Some watches have gained true cult status, mostly because of who wore them. Notable actors, men of political and historical importance, some of the greatest pilots or even space heroes who walked on the Moon. Not only are these watches great horological objects, but their background has given them an unbeatable aura, which extends far beyond the sm.................. 2020-12-07 More

Dive watches… are not even a style or a category of watches anymore, but a proper market with its own codes, its icons, its contenders, its specifications and its aficionados. Needless to say that a well-built and nicely designed dive watch is almost a necessity for accessible or luxury watch brands, with only a minority not having its own ta.................. 2020-12-06 More

The new London Chronograph with a historical, restored Valjoux 88 movement from the 1950s belongs to Speake-Marin's Vintage collection. Speake-Marin might be based in Switzerland, but it likes to emphasise its British roots and its somewhat eccentric British styling. The latest model to join the Vintage collection is this London Chronograph Triple .................. 2020-12-04 More

On December 2, 1950 at 7:08 am, Michel Parmigiani was born. Seventy years later, this man, founder of a watch manufacture named Parmigiani Fleurier (among other companies) is still regarded as one of the most influential contemporary watchmakers. When the watch industry was suffering from the quartz crisis, in 1976, Parmigiani decided to establish .................. 2020-12-04 More

Oris has been known for several decades for its robust instrument watches at fair prices. No doubt about that. More recently, the brand has also managed to infuse a dose of ‘cool’ to some of its creations replacing the rugged and functional aspects of some pieces (think about the Aquis) with a dash of charm and vintage inspiration. Than.................. 2020-12-04 More

Today, we’ll review a special watch… Sure, it looks stunning, but there’s far more to this watch than its pretty face. The 1815 Rattrapante Honeygold represents many things. First of all, it’s always a pleasure to see an A. Lange & Sohne made of 18k Honeygold, the brand’s proprietary gold alloy, always reserved for.................. 2020-12-03 More

Genus appeared on the independent watchmaking scene in 2019 with the GNS 1.2 WG. A watch in a class of its own, the GNS 1.2 is technically complex and features one of the most fascinating time displays we have seen recently. This radical creation received a well-deserved industry accolade with the 2019 Mechanical Exception Prize at the prestigious .................. 2020-12-03 More

Over the last few years, Vacheron Constantin has extended on its tradition for combining horological complications with one-of-a-kind designs by way of its Les Cabinotiers. The special workshop is home to some of the world's most complex (thus most expensive) timepieces – each one made to measure by a very time-consuming and painstaking proce.................. 2020-12-02 More

The Oris Big Crown Pointer Date is one of the brand’s all-time classics, a watch that has helped Oris weather the storm in the 1980s and a watch with a specific resonance on the Dutch market. This watch is special for the brand and, without surprise, it is the watch that the Fratello team selected for their new collaboration piece. Of course,.................. 2020-12-01 More

A few weeks ago, a Philippe Dufour Simplicity “20th Anniversary” was the highlight of the Phillips “Retrospective 2000-2020” Geneva auction. The watch – marked 00/20 – hammered for over CHF 1.3 million. Admittedly, Philippe Dufour is one of the most respected craftsmen of the industry, and his watches are regarde.................. 2020-11-30 More

Who would have predicted that the trend for vintage watches would become a consolidated sector of practically every watch brand with a history of more than 100 years? What started as a nostalgic trip down memory lane has entrenched itself as an enduring phenomenon. Dedicated collections are now the repositories of golden oldies, some more faithful .................. 2020-11-30 More

As the end of the year is fast approaching, it was time for MONOCHROME’s editorial team to sit around the (virtual) table and to have a look back at all the new watches that have been introduced in 2020. Despite a complex situation and sales that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen plenty of new models launched this .................. 2020-11-29 More

Looking at the vast range of Royal Oak watches available, which goes from classic Selfwinding models to Grande Complications, the question of which are the most sought-after models arises.?Besides the Extra-Thin Jumbo watches, the full ceramic Royal Oak and the Double Balance Wheel Openworked are clearly very high in terms of desirability. So what .................. 2020-11-27 More

A little over two years ago, MONOCHROME covered the?Portugieser Chronograph Classic Bucherer BLUE – a red gold model with a blue dial, but other than that, an identical base design of IWC Schaffhausen's Ref. 3904 made in 2013. Fast-forward to last year and we reviewed the IWC Portugieser Chronograph Bucherer BLUE, another collaborative effort.................. 2020-11-26 More

Collaborations between watch brands and external designers or watch customizers are a growing thing in the industry, the idea being to infused a different take on the watch, less ‘horological’, more design-oriented. So what happens when TAG Heuer, the avant-garde brand known for its robust sports watches, meets Bamford Watch Department,.................. 2020-11-26 More

Longines' archive is the envy of many watchmaking brands, a rich source of material to furnish the highly popular and ever-expanding Heritage collection. Earlier this year, Longines produced two Heritage Classic Tuxedo models that stole our hearts with their stylish two-tone, black-tie looks. We've reviewed the Classic Tuxedo Chronograph, so now we.................. 2020-11-25 More

If the concept of pilot’s chronograph is well-established today, it owes its origins to a series of legendary watches. Think about the WWII Flieger Chronographs for the Luftwaffe, the 1953 Breitling Co-Pilot Avi 765 and, of course, the Type 20 Chronograph of the French Aeronavale. The latter has gained true cult status among military and pilo.................. 2020-11-24 More

Since 2017, Rado has found a spot in the market for cool, vintage-oriented dive watches with its successful Captain Cook model. Largely associated with the use of high-tech ceramics, Rado also benefits from a rich history, and several emblematic watches from the past have been reintroduced. Inspired by a 1962 piece with a distinctive case/bezel des.................. 2020-11-24 More

Watch clubs are certainly a growing phenomenon, with more and more local initiatives to encourage collecting. Clubs are a great way to generate passion and increase horological knowledge among their members. Among the many clubs that have popped up recently, one seems very active and even creates special watches for its members, the Qatar Watch Clu.................. 2020-11-24 More

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, in addition to being one of the most emblematic watches on the market, the watch that created the luxury sports watch category and one of the hottest pieces currently for sale, has hosted a variety of complications in its complex case. The tourbillon is no stranger to the RO but has always been sort of a rara avis in .................. 2020-11-23 More

Longines is a brand with impressive legitimacy when it comes to pilot’s instruments. Think of Charles Lindbergh, or even the chronographs delivered to the US Army, the Avigation Watch Type A-7 1935 (recently reissued). The brand’s savoir-faire in this field is indisputable. Today, we’ll review a watch that isn’t a faithful r.................. 2020-11-23 More

The end of the year is fast approaching, so it is time for MONOCHROME to take a look back at the watches we think should make our “best of” lists for 2020. The COVID-19 outbreak disrupted our lives and, incidentally, the watch industry. Despite this situation, we’ve seen plenty of fascinating watches. We are starting with a round-.................. 2020-11-22 More

Approximately 99.9% of the articles we publish are stories about watches. That’s what’s MONOCHROME is all about. However, recently I saw a watch box made by Rimowa. You know, that brand that makes beautiful aluminium suitcases and trolleys, dare I say it, iconic aluminium suitcases. The Rimowa watch case looks very Rimowa and is execute.................. 2020-11-21 More

The fluid-tight “compressor” or “super-compressor” technology was patented during the 1950s, by Ervin Piquerez SA, a famous watch case manufacturer from Bassecourt in the Swiss Jura. Cases equipped with this technology have given birth to iconic dive watches across many brands, including Jaeger-LeCoultre, Hamilton, Longines,.................. 2020-11-20 More

Revisited in 2016 with a line of limited editions, followed by serial production models a year later, the Laureato is Girard's Perregaux vision of a luxury sports watch. A few months back we covered the Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Crystal Rock with a sandwich dial and a case crafted from carbon glass. Now, the Swiss luxury watchmaker celebra.................. 2020-11-19 More

Jack Heuer, the great-grandson of the founder of Heuer, former CEO of Heuer, and Honorary Chairman of TAG Heuer celebrates his 88th birthday today. To fete the man who oversaw the brand's exciting entry into racing-inspired wrist chronographs, a 188-piece edition inspired by Jack Heuer's favourite Carrera 1158CHN of the 1970s is being released toda.................. 2020-11-19 More

While MONOCHROME is more on the higher-end side of the watch industry, we also know that not all readers and watch enthusiasts can afford a Breguet or an Omega. This is why we’ve created a section called “Value Proposition,” where we feature watches that we believe are great?value for the money. Apart from microbrands, when it com.................. 2020-11-19 More

In Stephen Hawking's universe, the Big Bang signals the beginning of time; in the watchmaking world, it is a best-selling Hublot watch.?Hublot has always been a brand that likes to make noise, a lot of noise. It is loud, explosive and disruptive; a brand that you either love or hate. Although the Big Bang is very much a 21st-century creation, it ow.................. 2020-11-18 More

The brand had been very clear at the beginning of this year: 2020 will be the year of the Carrera, TAG Heuer’s most emblematic watch. To coincide with the 160th anniversary of the brand, TAG has launched multiple editions of the Carrera, from the ultra-cool vintage-inspired Silver Edition to entirely remodelled core-collection models, such as.................. 2020-11-18 More

Originally designed as a time-and-date model when it was introduced in 1972, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak has since been offered with countless complications, including the most complex of them all, a grand complication. The tourbillon, an AP speciality is, of course, no stranger to the Royal Oak and was first used in the iconic luxury sports watc.................. 2020-11-17 More

After the inaugural launch of its new and important Code 11.59 collection last year, Audemars Piguet is now playing with the existing models and is “spicing up” the looks to give this modern interpretation of a classic watch some appeal. We’ve seen it, for instance, on the time-and-date and chronograph versions, fitted with smoked.................. 2020-11-17 More

The Seamaster is one of Omega's oldest collections. It was born in 1948 and modelled after watches that Omega delivered to the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Over the years, the collection expanded drastically, ranging from elegant timepieces to ultra-robust instruments. 1993 marked another milestone in the evolution of the Seamaster .................. 2020-11-17 More

In the light of the uncertainty provoked by the current health crisis, most of the major fairs of 2020 were cancelled – including the two heavyweights that are Baselworld and Watches & Wonders, the latter having held a digital edition already in April 2020. For 2021, afraid of the (non) evolution of the sanitary situation, the Watches &am.................. 2020-11-17 More

Bucherer BLUE is a unique lifestyle collection created by leading retailer Bucherer, working with selected partners both inside and outside the industry. No fewer than 44 special editions have been unveiled to date. Bucherer already teamed up with Panerai with three limited editions presented since the launch of the concept in 2016, including the P.................. 2020-11-16 More

Tockr is a relatively new watchmaker that launched its first models, the C-47 Radial Engine Collection, in 2017. The watches paid homage to the WWII era C-47 aircraft with a radial engine motif, a plane that founder Austin Ivey's grandfather flew during the war. Both Austin and his father became pilots as well, and all of the brand's watches have a.................. 2020-11-13 More

Despite the challenges the industry had to face this year, it needed a celebration and some joy. So here we are, as the 2020 edition of the GPHG, known as the “Oscars of the watchmaking industry”, has come to a close and the prize for the best watch of the year, also known as the Aiguille d'Or, has been awarded. As often with the Grand .................. 2020-11-12 More

Tonight, as every year, is the celebration of watchmaking, watchmakers and watches in general… It is the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve (or GPHG 2020) – the Oscars of the watchmaking industry. Several categories are represented (ladies, men, complicated and even affordable watches) and the best watches of the year will be award.................. 2020-11-12 More

Sinn, the German watchmaker with a forte in instrument watches, revisits a racing stopwatch from the 1970s complete with the historical “bullhead” design. Although this new model takes its design cues from a vintage and original chronograph, the Sinn R500 Chronograph is made from contemporary high-strength titanium with racy design feat.................. 2020-11-11 More

When you think of throwback military watches, the World War II era usually comes to mind. At the high end, there are watches like the Breguet Type XX, while Hanhart and many others offer more accessible counterparts. If you're looking for something super affordable that doesn't cut corners, Hamilton offers a wide range of Khaki field watches. Some .................. 2020-11-11 More

Chiming watches are some of the most desirable marvels that watchmaking has ever produced. They can assume multiple forms, such as alarm watches or minute repeaters. But when it comes to watches that strike the time, that “musically indicate” the time, the rarest, most exclusive, most impressive and most desirable is the grande sonnerie.................. 2020-11-10 More