Dutch Watch Collector Paul, On Building His Dream Dress Watch, The Angelier Classique
I’m pretty sure that at one point in every watch enthusiast’s life, the inspiration to design your own watch pops into your head. Through buying, owning and possibly selling watches, we tend to get a pretty good feeling of the pros and cons of what’s out there. The next step would be to put that design to paper, which is a leap only a handful of people will make. Even fewer will take that design and actually seek out patterns and suppliers to make it a reality. And from that handful of projects, only a small percentage will actually make it. And from all of that wheat-from-chaff separating, just a handful will turn into a commercial brand. Such are the challenges in building your dream watch, which takes guts, perseverance, a clear vision, and a little bit of luck. With all this in mind, we turn to Paul Angelier, a Dutchman whose story follows this path and who’s building his actual dream dress watch. And through the support (and demands, it seems) of a good num

Hands-On Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding 34mm Black Ceramic
In addition to the 41mm chronograph white frosted gold Royal Oak we’ve just shown to you, Audemars Piguet is releasing today another model, which could be a bit more important than you might imagine. Indeed, AP has just launched a new black ceramic Royal Oak in its collection… You could argue that it isn’t a first for the brand, but actually, this watch is the first time black ceramic comes without high-end complications, and in a feminine size. And this new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding 34mm Black Ceramic could actually open the door to more of these time-and-date full ceramic models in the future (or at least, that’s what we wish).?The full black ceramic Royal Oak has first been introduced in early 2017, with the reference 26579CE, a highly desirable watch mixing the ultra-thin perpetual calendar movement with a RO case and bracelet entirely executed in black ceramic. Despite using this technical material, the watch retained everything it was famous fo

Collector's Series - The One-Of-A-Kind Czapek Antarctique Alpha
There's something truly fascinating and intriguing with the idea of having something unique, something that you've designed together with the manufacturer's team Bespoke watchmaking isn't such a common practice and we're always rather curious to hear the stories behind the creation of a bold, highly personal watch. Something like this Czapek, which isn't the most consensual of all. After all, this is also what makes it such a cool story. Dr. Ayham Refaat, a 45 year-old surgeon, entrepreneur and CEO from Dubai, indeed wears a one-of-a-kind Czapek Antarctique Alpha on his wrist. It matches his search for unique pieces and complicated watches perfectly. In this edition of the Collector's Series, he tells us all about his journey with Czapek to create the ultimate personal watch.Frank Geelen, MONOCHROME – What was it that attracted you to the Czapek brand? Ad - Scroll to continue with article

Special limited edition of 5 Habring2 Split-second chronograph pieces for Horlogerie-Suisse.com - Monochrome Watches
Two and a half years ago, the Swiss watch forum Horlogerie-Suisse.com joined forces with Alpina, to created a limited edition Startimer Pilot Manufacture, which was for sale exclusively through the forum. Now Horlogerie-Suisse.com and Habring2 joined forces and created a numbered limited edition of JUST FIVE PIECES of the Doppel 3 (that we just reviewed for you the other week) with a white dial and blue hands and appliques.? The Doppel 3 with its two prominent positioned chronograph pushers, clearly harks back to the sports timekeepers – hand-held chronographs – of the late 1960’s. Technically the Doppel 3 is a true chronograph-aficionado timepiece, as it’s developed, constructed, finished and assembled by the man who once developed a new construction for the split-second chronograph for IWC. Now the patents have expired, he’s free to build, and moreover improve his old design. The results are the award winning Doppel 2 and the new Doppel 3.The movement, c

Montblanc 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter Bronze Salmon Dial - Hands-On Review (Specs & Price)
In late 2015, Montblanc introduced the first version of the 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter. Fitted with a Minerva/Villeret monopusher movement, we were instantly smitten. The initial 18k red gold edition was soon followed by a version in steel, and then a gorgeous bronze number with a champagne dial. This year, Montblanc continues the bronze theme with the introduction of its latest limited edition 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter, this time paired with a striking salmon dial.As you no doubt already know - and if not, you can surely guess by the name - Montblanc's 1858 collection is all about taking inspiration from the past and paying faithful tribute to the rich history of Minerva, the Haute Horlogerie manufacture acquired by the Richemont group just over a decade ago. The aesthetics of the collection are very much inspired by classic design codes taken from the original 1930s Minerva chronographs, including luminescent Arabic numerals, cloisonne cathedral hands filled with beige luminous pa