OPINION - Joining Forces For The Best? The Tudor / Breitling Mechanical Alliance
Prior to Baselworld 2017, at their annual pre-Basel event, Tudor unveiled the new Black Bay Chronograph. The first thought of?the crowd of journalists present (us included) was?“in-house chronograph movement!” The excitement lasted for less than 5 minutes however, as the announcement was quickly followed?by?the official disclaimer. Indeed, despite the?“MT” nomenclature, this movement is not produced by Tudor, but rather by Breitling, which soon after, announced the launch of a?new 3-hand movement, based on a… Tudor calibre. The question is, is this a good thing or not? It looks like?we’re going to find out with the new Tudor / Breitling alliance.The “in-house” debateBefore going into the details of this recently announced?Tudor / Breitling Mechanical Alliance, it’s worth taking a look back at the notion of “in-house” or “manufacture”, which has been one of the main trends of the last 10 / 15 years. Prior to t

The Omega Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday 2 Ultraman (But It's Sold-Out Already) - Monochrome Watches
Back in January 2017, Omega teamed up with our good friends and fellow watch journalist FratelloWatches to create the Speedy Tuesday limited edition – a watch that was intended for true Speedmaster collectors who gather under the #SpeedyTuesday community. This first edition was based on the Alaska Project watch with a radial/panda dial. Now, it is time for the?Omega Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday 2 and this time, the “Ultraman” Speedmaster is back. Again a 2,012 piece limited edition sold online (but it is now sold-out).The Omega Speedmaster Ultraman Orange Hand (1968, ref. ST 145.012-67)In the collecting world, there are the icons and there are the unicorns. The first category refers to the model themselves (think Omega Speedmaster in general). The second category refers to some exceptionally rare editions that some collectors could spend a lifetime searching for. The Omega Speedmaster Ultraman Orange Hand is one of them. What is it about with this

Patek Philippe 5940g Perpetual Calendar - Hands-on with live photos, specs and price - Monochrome-Watches
Patek Philippe and the perpetual calendar are no strangers. We’ve already extensively covered some of these impressive watches, including?the honey-brown?Patek Philippe 5496P-014 Perpetual Calendar Retrograde?and the superb?Patek Philippe 5270 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Blue. These?two are certainly among the?classical watches – we’re talking about Patek Philippe, a brand where tradition is not a motto anymore but a lifestyle. But they add?something unusual, a bit of ‘controlled eccentricity’. The Patek Philippe 5940g?Perpetual Calendar could have been?a?pure representation of the brand’s classicism.?But in the flesh, it also has this little extra that we love here at Monochrome-Watches.The Patek Philippe 5940g?isn’t exactly a new watch, as a yellow gold edition was issued in 2012. For the 2014 edition?of the Basel watch fair, Patek brought out an?18k white?gold edition. Briefly, what hides behind the reference 5940? An ultra-thin,?cushion-

Interview with Panerais CEO Jean-Marc Pontroue About Bucherer Collab and Strategy for 2020
Jean-Marc Pontroue was appointed CEO of Panerai in 2016, invigorating the brand with new energy. Change was needed but with a brand like Panerai, whose fame is based on a unique concept (1930s to 1950s military dive watches), evolution can be the enemy. We took the opportunity of the launch of the Panerai Luminor Marina Titanio/DLC Bucherer BLUE in Zurich to sit down with Mr Pontroue and talk about his first 18 months at the head of the brand, his partnership with Bucherer, and what to expect for 2020.“The Luminor was created in 1950… The 70th anniversary of Luminor will be our major theme (for 2020)”Xavier Markl, MONOCHROME – Managing Panerai is one of the most interesting but most difficult challenges for a CEO in the industry! What is your feeling after 18 months at the head of the company?Jean-Marc Pontroue, Panerai – Well, no, it is rather easy instead. So many brands are striving to create iconic products. When I joined Panerai, I was lucky enough to

TAG Heuer Formula 1 No.33 Max Verstappen 2017 Limited Edition - Monochrome Watches
Before you burn me on the stakes, yes, I am well aware this is a quartz watch and we very rarely cover these. This time I am being chauvinistic and taking a break from our self-implied guidelines to bring you a watch for the simple reason it is linked to a young Dutch hero to many of my fellow countrymen, and a rising Formula 1 star; Max Verstappen. Launched in Amsterdam just days ago, here is our hands-on report of the new Tag Heuer Formula 1 No.33 Max Verstappen Limited Edition.The youngster needs no introduction, neither does the Tag Heuer Formula 1 collection. After all, the brand is thoroughly embedded in the history of the sport as the official timing partner for years, and Max has already debuted as a brand ambassador for Tag Heuer with his orange strapped (and very Dutch looking) Tag Heuer Formula 1 Max Verstappen Special Edition introduced last year. For a few years now the brand has also been the official engine supplier for Red Bull Racing too, although this is solely a mark