REVIEW: Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum Worldtimer - Monochrome Watches
The world of high-end watches has seen several new releases of worldtimers in the last years. Until a decade ago, the worldtimer wrist watch, originally developed by Louis Cottier, was a complication that was dominated by brands like Patek Philippe and Girard-Perregaux (with their WW.TC). In the past years a few more contenders entered the market of world timers, however with the launch of the Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum, earlier this year, we have a new player in luxury entry level. It comes at a retail price of approx. € 5,500 Euro. The watches are now becoming available in stores and we thought it would be a good idea to review it. A worldtimer is after all one of the most convenient complications in this day and age, and with such a price, Montblanc makes this complication available for a larger audience.The Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum comes in a 41mm case, in either stainless steel or 18k red gold. Besides the modest diameter, the case is only 11.99mm thi

Bvlgari presents a fully blacked out version of the Bvlgari Bvlgari
Mysterious and enticing, the colour black is a much-used element in watchmaking. Sometimes for the sake of contrast and sometimes purely for styling purposes. Black touches on a dial, case or movement can give a new look to a watch, which we regularly see being done. Bvlgari has played around with the achromatic colour on several occasions across all its collections. Now it’s Bvlgari Bvlgari’s turn, one of the brand’s oldest collections still in production. This basic round watch can look back at more than 40 years of evolution and now comes in an all-black suit with the new Bvlgari Bvlgari 103540.Bvlgari presents two versions of the Bvlgari Bvlgari in full black, a 33mm quartz model and a 41mm mechanical version. The Bvlgari Bvlgari comes in a relatively simple round stainless steel case with the signature Bvlgari Bvlgari design. The case has integrated lug sections, a double-signed bezel (much like the Bvlgari Aluminium, just not rubber coated) and a see-through cas

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Alinghi
Already involved with the America's Cup since 1995, and also official timekeeper of the 36th edition of this legendary race, Omega is reinforcing its position in sailing. Last year, the Biel-based watchmaker announced its partnership with Alinghi, a?sailing team created in 1994 by Ernesto Bertarelli. To seal this alliance, Omega is today releasing a new, special edition of its bold Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon, with one of the most technical looks ever created in the brand’s history, in line with the impressive specs of Alinghi’s boats. Omega and Alinghi formed their partnership in May 2019, and have already enjoyed racing success thanks to the team's GC32 world title in June 2019, D35 Trophy win in September and GC32 championship in November. Alinghi is today one of the most awarded sailing team. In 2000, the team set itself the goal of winning the America’s Cup, which it did twice, in 2003 and 2007, meaning it was the first European team

The Cheapest High End watch - Monochrome Watches
Con artist make their living with it; the deep, burning human desire to get something for nothing. When dealing with a con artist, you usually end up with nothing for something, but that does not take away from the fact that we all love to get a good deal on something, ending up with a higher value then we actually paid for. Therefore, in this quest we are going to look for the cheapest, high-end watch there is in today's market.Before we can depart, we first must have a pretty good idea what a high-end watch actually is. While in some opinions, no watch is truly high end unless it features a perpetual calendar of course equipped with a minute repeater and two cathedral gongs, powered by a mechanical movement, with a tourbillion for that extra bit of accuracy, and you definitely cannot go without a sky chart on the back of the watch (how else would you be able find your way home?) that also should display orbit and phase of the moon. Well, then you'll probably also find the Patek Phili

Two affordable Full Calendar Watches from Montblanc and Baume & Mercier - Monochrome Watches
The last days of the SIHH turned out rather strange for me, as I was down with a severe flu, and unable to publish anything about the new timepieces. In the coming weeks I’ll publish the most outstanding, and remarkable pieces. I’ve had time to do some more hands-on photos, and the reviews will?follow over the?next weeks.?One of the remarkable introductions, or actually two introductions, came from?Montblanc and Baume & Mercier. These two brands, both part of the Richemont Group, each launched a very nice automatic timepiece with a full calendar. As the dial layout already gives away, both seem to be equipped with the same calendar module. Day and month are shown through a rectangle aperture, that is placed just below the brand’s name. The date is indicated as so-called pointer date, meaning the long hand points to the date that is printed on the dial’s perimeter. And as a little extra, both watches feature a moon phase indication.?Both watches are priced be