The Collector's Series - Charles and his fascinating Gronefeld Parallax Tourbillon... In Titanium - Monochrome-Watches
Earlier this week I had the pleasure of sitting down with?distinguished?collector and?contributor to the Deployant Blog,?Charles Sutanto.?As an engineer, Charles tells me it was really a?fascination?with mechanics that drew him to watches. ?His horological journey started approximately 15 years ago with the purchase of Jaeger LeCoultre Master?Memovox. In his early days of collecting he?found himself appreciating?creations?from the likes?of both?Audemars Piguet and Panerai. It is fair to say that as time went on, during?2007 and the Tempus, Charles went through somewhat of a transition in his collecting focus. This was the period in which he was introduced to the world of independents and haute haute horology. Voutilainen, De Bethune and other independents became the core of Charles' focus. With this in mind, I?thoroughly?enjoyed discussing a watch you rarely see in the wild…a Gronefeld Parallax Tourbillon (in titanium).When did you first get into watches?I guess what ignite my in

Review: Love at First Sight, The Chopard L.U.C XPS Forest Green
Most days, you’ll catch me wearing a dive watch or a classic chronograph. This is what I most enjoy as a watch collector (yes, we are first and foremost watch fans at MONO). I like to wear watches that I don’t have to worry about, and I love a timepiece with some heft. Not necessarily a large watch (41mm would usually be my maximum), but a watch with a feeling of robustness, most of the time on a metal bracelet. With this in mind, you can imagine that the classic, thin dress watch isn’t an object that I often strap around my wrist. I enjoy seeing them worn, but not on my wrist. Except that, I might just have found the one watch that changes everything.?When: Watches and Wonders 2024, 9 April 2024. Where: Chopard’s booth, press room. What: the freshly presented Chopard L.U.C XPS Forest Green. Reaction: wow, just wow. I know it sounds like one of those lines to generate enthusiasm. Well, it’s not. What I’m relating here is a genuine moment of excitemen

Recap - MONOCHROME's 10 Most Read Articles Of 2022
The end of the year 2022 is nigh. And once again, at MONOCHROME, we’ve seen a lot of new watches (in all fairness, it was more evolutionary than revolutionary), and we reviewed more models than ever before. We’ve also published an incredible amount of articles – close to 1,200 this year, a record that will be hard to beat, but we’ll keep on trying. It is now time to look at your favourite articles of the year… And I’ve been slightly surprised by the results. Contrary to past years, it’s not only about ,?Patek?and Omega occupying top places on the charts. In 2022, you’ve also praised accessible watches from brands such as Citizen, Tissot or Seiko. Here are our Top 10 Articles of 2022.10 – Going Deep into the Green SubmarinerAlright, I was lying a bit in the introduction… There are some ?articles in our top-read reviews of 2022, but it’s not even one of the new watches released this year. Instead, it’s a watch

Buying Guide - Top 5 Cool Sports Watches for Women under EUR 5,000
There is good news for women today: wearing an oversized men's sports watch is a thing of the past, and we are finally getting some of the coolest sports watches on the market in sizes designed to fit our wrists. Watch brands have understood that there are women out there who want the performance and dynamic look of sports watches, but do not want to wear massive men's models. Here are our top five sports candidates that combine resilience, water-resistance and sexy sporty styling – ideal everyday companions that won't fall off your wrist – and, of course, all are mechanical. Ad - Scroll to continue with article Oyster Perpetual 34mmThe Oyster Perpetual is the heart and soul of and a fantastic entry-level candidate. Classic, robust, yet smart enough to wear to the office, the Oyster Perpetual is the evolution of the world's first waterproof timep

Buying Guide - Six Recently Launched Rock-Solid Adventurous Watches
Most watch enthusiasts and collectors are rarely content with their current collection. Sure, it might hold someone’s most desired pieces to date, but there’s always that next one to lust after. And to be honest, I have a long list of watches that are theoretically within my reach and would one day love to own. On the other hand, I often wonder what I would keep if I had to tone it down to just a single watch. I would be looking at something that allows me to do anything, and go anywhere if I’m honest. That watch would need to go with my every-day activities, but also be robust enough to go hiking or kayaking in the wilderness. I’d probably also want a watch easy-to-wear and sits on the wrist comfortably. And of course, it needs to be legible under all circumstances. So what do I end up with? Likely something like one of these six recently introduced adventure watches!Tudor RangerEarlier in the year Tudor brought back the illustrious Ranger with the new 79950 re