Recap: The Best of High-Complication at Watches and Wonders 2024
Today, we are ending our series of recap articles focused on the best new watches presented during Watches and Wonders 2024 and Geneva Watch Week (we’ve looked at dive watches, chronographs, dress watches or GMT models)… And what’s better to take a look back at some of the show’s most impressive, technically advanced and innovative models? We could have listed watches like the Bovet Recital 28 or the Monaco Split-Seconds, but both made it to other lists. Here, what matters is the art of watchmaking, whether it’s about breaking records, improving an important complication or making things thinner than ever before. Here’s the best of high-complication at the 2024 Geneva week.A. Lange & Sohne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon LumenLange's impressive triple-complication, a.k.a the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon, isn’t really new as we’ve seen it already in platinum with a black dial and in white gold with a salmon/rose gold dial. However, th

IWC Big Pilots Watch Perpetual Calendar Spitfire IW503601 // Review
As a regular reader of MONOCHROME, you will know already that each year, Swiss watch manufacturer IWC focuses on a specific collection. Last year, it was the brand's legendary Pilot's Watch series, with a number of cool variations introduced to the market. Here's a video overview of the highlights from IWC's CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr shot at SIHH 2019. With so many new models being launched - and not all from IWC, of course - there were inevitably some we did not get a chance to devote suitable attention to at the time. One such example is the limited-edition IWC Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Spitfire IW503601. So, if you can forgive us for being a year late, here's our hands-on look at this bronze-case beauty.The Spitfire CollectionAs you might have guessed, the Spitfire Collection takes its name from a plane, the Supermarine Spitfire. This was not just any plane, though. It was a veritable legend of the skies, used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, du

Introducing the IWC Big Pilot Patrouille Suisse Limited Edition (specs & price) - Monochrome-Watches
If there’s a watch in this crowded industry that best represents aviation and jet fighters, it is?probably the IWC Big Pilot – so to say, a pure icon. Alongside the classical edition with a stainless steel case and a black dial, IWC also plays a lot with this timepiece to create limited editions but still keeping true to the classic icon, like for instance the ‘Le Petit Prince’ in rose gold, its sibling in stainless steel or these colorful Boutique Editions. For their latest partnership, IWC pays tribute to the?high-flying excellence of the Patrouille Suisse. Thus what other watch could have been better than the Big Pilot in order to create a limited edition? None. Here is the 250-piece?IWC Big Pilot Patrouille Suisse.This new “Patrouille Suisse” Limited Edition is based on the famous, yet iconic (to say the least) IWC Big Pilot’s Watch. As a reminder, what we’re talking about is a large pilot watch inspired by the 1940s German B-Uhr / Fl

First Look: The Green Panerai Luminor Marina Titanio PAM03325 (Incl. Video)
Panerai’s history is well-known, of course, and although its watches are based on those supplied to the Royal Italian Navy for decades, it wasn’t until 1993 that they became commercially available. The collection is basically split between two lines: the Radiomir, designed to be worn by frogmen commandos, and the Luminor, easily recognized by its signature crown bridge. For 2025, in tandem with a series of Luminor Marina models, Panerai adds a dashing new lightweight model to the ranks: the Panerai Luminor Marina Titanio PAM03325. Not only does it stand out by its formidably robust specs, but also thanks to a handsome sunray-brushed green dial!Paneristi will already have spotted that this new PAM03325 is, of course, a Luminor Marina, which means there’s a small seconds indication positioned at 9′. The design is hardly a surprise, as it shouldn’t be, given the watch’s instantly recognizable profile. It comes down to a cushion-shaped case with a circul

Panerai - Dive into Time Exhibition: The History and Future of Panerai on Display in Florence - May 18th - 21st 2016 - Monochrome Watches
Whether you'll be on a trip to or live near Florence, you now have an added reason to go! (Or just a very good reason to visit this superb Italian city). Officine Panerai will run an exhibition Panerai - Dive into Time, from 18 to 21 May 2016, in the crypt of the former Basilica of San Pancrazio, which hosts the Marino Marini Museum. So when you like dive watches and watch history and your spouse / partner does not, this is your chance to go to the same place!Officine Panerai has always had a special place in the hearts of watch collectors and watch aficionados. Whenever you see a Panerai from further away and you can't read the inscription, you immediately recognize the brand. And that's quite an achievement. The company started in 1860 and has been a supplier of precision navigation and time instruments to the Italian Navy for many years. Who does not know the Luminor and Radiomir watches, amongst others, used by commando frogmen? The company is part of the Richemont Group since 1997