Bovet Wins the "Aiguille dOr" at GPHG 2018 (and all the other prize-winners) - Monochrome Watches
This is it, the 2018 edition of the GPHG, known as the “Oscars of the watchmaking industry”, has come to a close and the prize for the best watch of the year, also known as the?“Aiguille d'Or”, has been awarded. Once again this year, complications, creativity and Haute Horlogerie have been rewarded. Meet the best watch of 2018, the Bovet?Recital 22 Grand Recital – reviewed here – an impressively complex astronomical watch, as well as all the other prize winners of the GPHG 2018.Quick analysis: this year, independent watchmakers are at centre stage. No fewer than 9 prizes (total of 17 prizes) have rewarded the creativity of smaller brands, which are not under the control of mainstream luxury groups. Bovet (with the best of show “Aiguille d’Or”), Krayon, Akrivia, Laurent?Ferrier, Singer, De Bethune, Greubel Forsey, Habring2 and Konstantin Chaykin will all return home with one of the Golden Hand prizes. This is a clear sign of the impo

Introducing The Tudor Pelagos FXD Chrono Cycling Edition
You might remember that, a bit over a year ago, we’ve shared with you the story of one of our editors (Xavier, an avid cyclist himself) participating in a training camp with the recently formed Tudor Pro Cycling Team. Part of the trip, and of great interest for us as a watch magazine, was the discovery of an unseen-before watch, a special edition of the Black Bay Chrono Dark. Back then, this watch was a so-called team watch, not available to the general public. Well, it turns out that Tudor has decided on this late Friday evening to treat us, right after Watches and Wonders, with yet another novelty. And it’s this new Tudor Pelagos FXD Chrono Cycling Edition.It’s a surprise to see Tudor releasing a watch related to cycling based on the FXD concept – an acronym related to the “fixed” nature of the lugs that were first introduced on the FXD Marine Nationale. What’s less surprising is that we’re looking at a chronograph watch, but then again

VIDEO - The Seamaster Chronicles - Part 2, How the Omega Seamaster Became an Icon?
Last week, we launched our new video project in association with Omega, “The Seamaster Chronicles“, which you’ve probably guessed, takes a deep dive into the world of the Omega Seamaster. This follows our other project focussed on the Moonwatch,?the Speedmaster Chronicles. In our first instalment of the “The Seamaster Chronicles”, we took a close look at the history of the Omega Seamaster, a watch born on the foundations of the military watches delivered to the Royal Air Force, a watch that evolved to become an entire collection of elegant or rugged sports watches. A “war-tested” watch commercialised as a “child of peace”. Today, we’re proud to introduce the second part of?“The Seamaster Chronicles”, in which we explore how it attained its iconic status.In this second instalment, our guest speakers are none other than President and CEO of Omega, Raynald Aeschlimann, and Auctioneer Thomas Perazzi from Phillips.In th

David Candaux 1740 "The First 8" - The heart and soul of the Vallee de Joux - Monochrome Watches
Welcome in the heart and soul of independent watchmaking from the Vallee de Joux, yet with a modern eye A few weeks ago, we met with one of the most interesting surprises from Baselworld 2017, the 1740 The first 8 - and of course with its creator, David Candaux. See what hand-made and creative watchmaking mean!The name David Candaux could potentially sound familiar to some of you, as he has been the behind-the-scene architect of some spectacular developments, for several prominent brands. He worked several years for Jaeger-LeCoultre and then, he started a new career as an independent movement designer. In this role he was involved in several watch developments, however always anonymous and behind the scenes. When he was a child, David was thinking that he would become an accomplished watchmaker only once he would design and make his own timepieces, by his hands. This time has come and, to say the least, David is a very talented watchmaker.? Ad - Scroll to continue with artic

A BIG Shout-Out to IWC and Kurt Klaus (About Smartwatches...) - Monochrome Watches
A few days ago an email from the IWC marketing team popped up in my inbox. Nothing unusual, and like always I had a quick look to see what the brand plans to communicate now. Maybe a new watch, another limited edition, or an update on the Silver Spitfire that is on its flight around the world? Nope, the email was about three videos featuring legendary watchmaker Kurt Klaus… and a smartwatch.?Now for those who do not know Kurt Klaus, he’s the one who co-developed the IWC Doppelchronograph (split-seconds chronograph in English or rattrapante in French), the perpetual calendar module that is still being offered in many IWC watches, and he co-developed the iconic IWC Deep One, a diver’s wristwatch with a built-in mechanical depth gauge. To name just a few of his feats. Anyways, this gentleman (and he’s a real gentleman!) is still connected to IWC and apparently he’s now featuring in three short movies about smartwatches.IWC GST Deep OneHere on MONOCHROME,?we d