Top Watch of 2019, By All Members of The MONOCHROME Team
As a Managing Editor, I love to challenge the redaction team at MONOCHROME. So a few weeks ago, I gathered most of our editors and contributors and came with THE big question, one that seems simple at first, but in fact, isn’t. One short question: “choose your favourite watch of 2019”, with no other rule than that. No consideration of price, of availability, of manufacturer or of complication, just the watch that they would love to own. And the answers are pretty interesting. So here are the MONOCHROME’s team Top Watches of 2019.Gandor Bronkhorst, contributor – Patek Philippe Chronograph 5172GSure, it's a safe choice. But the Chronograph 5172G is a safe choice because it triumphs in what it was created for: the flagship watch of probably the most prestigious watchmaker in the world. What's even more impressive: it replaces an icon (the 5170), and is actually, to me, better than its predecessor. I love the slightly more modern design, the stunning details a

Video Gerald Charles Maestro 2.0 Premier 2021 Green Dial
The name Gerald Charles might not be as familiar as Gerald Genta, but they actually belong to the same man… Gerald Charles Genta. The man has gone down in watchmaking history as one of the most successful designers of the 20th century, being the genius mind behind the Royal Oak, the Nautilus, the Omega Constellation, the UG Polerouter or the Cartier Pasha – among many, many other creations. Although the Gerald Genta brand was sold to Bvlgari in 2000, Mr Genta ended up pursuing another own watch brand in parallel, Gerald Charles. And it is back, with watches inspired by his own designs, such as the Gerald Charles Maestro 2.0 Premier 2021 Green Limited Edition we review in the video above!Now located in Lugano, the brand was backed by the Italian Ziviani family. Following Genta’s death in 2011, Federico Zivani decided it was time to revive the Gerald Charles brand. Last year, Gerald Charles reappeared on the watch scene with the resuscitation of a 2006 design in a disti

Embracing the Contemporary Appeal of Forged Carbon in Designs both Old and New - Monochrome Watches
It’s often said the watchmaking industry is a conservative business, and for the most part that’s quite true. Traditional techniques are still at the heart of the vast majority of mechanical watches, but there are those who dare to push back boundaries and venture into the unknown. This can result in innovative materials, new designs and surprising collaborations. But, as some of the watches on this list perfectly showcase, cutting-edge materials can also be used to give a new spin on retro-inspired design. With that in mind, we take a closer look at some of the most refreshing carbon watches in recent times!Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 forged carbonTissot’s mighty cool PRX needs little introduction. Prior to this Forged Carbon edition of the 40mm wide PRX, we only had stainless steel cases. Ok, there’s the gold PVD-coated PRX but that’s still steel underneath. The use of forged carbon drops the weight down from roughly 135 grams on a full bracelet, to approxi

Anti-Magnetic To The Max - The 160,000 Gauss Resistant Omega Watch
Recently, in a long documentary, we went through?the ins-and-outs of anti-magnetism in?watchmaking, illustrated by the brand that simply masters this concept, Omega, and their hyper-strict testing and certification procedure, the Master Chronometer. You thought that the 15,000 Gauss resistance of these watches was already impressive… Wait for this: Omega actually tested a watch, a prototype of a Seamaster Aqua Terra,?to the insane magnetic field of 160,000 Gauss. And believe it or not, it survided and it is now exposed at the Omega Museum, as part of the area of anti-magnetic watchmaking.As of now, Omega has mainly advertised on the 15,000 Gauss resistance of their Master Chronometer watches, an already extremely impressive resistance that is achieved not by making the case antimagnetic but by having developed an entire movement that can’t be affected by these impressive magnetic fields. This movement is named the Master Chronometer and it requires its own testing procedure

Recommended Reading - Interview With Industry Veteran Dr Helmut Crott
For seasoned collectors and long-time watch enthusiasts, the name Dr Helmut Crott will certainly sound familiar. But this discreet gentleman is a far cry from your typical flamboyant CEO or industry insider. Understated, humble but extremely knowledgeable. The kind of man that you can learn a lot from; a man with more than half a decade of experience in the watchmaking field, as a collector, an auctioneer, an author and even as the owner of a historical watch brand. You don’t get to hear this man often, but our friends at A Collected Man managed to spend a day with him, and the result in this inspiring interview. Dr Helmut Crott is one of the most important actors of the modern watch industry, specifically on the collecting side. Over his 50-year career, he’s been a collector, he worked together with Patek Philippe to source some of the watches now exhibited at the Museum, he started an eponymous auction house focused on watches – Dr Crot