Bovet Wins the "Aiguille dOr" at GPHG 2018 (and all the other prize-winners) - Monochrome Watches
This is it, the 2018 edition of the GPHG, known as the “Oscars of the watchmaking industry”, has come to a close and the prize for the best watch of the year, also known as the?“Aiguille d'Or”, has been awarded. Once again this year, complications, creativity and Haute Horlogerie have been rewarded. Meet the best watch of 2018, the Bovet?Recital 22 Grand Recital – reviewed here – an impressively complex astronomical watch, as well as all the other prize winners of the GPHG 2018.Quick analysis: this year, independent watchmakers are at centre stage. No fewer than 9 prizes (total of 17 prizes) have rewarded the creativity of smaller brands, which are not under the control of mainstream luxury groups. Bovet (with the best of show “Aiguille d’Or”), Krayon, Akrivia, Laurent?Ferrier, Singer, De Bethune, Greubel Forsey, Habring2 and Konstantin Chaykin will all return home with one of the Golden Hand prizes. This is a clear sign of the impo

Annual Calendar Chronographs and a Bit of History - Monochrome Watches
The annual calendar is a relatively young complication' and was first used in a wristwatch by Patek Philippe in 1996. It's the less complicated sibling of the perpetual calendar and only requires one calendar adjustment every year. Today we're looking at the less complicated' combination of a calendar mechanism and a chronograph. So not the esteemed combination of a perpetual calendar and a chronograph, but the combination of an annual calendar and a chronograph and there are actually only a handful combining these two complications.While every collector and watch enthusiast will lust over Perpetual Calendar Chronographs made by Patek, Lange, Vacheron and AP, its slightly more simple sibling is not only undervalued but also under-represented in availability. When looking at today's market for new watches, we could count only a few Annual Calendar Chronographs although we wouldn't mind seeing more of these. So for the sake of this pretty cool combination of the Annual Calendar and Chron

Pre SIHH 2012 - Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometrea Quantieme Lunaire 40.5 - Monochrome Watches
In 2010 Jaege-LeCoultre introduced the Duometre?¨¤ Quantieme Luniare, which became immediately populair amongst watch fans and it was even chosen as Timezone Watch of the Year 2010. Now Jaeger-LeCoultre releases a new version… It’s called the Duometrea Quanteme Luniare 40.5. From its name (and specifications) we can conclude it now comes in a more elegant size. The previous model was 42 mm in diameter and?the new one is 40.5 mm. Is Jaeger-LeCoultre setting the trend for down-sizing? And what more did they change on this new Duometre? Ad - Scroll to continue with article First and foremost I think it’s good to take note that JLC already started with down-sizing with 2011 novelties?like the Master Geographic and the Master Ultra Thin (MUT) Moon. Many watch fans, aficionados and collectors have been longing for the moment the trend of ‘big, b

IWC Pilot's Watch "Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport" / Introducing
Manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen has dedicated two limited-edition Pilot's watches to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, the renowned constructor of Formula One cars based in the UK. As the team's official engineering partner since 2013, IWC exploits the many parallels that exist between motor sport's premier competition and high-end watchmaking. Kitted out with the black and turquoise livery of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, two limited-edition Pilot's watches - a perpetual calendar and a chronograph - join IWC's line-up of aviator models.Editor’s note: Yes, indeed, at IWC a Pilot’s watch doesn’t only mean “flying tool” but refers to pilots in general, of the airborne and track kind. Previously reserved to the Ingenieur line, with the integrated bracelet and shaped case, the new AMG editions are no longer based on this collection – the Ingenieur of today is dedicated to classic motor racing, not to technical, modern F1. This is the role of the Pilot&

The watch collector - a strange breed of people? - Monochrome Watches
Monochrome’s contributor Dr. Watch shares his personal ideas about the strange breed called watch aficionados. Be prepared and join the discussion!A few years ago, quite a lot actually, Nike launched an intriguing campaign featuring a picture of an unattractive man who was clearly more worried about sports results than fashion. The tagline was something like “Runners are freaks; they don’t act like normal people, they don’t dress like normal people”. I won’t bother anyone with the dressing habits of the average watch fan, but when it comes to ‘not acting like normal people’, watch freaks are just as uhmmm freaky as the average runner. Ad - Scroll to continue with article I’ve been a watch nerd for my entire adult life (before the tender age of 18, I think people could be forgiven for wearing stuff, not just w