Hands-On with the Blancpain Bathyscaphe Chronograph Flyback (Live photos & pricing) - Monochrome Watches
This year at the?Baselworld?watch fair,?Blancpain presented a chronograph version of its Bathyscaphe, the clean and vintage inspired version of the Fifty Fathoms. A very seductive dive watch available in full black ceramic or in?stainless steel, now?proposed with a flyback chronograph caliber. And the main point of this watch is here: its new hi-beat in-house movement, calibre?F385. Let’s see why.?The Bathyscaphe Chronograph Flyback comes with a robust 43 mm case that is water resistant?up to 300 meters, even when using the chronograph with the pushers. It is available in two flavours: brushed black ceramic or brushed stainless steel. The design, similar to the?version without chronograph, is very clean with straight and thin lugs and masculine enough to create?a tool-watch look. The two versions features a unidirectional rotating black bezel made with?LiquidMetal (hey, isn’t that exclusive to Omega?) – a ceramic ring filed with liquid metal for?the numbers and markin

Diving The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms X Fathoms Underwater
It's impossible to talk about the modern scuba diving watch and its evolution without talking about Blancpain. As one of the earliest creators of the purpose-built tool watch, they are responsible for multiple innovations in the field, including using an o-ring to seal the case back, and a pioneering crown seal system. Their name belongs right up there with the likes of and Omega and Panerai when discussing the inception of the dive watch as we know and love it today. And to see if Blancpain can still hold its own in the world of dive watches, we go diving with the all-mighty Blancpain Fifty Fathoms X Fathoms.HistoryBlancpain was founded in 1735 when Jehan-Jacques Blancpain registered himself as a watchmaker in the village records in Villeret, a small Swiss village in the picturesque Jura Mountains. The company would remain in the Blancpain family for the next seven generations, becoming the largest watch manufacturer in Villeret. Upon the death of Frederic-Emile Blancpain in 1932, a

All Non-Wristwatches of Only Watch 2021... And there are Some Seriously Cool Ones! - Monochrome Watches
Out of the 53 lots up for auction by Only Watch 2021 in a couple of weeks, there are four that cannot be worn on the wrist. While we tend to focus primarily on wrist-worn timing devices, only mechanical of course, it doesn't hurt to pay homage to the origins of watchmaking and feature a funky or complex clock or other timing instruments every now and then. With that in mind, here are the four lots that are perfect for your office, lounge or to admire from a distance.Ulysse Nardin UFO Table ClockUlysse Nardin presents something quite out of this world with the UFO Table Clock, in collaboration with expert clockmakers L'Epee 1893. The brand already launched (and sold out) the clock at Watches & Wonders earlier this year but has created a unique piece with this year's Only Watch theme. Instead of metallic blue for the aluminium base and some movement components, it now comes in a striking tone of orange. Ad - Scroll to continue with article

Th CIGA Design Blue Planet Titanium is a GPHG award-winning watch.
It is time for us to start adjusting our perception of Chinese watchmaking. It is no longer ‘just’ about cheap labour and (mildly put) unoriginal designs. Instead, some watchmakers are shifting into intriguingly original mechanical creations and occasionally Haute Horlogerie levels of watchmaking. One such brand hard at work to change the perception of the Chinese watch industry is CIGA Design, a young company with quite a track record. The name popped up for the first time last year when the Blue Planet was pre-selected for the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve Challenge Award (which it ended up winning!). Now, a year later, we’ve finally had a chance to enjoy a hands-on with the fascinating CIGA Design U-Series Blue Planet in titanium and determine if it is any good.?CIGA Design is not a traditional watchmaking company but more a design studio that happens to create and sell watches. The company was founded in 2016 by Zhang Jianmin and is located in Shenzhen,

Introducing The Vacheron Constantin Overseas Moon Phase Retrograde Date (Live Pics)
The Vacheron Constantin Overseas collection debuted in 1996 but was viewed by many as a successor to Vacheron’s 222 models, designed by Jorg Hysek (that wasn’t Genta)?and presented in 1977. The collection, updated in 2016, is built around the popular concept of a sports luxury watch, with various editions of the casually elegant Overseas always in high demand. Vacheron successfully blended high watchmaking into the sporty-chic Overseas line, offering several complications, including a tourbillon, perpetual calendar ultra-thin, chronograph and dual time models. The Maison adds a reference with a moon-phase display and a retrograde date this year.The retrograde indication is a feature found in the Patrimony collection, but until now, it was not part of the Overseas offering. It is worth mentioning that the unusual display made its way into Vacheron Constantin’s assortment in the 1990s, first with the Metiers d’Art collection Mercator models with a double retrograd