Introducing Patek Philippe Calatrava "Clous de Paris" 6119 Hand-Wound
The Patek Philippe Calatrava is a horological icon that deserves little to no introduction. Presented in 1932 under reference 96, the model is seen by many as the ultimate dress watch. Among the countless versions of the Calatrava, the Clous de Paris has turned into a Patek Philippe trademark since its introduction on the bezel of the reference 96D in 1934. Fast forward to modern days, the emblematic reference 3919 was introduced in 1985 and has often been regarded as the quintessential Calatrava. This unapologetically elegant 33mm dress watch was powered by the micro-rotor calibre 215. The reference 5119 introduced in 2006 was slightly larger at 36mm. It’s now time for the model to reinvent itself with a larger, modernized version. Meet the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119 and its new hand-wound calibre.The classic look of the Calatrava, as known for years, with the Clou de Paris bezel. Here, reference 5119With reference 6119, Patek Philippe updates its cult Calatrava with Clous de

First Look: The new Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Green SAXEM
While bright colours have become noticeably prevalent in watchmaking for quite a few years, until recently, the exciting hues have been reserved for the dials and the straps. On the other hand, Hublot tries hard to make its entire watches, case included, literally eye-popping. Moreover, the brand strives to showcase its movements and does it well by using sapphire crystals and materials such as SAXEM – Sapphire Aluminium Oxide and Rare Earth Mineral, produced by blending aluminium oxide, the essential component of sapphire, with rare-earth elements. Notable SAXEM-series watches were made available in Green as Big Bang MP-11 (2019), Spirit of Big Bang (2020) and Big Bang Unico (2024) and in bright Yellow Neon (Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic, 2023). Hublot continues the green theme this year and launches the Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Green SAXEM.The new Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Green SAXEM is essentially the same model as the earlier Yellow Neon and other Big Bang To

Christian Gafner, Head of Brand and Design for Ochs & Junior, on Changes and Future Plans for the Brand - Monochrome Watches
Only a few weeks ago, we shared the latest watch by Ochs & Junior, the Calendario Cent’Anni (CCA) with all of you. Once again, it illustrates the simplistic approach to mechanical watchmaking perfected by Ludwig Oechslin and his team. The philosophy in watchmaking displayed by Dr Oechslin is all about simplicity, and it shows in the mechanical side of things. Ochs & Junior offers complex displays using only very few additional parts. One example is the Perpetual Calendar, with only nine new parts and three modified ones. So, after the release of the CCA, we decided to have a chat with Christian Gafner, the new Head of Brand and Design for Ochs & Junior.Robin Nooij, MONOCHROME – What led to your career in the watch industry, and how did you end up working for Ochs &Junior?Christian Gafner, Head of Brand and Design for O&J – My first contact with the industry was after my studies in Industrial and Product Design. The MIHwatch by Ludwig Oechslin was m

Tip: visit SalonQP in London next month - Monochrome Watches
From November 8 – 10 the Saatchi Gallery will be the place to be for everyone interested in watches. That’s where the fourth edition of SalonQP, UK’s only fine watches exhibition, and hosted by QP magazine’s James Gurney, will be held.?After the many great stories from fellow watch enthusiast, who visited SalonQP in previous years, I’m very much looking forward to my first SalonQP. Monochrome has already showed you several new models that you can first see ‘live’ at SalonQP, like the Resilience and Classic HMS from Peter Speake-Marin and Sarpaneva’s K0 Wuoksi. Ad - Scroll to continue with article SalonQP has an impressive line-up of exhibitors, like Jaeger-LeCoultre, Girard-Perregaux, Piaget and Vacheron Constantin. And also smaller (independent) brands will be exhibiting their collections and that on itself is a p

Baselworld, the world's largest watch and jewellery fair, appoints a new Managing Director, Michel Loris-Melikoff - Monochrome Watches
The man tasked with reshaping Baselworld to meet the current challenges is a 53-old lawyer who started his career in Private Banking. He was previously with the MHC group (the company organising Baselworld) in Lausanne. The longstanding Managing Director of Baselworld, Sylvie Ritter, has decided to step down from her position at the MCH Group after 15 years. The transfer of management will take place on 1 July 2018.Baselworld needs to rethink itself and how it operates. If the industry has seen business improve over the past months after a prolonged downturn, Baselworld faces great challenges with the withdrawal of numerous exhibitors (several of them now showing at SIHH), the smaller size of the fair and increasing criticism about the organisation. The number of days of the event was reduced by two days in 2018. A few years ago, MHC invested massively to upgrade the show and build a larger exhibition area. Ad - Scroll to continue with article