Watches NEWS
Alternatives to Off-the-Shelf Swiss ETA and Sellita Movements, with Seagull, Seiko and Miyota - Monochrome Watches
When talking about contemporary watches, companies generally use either in-house or off-the-shelf movements, the latter supplied by various manufacturers. Many high-end brands like Patek Philippe, Piaget, and Breguet can produce in-house movements that are optimized for their portfolios. A watch company is considered complete when it can produce its own movement, but many still rely on outsourced ones from large Swiss manufacturers like ETA and Sellita. Yet, the market has changed. A few established brands have decided to offer entry-range automatic watches and mostly,?microbrands are all over the place, with the need to offer mechanical movements for accessible prices. Alternatives to?the usual Swiss generic?calibres have thus become crucial.The time and expense to design and build an in-house movement isn't a viable option for many smaller brands, and even major companies with their own movement production facilities also rely on off-the-shelf calibres for many models. It's been th
Chopard L.U.C XPS Azur - Cannes Red Carpet Edition 2019 - Monochrome Watches
Chopard capitalises on its role as the official partner of the Cannes Film Festival (14-25 May) and launches an azure version of its ultra-thin L.U.C XPS gent's model. Dressed for the red-carpet event, the L.U.C XPS Azur dons a handsome blue suit and comes in an 18k ethical gold case. Limited to just 10 pieces, the watch bears its very own accolades: the chronometric performance of the movement is COSC certified and the overall quality and finishes of the watch are endorsed with the Poin?on de Geneve seal.Red carpet flairSince Chopard became an official partner of the glamorous event devoted to cinema in 1988, Caroline Scheufele's high jewellery creations and Karl-Friedrich Scheufele's most elegant dress watches have accompanied the world's biggest stars down the red carpet. Last year, Chopard presented men with a L.U.C XPS 1860 edition with a flamboyant red guilloche dial and diamond hour markers. For 2019, the brand adopts the same top-of-the-line L.U.C XPS 1860 model with its thin p
The Longines A-7 Avigation: American Air Power - Monochrome Watches
In the early days of aviation, the military aviator's watch was an instrument of performance and precision. The US military had strict requirements for their Type A watches, and in 1934, specified an aircraft navigational chronograph from which derives the conjunction avigation: aviation and navigation. First issued between the World Wars, the US Army Air Corps Avigation Type A-7 Hack Watch was a pocket watch chronograph adapted for a wristwatch, making it a large accoutrement - perfect for navigation.?Think of it as an American equivalent to the German B-Uhr Fliegers – only with a chronograph – or the French Type 20 (see our article about Type 20 watches here). Ad - Scroll to continue with article The American Type A-7 were supplied by Gallet (white dial), Meylon and Longines. Vintage A-7s are rare, however Longines has made it easy to own one by re
Alexandre Meerson Altitude Premiere & Altitude Officier - Review with live photos & price - Monochrome-Watches
A few months ago, we introduced to you a new luxury brand with a simple but highly enjoyable design and an interesting horological content: Alexandre Meerson. By only looking at the press photos and reading the press release, we found that both the story was highly captivating and that the timepieces were not denied of elegance. However, nothing?is better than?a try and all the photos, as good as they can be, will never replace the experience of having the watch strapped on the wrist. That’s why we get our hands on all the collection: the?Alexandre Meerson Altitude Premiere & Altitude Officier.The two collections –?Altitude Premiere & Altitude Officier – share several similarities, among which is the design of the case. It is composed of a totally round central part and of two lug modules, with an Art-Deco twist, that hold the strap. The integration of such modules in a modern watch is not that common and, most of the time, the previous attempts led to an obso
Anonimo Nautilo Sailing Edition hands-on (specs & price)
Founded in the late 1990s, Anonimo combines Swiss precision with rugged Italian sports chic, producing highly functional watches with a robust, modern feel. Among its?latest collections - and a favorite within the Monochrome team – the Nautilo Sailing Edition is an attractive red-black dive watch inspired by the marine background of the brand. It was released in the frame of a sailing partnership as Anonimo has teamed-up with SFS headed by skipper Lionel Pean.The Anonimo Nautilo Sailing Edition is a contemporary re-interpretation of the diving watches designed by the military engineer Dino Zei. Dino Zei was at the helm of Panerai for over 20 years, until Richemont took control of the brand in 1997, and later joined Anonimo. The idea of the founders of Anonimo (in particular Federico Massacesi) was that the product, with distinctive functional design, should always come before the brand itself. For this reason, the brand didn't appear on the dial for a long time. The choice of the