GIVE AWAY: Five Books, Notebooks and Rollerballs by A. Lange & Sohne - Monochrome Watches
Time for the next give-away on Monochrome to celebrate our 10th anniversary, and this time we can give away 5 sets from A. Lange & Sohne. The beautiful German watch brand, who just launched the renewed Lange 1 Moonphase Day/Night, ?provided us with 5 x the book “Sign of the Times”, 5 x a Lange notebook and 5 rollerballs.?The book, written by Christoph Scheuring, is a historic novel inspired by the fascinating personality of Saxony's watchmaking pioneer, Ferdinand Adolph Lange. Quite a few books already covered his accomplishments, however little has been known about the first few years of his life so far. Lange grew up with foster parents who encouraged him in his ambitions and allowed him to study at the newly founded Royal Technical College, the precursor of what is now the University of Dresden. There, Lange was able to develop his scientific talents. Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes, who was later appointed clockmaker to the court, quickly recognised the youngster

Richemont Announces 2020 Half-Year Sales Down 26% - Monochrome Watches
Switzerland-based luxury conglomerate Richemont Group has just issued its trading update for the six months ended 30 September 2020. As expected in these uncertain times, sales are down. COVID-19 impacted activities but the situation has improved over the past months helped by Chinese demand. For the half-year, sales decreased by 26% at actual exchange rates to EUR 5,478 million and by 25% at constant exchange rates. The Group operating profit is down to EUR 452 million with an 8.3% operating margin and the profit for the period is down to EUR 159 million.The owner of multiple high-end watch brands, such as IWC, A. Lange & Sohne, JLC or Cartier, reports a more positive trend throughout the second quarter of 2020, with sales down by 5% at actual exchange rates and 2% at constant exchange rates, following a 47% decline (at actual and constant exchange rates) in the first quarter of 2020. This was also reflected by other industry indicators. In particular, the statistics released by t

New Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Co-Axial GMT Chronograph - Monochrome Watches
Omega released a new model in the Seamaster Aqua Terra collection, the Seamaster Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra GMT Chronograph. Of course another Omega with their famous co-axial escapement, but did you know how the co-axial escapement ended up in Omega’s watches?Since the introduction of the new Seamaster Aqua Terra collection, these watches have the new co-axial escapement. So does the new Seamaster Aqua Terra Co-Axial GMT Chronograph. Like the rest of the collection it has the same tuxedo striped dial, or like Omega says a dial with a “teak concept”. According to Omega this ‘teak concept’ reminds of the wooden deks of luxury boats. Ah well… marketing is a trade apart. ?? Ad - Scroll to continue with article The Aqua Terra Co-Axial GMT Chronograph features the co-axial calibre 3603 with a free sprung balance. The movement has a

Haldimann H1 Flying Central Tourbillon Piece Unique - Monochrome Watches
There are only a handful of watchmakers who perform their art in the oldest and most traditional way, meaning by hand. Beat Haldimann and his team are among the few who still make watches without the help of CNC machines. Haldimann’s collection of timepieces focuses on centrally positioned regulating organs, like the H11 and H12 that we showed you last year. Today we’re going to take a closer look at a unique execution of Haldimann’s first wristwatch, the H1 Flying Central Tourbillon.?I always thought a tourbillon should be a discreet complication, not visible for others, a secret pleasure for the owner of the watch in question. Holes in dials just didn’t appeal to me. That is until Karsten Fr??dorf asked me to ‘test’ his Calibre 360 Spirograph, an oversized wristwatch with a (very) large tourbillon that is visible through a large hole in the dial. After a day on the wrist, I was converted and loved that large hole in the dial staging the massive tou

Buying Guide - Some of Our Favourite Skeleton Watches
There are endless styles of watches, ranging from plain-and-simple to over-the-top, from time-only models to grande complications. While we often categorize watches on certain features or complications (tourbillon watches, sports watches, dive watches, etc…) there are styling choices that are free from restraints and can be found in any category. Today we go through no less than eight skeletonized watches that extend this delicate craft beyond the conventional boundaries.?While we already touched upon the subject of skeletonized watches a little over a year ago in a buying guide article, we felt it was time to once more pay homage to the art of cutting away all that isn't needed. We are once again taking a look at some of the most extraordinary open-worked watches but from a different perspective. As skeletonized watches range in style from chic to sporty and everything in between, we tried to select those that transcend a certain style and become more than just the sum of their