Introducing the Norqain Independence 40mm Hakuna Mipaka
Norqain might only be five years old, but it has managed to establish itself as a promising independent brand producing rugged, functional watches with enough personality to stand out from the crowd. Norqain's latest watch is the result of a collaboration with wildlife ambassador Dean Schneider and flaunts a trendy leopard-print pattern on the dial and strap. As part of the Independence collection, the Hakuna Mipaka is a sporty 3-hand and date model but now comes in a smaller 40mm case and is marketed by the brand as a ladies' watch.With industry heavyweight Jean-Claude Biver on the advisory board, Norqain launched the Independence Wild One in 2022 with an innovative carbon fibre composite material and an eye-catching textured 3D laser-cut dial. The new Independence Hakuna Mipaka also features a striking textured dial with a leopard spot pattern. Designed with Dean Schneider, 10% of the proceeds will be donated to his Hakuna Mipaka wildlife sanctuary and animal rehabilitation centre in

Petrolhead Corner: The Upcoming APX GP F1 Movie
If you’ve been paying attention to Formula 1, you might have witnessed something odd over the past 12 months or so. While officially there are 10 teams putting two cars each on the grid, an eleventh team has been spotted! And no, it’s not Mario Andretti and his Cadillac-backed Formula 1 plans making an early appearance, nor is it Audi who’s taking over the Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, but it’s something different altogether. It’s Hollywood baby! But just who, how, what and where? I’m going to try and piece together the most important elements, but straight up; it involves a certain Mr Pitt and Mr Hamilton, the director from TOP GUN; Maverick, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team, and of course; IWC Schaffhausen!It was almost exactly a year ago, during the 2023 British Grand Prix, that we witnessed something never seen before in Formula 1. Apart from all the on- and off-track shenanigans of the 10 teams and 20 drivers battling it out for the Constru

Taking the Vertex M60 Aqualion for a real-world underwater test
If you're a watch enthusiast who likes a good story to go along with a good watch, chances are you have heard of the Dirty Dozen military watches. In case you haven't and don't feel like a deep dive on the subject, here is the short version: the Dirty Dozen is the colloquial name given to one watch, supplied by twelve different brands, to British military personnel in the Second World War. The production of a single specification for a watch had to be spread across many brands in order to meet the massive production demand of 150,000 watches. Those twelve brands run the gamut from names you definitely know, like Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines, IWC, and Omega; to names you might know, like Buren, Cyma, Eterna, and Lemania; to names you might not know, like Grana, Record, Timor, and the one we are speaking of today: Vertex. But today isn’t about military watches. It’s about the M60 Aqualion.BackgroundVertex was originally founded in 1912 by a young Englishman named Claude Lyons,

The Collector's Series: Frank's first 'Indy Watch', the Sarpaneva Korona K1 - Monochrome Watches
It's the one you have all been waiting for! It's time to sit down with our very own Executive Editor and Monochrome-Watches' founder, Frank Geelen. I love nothing more than talking watches with enthusiasts but this one was extra special. To give you a bit of background (in case you were unaware): in 2006, Frank started Monochrome-Watches as a blog. By all accounts, his friends (and family) thought he was mad! Day in day, day out, writing about high-end mechanical watches. Nine years on however, Monochrome-Watches has grown to become one of the most important high-end watch magazines in the online space and Frank is acknowledged as one of THE experts in the watch-community.Frank has been a tremendous mentor of mine. He is, quite simply, a wonderfully nice guy (with a dry sense of humour) but first and foremost an expert on high-end, complicated watches and independent manufactures. Frank has chosen to discuss his (seriously cool) Sarpaneva Korona K1 in this, his first appearance on the

Introducing: The New Panerai Luminor Marina Collection in Steel
Although the Florentine brand Panerai was founded in 1860, its contract with the Italian Royal Navy to produce precision instruments changed its destiny radically. Panerai's 1916 radium-based powder, known as Radiomir, lit up the brand's future as a supplier of luminescent instruments, underwater tools, and eventually watches for the Italian Royal Navy and its famous frogmen commandos. In 1949, Panerai replaced radioactive radium with Luminor, a harmless tritium-based luminescent substance. A few years later, Panerai patented its Luminor watch with its sandwich dial, outstanding luminescence and crown-protecting bridge. In 1993, the Luminor and Luminor Marina Militare were made available to civilians. Now a flagship collection, Panerai proposes four new Luminor Marina models in stainless steel with increased water-resistance, brighter luminescence and a new 3-day automatic movement.The Luminor Marina's prominent bridge protecting the crown is now responsible for ensuring the higher wat