IWC Pilot's Chronograph Edition Tribute to 3705 IW387905 - Video Review
It is rather surprising to see how some items have gained cult status years after their discontinuation, while when they were widely available, almost no one dared to pay attention to them… There are, of course, watches that have been overlooked before they shoot to unexpected fame. One such model is the 1994 “IWC Fliegerchronograph Keramik”, also known as the Pilot’s Chronograph 3705, a watch that faded into obscurity before recently becoming one of the brand’s most collectable youngtimers. Today, the Schaffhausen-based brand pays homage to this cult classic with the new IWC Pilot’s Chronograph Edition “Tribute to 3705” that evokes the past, but also looks at the future. And we have it here today, with a video review!Background, IWC’s Flieger ChronographsIWC is one of the watch manufacturers with the richest history in pilot’s watches. As soon as 1936, the brand started to produce purpose-built wrist instruments, such as the

Monochrome Shakes Its Cup For The AHCIs 30th Anniversary Fund-Raiser - Monochrome-Watches
If you know us (you're here aren't you?) you know that we have a fondness for the Academie Horlogere des?Createurs Independants (AHCI). The AHCI are the body of independent watchmakers established to preserve the tradition of watchmaking. This year they celebrate their 30th Anniversary and are raising money to sponsor their initiative to digitize key watchmaking documents and make them available to all watchmakers and hobbyists.I'm not sure about you but my Rolling Stones Steel Wheels tour t-shirt resides in a box marked DO NOT TOUCH - UNDER PENTALTY OF SARCASM! That shirt is more than just a (2 sizes too small) cotton under garment - it is my claim to the band that gave us so many hits (and that stupid theme song for the launch of the OTHER popular GUI computer operating system uff). When I wear that shirt - well - when I look at that shirt, I feel great pride in knowing that Mick and Keef' probably got $0.45 of my money. Now is your chance to underwrite the Academie Horlogere des?Cre

Hands-on with the new Oris Big Crown ProPilot Day Date (live pics, specs & price) - Monochrome Watches
When Oris’ name comes in the conversation, most collectors know what it is about: reliable, well-crafted, well-designed and perfectly priced tool watches (and not only tools…). This goes for the Oris Aquis, a reliable and accessible dive watch, or the Depth Gauge, with its innovative mechanism. There’s also a huge cool factor with some, like the Divers Sixty Five. But Oris is not only about divers, but about pilot watches too. We already showed (and tested in real conditions) the?Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter. in a less technical but still pilot-oriented style, the brand just launched a cleaner?version, the?Oris Big Crown ProPilot Day Date.What makes a watch a pilot watch? Easy question you’d say but in fact there are many answers, depending on which type of pilot watch we are talking. However, we’ll try to make it simple. A pilot watch, in the definition of tools used by military pilots of WWII – the golden age of such watches – is a large

Circula again relied on the help of the public when designing the Protrail
For those who have been keeping a close eye on MONOCHROME Watches, and Circula Watches in particular, it should come as no surprise that we like the strategy of employing the “power of the people”. And honestly, the resulting collections are often fine examples of well-built, honest watchmaking. When creating a new watch, Circula enlists the help of watch enthusiasts and collectors to determine the final design of new collections. A case in point is the all-new Circula ProTrail Automatic, the revived company’s first-ever field watch. Designed with input from the public, the new collection came to life through a multitude of options. Today we can show you one of the three models that will be available: the production-ready Circula ProTrail Automatic.Back in February, we informed you that Circula was working on a new field watch to be added to the brand’s portfolio of tool watches. Through a dedicated co-creation page, you could vote for things like the name of th

Microbrands vs. Accessible Established Brands - Are Newcomers Shaking up the Industry or Just Small Fish in a Big Pond? - Monochrome Watches
It's an interesting time to be a watch enthusiast. Fuelled by sites like Kickstarter, a phenomenon of?inexpensive, quality movements and parts is unfolding, available with the immediateness only online media outlets can offer. Small startups (or microbrands) are producing compelling watches with capital raised via crowdfunding and online-only storefronts, minimizing overhead that established brands still bear. A flurry of online watch publications cover a particular launch and suddenly a new watch is born. While microbrand offerings are often thought of as inferior, cheap watches thrown together in Asia, enough of these brands have surpassed the stigma and grown into competent watch companies. An excellent example is Farer Universal, a microbrand of just a few years that recently released a trio of unique chronographs that can go head-to-head with established brands like Hamilton or Tissot. Dedicated entrepreneurs are working tirelessly to steer your attention away from familiar brands