Watches and Formula 1 - Episode 6 - McLaren & Richard Mille
McLaren: the winningest (is that a word?) constructor in Formula 1 after Ferrari, the second longest running team in the sport (with a continuous participation since 1966), producer of many memorable cars, host of legendary driver line-ups, and delivering championship contending cars through most of their history. Hitting a dry spell since 2015 though, the team has the resilience to get back on top, although talks of a McLaren-Honda split refuse to go away. As far as their timing partner is concerned though, relations seem much calmer. Richard Mille is a cutting-edge watch manufacturer, using the most advanced technology and exotic materials, and indeed is very similar in many ways to the image of this major F1 team. The story starts with young Bruce McLaren, born in New Zealand, racing a restored and prepared Austin Ulster 7 in an unofficial hill climb in 1952. Despite being only 12 years old, he showed a talent for racing, and only two years later he entered hi

First Look: Three New Colours for the Longines Flagship Heritage Moonphase
In 1957, the Flagship collection was advertised as a perfect alliance of technical skill and classic design. More than six decades later, Longines keeps the spirit accurate. The Longines Flagship Heritage line is part of the brand’s classic collection. It falls into the Heritage Classic category and is presented as an homage to the innovative spirit while combining the original aesthetic of Longines historical models with modern-time watchmaking technologies. Last year, we welcomed an elegant Flagship Heritage 38.5mm to the catalogue, featuring date and moon phase indications. This year, Longines expands the offer by adding three new dial colours to the model, each conveying a distinct character to the underlying timepiece.The Longines Flagship Heritage Moonphase features a 38.5mm stainless steel case with a closed back, measuring 12.4mm in thickness. The lug-to-lug distance is measured at 46.3mm, so wrist comfort is undeniable, though losing a bit of thickness would make this wa

Hands-on - Hublot Big Bang Meca-10, With The Brand's New 10-day Power Reserve Movement (specs & price) - Monochrome Watches
Until recently, the concept?of Hublot was mainly focused on the look and the combination of extreme materials, such as ceramic of course, but also super-resistant gold alloys, carbon fibre printed with motifs?or sapphire. Hublot is first of all a design, a concept, not only?focussed on horology but also on the looks – and?with all respect to the brand, this has been very successful until now. Then came the first in-house movement of the brand, the Unico – but that was a chronograph. With the idea to emphasize more on watchmaking skills and integration, this year the brand introduced a new watch, with a brand new movement, where watchmaking is used to create style, architectural design and horological pleasure. Here is the?Hublot Big Bang Meca-10, with the brand’s new 10-day power reserve movement. A bit caricatural in the execution, but that’s also why Hublot is Hublot.The new?Hublot Big Bang Meca-10 is based on the traditional Big Bang case – so the point

VIDEO - A Unique Insight to Omega's Atelier d'Excellence
In all its 174 years of existence, if you take its origins as La Generale Watch Co. into consideration, Omega has left a profound impression on the watchmaking industry. With countless iconic watches and collections in its archives, and of course, always striving for innovative materials, applications and complications, Omega is widely considered to be one of the best in the business. Then, now, and very likely into the future as well. And while we tend to focus on watches like the Speedmaster and Seamaster, both leaving their mark in history for obvious reasons, there’s far more to discover. Naturally, the Master Chronometer certification is part of the story, as well as the Co-Axial escapement, one of the few serial-produced escapements other than the industry standard Swiss Lever escapement. However, there’s one element of Omega’s watchmaking operations that people seem to rarely talk about – the art of Haute Horlogerie. Inside the very modern Omega manufactu

SIHH 2018 - Christian Selmoni of Vacheron Constantin, On The New Collection - Monochrome Watches
Yesterday, we told you about the brand new FIFTYSIX collection from Vacheron Constantin, which can be considered the brand's first major foray into entry-level pieces (relatively speaking). In this video, live from SIHH 2018, Christian Selmoni, Artistic Director of Vacheron Constantin tells us a bit more about what inspired the FIFTYSIX collection, as well as some of the other models the Maison will be introducing this year.As Brice highlighted in yesterday's article, when you think of Vacheron Constantin you don't generally associate the name with entry-level (aka affordable) timepieces. Founded in the mid-eighteenth century, Vacheron Constantin is one of the oldest watchmakers in the world and is well-known for its highly praised, exceptionally complicated timepieces created in precious metals using traditional techniques. Even well-established brands have to move with the times, however, and Vacheron Constantin is no exception. The brand is keen to attract new a new generation of wa