Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Micro-Rotor - Review, Specs & Price
Except if you’ve been living in a cave for the past three or four years, you might well be aware that the hottest watch category these days is the so-called luxury sports watch. Based on 1970s inspirations, equipped with an integrated bracelet, mixing daily capacities with refined mechanics, they’ve become something of a necessity for any watchmaking brand that wants to be taken seriously. Can we blame them? Certainly not, all of these new contenders are simply answering market demand. Parmigiani Fleurier has recently decided that it wants a seat at the table, and preferably next to the main icons of the so-called Holy Trinity. And for that, it has created a completely new collection, including this Tonda PF Micro-Rotor. But is it any good?What is a luxury sports watch?We’ve explained what we consider are the key traits of a luxury sports watch many times in the past, but since there is no fixed definition, a quick reminder will be helpful. According to our own defini

Collector's Series - Gavin Douglas And His Custom Habring2 Chrono-Felix
Today’s instalment of The Collector’s Series focuses on a watch that might look familiar. Several weeks ago we wrote about this very nice Habring2 monopusher chronograph that we, here at MONOCHROME, liked a lot. It was a limited edition from the Japanese retailer Shellman, and this particular one was for sale as a pre-owned watch. At some point in the process of designing our own Montre de Souscription with Habring2, we had also seen that Shellman edition, and oh did we like it! Since the launch of our collaboration with Maria and Richard Habring was planned for last week, Gavin kindly agreed to postpone his interview in the Collector’s Series until after the launch of our Montre de Souscription. Of course, I’m head over heels in love with ‘our’ Habring2, but Gavin’s version with a similar dial as the Shellman edition is just drop-dead gorgeous!?Frank Geelen, MONOCHROME – Do you remember when you first laid eyes on this Austrian brand?Gav

A Technical Perspective - The Peripheral Rotor, A Smart And Stylish Solution
Since 2009 and the introduction of the Carl F. Bucherer Calibre A1000, peripheral rotors are becoming more and more fashionable. With this smart and stylish solution, the winding mass is an annular segment mounted and swinging around the movement, instead of a centrally mounted oscillating weight rotating over the movement. This offers an unobstructed view of the movement along with providing the convenience of automatic winding. In addition, peripheral rotors allow watchmakers to design thinner self-winding watches, without adding to their thickness with an oscillating weight rotating over the movement.The calibre CFB A1000 series by Carl F. Bucherer. In 2009, it was the first movement with a peripheral rotor to be produced on a large scale.The 1950s - First attemptsThe idea of peripheral winding is not exactly new. We can refer to a patent applied in June 1955 by Paul Gosteli of Geneva, (Swiss patent N¡ã 322325 pictured below, filed on June 6th?1955, published on July 31st?1957) descr

Cuervo y Sobrinos Historiador Retr¨®grado Cobalt Blue
Cuervo y Sobrinos, the Swiss brand with Cuban roots, welcomes another member to its growing Historiador collection. One of the brand's most popular collections, the stylized case of the Historiador takes its profile from an original Cuervo y Sobrinos model from the 1950s. In the past year or so, we've seen the Historiador Peque?os Segundos (small seconds), a chronograph version of the Historiador with a restored Landeron calibre, a Flameante version with a “flaming” salmon dial and even a Luna Negra edition with a full calendar and moon phases. The latest Historiador is the Retr¨®grado model with a retrograde date display. Accompanying the retrograde date are a power reserve display at 6 o'clock and an unusual date display on two scales directly opposite the date.Havana moodWe recently covered the brand's remarkable history that started life in Havana in 1882 and resuscitated in the late 1990s. Cuervos y Sobrinos is all about recreating the Golden Days of La Habana in the 19

Ulysse Nardin Exo-Skeleton X for Only Watch 2019 - Monochrome Watches
For the 2019 edition of Only Watch, the biennial fundraiser for research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Ulysse Nardin has taken inspiration from the developments of the EPFL (ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) research group REHAssist. Meet the Ulysse Nardin Exo-Skeleton X for Only Watch 2019 with its innovative case construction.According to Dr Mohamed Bouri, head of the research group REHAssist, Autonomyo is an exceptional device which has been designed to be used without crutches. Our goal is to be able to support walking and managing balance for sufferers of muscular dystrophy, for example. Ad - Scroll to continue with article SKELETON DIAL - SKELETON MOVEMENT - EXOSKELETON CASEAs you had guessed, the Ulysse Nardin Exo-Skeleton X is a skeleton watch. But more than that, its 42 mm PVD-titanium case is fitted with an exoskeleton: four flexible blades a