A. Lange & Sohne Saxonia Thin 37mm - Germany's perfect dress watch and Lange's new entry-level - Monochrome Watches
At the SIHH 2016, A. Lange & Sohne came with an updated edition of its most elegant and discreet watch, the Saxonia Thin, their vision of a slim and refined dress watch. Following the updates on the entire Saxonia collection (see the 2015 editions), the 2016 Saxonia Thin featured longer indexes and a cleaner dial. All of that was available in a rather large 40mm size and as of now, the thin Lange will also be available with a new case of 37mm, for an even more refined look.?And the best is that when the 40mm is priced over 24,000 USD, this 37mm edition comes for 14,800 USD, becoming Lange’s entry level watch! And now that’s a pretty big deal.The?A. Lange & Sohne Saxonia Thin is visually a very simple watch, which only shows two hands (hours and minutes). The dial is as clean as you can expect from such a watch, with simple applied batons for the indexes and the logo of the brand. However, considering the 40mm diameter, it could be seen as – A – too large

Introducing the HYT H4 Gotham - Specs and Price - Monochrome Watches
This year, the ultra-modern and innovative watch brand HYT has expanded the collection with the H3 (recently launched during Baselworld 2015), and now HYT come a with a fourth line, which?starts with the HYT H4 Gotham. HYT’s new timepiece is?a?perfect blend of ingredients that were already available and are now merged into this black and red futuristic timepiece. Let’s have a closer look at the sporty H4 Gotham.HYT's first was introduced only 3 years ago, in 2012, and was called the H1. It was the first timepiece ever (!!) to use fluids for indicating the hours, while the minutes are indicated by a classical minute hand on an off-center dial. The tube that contains the hour-indicating fluids surrounds the off-center minute dial and the main mechanics responsible for the movement of the fluids. These ingredients, the essentials of the brand, are of course also present in the new H4. And there are more design cues that we've seen before, however now they come together in a no

SwatchPAY! Will Make Watches Useful Again - Opinion
Here, at MONOCHROME, we adore watches. Mechanical, high-end watches, hand-finished. We're not really the right platform to write about smartwatches, or even quartz watches – this is our editorial choice, and we'll stick to that. But last week, Swatch introduced SwatchPAY!, and that is a big innovation. I actually believe that this new introduction could, in fact, change how a new generation looks at watches. Do you agree?About two and a half years ago, I spoke to Peter Stas, CEO of Frederique Constant. They had just released their Horological Smartwatch and we talked about the usability of smartwatches. I argued that smartwatches needed more functionalities that would make everyday life easier. Like adding an NFC – or Near Field Communication – chip for contactless payments. This chip is about a square millimetre small and is also implemented in your bank card, allowing you to do contactless payments. Stas nodded, and had his answer ready, as he always has: “I k

Kickstarter Project: the Analog Watch Co Mason Watch - Solid Marble Timepiece - Monochrome Watches
The Analog Watch Co has just started a Kickstarter program to fund the launch of their newest timepiece. The Philadelphia-based watch company has already made a name with the Carpenter’s Watch, which is the world’s only wooden watch with a flexible wood band, and it’s a bestseller in the MoMA Design Stores. Now they’re coming with another “nature-inspired” timepiece, entirely made of marble, and called the Mason Watch.Analog Watch Co says that the Mason Watch is “the world’s first stone watch with a solid body and face made of real marble” and that could well be so. However we would like to treat you to?a short history lesson: in 1985 the Swiss brand Tissot first introduced a watch made in stone; it was crafted from a solid piece of Alpine granite rock. Tissot actually has some more ‘firsts’, like the IDEA 2001 (the world’s first plastic watch, introduced in 1971), the Pearl Watch (the world’s first (and only

The Return of ochs und junior anno Annual Calendar
As any watchmaker or designer knows, simplicity is devilishly complex. And when it comes to simplifying a complication like an annual calendar, this exercise requires great ingenuity. If there is one figure on the current watchmaking scene capable of pulling off an annual calendar of such radical minimalism, inventiveness and intuitiveness, it is Dr Ludwig Oechslin. The annual calendar complication, known as the ochs line anno, is not a novelty, but it now moves from the limited, customisable department to a serial production piece, like the settimana raw and the mese. Translated, that means that there will be more anno-annual calendars on the market, and even better, the price drops from around CHF 8,000 to just above CHF 5,000 for a serially produced model. Available in two coloured options and an almost all-black model, the new ochs und junior anno comes in 42mm titanium cases.Elementary, my dear LudwigLudwig Oechslin (1952), former curator of the Musee international d'horlogerie (M