The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Frosted Gold Selfwinding 34mm - Monochrome Watches
Audemars Piguet expands its Frosted Royal Oak collection with a new 34mm model shimmering with its hammered white gold case and refreshing light blue dial. Five years ago, Audemars Piguet released a frosted gold version of the iconic Royal Oak; not the iconic Royal Oak designed by Gerald Genta in 1972, but an equally iconic Royal Oak revisited by Jacqueline Dimier in 1976 for women. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the women's version in 2016, the Royal Oak – in 33mm (quartz) and 37mm (mechanical self-winding) – was dressed for the occasion with a glistening hammered gold case created with Florentine jewellery designer Carolina Bucci. Although the idea of taking a hammer to a watch might make your hair stand on end, Carolina Bucci is a fourth-generation jeweller from the Florentine Bucci jewellery dynasty and dominates the gold hammering technique. Using a diamond-tipped tool to create tiny indentations in the metal, the result produces a discreet sparkle that is never

Introducing IWC Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Lake Tahoe IW503008
People who keep a close eye on Formula 1, and in particular on 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton might have already spotted this one, but IWC has just unveiled its latest TOP GUN family member. And it’s a big one, literally. What started in 2022 under the Colours of TOP GUN name is expanded once more with the introduction of the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Lake Tahoe IW503008. And sure, the concept of a coloured Big Pilot’s Watch with a perpetual calendar display isn’t entirely new, but looks oh-so-cool in full white ceramic!The ‘Colours of TOP GUN‘ sub-genre of IWC watches comprises a few colours so far, all executed in ceramic or Ceratanium. So far, we’ve seen the classical black ceramic, but also Mojave Desert beige, Oceana Blue, Woodland Green and Lake Tahoe white. It’s no surprise what this one is called, as the 46.5mm wide and fully white ceramic case screams ‘Lake Tahoe’ from top to bottom. The a

Dietrich O.Time now in colored forged carbon (and even a luminescent carbon one...) - Monochrome Watches
In watchmaking, who thinks?innovative materials usually says high price. That’s somehow a rule. Look at recent watches with?sapphire crystal cases. Most of them are over half a million CHF – even the cheapest one isn’t cheap… Same goes for complex ceramics, or watches associating different kind of solid, ultra-light or ultra-resistant materials. Carbon fibre isn’t always ultra-high-end, however few are the watches with such material priced under 10k. Well, Dietrich watches, with their usual value for money rule, will bring you forged carbon cases, some with colored incrustations and even luminous cases (yes, for real) together with a mechanical movement for a price you don’t expect. Here are the?Dietrich O.Time now in colored forged carbon.The concept of?Dietrich watches: having a fun, highly designed watch, with mechanical movement, built with Swiss quality standards and for a reasonable price. As we’ve seen previously,?Emmanuel Dietrich?succe

Kickstarter Campaign - Lebois & Co Avantgarde Date - The Re-launch Edition, now in blue - Monochrome Watches
In a recent survey, we asked you what you wanted to see on Monochrome-Watches. The answer was clear: more technical explanations (and our solution is the Technical Perspective) and more affordable watches. However, we’re selective and we’re not going to show all the?watches priced under 1,000 EUR / USD. However, this one is a Monochrome?favorite, which we already showed to you, with the first edition launched via a?Kickstarter Campaign. It seems that success knocked at?the door of the founders as today, a second campaign with a second edition of the?Lebois & Co Avantgarde Date, now in sapphire blue, is available for Kickstarter contributors (see here).At Monochrome-Watches, we’re after all big fans of watches, of all things related to watchmaking and of?technical aspects. Right, this is no surprise. On the other hand, and this is also the result of our passion, we have a soft spot for stories behind the brand and for personalities, for a link between a product and

Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse 5738/50P-001 - Celebrating 50 Years Of Golden Style - Monochrome Watches
Patek Philippe unveiled several extremely impressive - and complicated - timepieces this year at Baselworld. The 5270P Perpetual Calendar Chronograph with a head-turning salmon dial was a personal favourite, as was the unexpected, but not unwelcome, Nautilus Perpetual Calendar 5740G. Surprisingly though, it was one of the brand's non-complicated models that really caught my eye. Artistic yet elegant and flawlessly executed, it celebrates a significant milestone of one of the Geneva-based Manufacture's more understated collections. Introducing the Patek Philippe 5738/50P-001, commemorating 50 years of the Ellipse d'Or (or Golden Ellipse, in English).A Cult ClassicI would venture to guess that when you mention the name Patek Philippe to most watch enthusiasts, the Golden Ellipse is not the first model that?comes to mind. In fact, I would be surprised if it came up in the discussion at all. And yet, the Golden Ellipse - introduced in 1968 – is the second oldest watch in the Patek Ph