Watches NEWS
What We Wish The Watchmaking Industry To Do In 2020 // Opinion
New year, new decade and… new expectations too. We, at MONOCHROME, love watches and the watchmaking industry as a whole. No debate. And well, you know the drill, “spare the rod, spoil the child”. Since we enjoy watches and horology that much, we can’t help being critical, expecting more, wanting the industry to improve, to evolve and to offer more. So, as 2020 is kicking off, here’s our wish list of what we’d like to see in watchmaking this year… And if you have your own expectations for 2020, please feel free to share them in the comments at the end of this opinion piece.More creativityWe can easily fall in love with a nicely executed vintage re-edition of a glorious 1960s diver or a steel Panda chronograph. When done well, vintage-inspired watches are extremely desirable. Still, the trend for “heritage” or “reissue” is all over the place, and it has been the case for the last 10 years. If we had to name one single tren
First Look: The New Chopard L.U.C. Quattro
The ultra-thin, 3.7mm Calibre 98.01-L, certified by both the Poin?on de Geneve and COSC, was the second developed by the Chopard manufacture and followed the groundbreaking Calibre L.U.C 96.01-L, which was created in collaboration with Michel Parmigiani and laid the foundation for future movement development. The manually wound 98.01-L featured Chopard’s so-called Quattro technology: a four-barrel system (stacked in two pairs) that delivered an impressive 216-hour (nine-day) power reserve.Since its debut in a 38mm L.U.C. Quattro Ref. 16/1863, this mechanism has evolved to support numerous complications, and the most recent evolution, the L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25, with a jumping-hour movement. This year, Chopard is marking the 25th anniversary of the Quattro by unveiling a refined new edition of the watch. This latest L.U.C Quattro iteration features a compact case, reshaped to align with the contemporary aesthetic codes of the L.U.C collection, and a new dial configuration.
the 2020 Chopard L.U.C Perpetual Twin (Specs & Price)
In 1996, under the guidance of Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Chopard proudly inaugurated its Fleurier Manufacture and introduced a superb micro-rotor movement, the Calibre 1.96. This brand milestone gave birth to a collection of high-end watches named L.U.C embodying Chopard's finest watchmaking expertise. It laid the foundations for numerous developments including the L.U.C Perpetual Twin, an elegant perpetual calendar that was presented in 2016 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the collection. The model is now released in two new elegant versions. The first version of the Chopard L.U.C Perpetual Twin is presented in the usual stainless steel case. It is now fitted with a new dial, with subtle blue shades. The second model introduced is, for the first time, offered in pink gold and paired with an elegant ruthenium-grey dial. Both dials are presented in a new, more classic style with faceted hour markers – replacing the applied Roman numerals found in
Chopard Mille Miglia GTS Power Control Grigio Speciale (Specs & Price)
To celebrate 30 years of partnership between Chopard and the Mille Miglia – the famous Italian open-road endurance race for classic and vintage cars which kicks off today?– the Geneva-based manufacturer is presenting its latest version of the watch dedicated to this race from its?Mille Miglia collection. And as you can see, this new?Chopard Mille Miglia GTS Power Control Grigio Speciale is racing-inspired all the way.It is no surprise to see Chopard introduce a new racing-inspired watch given the brand’s solid links to the world of motorsport – Le Mans with Porsche, Monaco Historic Grand Prix, Mille Miglia, Jacky Icks as ambassador. For 30 years now (since 1988), Chopard has been the official timekeeper and sponsor of the classic car version of the Italian race Mille Miglia and since then has created watches under its?eponymous watch collection. Also,?the personal passion for collector's cars nurtured by Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele is well-know
S.U.F. Helsinki Vetehinen By Sarpaneva Dive Watch Review (Specs & Price)
Rough, cold, with a unique character and surprisingly fascinating… that is how I would describe the?contrasting country that is Finland. Funnily enough, it’s also how I would describe?the new?S.U.F. Helsinki Vetehinen, the brand's first dive watch. A Finnish watch made by Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva, who loves to play?with the elements of unique design DNA he has developed,?transposing and combining them in his little?universe, resulting in a watch that simply looks and feels different, in a very good way.What is S.U.F. Helsinki? Basically, it stands for?SarpanevaUhrenFabrik, a brand that is said to be “Finland, through and through“. What you might have spotted of course is the name Sarpaneva, one of the most productive members of the “independent watchmakers” scene. With S.U.F., Stepan wanted to explore?different horizons, with sporty and more accessible watches – relatively simple sports watches, with out-sourced movements, prices sta