces, there’s actually not that much choice. Certainly, if?you can spare a few?millions, you can ask one of the oldest watch companies – Vacheron Constantin – to create the most compli.................. 2016-03-04 More

Dominique Renaud might not be the most famous name, at least for a large audience. However, passionate insiders have known him for decades, as being the co-founder of Renaud & Papi (now owned by Audemars Piguet and known as APRP). After almost 15 years of retirement, Dominique Renaud came back last year in the light; announcing he was to be par.................. 2016-03-02 More

Yesterday, on February 29th, we decided to dig deeper into the concept of the perpetual calendar and explain why the leap year exists. It was the perfect occasion for this, since February 29th only occurs once every four years. In order to tell the story properly, we had to dive deeper into astronomy and history, and of course to have the various c.................. 2016-03-01 More

Well, except if you're living on?different?planet?than us, normal?human beings, you certainly didn't miss out that today is kind of a special day - at least in the countries using the?Gregorian calendar (which represents 95% of?the world). Indeed, today is the day that occurs only once every 4 years and to us, watch lovers; it is a day that immedia.................. 2016-02-29 More

250 years after Thomas Mudge invented the first lever escapement, developing escapements has once again become the new frontier in technological breakthroughs of old-fashioned mechanical watches; a crowning glory for the most innovative, skilful and daring watchmakers. Here's a review of recent prospects and advances concerning what is certainly th.................. 2016-02-26 More

Most of you may know Oris for their sports watches, with some robust dive watches (like the Aquis), very cool vintage-inspired pieces (e.g. the Divers Sixty Five), highly functional pilot watches (think?Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter) or race-oriented pieces (the?Audi Sport Limited Editions). However, as we have already showed you, Oris also has some.................. 2016-02-25 More

Sometimes it's doesn’t take much. It could be a friend's recommendation. It could be a brands heritage or even how they finish their movements that draws a collector. It's always fascinating finding out what that tipping point was for a particular collector on a particular occasion. Often we get caught up in the price we are asked to pay for .................. 2016-02-23 More

You know us here at Monochrome-Watches. Apart from the big names, there is something?that we especially love here: independent watchmaking. We do have a special appeal for watches manufactures by independent, smaller and creative watchmakers, not because they are always better executed?than those from the bigger brands, but mainly because they have.................. 2016-02-18 More

This year, at the SIHH, IWC renewed entirely the Pilot’s Watch collection, including a new edition of the Mark (the Mark XVIII), some vintage-inspired super large editions, a redesigned?chronograph and a brand new watch, the Timezoner. There is?a clear evolution on all the watches, with a coherent design, including more historically relevant?.................. 2016-02-17 More

We did it for? this year, we also did it for?Tudor last year, and we are doing?it again now. Just because we love to play with your nerves and because we also think Tudor watches are kind of cool, here are our predictions for the Tudor Baselworld 2016 Novelties. Time prove us we were not that?bad in predicting: we imagined?the Tudor Pelagos Blue A.................. 2016-02-17 More

Associating gold to an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak has always been kind of strange to us, as, when launched in 1972, this luxury sports watch was only available in stainless steel (and this choice of material was clearly part of the base concept). However, with the demand for gold in certain regions and for specific clients, the Royal Oak has been up.................. 2016-02-16 More

The Breitling Transocean was originally released in 1958. We are familiar with its current form. A fresh, contemporary take on the classic chronographs of the 1950s and 1960s. So, let's say you're a suave gent, city dweller maybe…why (other than seeing David Beckham wearing one in their ads) would you buy one? We found out this week on the Co.................. 2016-02-16 More

This 2016 edition of the SIHH has been very productive for A. Lange & Sohne (again…). We’ve seen the stunning (yes, that’s an understatement) Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon, the poetical and kind of magical Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase Lumen, the very elegant and balanced Saxonia Moon Phase or the highly technical Richard Lange Ju.................. 2016-02-15 More

The association of Omega Watches with?the Olympic Games is a long, very long story. Since 1932, Omega is the official timekeeper of the Games. Besides the technical aspect of this?partnership, Omega also celebrates this association via several limited editions dedicated to the aficionados, like the?Speedmaster Mark II Rio 2016, the?Seamaster Planet.................. 2016-02-15 More

A friend of mine who is an underwater photographer, fisherman, diver, and a watch lover once tried to explain me why he loves dive-watches. Surprisingly, he referred only very briefly to the heavyweights ( , Omega, etc.) and instead he focused mainly on Seiko. He told me that you must be nuts or very rich in order to dive for a specific job (hunt f.................. 2016-02-12 More

Well, trying to hide the actual?fact that we literally felt in love with the new Vacheron Constantin Overseas collection, introduced during the SIHH 2016, will be rather difficult. We already showed you the?classical?edition, the?Vacheron Constantin Overseas Automatic 4500V – the sort of entry-level edition – and we continued our journe.................. 2016-02-11 More

When you think iconic dive watches', what comes to mind?… Submariner? Sea-Dweller? Omega Seamaster? Panerai Radiomir?… Well, the good news is you would be absolutely correct. However, you would have overlooked one heavy hitter of the watch world: the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, a watch seen by many hard-core divers as an essential tool.................. 2016-02-09 More

Who never had the dream of driving James Bond’s own car or to play with his own watch (and the related gadgets…)? Honestly, most of us all had this feeling at least once – and we even (try to…) do it ourselves recently. And it will now be fully possible, as Christie’s, the famous auction house, is about to sell several.................. 2016-02-08 More

When it comes to interview CEOs of brands, usually, we end up with a lot of nice words and some marketing speeches. Telling the truth and giving proper insights on the state of the watchmaking industry or on what a brand is about to launch, what are the coming developments, is not the rule. However, the interview?you’re about to look at is sl.................. 2016-02-04 More

Watches made by Richard Mille are usually bold, extremely technical, rather large and not really?discreet. Nothing wrong in that… That’s also part of the pleasure. Except a few watches, like the RM 033 we reviewed a few weeks ago, we can’t really add the word elegant and dress next to Richard Mille watches. And this is especially .................. 2016-02-04 More

A long time?ago I saw this extremely beautiful watch with its black face and several small sub dials with, for me at the time, unknown indications. It was the first time I saw a perpetual calendar and it was the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Perpetual, belonging to the older Master Control series. This watch is etched into my memory and has been one of m.................. 2016-02-03 More

When you think “Lumen“, you know it’s going to be rare, you know that’s it’s going to feature sapphire and you know it’s also going to be superb… At A. Lange & Sohne, the name “Lumen” means rather unusual watches, which are bearing a smoky sapphire crystal that partially reveals the top side.................. 2016-02-02 More

Renewing an icon is not an easy?task?(not an easy task at all!) However, as iconic as it is, the?Vacheron Constantin Overseas has been in the collection, with an?unchanged design, for the past 12 years. The Overseas?had its last update?in?2004, and the only alterations have been cosmetic, meaning new dial colours, and adding some complications. Unt.................. 2016-01-29 More

The history of Panerai is probably well known, with its link to?the Italian navy, and in particular the frogman commandos of the First Submarine Group Command of the Royal Italian Navy. The Florentine watchmakers created timepieces for the Royal Italian Navy; in?1936 they created the very first ‘Radiomir’. In 1940 the Radiomir was sligh.................. 2016-01-29 More

When IWC offer you the opportunity to fly on-board their Junkers JU-52 aircraft, you take it. This trip was to coincide with the launch of the new pilots range, which we covered here and here. As you would expect, it is far from just any aircraft. For many years, the Schaffhausen based manufacturer have nurtured a partnership with Swiss airline?JU-.................. 2016-01-28 More

Here is the deal… TAG Heuer has just released a new Carrera watch featuring?(please, take a seat…) their?own in-house chronograph and tourbillon movement for JUST 15,000 Swiss Francs including taxes. Yes, you read it correct, there’s no typo here. We’re not talking about 150,000 Swiss Francs but really fifteen thousand Swiss.................. 2016-01-28 More

If there was only one thing to embody?about Cartier Watches it?could easily be?how the brand?masters shapes. Round, Square, oval, rectangular, deconstructed… There are many variations at Cartier and most of them are full of elegance, somehow eccentric but never overdone. The Old Maison is good at it, as we’ve seen recently with the Cle .................. 2016-01-27 More

You maybe were wondering why the Collector's Series hasn’t featured any vintage watches. Well, in truth, there is no reason. To rectify this, we sat down to?discuss who maybe an appropriate candidate?to?kick things off. The jury was unanimous: it had to be?someone with many years hands on?experience so we decided to ask our friend over Philli.................. 2016-01-26 More

It has to be said: the 2016 edition of the SIHH showed a focus on more accessible watches and the renewal of icons (IWC Big Pilot, Vacheron Constantin Overseas or JLC Reverso, among others). In the middle of the industry’s heavyweights, Greubel Forsey also had to slightly change its strategy, by offering something less technical, less complic.................. 2016-01-26 More