Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Micro-Rotor - Review, Specs & Price
Except if you’ve been living in a cave for the past three or four years, you might well be aware that the hottest watch category these days is the so-called luxury sports watch. Based on 1970s inspirations, equipped with an integrated bracelet, mixing daily capacities with refined mechanics, they’ve become something of a necessity for any watchmaking brand that wants to be taken seriously. Can we blame them? Certainly not, all of these new contenders are simply answering market demand. Parmigiani Fleurier has recently decided that it wants a seat at the table, and preferably next to the main icons of the so-called Holy Trinity. And for that, it has created a completely new collection, including this Tonda PF Micro-Rotor. But is it any good?What is a luxury sports watch?We’ve explained what we consider are the key traits of a luxury sports watch many times in the past, but since there is no fixed definition, a quick reminder will be helpful. According to our own defini

Buying Guide: A Selection Of Sleek & Scratch-Proof Ceramic Watches
Watches come in all sizes, shapes, colours, styles and materials, which is why there’s always something to be found that ticks personal boxes. One of the options in terms of case material, or beyond for that matter, is ceramic. Pioneered by brands like Rado, it has come a long way and can be found in anything from a robust diver or sleek luxury sports watch to a complex calendar watch. Its main attribute is the fact its virtually impervious to scratches, plus the fact it can be crafted in pretty much any colour. With that said, here’s a selection of bold ceramic watches to satisfy our needs!Blancpain Bathyscaphe quantiEme completAs the more compact and streamlined take on the iconic Fifty Fathoms, the Bathyscaphe collection is often a platform of complications for Blancpain. Where we could have gone for the time-and-date model or even the chronograph, we went for the Quantieme Complet instead. Its brushed black ceramic case is matched to a full ceramic bracelet which Blandp

The Petrolhead Corner - Spotted Damon Hill and His Race-Worn Omega Speedmaster
Damon Hill is the son of the late British racing driver Graham Hill, who twice won the Formula 1 drivers' championship and is the only driver to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport comprising the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix.Father and Son – Graham Hill overseeing his son Damon in the driving seat – Photo by Express/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesIn 1996, Damon Hill became Formula 1 World Champion driving for the Williams team and in doing so, Hill and his father became the first family to have a father and son both become Formula 1 World champions.I noticed while browsing for photos on racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart, that Hill was wearing an Omega Speedmaster chronograph.?I have never heard of anyone mentioning Hill sporting a Speedmaster, so I decided to do start searching. Ad - Scroll to continue with article Go

The New RJ Arraw Chronograph 45mm - The New Era of Romain Jerome - Monochrome Watches
It's official. Romain Jerome has been rebranded as RJ and made its debut at Baselworld 2018 with the new Arraw collection, its first line of men's and women's watches that will set the tone of things to come. A derivation of the Titanic DNA and Moon Dust models, the Arraw line is poised to become the building block for future developments and was assembled by the new RJ team in a record time of just two months. Having looked at the 45mm Arraw chronograph closely and strapped it on the wrist, the overall impression at MONOCHROME was that the watch is a less rambunctious, more contained and wearable offshoot of its predecessors.The foundationsFounded in 2004, Romain Jerome deployed successful shock and awe' tactics with its steampunk aesthetics and materials sourced from the oddest places on Earth including the hull of the rusting Titanic, fragments of Apollo 11, moon dust and even debris from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. Playing the millennial card to great advantage, Romain

Hands-On - Czapek Quai des Bergues Order of Malta Special Edition (with Video)
If you are a regular reader of MONOCHROME, you will be familiar with the independent watchmaker Czapek. A name with a lot of history (Fran?ois Czapek was a Geneva-based Polish watchmaker whose 6-year partnership with Antoni Patek gave birth to remarkable watches before the latter founded Patek Philippe with Adrien Philippe), the brand was revived in 2015 with the launch of the Quai des Bergues. The first modern Czapek creation was awarded the Public Prize at the prestigious Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve in 2016. At Baselworld 2017, the brand introduced the Place Vend?me tourbillon featuring a GMT indication.Over the past months, Czapek has released variations, bespoke iterations and special editions of its Quai des Bergues model showcasing traditional crafts like Grand Feu enamel or hand-guilloche dials. The latest execution of this collection presented just ahead of Baselworld features a grene - iridescent silvered dial featuring a highly-detailed Order of Malta coat of arms paint