Buying Guide - Our 10 Best Watches of 2018 Under EUR 2,000
Let’s make things clear! When Frank founded MONOCHROME over 12 years ago, the main objective was to create “an online magazine dedicated to fine watches”. This meant the celebration of traditional, high-end watchmaking. However, we are fully aware that not everyone (including us) can afford such pieces and that accessible, down-to-earth, good price/quality watches are important. Very often lower prices translate into lower quality – but not always, as we will show you in today’s selection.?To help you with your Christmas wish list, we’ve listed our favourite watches of 2018 in several price segments. Starting today, here are our 10 best watches of 2018 for under 2,000 EUR! And because you’re reading MONO, they are, of course, all mechanical timepieces. Believe it or not, but even “enamel dial”, “in-house movement”, “chronometer” or “annual calendar” form part of this buying guide!Note: as always,

Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150m Master Chronometer Green // Review
What we’re looking at today might simply be a new dial colour, but it made quite a lot of noise when we introduced it a couple of weeks ago. Multiple reactions here and on our Instagram account made us realize that a dial colour can make a hell of a difference on a watch. So today we take a closer look, with our own live photos, at the brand new Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150m Master Chronometer with a green dial… And it was absolutely necessary, as the subtle (yet hard to define) colour of this dial looks far better in real life than in official images.?Emerald, olive, forest, pine, British racing, jade, army… There are dozens of shades for green. And this new Omega is beautiful, yet hard to describe, depending on the ambient light.Green isn’t the first colour you might think of for a watch dial. In addition to the all-time classics – that are black and silver/white –? blue has been widely used by brands for over 10 years (remember those “blue

The Collectors Series - Diver Marco Thier and his possibly unique Golden Doxa Sub 300 - Monochrome Watches
I love divers watches and I have a special place in my heart for Doxa. Therefore, sooner or later, it was?inevitable to meet with Marco. Recently, I received an email from Frank, referring enthusiastically to his meeting with a great guy and collector, who had a few special dive watches and was interested to present them through Monochrome. When the ‘codename’ Doxa came into the conversation, I was intrigued. I am, after all, a big fan?of the Doxa Sub. We worked together with Marco for the presentation of his extremely rare and game changing Doxa HRV prototype and I learned a lot. I redefined what I had in my mind about the history of divers watches and loved Doxa even more.?Here, it’s with great pleasure that I share the interview of this fine gentleman, as part of the Collector’s Series. First and foremost, Marco Thier is a watch guy and a diver. And?for me, it makes him uber-cool. He is a graphic designer specializing in brand concepts, packaging and interfac

Introducing: The Ming LW.01, Possibly The World's Lightest Mechanical Watch
While it’s dangerous to be overly triumphant, claiming that your brand has just produced the world’s lightest mechanical watch, Ming errs on the side of caution and proclaims that it has probably produced the two lightest mechanical watches on the market. Two new releases, the Ming LW.01 Manual and the LW.01 Automatic, sail in with flyweight credentials, tipping the scales with a watch head weight (not including strap) of 8.8 and 10.8 grams, respectively. That being said, the strap and buckle assembly is 1.8 grams, so that makes for quite a feather-light duo of watches…When it comes to lightweight watches, the first name that usually pops up is Richard Mille, with its RM 27-01 Rafael Nadal watch weighing in at 19 grams. But there are even lighter candidates like the Montblanc TimeWalker Phythagore Ultra-Light Concept, weighing just 14.99 grams and the 17-gram Remontet Ultra-Light, which was produced in small quantities and sold out. Ad - Scroll to continue

Hands-On - Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver (Specs & Price)
Captain Cook and Rado are practically synonymous. The original model was released in 1962 as a 37mm diver with a water resistance of 200 metres. Although a stylish and very capable diver, it didn't find success like counterparts from Blancpain, and Seiko did in the mid-20th century. However, it was reintroduced in 2017 and has since become a hero collection for the brand. Although the aesthetic is vintage-inspired, Rado recently introduced high-tech ceramic for the case and bracelet, such as last year's Captain Cook High-Tech Plasma Ceramic. There are six new ceramic models with a contemporary size and materials for 2022.?Matte cases are available in high-tech ceramic or high-tech plasma ceramic, both an established speciality for Rado. The plasma ceramic is placed in an oven with gases activated at 20,000¡ãC to create a metallic sheen. Dimensions for all cases are 43mm in diameter and 14.6mm in height (49.8mm lug-to-lug), which follows some of last year's models. All cases have a mon