Audemars Piguet will be introducing an entirely new sort of minute repeater at the upcoming Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, or short SIHH. They spent eight years of sound research, involving a carefully chosen community of watchmakers, artisans, technicians and academics, which lead to three pending patents and this new minute repeater .................. 2014-11-26 More

Last week we organized a very special evening, together with our friends of Montblanc. The evening was dedicated to ‘Sharing the passion for Fine Watchmaking’ and took place in the Montblanc boutique in Amsterdam. The main stars that evening were five of the magnificent creations from the Montblanc manufacture in Villeret.Montblanc̵.................. 2014-11-25 More

Collaborations are not uncommon within the watch industry. We've seen projects between watch brands and charitable causes take a surge over the past years, and we've even seen brands work with artists or sculptors to create unique pieces. One branch that is often contracted for a cooperative creation is car and bike manufacturers. Bell & Ross t.................. 2014-11-24 More

Rarer than hen’s teeth? This Orange dial Heuer Autavia is indeed extremely rare, if not unique. Experts are still debating on the exact details, however they seem to agree we’re dealing with a genuine Heuer Autavia ref. 1163, with a high-beat calibre 11 movement, a prototype orange dial, and hands from a Heuer Carrera ref. 1153. And it .................. 2014-11-24 More

Making something highly complicated looking as simple as possible is certainly harder than anything else. When looking at the?H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Black Edition for the first time, you’ll probably never notice how complex is the movement inside. To resume, putting aside the inherent beauty of this watch, the main st.................. 2014-11-17 More

In this article we will examine an instrument that is so important that the life of its operator depends on it. The operator in question is a diver, submerging in a hostile environment either to make a living, or to hunt fish. No, it is not a big dive computer with a huge lcd screen that performs countless calculations per milisecond based on compl.................. 2014-11-14 More

It is time to make a confession. Even though we at Monochrome are highly passionate about fine timepieces and craftsmanship in general, we think about the future of watchmaking too. The future, whether it be smart-watches, cutting edge materials, application of never-before seen technologies or simply new and ingenious complications; we try to take.................. 2014-11-13 More

Audemars Piguet improves the annual calendar, so it almost becomes a perpetual calendar. That might sound strange, but we’ll explain. This new calendar is now introduced in the?Audemars Piguet Millenary Quadriennium. Its name is latin for a quadrennium, which?is a four-year period. The watch also features the infamous AP escapement, so all-to.................. 2014-11-12 More

This record was predictable. The price too. But even if most of us were expecting a mind-blowing price, the amount of money offered yesterday for the Henry Graves Patek Philippe?Supercomplication remains something close to?indecency, as Sotheby’s hammered the most expensive watch to date for CHF 20,600,000 (before buyer’s premium). Now .................. 2014-11-12 More

That’s it! The Christie’s auction for Patek Philippe 175th Anniversary is done and well done. With a total amount of CHF 19,367,000 (around EUR 16,100,000 or USD 20,000,000) for 100 lots, we’re in front of quite a serious amount (an average of 190,000 CHF per lot). We introduced to you the highlights of the sale a few weeks ago an.................. 2014-11-10 More

Looking for a good weekend movie? We recommend Steve McQueen in the racing classic, Le Mans. Why? Not only for the stupendous lack of dialogue supplemented by engine roar, but also for the on-screen rivalry between McQueen's Porsche team and Ferrari. The real actors are a Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512. Porsche prototypes left the race in 1998, leavin.................. 2014-11-10 More

Together with Montblanc we’re organizing an evening to share the passion for fine watchmaking. Sounds promising, right? Well, it’s actually even better than that because our friends of Montblanc have ensured us that there will be a lot of ‘horological sweetness‘, manufactured in Montblanc’s?manufacture in Villeret on s.................. 2014-11-10 More

Polish watch website Chronos24.pl organized a Watch of the Year election, for the fifth time already, and this year they asked me to be part of the jury. Together with Beth Doerr (Quill & Pad), Miguel Seabra (Espiral do Tempo and tennis commentator on Eurosport), Kristian Haagen (0024 Watchworld), Amr Sindi (The Horophile) and five Polish journ.................. 2014-11-07 More

Here is the winner of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve, the prestigious contest that awards each year the best watches made by the industry. This edition of the GPHG was truly interesting and so is the?winner. The Breguet?Classique Chronometrie 7727 does really deserve its title of Watch of the Year or ‘Aiguille d’Or‘. .................. 2014-11-07 More

The last Baselworld edition seemed to be a good one for TAG Heuer. We saw the introduction of a brand new, in-house developed and manufactured, chronograph movement, named calibre CH80 (initially introduced as calibre 1969). And there was a new, and very good looking, TAG Heuer Carrera that was equipped with this new in-house movement. Shortly afte.................. 2014-11-06 More

Shortly before Baselworld started this year, we tried to predict what Tudor would be presenting at?the world’s biggest watch show. Our prediction was not spot on, however the watches presented by Tudor (the Tudor Black Bay ref. 79220B and the Tudor Ranger ref. 79910) were even better than what we imagined. Especially the Black Bay with Midnig.................. 2014-11-06 More

While the majority of the watches manufactured by A. Lange and Sohne are sharing that same Germanic feeling, a rigorous and meticulous attention to details with a certain warmth, some bits of originality that never fall into?ostentation (take a look at the Lange 1 and you’ll understand), a watch in the collection has to be seen as different, .................. 2014-11-05 More

And the Oscar…err, Golden Hand goes to the Breguet Classique Chronometrie. Last Friday evening it was Oscar-night. That is Oscar-night of the watch industry, which is called the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve. Winners in fifteen categories and one overall winner were announced during a gala event in Geneva. There were some remarkable.................. 2014-11-03 More

Chocks away, chaps! Monochrome is taking to the skies, literally! We have been testing a watch in the environment it was designed for, which surprisingly doesn't happen too often. You never see a journalist driving an F1 car to test a racing Chronograph, do you? Oris released their Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter earlier this year, and cordially invit.................. 2014-11-03 More

The ballet of the SIHH (the Geneva watch fair) novelties just began. One of the first to come with a new timepiece is?Richard Mille, a brand that we do love here at Monochrome-Watches for its exclusivity:?unusual design and spirit, exclusive materials, astonishing finishing, distinctive complications and innovations. If most of the watches made by .................. 2014-10-31 More

In January of this year, we introduced Montblanc’s latest iteration of the Nicolas Rieussec lineage to you;?the new Montblanc Homage to Nicolas Rieussec. It set itself apart from its siblings with a remarkable off-centre hour/minute dial. This dial shows a minute rail-track and the minutes; hours are not visible, until the lights dim and they.................. 2014-10-31 More

A. Lange & Sohne’s history can be divided into two, or actually three, eras: one before World War II, one after Germany’s reunification, and the period in between (1945 – 1990), although the latter is actually not that interesting. On 15 November, German auction house Dr. Crott Auctions will be offering a vast number of A. Lan.................. 2014-10-30 More

IWC comes back with a new limited edition, honoring?one of its favorite ambassadors (unfortunately not with us anymore), Antoine de Saint-Exupery, pilot and writer, and its most famous character, ‘le Petit Prince’. Using the same concept as several other editions of the Pilot collection, it is now the Big Pilot that is paying tribute to.................. 2014-10-30 More

There are only a few real icons in the world of Haute Horlogerie. Think Patek Philippe Calatrava, Submariner, Datejust and Daytona, Cartier Tank, Omega Speedmaster and also?the Breitling Navitimer. All these watches have an impressive history and have been on the market – in a relatively unchanged design – for many decades. Here’.................. 2014-10-23 More

Bell & Ross fighting against Audemars-Piguet and Hublot? That’s exactly what Carlos Rosillo, one of the two founders of the brand, wants to achieve. While Bell & Ross was used to produce multiple editions of a same concept for years (countless versions of the BR-01), they are now coming with more complicated watches, with quite a stro.................. 2014-10-21 More

The Omega Speedmaster is getting more and more under?the scope of collectors. For a few years now, some of the rare editions have been?able to reach 40,000Eur or more. This is all due to a long and rich history, to a continuous production since 1957 and to the Space and Moon exploration. At Monochrome-Watches, the ‘Speedy‘ has always be.................. 2014-10-21 More

To celebrate its 175th Anniversary, Patek Philippe chose to release a pure demonstration of it watchmaking capacities, with certainly one of the most complicated wristwatches ever seen (alongside the Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4), the already iconic and controversial?Grandmaster Chime. This watch?is made only to dream. However the 175th Annivers.................. 2014-10-16 More

Patek Philippe is celebrating their 175th anniversary, and Thierry Stern chose to celebrate this landmark during the entire year starting from the beginning of Baselworld 2014 to the end of Baselworld 2015. This week Patek?launched a number of limited editions, commemorative pieces, to celebrate their anniversary. Most insiders expected an even mor.................. 2014-10-15 More

The Jackson 5, ABBA and Queen. The Godfather, Bruce Lee and Star Wars. Platform shoes, sideburns and bell-bottomed pants. The Royal Oak, Nautilus and Ingenieur. All of them first saw the day of light during the seventies, and in the watch?industry, this era seems to be making a comeback when it comes to design. The original Hamilton Pan Europ was i.................. 2014-10-13 More

Patek Philippe…?The most conservative, traditional and however desirable manufacture?is celebrating its 175th anniversary October?13th, 2014. Meaning that a very special collection will be introduced. Alongside this event, we have to remind Patek’s enormous history, with so many great watches manufactured. As a tribute, Christie’s.................. 2014-10-10 More

IWC prolongs their partnership with the Volvo Ocean Race and emphasizes this by introducing a new special edition, the Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph Ocean Racer. For the second time IWC will be the Official Timekeeper and sponsor of the IWC 24 hour Speed Record Challenge. While the previous edition for the Volvo Ocean Race sported a technical s.................. 2014-10-10 More

Ultra-thin timepieces and the name Piaget have gone hand-in-hand for many decades. So it will not come as a shock that Piaget introduced a number of?varieties on the?ultra-thin skeletonized calibre 1200S. That’s the movement of the Piaget Altiplano 1200, which is the world’s thinnest automatic skeletonized watch. As if that wasn’t.................. 2014-10-09 More

There were times, not so long ago, when Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin were THE three Grande Dames of Haute Horlogerie. In the last twenty years there have been some changes, and without jumping to the conclusion that one of the aforementioned threesome should make place for another brand, we can at least say that there's a.................. 2014-10-08 More

Another novelty from Watch &?Wonders 2014. And a pretty interesting one too. To celebrate its 185th anniversary, Baume & Mercier will please the collectors with a refined and elegant watch. You’ll argue that the brand is already used to create such watches. Yes, it is true. But this one plays?into another mechanical level, as it comes.................. 2014-10-07 More

Patek Philippe and the perpetual calendar are no strangers. We’ve already extensively covered some of these impressive watches, including?the honey-brown?Patek Philippe 5496P-014 Perpetual Calendar Retrograde?and the superb?Patek Philippe 5270 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Blue. These?two are certainly among the?classical watches – we&.................. 2014-10-07 More

Last week, we’ve introduced you the new Panerai Radiomir 1940 3-Days Automatic with Panerai's First Micro-Rotor Movement. During Watch and Wonders 2014, Panerai also came with something less mainstream, more complicated, more limited. But something that some of us can dream of: a Radiomir 1940 equipped with the P2005 movement, meaning a tourb.................. 2014-10-06 More

Watch and Wonders is very productive this year. We’ve already introduced you the Panerai?Radiomir 1940 3-Days Automatic with Panerai's first micro-rotor movement and the Richard Mille?RM 57-01 Tourbillon Phoenix and Dragon. Now, it’s the turn of another highly interesting manufacture, Roger Dubuis, to come with a stunning watch, bringin.................. 2014-10-06 More

Introducing a new brand is always a very special moment. Only a few who tried, have actually succeeded in?this long and difficult endeavour. Some, however, started with a lead, and that helps in the difficult world of Haute Horlogerie. In the case of Alexandre Meerson, let’s say that he has the background, the knowledge of the industry and th.................. 2014-10-03 More

Although it's best known for its sport models, Omega has always produced a large variety of timepieces that could be worn in almost any circumstance. During a visit at an?Omega Boutique, I was surprised to find that my attention wasn't focused on the timepieces I'm usually most impressed with. Yes, I saw the new Seamaster 300 in all its glory, I wo.................. 2014-10-02 More

Alongside the traditional (well, if we use the denomination ‘traditional’ for RM) Richard Mille?watches, all inspired by racing and using some crazy materials – remember the nano-tubes used for the dial of the RM 022 – or amazing complications – see the G-sensor of the RM 36-01 – the brand also has a more disting.................. 2014-10-01 More