Collector's Corner - The iconic Cartier Tank Americaine
We've spent quite a lot of time talking about sports watches in The Collector's Corner. In the last article, we took a look at the Breguet Type XX, but now we head back to the realm of the dress watch. No more dress complications this time - we've had quite a few of those already (both from JLC and from Breguet). No, now we talk about the pinnacle of the dress watch: time-only, and what better way to highlight this than to talk about a watch made by Cartier? The jewellery house excels in unconventional and daring designs, and though many of their most iconic watch case shapes date back to the first half of the 20th century, our subject today is the spring chicken of the bunch.Cartier's iconic rectangular wristwatch, the Tank, was born in 1917 and said to be inspired by the stark lines of Renault FT-17 tanks. In the decades since, the Tank design was iterated on but the focus always lay on elegance and on pushing the boundaries of case shapes (Tank Chinoise or Asymetrique, anyone?). Ind

Pre-Baselworld 2016 - Introducing the Oris Artix Skeleton (specs & price) - Monochrome Watches
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 interesting dress watches in the collection, and some even featuring?an in-house movement. For Baselworld 2016, the brand will come with a modern dressy piece, featuring a nice automatic skeletonized movement, the?Oris Artix Skeleton.The new?Oris Artix Skeleton is part of a collection composed of rather classical but contemporary watches called Artix – see all the models here. However, if all the other models have some complications – date, moon-phase indicator or a complete calendar – and?a traditional silvery white dial, this new open-worked edition plays more on the modern-side. Visible technical parts, nicely opened bri

First Look: The Titoni Airmaster Pilot Chronometer
Titoni is an independent family-owned watch brand founded in 1919 by Fritz Schluep in Grenchen, Switzerland, now in the hands of great-grandsons Marc and Olivier Schluep. With a variety of contemporary collections and even an in-house automatic powering its Line 1919 dress watch collection, the genuine interest in this brand resides in its remakes of golden oldies. Marking the 80th anniversary of a watch ordered by the US Army in 1945, Titoni releases the retro-inspired Airmaster Pilot Chronometer. With a balanced marriage of heritage features and contemporary specs, the Airmaster Pilot joins Titoni’s growing fleet of vintage-inspired models.Unlike the Heritage 83109 and the Heritage Chronograph, which?form part of the Heritage collection and have caught the eye of retro-styled watch fans, the Airmaster Pilot Chronometer shares a hangar with the more contemporary Airmaster collection. The Airmaster collection was, in fact, named after the brand's all-purpose 1969 Airmaster, coinc

Horage Tourbillon 1 Sub-10k Swiss In-House Tourbillon Explained
The tourbillon… You've no doubt heard of it (you are a MONOCHROME reader after all), and perhaps you own a few, but why is it such an expensive feature? French for whirlwind, it's actually among the oldest of technical innovations, patented by Breguet in 1801 – although developed several years earlier, around 1795. It's simple in concept, with the balance wheel and escapement mounted inside a rotating cage to counter the forces of gravity. If you're in the market for a Swiss tourbillon (or any outside of the Asian market), you're well into five figures until now. We introduced the accessible Horage Tourbillon 1 last year during development and now have one on the wrist for a proper review. And to understand how the brand managed to make this watch at that price.BackgroundHorage is a relative newcomer to Swiss watchmaking, originating in 2007 when husband and wife founders Andreas Felsl and Tzuyu Huang began discussing their future in Biel/Bienne. Horage (the H is silent) is

Hands-on - Porsche Design 1919 Chronotimer - Baselworld 2016 (Live photos, availability & price) - Monochrome Watches
For those who think?that Porsche Design is a brand focused on leather jackets and sunglasses, you’d be wrong, as for the first time this year, the brand exposed in the Hall 1.0 of Baselworld, where all the major brands have their booth – thus confirming that Porsche Design is also a credible watchmaker, something we already told you after reviewing?the?Chronotimer Series 1 and the?1919 Globetimer All Black Titanium. It is now time for us to look at one of the Baselworld 2016 novelties, the?Porsche Design 1919 Chronotimer, a minimalistic and very pleasantly designed sports chronograph.The goal of Porsche Design, in terms of watches, is not to be part of the Haute Horlogerie manufactures, with in-house movements and hand-made execution. Instead, the brand focuses on reliable, functional and robust mechanical watches with a strong design. The DNA of the brand is here: quality in a recognizable and strong design. And the new?Porsche Design 1919 Chronotimer, which is basically t