Introducing: Frederique Constant Highlife Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar in Steel
This year marks the 35th anniversary of Frederique Constant, and there is plenty to celebrate. With 31 in-house calibres under its belt, including complications like the tourbillon, perpetual calendar, flyback chronograph or the advanced Monolithic Oscillator, the brand founded by Dutch couple Aletta and Peter Stas and now in the hands of Citizen Group has stuck to its philosophy of accessible luxury. To celebrate the opening of the Citizen multi-brand store on New York’s prestigious Fifth Avenue, Frederique Constant launches a limited edition of its Highlife Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar Manufacture in steel with a closed dial and a competitive price tag.Frederique Constant closes the year in style with a stainless steel, closed dial edition of its tourbillon and perpetual calendar complication in a Highlife case with a price tag of EUR 26,995. Fair enough, when this movement was launched in 2018, the steel watch housing it was priced at EUR 19,495, but that was five years ago a

Collector's Series - The Christiaan Van der Klaauw Planetarium 2000
Watch collectors are kinda crazy, of course, but it's a nice kind of crazy' says Mr. Alias, a 45 years old entrepreneur from the Netherlands. His collection is eclectic and whenever he no longer wears a watch it is mercilessly discarded. His love for the technique, craftsmanship, and the painstaking devotion high-end watchmakers display, however, keeps him eternally intrigued by the world of watchmaking. One of his most interesting complication watches is the Christiaan Van der Klaauw Planetarium 2000 he bought in 2012. “This infatuation will never pass,” he said to me…Note: Mr. Alias is not currently in possession of his Planetarium, because I am wearing it. In a brotherly whim of trust, we have exchanged our Christiaan Van der Klaauw watches so we can wear each other's watch for a couple of weeks.The author’s CDvK Eclipse on the left, with the Church and Windmill (can’t be more Dutch than that…) and Mr. Alias’ CDvK Planetarium on the rightFra

Hands-On - TAG Heuer Monaco 1969-1979 Limited Edition 50th-Anniversary CAW211V.FC6466 (Specs & Price)
Even after a half-century of life, the TAG Heuer Monaco is still one of the most iconic chronographs on the market. The fame of the Monaco owes much to its cameo role on the wrist of Steve McQueen in the 1971 movie Le Mans. Back then, McQueen was known as The King of Cool. At the height of his popularity, his performance as racer Michael Delaney is, without doubt, one of his most cult roles. Although the Monaco shot to fame on Steve McQueen’s wrist, the genesis of this unconventional square chronograph coincided with a genuine technological revolution (and a frantic race) to launch the world’s first automatic chronograph.Steve McQueen wearing his Heuer Monaco in the movie Le Mans, 1971Short history of the Heuer MonacoThe 1960s and 1970s were a golden age for motor racing, one of the most exciting (and dangerous) sports of the time. The period was also the heyday of the mechanical chronograph with the birth of a number of horological icons. Back then, before electronic race

Buying Guide - Best of Dress Watches of 2021 by MONOCHROME
Since the end of 2021 is fast approaching and following our recent buying guides, we continue to look at the best watches introduced this year in most categories. After the best chronographs, our favourite watches by independent watchmakers or the top dive watches, it’s time for us to go elegant and dressy. But, MONOCHROME being MONOCHROME, we had to do it with a twist. Elegant doesn’t necessarily mean formal or classic. Long gone is the time when the dress watch was only defined by the Calatrava. Watchmakers have understood that elegance can be combined with boldness and originality. And here are our favourite elegant dress watches of the year, and all have something pretty unique to showcase.Editor’s note: this list reflects the preferences of MONCHROME’s editorial team and results from an internal vote. This list is, of course, non-exhaustive and remains subjective. If there are other time-only, elegant dress watches launched in 2021 that made an impression o

First Look: The New 39mm PVD-Gold Edition of the Rado Captain Cook Over-Pole
The cool Rado Captain Cook Over-Pole is back! Dating back to models from the 1960s, this evocative name was used for several Rado models, in particular, travel watches with a world time bezel – while the Captain Cook name immediately refers to the brand’s vintage-inspired dive watches. The Over-Pole came back in 2022 as a steel limited edition and part of the Captain Cook collection. For 2025, we get a yellow gold PVD-coated version. Slightly larger but with the same classic adventure charm, it continues to evoke the romance of vintage travel.A relatively loyal reinterpretation of classic Over-Pole world timers, this new limited edition differs from the 2022 series by its yellow gold colour, which further imbues the design with a retro feel but with enlarged dimensions. Still, its polished gold PVD-coated stainless steel case remains relatively compact at 39mm in diameter (versus 37mm for the previous re-edition), with a reasonable thickness of 10.9mm. The domed sapphire cr