Fran?ois-Henry Bennahmias Will Leave Audemars Piguet End of 2023
What was once just an unconfirmed?rumour is now official. Fran?ois-Henry?Bennahmias, the charismatic CEO of Audemars Piguet, will leave the brand at the end of 2023. The news was announced in an interview together with Jasmine Audemars, released in Le Temps?today.Fran?ois-Henry?Bennahmias joined Audemars Piguet some 30 years ago and has been at the helm of the brand for the past 10 years. He will leave the company in excellent shape with revenues of about 1.6 billion francs and a production of some 45,000 watches in 2021. The interview released in Le Temps reports that the transition process has been under discussion since 2017 and that back then, Fran?ois-Henry Bennahmias had informed the Audemars Piguet Board of his desire to retire after the 50-year anniversary of the Royal Oak in 2022. A date is now set. He will continue to exercise his functions as CEO, ensuring a smooth transition until the end of 2023.The Audemars Piguet Board has therefore decided to launch a search process for

2021 Yema Superman Heritage GMT Pepsi and Grey-Blue Hands-On
Yema is arguably one of the best-known French watchmakers with a rich history. Younger French brands such as Baltic have been getting a lot of attention lately, but Yema dates back to 1948 with several historic watches. The Superman model is its crown jewel, which debuted in 1963 and became a favourite of French Air Force pilots and professional divers. It came standard with a 300-metre water-resistance rating and unique bezel-lock mechanism. Yema draws from the past with two new Superman Heritage GMT dive watches, one with an always popular Pepsi (blue and red) bezel, and one with a more toned-down grey/blue colour scheme. Let’s have a closer look at these two new editions.The Yema SUPERMANBased in the town of Morteau, France, Yema has definitely left its mark in a crowded industry. Formula 1 champion Mario Andretti wore a Yema Rallygraf chronograph and Jean-Loup Chretien brought the first French watch into space in 1982, the Yema Spationaute 1. A specialised model was also used

Interview - Jean-Marie Schaller of Independent Watchmaker Louis Moinet
Although Louis Moinet was a prominent watchmaker between the 18th and 19th centuries, Les Ateliers Louis Moinet was only created 20 years ago. As Watches & Wonders 2021 just ended, we paid a visit to Jean-Marie Schaller, the brand’s CEO, to understand how he embarked on resurrecting Louis Moinet.Xavier Markl, MONOCHROME – How did you get into watches?Jean-Marie Schaller, CEO of Louis Moinet?– Well, I grew up in the Jura mountains in the small city of Delemont. As a boy, I felt a lot of passion from the people working in the watch industry. There was a brand known as Jura Watch; there were watchmakers, case makers, dial makers, etc. These people gave me the sense of the importance of having a mission. I felt they were working not just to make a living - of course, we all have to – but they were all pursuing a passion. Soon, I realised that watches were more than just a simple product. Watches are the expression of know-how, tradition and soul from the Jura Mo

Buying Guide: MONOCHROME's Favourite New Watches From Dubai Watch Week 2023
With the whole watch world zooming in on Dubai for about a week and a half, it was expected there would be no shortage of captivating and fresh new watches being presented during Dubai Watch Week. And boy, the 2023 edition of what has become one of the most important fairs of the year did not disappoint! With various brands presenting adaptations of existing collections, there were also a fair few completely new models being revealed, including one very wild creation by Max Buser & Friends. So, as we’re still processing most of the horological content, here’s a look back at some of our favourite new watches.H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Small Seconds micro-rotorThe luxury sports watch scene is still going strong, and H. Moser & Cie is adding a fine example to the mix with its new Streamliner Small Seconds Micro-Rotor. This shrinks the soft cushion-shaped Streamliner down to 39mm by 10.9mm and gives it a completely new movement and yet another stunner of a dial. Th

Introducing The Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph Panda Dial
Launched as part of the renewal of the entire collection in 2016, the?Overseas Chronograph has long been seen as the sportiest and boldest watch of?Vacheron Constantin‘s luxury sports watch range. Initially available with a full-silver or blue dial in steel or with a silver dial in an 18k pink gold case, the collection has been expanded with a brown dial, a reverse panda dial and a blue-and-gold model. And now, in 2023, seven years after the release of this reference 5500V, the edition many were waiting for is finally here… Meet the highly anticipated Panda Dial Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph.?The launch of this new, long-awaited panda version of the Overseas Chronograph coincides with the discontinuation of several previous versions. The brown model, as well as the classic full-silver dial, are now gone, leaving space for only three stainless steel editions: blue dial, black with white counters “reverse panda”, and the brand-new edition you see here.