SIHH 2018 - Vanessa Monestel of Laurent Ferrier, On The New Collection - Monochrome Watches
We are already well over half-way through SIHH 2018 and there's still much, much more to come in our comprehensive coverage of the Fair. If you've been following along, you would have already seen our video interviews with the likes of Wilhelm Schmid of A. Lange & Sohne and Christian Selmoni of Vacheron Constantin. Now, we are speaking to Vanessa Monestel, CEO of Laurent Ferrier, about the brand's sleeper hit of the fair, the exceptional Galet Annual Calendar Montre Ecole.With a focus on clean design, legibility and ease of use, this new Annual Calendar watch is sure to quickly find favour with Laurent Ferrier's legion of dedicated collectors. It also happens to house the independent manufacturer's fifth in-house movement, an exceptionally impressive achievement for any brand, made all the more so by the fact that it includes a particularly practical complication. As you would expect, the watch displays the day of the week, the date and months with 30 and 31 days - meaning that onl

Hands-on Frederique Constant Manufacture Perpetual Calendar, a QP priced under €8,000 (Live photos) - Monochrome Watches
Among the classical watchmaking complications, the perpetual calendar is certainly one of the most desirable, as being a strong technical achievement. Because of what it does (being able to have a watch correctly adjusted for the coming 100 years…), it is sought after by collectors and can be seen as a sort of achievement in a collection. However, as expected, this is not a cheap type of watches. Well, it was not until a few years and it is even truer now, as at Baselworld 2016, a QP priced under 8,000 Euros has been launched, the?Frederique Constant Manufacture Perpetual Calendar. And don’t expect it to be featured with a poor content, as it has several arguments under the hood.What is a Perpetual Calendar and why it isn’t cheap?Before we start with this short technical explanation, we recently published a complete overview on the subject, here. To understand why a perpetual calendar exists, we first have to remind that our calendar, the Gregorian Calendar, is based

Video - Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Chronograph Skeleton Automatic
It seems to be a never-ending success story. Another year, another new ultra-thin model, another world record… Once again, Bvlgari introduces a new, ultra-technical, ultra-impressive model in its Octo Finissimo collection, once again, it sets new standards for thinness, and once again, it proves that when it comes to ultra-thin movements and watches the brand is amongst the best in class. This year, Bvlgari archives its sixth record with an openworked watch equipped with a tourbillon and an automatic chronograph… and with a case that measures just 7.40mm in height (this is less than most time-only, ultra-thin watches…) and a movement that is just 3.50mm thin. Yes, the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Chronograph Skeleton Automatic is once again a demonstration of savoir-faire, which is fully explained in the video at the top of this article with Jean-Christophe Babin, the brand’s CEO.More details about this new Octo Finissimo here, in our hands-on review, and a

Collecting chronographs - Monochrome Watches
Most collectors have a personal preference. Some collectors focus mainly on dive watches, some on chronograph and some have a ‘weak spot’ for a certain brand. A good friend collects Cartier watches, not just any Cartier but mainly from the Collection Privee. Another good friend collects watches from A. Lange und Sohne and he has some extraordinary pieces. My initial personal preference in watches where chronographs and although my preference has changed to watches made by independent watchmakers, chronographs still have a special place in my ‘collectors heart’. Ad - Scroll to continue with article Unfortunately chronographs made by independent watchmakers are rare, very rare and not affordable for me. There are just a few existing chronograph calibers and these are used by most brands. Glashuette Original is one of the few big brands with

Richard Mille RM 11-02 Le Mans Classic - Monochrome Watches
After a spectacular (in terms of execution and visual aspect) watch introduced a few days ago, the?RM 68-01 Tourbillon decorated by street-artist Cyril Kongo, Richard Mille goes back to more fundamental inspirations, with a new limited edition of its Dual Time Zone?chronograph dedicated to classic cars and racing, the?Richard Mille RM 11-02 Le Mans Classic. A partner of the event since its inception in 2002, Richard Mille celebrates the Le Mans Classic by creating a new watch for each edition of the race. Here is the 2016 edition, limited to 150 pieces.For this year’s edition of the Le Mans Classic, Richard Mille uses one of our favorites to create a limited edition, the RM 11. Favorite because this watch certainly best represents what a RM watch should be – without considering some totally crazy editions, like the Nadal watches. This watch is sporty, it has a chronograph, its design is bold and at the same time, it features impressive complications and technicality. The RM