The Collector's Series - An indie lover and his very special Ochs und Junior Annual Calendar - Monochrome-Watches
Discussing watches with collectors never fails to amaze and inspire me. I tend to find it is the stories behind the watches themselves that evokes the emotion within a collector. As the great marketing guru Simon Sinek always says, it is not the what' but the why' which counts. I am also of the belief watch collecting should be something that has less to do with social significance and more about intrinsic meaning and a deeper appreciation of time for a collector (although this is not always the case). An example of this is this Andre Ekrem's Ochs und Junior, a fascinating timepiece which on first inspection looks extremely simple. Andre is a 34 year old from Bergen in Norway a self-confessed corporate slave by day and watch geek by night (and weekend!). With a passion for travel, he tells me he frequently finds himself visiting independent watchmakers on the move. Let's find out why his Ochs und Junior is so special to him.When did you first get into watches?As long as I can remember

The Vintage Corner - A Watch Less Travelled - The Heuer Autavia Viceroy
Have you ever bought a vintage watch and wondered what life it led before it ended up in your hands? Well, this is a partial history of one such watch, a Heuer Autavia Viceroy 1163.In 2001 I had a long conversation with a retired Iowa farmer called Jim who had a vintage Heuer Autavia for sale on eBay. I wanted to buy the watch but the seller had stated No International Shipping' so I contacted him and we had a great talk about life. Me being a new father and him now retired, his children long gone and how he had learned to build his own website to communicate online, he was a really good chap and eventually we compromised and agreed he would ship the watch to a friend of mine's office at the Tribeca Centre in New York whom I was due to visit a few weeks later.So fast forward three weeks and after a rather busy weekend in New York and more than a few cocktails, I delivered the watch to my watchmaker here in the UK for service. I had bought the watch as stock for my small collector websi

First Look: The New Bulgari Octo Roma Striking 8 Days
Bulgari's personality is intrinsically shaped by Rome, incorporating elements of the city's magnificent imperial architecture into its fabulous jewellery and watches. The iconic Octo family, which includes the invincible legion of ultra-thin, record-breaking Octo Finissimo models, welcomes the new Octo Roma Striking 8 Days. If the watch looks familiar, it's because the movement powering this model was launched inside the Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days in 2022. With its impressive, skeletonised movement and formidable 8-day power reserve, the combination of black DLC titanium, sapphire viewing panes and neon-green accents imbue the Octo Roma with a contemporary dash of Italian bravado.The architecture of the Octo Roma, with its octagonal base and round bezel, is inspired by the octagonal coffering of the Basilica Maxentius in the Roman Forum. Less edgy than the 110 razor-thin facets of the Octo Finisissmo, the Octo Roma is a mellower, more versatile option. With its more rounded geometr

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Perpetual Calendar
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s sporty Polaris collection welcomes a new perpetual calendar model, using a movement similar to the one powering the Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual model of 2019. Presented in a 42mm case in stainless steel or pink gold, the Polaris Perpetual Calendar features a gradient dark blue lacquered dial with three sub-dials for the calendar functions and an additional sub-dial for the phases of the Moon in both hemispheres. As a member of the Polaris family, the watch comes with a rotating inner bezel and other design features borrowed from the original Memovox Polaris of 1968.The experience Le Coultre & Cie. gained making its perpetual calendar pocket watches at the end of the 19th century was miniaturised and translated into wristwatch format in 1937. A perpetual calendar is like having a miniature mechanical computer on the wrist, capable of smoothing out the anomalies between civil time and celestial phenomena and automatically computing months of different lengths

GIVE AWAY: Jaeger-LeCoultre Year Books - Monochrome Watches
A week before Christmas we start the penultimate 10th Anniversary Give-Away. ?On December 24th we’ll run the last one, however now it’s time to win one of two sets of each two Jaeger-LeCoultre year books (No. Nine and Ten). These books are beautifully made, with beautiful photography, and covering topics from art, travel, and of course the stunning Jaeger-LeCoultre timepieces, often explained in detail.?Jaeger-LeCoultre made these two sets available for you, and we kept ’em wrapped so you’ll get two brand new year books. At least, if you’re one of the lucky two winners! The photos below show Year Book 10 from our own book shelfs, and we kept Year Book Nine in its plastic wrap. Please fill out the form below, and answer a few questions, in order to have a chance to win one of the two sets of Jaeger-LeCoultre Year Books. You will also subscribe to the Monochrome daily news (you can change to the weekly new