Weekly Watch Photo - A. Lange & Sohne and Horch - Monochrome Watches
The week always starts with a Weekly Watch Photo here at Monochrome Watches. The photos of this week are provided by German watch manufacture A. Lange & Sohne and they have created a set of brilliant photos… again! It is of course no surprise to you, that we just love the watches from A. Lange & Sohne. For their stylish classic looks, for the beautiful movements with three-quarter plate, for the brilliant finishing and for some of the most remarkable innovative timepieces of the last 15 years. So let’s enjoy the beauty of three of their latest timepieces in a befitting setting.The photo above show the 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calender that was introduced in January of this year. The watch is placed on a 1919 Horch four-cylinder engine (14/40 HP). I have to admit that I never heard of Horch, but after reading this article at Wikipedia, it’s become clear that Horch is the predecessor of what we know know as Audi. This name is actually based on the surname of t

Industry 2021 Marks Record Levels for Swiss Watch Exports
2020 was a very difficult year for the Swiss watch industry with a historic fall of 21.8%, the steepest decline since 2009. Following this sharp contraction of the global watch market, 2021 has seen a recovery from the pandemic and a return to growth, to the point of recording its best year ever! The FHS, the Federation Horlogere Suisse (or the Swiss Watch Federation), has just released export statistics for 2021. At CHF 22,297 million, exports were 31.2% higher than 2020, 2.7% higher than 2009 and 0.2% higher than the highest ever recorded by the industry, in 2014.Following the big hit taken during the pandemic, the watch industry bounced back to growth. Of course, the past two years have been a period of profound changes and the situation differs from one brand to the other. But top players like , Patek Philippe or Audemars Piguet seem to be immune to crisis and are stronger than ever; the surge of independent watchmaking has been remarkable over the past few months; Conglomerates R

Live Impressions on the New Omega Seamaster Diver 300M James Bond (Specs & Price)
Last week, Omega introduced a new Bond-themed Seamaster Diver 300M, inspired by the 1969 film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. When we posted this watch on Instagram, the reactions were telling. One comment read: I'm a die-hard Omega fan (own 3) and I do not like this watch. There's 4 colour combo's going on with it. One other comment read: Too much. () Looks like brainstorming in a Kindergarten. So did the comments below the article we published, with press images, right after the watch was presented. As always, it is hard to judge with these images, so we decided to give this watch a second chance, but this time live and on the wrist.The Omega Seamaster Diver 300M James Bond On Her Majesty's Secret Service was introduced a week ago and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the classic Bond movie it's been named after. Why exactly this movie, I don't know? This Lazenby flick is not exactly the best Bond ever made. Quite the contrary, really. But let’s not get into that for today's

IWC Big Pilots Watch Big Date Spitfire Edition IW510506 (Specs & Price)
Last year, when unveiling its new pilot’s collection at the SIHH 2019, IWC also announced its partnership with a very cool project named “The Longest Flight”. On 5 August 2019, British pilots Matt Jones and Steve Boultbee Brooks embarked on their flight around the world in an antique, restored Spitfire plane. This was the occasion for IWC to unveil a dedicated timepiece, the Timezoner Spitfire Edition “The Longest Flight”. And now that the mission is accomplished and the world tour completed, the brand introduces the IWC Big Pilot's Watch Big Date Spitfire Edition “Mission Accomplished” Ref. IW510506, a new edition true to the design codes introduced with the new Spitfire collection.On their record-breaking journey in the “Silver Spitfire”, the two founders of the Boultbee Flight Academy covered almost 43,000 kilometres in four months, visiting over 20 countries on their way. Having been the primary partner and official timekeeper o

Buying Guide - Best Accessible Watches Under 2,500 Euros of Baselworld 2019
With the Swatch Group gone from Baselworld 2019, the “Value Proposition” category, meaning watches under EUR 2,500, has been seriously affected. Brands like Tissot, Mido, Hamilton or Longines usually perform well in this segment. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean we haven’t seen some cool things at Baselworld this year (and around the fair too). Here are the best accessible watches we spotted in March – all priced under 2.5K, and because you’re reading MONOCHROME, they all feature a mechanical movement.Doxa SUB 200 130th AnniversaryDoxa is mainly known for its rugged, cushion-shaped dive watches, inspired by the original 1960s SUB 300. Reducing the brand to only this watch would be sad, and as it celebrates its 130th anniversary this year, Doxa is about to re-edit more of its past glories. At Baselworld 2019, there was an insanely cool full gold SUB 200 Chronograph (insanely expensive too) and on the other side of the spectrum is this “bang for t