In-Depth - A Complete Collector's Guide to Daniel Roth and His Career
Daniel Roth is one of the most remarkable watchmakers of all time. During his 50-year career, Roth has worked with countless high-end brands and designed dozens of intriguing timepieces with complex technical features, including a Tourbillon with an 8-day power reserve, an instantaneous Perpetual Calendar and a Westminster Grande Sonnerie Carillon with four gongs. Surprisingly, not much is known about his roots and early days. Watch enthusiast Denny Grigolo from Italy undertook the time-consuming task of finding everything there is to know about Daniel Roth's story. MONOCHROME is grateful and proud to publish an English recap of his four-part research article, Daniel Roth: Storia di un Genio. Paying tribute to one of the most illustrious names in contemporary watchmaking necessarily starts with the story of another founding father of high watchmaking and genius, Abraham-Louis Breguet.Image by Jean Daniel NicolasNote: This article has been made possible by collating data from four in-de

Introducing AP's Most Complicated Wristwatch, The Code 11.59 Universelle Ultra-Complication
The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime and the Reference 6300, the Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4, the Vacheron Constantin Celestia or the Superbia Humanitatis by Piguet/Muller/Gerber… Many watches have claimed the title of the most complicated wristwatch, and all were undoubtedly wonders of miniaturisation and exceptional horological developments. Audemars Piguet is familiar with the concept, with multiple Grande Complication wristwatches in the collection. Today, the brand goes much further with the Code 11.59 Universelle Ultra-Complication, also known as RD#4. Equipped with 23 complications, 40 functions, a new Calibre 1000 with no fewer than 1,155 parts… All served up in a surprisingly reasonable 42mm case size and a price to match the feat. Meet AP’s most complex wristwatch to date.?The name of this new watch, the Code 11.59 Universelle Ultra-Complication, pays tribute to a historically important model for the brand, the?L’Universelle pocket watch, one of th

Men and their bags, where are they suddenly coming from? - Monochrome Watches
There was a time when men hardly dared to carry an attache briefcase and suddenly we see men with bags?everywhere.?In all the cosmopolitan cities around the world, men wear their bags proudly and most major?brands offer a wide range of bags for men.Let’s take a step back… It probably started in the seventies when men often carried a small hand-bag (a pochette). These small bags with a loop around the wrist with a few zippers that contained their wallet, cigarettes, lighter, drives license, maybe sunglasses and some other small things. But that were the seventies and beginning of the eighties…. Ad - Scroll to continue with article During the late eighties, nineties and beginning of the new millennium bags were almost absent in the streets, except… back packs. However times changed when all necessary gadgets like digital camera’s, mob

An Exclusive Evening with the Montblanc SIHH 2015 Novelties - Monochrome Watches
You’re cordially invited to the Montblanc Black & White Weeks 2015: The perfect event (that usually is not open to the public) to learn everything about Montblanc’s newest timepieces, to see them and more important, to try them on your wrist. Montblanc agreed to let us invite you?for this exclusive evening, where all novelties can be seen before they arrive in stores. We got hold of a limited number of tickets and are looking forward to welcome you on Wednesday 25th of February, in Amsterdam.?Montblanc unveiled their newest timepieces during the recent Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, in Geneva. We, and by that I mean the entire team, was rather impressed by Montblanc’s novelties! Take for instance the new Montblanc Heritage Chronometrie Dual Time. An elegantl, and very comfortable, wrist watch with a second time zone that is priced below € 4k Euro. Perfect for (business) travellers! When that’s not enough, you can have (all the times from 24 time

First Look: The Retter Mistral, An Accessible Thin Dress Watch with Style
Retter isn't a brand that many are familiar with as its first watch launched only a couple of years ago, the 22 Automatic. It was a solid first effort with the always popular integrated sports watch aesthetic, but the follow-up Mistral is a more mature and elegant dress watch, with a truly ultra-thin case (a term a bit too loosely thrown around). Both the case and dials have interesting, well thought designs that are above the microbrand norm, while the hand-wound Swiss movement really completes the package. It's quite a leap from the 22 Automatic, which was already an impressive inaugural watch, and it comes with a palatable price to boot.?There's an interesting approach to this stainless steel case design, which initially was going to have an interpretation of the classic 1950s Corne de Vache lugs. The look of soldered lugs on such a thin case just wasn't working, so the team created a multi-piece design with a mid-plate holding the lugs, which would then be hidden by a thin shell in