Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Flyback Chronograph 26622TI
Audemars Piguet's latest Royal Oak Offshore is the standard-bearer of a new generation of ROO models. Although the medley of a tourbillon and chronograph complication is not new to the ROO family, the case has been redesigned in a new 43mm size, and the movement is a contemporary, edgier adaptation of a calibre introduced on board the recent Code 11.59 collection. Limited to 100 pieces, the new Royal Oak Offshore comes with the brand's interchangeable strap system for more versatility.Icons pose a problem for watch companies lucky enough to possess one. Do you stick to the winning formula ad infinitum, or do you stretch the concept in new directions? Audemars Piguet's iconic Royal Oak watch of 1972, the precursor of the luxury sports watch genre, is still one of the world's most coveted watches. In 1993, AP decided to push the bold personality of the Royal Oak into more contemporary terrain with the Royal Oak Offshore. Still displaying the essential family traits of the RO, the ROO was

Portrait - David Candaux, An Independent Watchmaker with the Soul of the Vallee de Joux
Independent watchmaking has been on the rise over the past 20 years, and for good reason. Independent watchmakers are guided by passion and personal perspectives, leading to authentic creations and often crafted to a level unattainable in mass production. David Candaux's motto, Le Coeur et l'Esprit (the heart and mind), perfectly captures this philosophy. Raised in a family of watchmakers, Candaux deeply appreciates the craft’s history, evident in his work. However, for him, tradition should not merely be repetition. If he is a perfect representative of the Vallee de Joux expertise – which means complicated watchmaking and refined craftsmanship, his watches are in a class of their own. We visited the watchmaker in the small village of Le Solliat Just a few meters away from Philippe Dufour's workshop.Xavier Markl, MONOCHROME – David, thank you for having us. Your approach to watchmaking is holistic, encompassing everything from movement engineering to crafting and fini

LVMH 2019 First-Half Results, Growth in All Divisions, including Watches and Jewelry - Industry News
After the announcement by Swatch Group of declining sales for the first half of 2019, followed by Richemont Group showing solid double-digit growth over the first quarter, and mild results for Swiss watch exports (with a bad month of June 2019), it is now time for the world's leading luxury products group, LVMH, to put its cards on the table. The French group recorded revenue up 15% over the period with solid growth in all divisions, although with slower figures for the Watches & Jewelry division.Not only is LVMH Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy the largest luxury group in the world, but it also is getting bigger and bigger – including the recent agreement to support Stella McCartney, previously under the Kering umbrella. As for sales and revenues, the Group records an excellent first half of 2019, with sales of EUR 25.1 billion, up 15% over the previous period (+12% organic). The Group explains that the United States, Asia and Europe saw good growth with a rebound in France in th

Roger Smith introduces... Roger Smith - Monochrome Watches
Especially for the Friday we bring you a collection of videos of one of the best watchmakers of this time. We hope it’s not too busy at the office, so you can relax a bit and enjoy these videos of Roger Smith.?Roger Smith? Who’s Roger Smith? Well for those of you who know, feel free to scroll down to the actual video. When you google for Roger Smith and select the ‘pictures’ tab, the first photo of Roger Smith appears at the end of the second page. Usually when searching for photos of watches, google immediately brings the right ones, even if the name of the watchmaker and the brand are the same. Just try to google for Peter Speake-Marin, Daniel Roth, Gerald Genta?or?Thomas Prescher?and you’ll see photos of the watches and watchmakers. Now try Roger Smith… see what I mean?Well, to give you an idea… the watch below is made by Roger Smith. It’s entirely hand-made and this is his Series II in platinum. Ad - Scroll to continue with

Richard Mille RM 11-02 Le Mans Classic - Monochrome Watches
After a spectacular (in terms of execution and visual aspect) watch introduced a few days ago, the?RM 68-01 Tourbillon decorated by street-artist Cyril Kongo, Richard Mille goes back to more fundamental inspirations, with a new limited edition of its Dual Time Zone?chronograph dedicated to classic cars and racing, the?Richard Mille RM 11-02 Le Mans Classic. A partner of the event since its inception in 2002, Richard Mille celebrates the Le Mans Classic by creating a new watch for each edition of the race. Here is the 2016 edition, limited to 150 pieces.For this year’s edition of the Le Mans Classic, Richard Mille uses one of our favorites to create a limited edition, the RM 11. Favorite because this watch certainly best represents what a RM watch should be – without considering some totally crazy editions, like the Nadal watches. This watch is sporty, it has a chronograph, its design is bold and at the same time, it features impressive complications and technicality. The RM