Introducing The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph Baguette Sapphires
A year after its grand 50th-anniversary celebrations, Audemars Piguet releases a 41mm white gold edition of the Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph embellished with blue baguette-cut sapphires and light blue panda sub-dials. Corresponding to the latest design evolutions applied to the Royal Oak family last year, the spirit of Gerald Genta's 1972 Royal Oak lives on in tones of blue ticking to the sophisticated in-house integrated flyback chronograph movement. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph 26240BC with Sapphire?will be available exclusively in Japan from May 2023 before being released globally in July 2023.FaceliftThe facelift practised on the Royal Oak in 2022?– for the 37mm Selfwinding and 38mm and 41mm Selfwinding Chronographs?– was subtle and did not alter the iconic features of the watch. The tonneau-shaped case, octagonal bezel with eight screws, integrated bracelet and Tapisserie pattern on the dial were all respected. What it did involve, however, was a more

The Full List of Finalists For The GPHG 2021
Every year, the watchmaking industry celebrates creativity and ingenuity with the?Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve?(GPHG) or the so-called Oscars of the Watchmaking Industry ¨C?see the report for the 2020 edition here, and the Aiguille d’Or awarded to Piaget. The most advanced, the most innovative and the most creative timepieces will be awarded prizes this year again, at the GPHG 2021. Before the ceremony takes place (November 4, 2021), we're bringing you, hot off the press, the complete list of finalists selected by the Jury for the 2021 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve. Only six watches remain in each of the 14 categories, and here they are.Note: if you want to share your predictions with us, feel free to use to comment box at the end of this article.Ladies’ Armin Strom Lady Beat Manufacture Edition White Bovet 1822 Miss Audrey Sweet Art Chanel Mademoiselle J12 Acte II watch Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda Selene Rose Gold White Mop 33 mm Piaget Limelight Gala Precious Rainbo

Dietrich TC-Pure Limited Edition Sterile Dials (Specs & Price)
We've covered several Dietrich watches in the past, which showcase edgy, avant-garde designs like the DD-1 and 1969. Founded in 2010 by Emmanuel Dietrich, the brand focused on affordable eccentricity, but also flexed some horological muscle with the Perception in 2017, a complicated and sophisticated Swiss made piece with a high price to match. Dietrich also launched the Time Companion collection that year, a surprisingly conventional and well-priced steel sports watch. A recent collaboration with Toronto based designer Matt Smith-Johnson has resulted in the new TC-Pure Limited Edition, a stripped down and modern interpretation of the original Time Companion (TC-1).The stainless steel case and integrated bracelet remain unchanged from the TC-1 with their Audemars Piguet Royal Oak vibe, but the new dials really change the aesthetic. MONOCHROME's Founder and Managing Director Frank Geelen recently explained how personal a dial can be with his own vintage Royal Oak Jumbo' 5402ST. Matt Smi

Business - Analysis of the Swiss watchmaking industry in 2014 - Monochrome-Watches
The?Swiss watchmaking industry is known to be a dream factory. If you’re a collector and a frequent reader of Monochrome-Watches, you certainly know what we mean by that. However, Swiss manufactures are also (actually mainly) businesses, with a unique goal: selling watches, achieving a worldwide recognition and creating value. In order to understand a bit more about this industry that we too often view only from the product side, here are some interesting figures about the year 2014.Let’s start immediately with the impressive numbers. While the production numbers of Swiss-made watches is almost insignificant as part of the entire annual watch production (which includes all vast numbers of cheap quartz watches produced in China), the value created by the Swiss manufactures is imposing. As the graph shows, Switzerland only produces one watch against?fifty?produced in the entire world. When you consider those numbers, just think that this small country is also responsible of m

¡®Come fly with us - Flying with IWC on-board JU-52 with the new IWC Pilot's Watches - Monochrome Watches
When IWC offer you the opportunity to fly on-board their Junkers JU-52 aircraft, you take it. This trip was to coincide with the launch of the new pilots range, which we covered here and here. As you would expect, it is far from just any aircraft. For many years, the Schaffhausen based manufacturer have nurtured a partnership with Swiss airline?JU-AIR?through their mutual admiration of the Junkers JU-52 aircraft. It is fair to say, this aircraft has a fairly significant story to tell in aviation history.It was brisk Monday afternoon at the Air force Center Dubendorf (near Zurich). 10 or so international press gathered to share this unique experience with me. There were representatives from Germany, Denmark and Portugal. My heart started to beat just a little faster when I witnessed the pilot starting the aircraft manually, by rotating a wooden wheel at the base of his chair. This was followed by an engine test' of 5 or so minutes to ensure they were operating correctly. Before getting