Watches NEWS
Independent Watchmaking - Artime and their ART01 Tourbillon
At MONOCHROME, we are always delighted to discover and present new watchmaking projects. So, when we learnt about the crew getting involved in the creation of a fresh high-end independent brand, it naturally caught our attention. Artime is the brainchild of a team of watchmaking experts in design, management, engineering, manufacturing and sales, bringing together a rather impressive wealth of expertise and experience. Meet their first opus, Artime ART01, with its transparent case and architectural calibre regulated by a twin-hairspring tourbillon.Artime was founded in 2021 in Les Brenets in the Swiss Jura mountains by six personalities not necessarily widely known by the public but bringing together a rather impressive wealth of expertise and experience. Didier Bretin, the ART01's movement designer, exerted his talents at Breguet, Audemars Piguet and Greubel Forsey. Fabrice Deschanel managed complication specialist and high-end movement manufacturer Renaud & Papi (now integrated i
The most talked-about chronograph watches of the Geneva Watch Week
Outside of Watches & Wonders 2022, there was plenty more going on in the heart of Geneva. While close to 40 brands exhibited at the Palexpo complex, several other brands were present at Time to Watches or the Masters of Horology venues in the city, or even spread around some of the lakeside hotels. With so many new watches being presented, we take a look at some of the most talked-about chronographs presented during what we labelled the Geneva Watch Week.Jacob & Co Jean BugattiJacob & Co is known for over-the-top, ultra-complex watchmaking spectacles, yet the new Jean Bugatti Chronograph feels, different. It is still an extremely complex watch but with a more restrained exterior. The innovative double retrograde chronograph is paired with a twin-flying tourbillon escapement. The chronograph display is quite different from traditional ones, with a dashboard-like design. The elapsed seconds are shown by a pair of retrograde hands, indicating the tens and single units. The min
Interview - Hind Seddiqi on the 2021 Edition of Dubai Watch Week
During Dubai Watch Week, we interviewed Hind Abdul Hamied Seddiqi, Director General of the event and Chief Marketing & Communications Officer of Seddiqi Holding. A key event in the region and the global watch calendar, Dubai Watch Week held its fifth edition from 24 -28 November 2021. Like previous editions, it was held at the Gate in the heart of Dubai’s financial district with over 45 watch brands exhibiting under the umbrella “Reunited for a Moment in Time.”?The Dubai Watch Week is an initiative of Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, one of the leading watch retailers in the Middle East (and globally), with a portfolio of over 50 luxury watch and jewellery brands across over 70 locations in the UAE.Hind Abdul Hamied Seddiqi, Director General of Dubai Watch Week, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at Seddiqi HoldingXavier Markl, MONOCHROME - Thanks for having us for this spectacular fifth edition of the Dubai Watch Week. Can you tell us about the origins of the
The Type A11 DD-45, The Dirty Dozen Watch According To Praesidus
Watches have always been intertwined with big historical events all over the world. Many are connected to pivotal events or influential people, such as the Omega Speedmaster and the Apollo 11 mission that landed on the Moon or the watches worn by King Charles III of the British royal family. But some watches are not special because they are tied to a single person or event in time, but for having humbly served an entire nation or even the world. One type of watch that immediately springs to mind is the military issued “Dirty Dozen” watch. Even today, collectors are fanatically chasing these 12 different watches, issued by the British Ministry of Defense in 1943. This group is so popular today that other brands also take inspiration from the simple yet very effective design, which is exactly what Praesidus has done. Its all-new Type A11 DD-45 collection is a fitting salute to the original twelve that served so many during WWII.Let’s immediately make it clear that the n
First Look: The Piaget Polo 79, now in White Gold (Incl. Video)
Last year, Piaget made a bold move, resurrecting one of its most emblematic watches and designs… The Polo watch was back to its original shape and opulent full gold attire, with a case, bracelet and dial adorned with horizontal gadroons, highlighting Piaget's unique legacy when it comes to creating fascinating shaped watches. The Piaget Polo 79 marked the return of the brand to the integrated elegant sports watch category, with a unique style and bold flair. Following the yellow gold version of last year, Piaget now releases a (slightly) more discreet version of the Polo 79 in white gold, and we’re having a closer look at it.?The Piaget Polo 79 as launched in 2024, with its full yellow gold attireWhen it was relaunched with a modernized and sleeker design in 2016, the Piaget Polo adopted the design cues of luxury sports watches, slightly changing the face of the collection to become a cushion-shaped watch, actually much closer to the Emperador collection in terms of design.