Comparing the old and the new A. Lange & Sohne Lange 1 (live pics, specs & price) - Monochrome-Watches
How hard must it be to renew an icon, to improve on what people think to be one of the best ever created watches, one of the most recognizable timepieces of the entire industry? The A. Lange & Sohne Lange 1 is one of those icons that you don’t want to change because every single detail is just superb and so deliberate that changing would possibly ruin the entire?equilibrium of its?design. However, for 2015, there is a new Lange 1 and as it is available from now in stores, let’s have a deeper look at what the Saxonian manufacture changed, improved (or possibly deteriorated).The 2015 A. Lange & Sohne Lange 1We want first to reassure the aficionados and collectors, the changes are very, very subtle – at least for the visual side. Since its launch in 1994 for the rebirth of the brand – on the?24 October 1994 to be precise – the Lange 1 is a sort of alien (relatively speaking) in the very classical field of German watchmaking. While?the vast majority of

Omega and the PloProf Research Programme - Innovation in Professional Dive watches (incl. Pioneering use of 904L Steel for Watches) - Monochrome Watches
By the early 1940s, Emile Gagnan and Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s Aqualung - the first commercially successful self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (a.k.a Scuba)-? had become a worldwide phenomenon. Along with the growing popularity of recreational diving, the needs of military and professional divers underscored the paramount importance of reliable sub-aquatic instruments. The first modern dive watches appeared in the early 1950s with the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, the Zodiac Sea Wolf or the Submariner. Developed in 1953, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms is often regarded as the archetype of the dive watch: a robust, highly legible watch, water-resistant to great depths (91 meters, in this instance) and equipped with a unidirectional rotating bezel to time dives.The development of deep-sea saturation divingHowever, the development of deep-sea saturation diving soon made even higher performing tools necessary – quite simply because professional dive watches had to adapt to t

Pre-SIHH 2019 - Cartier Prive Collection, The Comaback of the Cartier Tonneau (Specs & Price)
The Tonneau Watch by Cartier always had a special place amongst collectors. Certainly less famous than other shaped watches designed by the Parisian Maison (Tortue, Crash, Tank, Santos, Drive, Ballon Bleu, and many more), it remains one of the most original and certainly one of the most elegant creations ever executed by Cartier. Thanks to the Revival of the “Prive” branding, with the reinterpretation of the Crash in 2015 and the Tank Cintree in 2017, we see the return of those beautiful shapes watches in the brand’s portfolio. For the SIHH 2019, the Tonneau Watch is staging a comeback.The Cartier Tonneau, An Icon born in 1906The Cartier Tonneau is one of the earliest wristwatches created by Cartier. Only two years after the introduction of the Santos (created by Louis Cartier in 1904 for his friend Santos-Dumont), Cartier again challenged the concept of the round pocket watch with yet another shaped wristwatch. The name itself, “Tonneau”, refers to the sh

Basel news: TAG Heuer Monaco 40th anniversary - Monochrome Watches
Dear readers,The past week i’ve been busy upgrading the software and design?of Monochrome.nl . Although the design changes are not complete yet, I hope you like the new looks of monochrome. Within a few days i’ll start posting about watches again. It’s an exiting time in this month before the start of Baselworld. Brands like Glashutte Original, TAG Heuer, Omega and many, many more?are?already pre-releasing?some of their new creations.Here are already two new releases from TAG Heuer so exiting that i have to share them. The Monaco 40th anniversary 1969 re-edition is one that i think it totally exiting. The looks are so close to the original Monaco which became famous because Steve McQueen wore one in the movie Le Mans. This re-edition has, like the original, the crown at the left side of the case. The caliber 11 movement is the same as TAG Heuer used in the Autavia re-issue that was released a few years ago. On the dial you’ll see the old name Heuer! If?you want

History of the Patek Philippe Nautilus, Part 3 - The Modern Days (2006/present) - Monochrome Watches
Every story has a beginning, a middle and there's an end, and today will be the third and final installment of our?“History of the Patek Philippe Nautilus“. After a close look at the icon that started it all, the emblematic Nautilus Ref. 3700, after looking at the evolution of a model into a proper collection, from 1980 to 2006, it’s time now to look at modern ages?– an era that started in 2006, for the 30th anniversary of the Nautilus, with the comeback of the “Steel Jumbo”, the addition of a chronograph and an overall facelift of the collection, to shape the Nautilus that we know today. Numbers like 5711, 5980 or 5990 will be mentioned, and some?watch-lovers already know what it’s going to be about. Here are the modern days of the?Patek Philippe Nautilus.Patek Philippe Nautilus History – Timeline 2006-2016 – click to enlarge Ad - Scroll to continue with article