SIHH 2015 - Introducing the A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, Featuring a Decimal Minute Repeater (Specs and Price) - Monochrome Watches
On this first day of the SIHH we are already blown away by the vast amount of extremely impressive time pieces, and the new Lange & Sohne is no exception. The ‘normal’ Zeitwerk, as introduced in 2009, was in itself a magnificent masterpiece with most likely the easiest (ergonomically) way to read the time on a mechanical timepiece. A year later the German brand presented the Zeitwerk Luminous, and in 2011 the Zeitwerk Striking Time saw the light of day. Today we can show you the newest and most impressive of the Zeitwerk family, the A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, with a very special minute repeater!The ‘special’ minute repeater is a so-called decimal repeater, something that by my knowledge only Kari Voutilainen and Credor (although it is a spring-drive system and thus has a quartz crystal as regulator) have implemented in a wrist watch. Voutilainen’s?Decimal Repeaters are among the most coveted timepieces ever created. And yes, I lust

Interview - Talking To Remi Maillat, The Man Behind Krayon Watches
Independent watchmaker Krayon was created a few years ago by Remi Maillat. Besides his developments behind the scene for other brands, Krayon made a remarkable debut with the mindbogglingly complex Everywhere, the first mechanical watch able to compute the sunrise and sunset times everywhere on the globe. This impressive world-first earned Krayon a well-deserved accolade at the GPHG 2018 with the Innovation Prize. Maillat sits at an interesting intersection at watchmaking. His watches are classic and, at the same time, profoundly modern and innovative. On the occasion of a visit to Krayon's new facilities in Neuchatel, we sat for a talk with the independent watchmaker to better understand his work.Xavier Markl, MONOCHROME – How did you become hooked on watchmaking? Ad - Scroll to continue with article Remi Maillat, Krayon Watches – I was always inter

Introducing a new IWC Portuguese Automatic Edition BJIFF 2015 with a striking Panda dial - A Future Collectable - Monochrome Watches
Last Friday we told you about the new IWC Ingenieur Automatic Edition Laureus, with a very nice blue dial. Today we can show you yet another limited edition that we just need to tell you about. Why? Well, because of the dial. The new IWC?Portuguese Automatic Edition BJIFF 2015 (which stands for Beijing International Film Festival 2015) has a so-called panda dial and it?looks just so incredibly good. Limited to just 50 pieces, so again one that will become very collectible.First a bit of history. Back in 1996 IWC introduced the Portuguese Rattrapante, which was the first of the (than new) IWC Portuguese Chronograph collection. First to be introduced were a platinum version with a silver/white dial and a white gold version with a black dial and white sub dials. The latter had the so-called inverse panda dial, which later also appeared in the “regular” Portuguese Chronograph in stainless steel. In 2007 IWC introduced a limited edition for the Japanese market, with a proper pan

Massena LAB x Mathey-Tissot Type XX Watches
There are many watches that can be named iconic or emblematic. Each category has its cult watches – the Submariner for divers, the Speedmaster for racing chronographs and the Calatrava for dress watches. Few can rival the aura of the Type XX watches when it comes to pilot’s watches, specifically pilot’s chronographs. As we speak, Breguet is somewhat dormant on this topic, and only Airain seems to have an appealing re-edition to please collectors. Well, there’s a third option to look at now. Indeed, Massena LAB, the design studio headed by William Massena, is on a mission to revive Mathey-Tissot Type XX to its former glory… ?And their collaboration seems to have resulted in something very attractive.The Type XX and Mathey-TissotContrary to what many believe, the Type XX or Type 20 watches are not the sole property of Breguet. In fact, the name doesn’t even refer to a model but to a set of specifications for the creation of a pilot’s chronograph

Seiko Spring Drive Golden Tuna - SBDB008 - Monochrome Watches
This year at Basel, we saw something truly remarkable from the seminal Japanese brand, Seiko. A piece that we so boldly labeled to be an instant classic - the Grand Seiko 44GS reissue. 100 Years of watchmaking was the occasion, and with the Grand Seiko's success in international waters, it was only fitting for Seiko to put a GS as its symbol for yet another hallmark but is the Grand Seiko all there is to it? Monochrome investigatesLike a third-eye or the sixth-sense or whatever you want to call it, we knew something was up with the Japanese brand. It cannot be this simple, the 44GS was fantastic, but the GS was JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) no more. There is something amiss from their anniversary collection. And then we saw it, right at the very last section of the Japanese catalog (click here), a behemoth of a piece that Seiko hid so well. We stood silent staring into the photograph, and only three words were uttered - Spring Drive Tuna! Ad - Scroll to continue with articl