Hands-On - Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked Black Ceramic ref. 26343CE (Specs & Price)
This year, at the SIHH 2018, Audemars Piguet unveiled a host of novelties. If the Extra-Thin 15202IP in titanium and platinum stole our hearts, and if there was a strong focus on ladies’ watches – see the?Double Balance Wheel Openworked 37mm Frosted Gold or the?Millenary Frosted Gold Opal Dial – there was clearly more to please us. This includes the?Royal Oak Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked Reference?26343CE, the first time this complex and powerful watch is cased in black ceramic.This new version of the?Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked once again demonstrates the expertise of the Le Brassus brand when it comes to the use of ceramics. AP already showed such mastery with the?Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar?26579CE, the first all-ceramic watch (bracelet included) of the brand – and when you have the chance of wearing this watch on your wrist, you understand what expertise means. The execution is simply brilliant. While not really a new wa

Louis Erard Excellence Regulator x Eric Giroud / Hands-On, Specs, Price
Somewhere in between the bold Bauhaus interpretation of the Regulator with Alain Silberstein and the more classic regulator configuration in the brand's Excellence collection lies this collaboration with Eric Giroud. First presented at Baselworld 2019 – and the first collaboration piece with an external designer – Eric Giroud's redesigned Excellence Regulator marks a new direction for the brand. By embracing a classic regulator layout and placing it in the hands of a contemporary designer, Louis Erard proves that what's old can be new again. Watch designer Eric Giroud meets Louis ErardEric Giroud is a multi-faceted designer. From his initial architecture studio to graphic design, packaging and product design, Giroud got a taste for watches in 1997 and has never looked back. Architecture has always played a prominent role in his designs. “To be an architect,” says Giroud, “is to befriend constraints“. And if there is one domain

Introducing New Hamilton Pan Europ Automatic Editions (Live Pics & Price)
For over a decade now, vintage-inspired designs continue to reign in the watchmaking kingdom, with brands drawing from vast archives of the 1960s and 1970s. In 2011, Swatch Group’s Hamilton revealed the Pan Europ Chronograph, a limited re-edition of the 1971 Pan Europ Chronomatic, which was one of the first Swiss-made Hamilton watches, equipped with the now legendary Calibre 11 – one of the world’s first automatic chronograph movements, developed in cooperation with Breitling and Heuer on a base from Buren. A faithful re-interpretation differed from the emblematic original in many aspects; still, it was a hit, as it kept alive the vintage vibes and groovy moods, and it was trendy, too. The success led Hamilton to add a simplified non-chronograph version to the assortment in 2014, a day-date Pan Europ Automatic. The model remains in the Hamilton American Classic collection, executed in blue with white and red elements and with another capsule version in black and gold,

The 2021 Revamped Omega Seamaster 300 Collection (hands-on photos)
Launched in 2014, the Omega Seamaster 300 – not to be confused with the more modern James Bond Seamaster Diver 300M – has been the brand’s vintage evocation of the original 1957 Seamaster 300. Still, its previous iteration (2014) was perhaps a bit too technical and sporty. Well, Omega has apparently understood that and for 2021, introduces an entirely revamped model. If the basics are still here, meaning a look inspired by the 1957 reference CK2913, the case, the dial, the movement, and most details are new. And there’s even an unprecedented bronze-gold version coming, in a one-of-a-kind alloy. Let’s have a first look, in the metal, at this 2021 Omega Seamaster 300 Collection.Introduced in 1957 alongside the first Speedmaster and the Railmaster – thus creating the iconic Professional trilogy – the Seamaster 300 represents one of the brand’s most important and most influential watches. Its design, with its typical 2-part bezel – comb

Vintage Meets EV revolution, with an Electrified Classic Mini - Monochrome Watches
Returning readers of MONOCHROME might have picked up on a few hints and stories that have sparked (pun intended) this one. The EV revolution in the automotive industry. Where the average Joe is accustomed to seeing electric vehicles on the road by now, with vast numbers of Tesla's whizzing around, there's one segment that has been getting more and more traction: classic car conversions. We've covered a high-dollar, extremely limited bespoke Rolls Royce Phantom V by Lunaz Design, but this time around we dive into an electric car conversion that is a) much more affordable and b) probably a lot more everyday fun!Once again, I truly hope that this trend of converting vintage cars to electric power, whether you like it or not, doesn't transcend into classic watches converted to quartz movements. Of course, the two are completely different and I highly doubt a classic Patek Philippe or Breguet will ever be retro-fitted with a quartz movement. The trend to convert vintage cars to electric pow