Watches NEWS
Hands-On - IWC Portugieser Chronograph Edition 150 Years Ref. 3716 (SIHH 2018) with Price
Here we are… The SIHH 2018 will open in a few hours, but we already have a few novelties to share. And for the first of the day, we have something that is certain to make some noise around the collecting community. Indeed, what you see here is a new, slightly redesigned (just a bit), mechanically upgraded (a lot) version of IWC’s most iconic modern watch, the Portugieser Chronograph. Please meet the?IWC Portugieser Chronograph Edition 150 Years Ref. 3716, with new dial, new movement and sadly, in limited edition.A few weeks ago, we introduced to you some of the Pre-SIHH 2018 novelties by IWC, including the Tribute to Pallweber and the Portugieser Constant Force. These watches, and all the watches you’ll see from IWC in the coming days, are part of a Jubilee collection that celebrates the 150th anniversary of the brand. The common point of all these watches (there’s close to 30 of them) is to be seen on the dials, which show a great lacquer, enamel-like finish. S
It was 40 years ago... the first automatic chronograph - Monochrome Watches
40 Years ago, on 3 March 1969, the first automatic chronograph movement was introduced. This movement,?nick-named Chronomatic, was developed by a joint venture of Heuer, Breitling, Buren and Dubois-Depraz. The Chronomatic was used by Heuer, Breitling and Buren under the name of caliber 11.Cover of Swiss Watch and Jewelry Journal – nr.2 1969It actually started with the development of a HMS (hours, minutes, seconds) movement that got it’s power from a micro-rotor! Buren patented a micro-rotor winding system, that was called planetary rotor, in 1954. However it took them untill 1957 before it saw production and later, in 1962, the design was refined into caliber 1280.The new caliber 1280 had a slightly larger swinging mass than the earlier caliber and the swinging mass now swung over the center of the movement. This caliber, also called Intramatic, won the Prix d’Honneur at the 1964 Swiss National Exposition in Lausanne. A year later the micro-rotor was further refined i
24 Hours of Le Mans with Chopard Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 Edition - Monochrome Watches
Looking for a good weekend movie? We recommend Steve McQueen in the racing classic, Le Mans. Why? Not only for the stupendous lack of dialogue supplemented by engine roar, but also for the on-screen rivalry between McQueen's Porsche team and Ferrari. The real actors are a Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512. Porsche prototypes left the race in 1998, leaving a legacy of domination, and until this year, could only be seen at Le Mans in this movie.For the 2014, 24 hours of Le Mans race, the Porsche team reasserted themselves with the Porsche prototype 919 hybrid. Chopard commemorates Porsche's return to the race with its Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 Limited Edition. We previously introduced the entire Superfast collection, and the Porsche 919 Limited Edition with its incorporation of Porsche design elements celebrates motorsport in the spirit of Le Mans. Porsche is back, and Chopard's prescient Superfast Porsche 919 may be an omen of things to come. The watch is a statement of competitive enginee
IWC Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Lewis Hamilton IW503002
Last year, I had the chance to interview F1 superstar Lewis Hamilton, just before the French Grand-Prix. Part of the discussion was, of course, his impressive racing results but also something more in line with our usual topics; watches. I asked him what if he had the opportunity to design his own IWC watch. He answered “red gold is my favourite (…) I love the Big Pilot's watch, I love heavier watches (…) Most likely it would be a perpetual calendar (…) A watch as mechanical as possible.” Well, it seems that his idea has come to life, with the new IWC “Lewis Hamilton” Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar.?Let’s get it straight… This new IWC Lewis Hamilton edition is bold. Colours are louder than your usual Pilot’s watch, the mix of materials brings a lot of contrast, the watch is large, heavy, complex and far from accessible. In short, it’s quite in line with the image Hamilton sends – even though, to my bigg
GIVE AWAY: 3 Patek Philippe books and the 2016 Patek Philippe necktie (in orange) - Monochrome Watches
Again it’s time for a new installment of the Monochrome 10th anniversary give-away, and today we have the pleasure to announce some spectacular gifts (again) that one of our readers can win. For this sweepstake we will be giving away a copy of the Patek Philippe Watches volume I & II books, a copy of the 175th anniversary book, a Collection Book volume II, and a Patek Philippe 2016 necktie in our beloved colour, orange. All these gifts are made available by Patek Philippe in Geneva, and Steltman Watches, an authorized Patek Philippe retailer from my hometown The Hague.?Since this Patek Philippe sweepstake comprises so many gifts, we will ask you what your favorite is, and take that into account when drawing the winners. Like always, we’ll ask you a few question about choice in watches. First off… The Patek Philippe Watches Volume I&II books, from the Patek Philippe Museum. As we described it before, a must-have book for the discer