Buying Guide: Shopping For Creatively Complex Watches On a Budget
In our fascinating little bubble of mechanical watchmaking, attention often goes to high-dollar watches, and most of the time, that’s for a perfectly logical reason. The arms race in complexity is partly to blame, as brands try to outdo one another for the sake of winning over the public. But adding a complication on top of telling basic time doesn’t necessarily have to equate to ludicrous pricing, thankfully. There are brands, and mostly independent watchmakers out there, that know how to bring creativity and complexity with more sensible sticker prices. With that in mind, we’ve set ourselves a somewhat reasonable budget of EUR 5,000 and have done some digging to see what we can come up with!Raymond Weil Millesime 35 MoonphaseFirst up is one of the most refreshing watch collections we’ve seen in a long time, the Raymond Weil Millesime. Applauded for its ravishingly good looks and sensible watchmaking, one of the more beguiling models is the Millesime 35 Moonpha

BYOW (Build-Your-Own-Watch) - The Revolo Concept, An Affordable Way To Design A Unique Watch - Monochrome Watches
Admit it, most of us (if not ALL of us) have dreamt about it at one point; building your own watch. Whether it's our very own watch brand, or a Piece Unique. Normally, if you call it normal, this will cost you thousands if not hundreds of thousands, especially when you want to turn your concept into an actual brand. There is a solution though, and it goes by the name of Revolo. We take a look at what it is, and what it can do for you through our very own Monochrome Piece Unique.The Build-your-own-Watch concept isn't new, nor is it as unique as you might think (but it all depends on the execution of said concept, whether or not you should consider it!) Revolo understand this pretty well and offer a huge range of options to choose from, all available in a simple yet effective online configurator. You can really get crazy and build something that is a reflection of your personal ideas (or that might be downright ridiculous to others). Don't think about that one second though, build what Y

Frederique Constant Yacht Timer Regatta Countdown and Yacht Timer GMT - Monochrome Watches
Affordable luxury has become the byword at Frederique Constant proving that you can have your horological cake and eat it too. Dispelling a lot of snobbery regarding the price of a well-made watch with complications, Frederique Constant demonstrates that you don't have to flog a kidney to enter the complications market. We've recently seen the new and improved FC Perpetual Calendar retailing for under EUR 8,000 and today we will be looking at two new candidates in the rechristened sporty-chic Yacht Timer collection: the Regatta Countdown, a rather niche product designed for sailors, and a more conventional GMT for travellers. The Call of the SeaAs any professional skipper knows, the start of a sailing regatta is a crucial, extremely tense moment. Trying to hold your position on an imaginary start line as you are being buffeted by the wind awaiting the signal flags and horn blasts to indicate the remaining minutes before the start of the race is no easy task. With

Interview - The Online Watch Market - Tim Starcke from Chrono24
It’s often said that the online world of buying (and selling) watches is kind of murky. I remember the days, actually not so long ago, when most watch brand websites started with a pop-up warning the visitor about watches for sale in the online world. Now, only a few years down the line, those very same brands have started to develop their own e-commerce channels. Besides these official e-commerce channels, the internet is teeming with online marketplaces and we will be asking the CEOs of the largest and most reputable online platforms to tell us more about their company, themselves and which watch tops their personal wish list.Today we start this series of interviews with none other than Tim Stracke. He pioneered the online watch market with Chrono24, which we can safely say set the benchmark. Whenever I need information about a specific pre-owned watch, and especially its price range, I visit Chrono24. And I’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember in my search fo

Weekly Watch Photo - Montblanc Tourbillon Bi-Cylindrique - Monochrome Watches
Now Baselworld 2011 has just finished, it made me think of ‘the other’ watch fair, the SIHH and I stumbled across a perfect Weekly Watch Photo of the?Montblanc Collection Villeret Tourbillon Bi-Cylindrique.Montblanc is one of the brands exposing its novelties at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH). This yearly watch fair takes place in Geneva and only brands of the Richemont Group expose at the SIHH. Now I’m just back from Baselworld I went through the photos and reports of the SIHH and found this beautiful close-up of the bi-cylindrical tourbillon that I just have to share with you. Ad - Scroll to continue with article The?Montblanc Collection Villeret Tourbillon Bi-Cylindrique proves the high-end watchmaking skills of Montblanc as a watch manufacture. The new Tourbillon Bi-Cylndrique is exemplary of what the Montblanc Manufa