Portrait: Audemars Piguets New CEO Ilaria Resta Speaks About Her Arrival and the Future of AP
Five months in as CEO of one of the most luxurious watch brands, Audemars Piguet, Mrs Ilaria Resta offers her view on the current market and how she sees the future of the esteemed Le Brassus-based Maison.Dressed in a green suit with a 38mm purple dial Code 11:59 on the wrist, Italian-Swiss Ilaria Resta looks relaxed and concentrated when I meet her in the Armani Hotel in Milan. We are here for the opening of one of the most important AP houses, a novel retail concept by Audemars Piguet that already has 19 of its kind around the world.? Ad - Scroll to continue with article However, the Milan AP house, which is situated in the iconic parking house, Garage Traversi, on Via Bagutta that was in service from 1939-2003, is important as the first ideas of this new retailing concept were born in Milan in 2017 and have been replicated to all the AP houses. A concept that

First Look: Three New Ceramic Colours for the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Chronograph
Hublot introduced its Spirit of Big Bang collection in 2014 as an evolution of the popular Big Bang series. It retained all the familiar Bang elements yet was presented in an entirely new shape the brand seemed to have avoided until then – the barrel. Over the decade, the tonneau case series has grown and it is incredibly prolific in the chronograph category, with nearly thirty references in various materials and colours. At the start of this year, the brand expanded its offer by adding three new Spirit of Big Bang Chronograph references in coloured ceramic.The new Spirit of Big Bang Chronographs are cast in 42mm by 14.1mm Sand Beige, Dark Green and Sky Blue ceramic cases, bezel and caseback included, with a micro-blasted and polished finish. The crown, rectangular pushers, lugs and other distinctive elements align with the rest of the series, yet the case colours that extend to the dial design make the new references look undeniably fresh and appealing. Ad - Scroll to

Found - A Rare Habring2 Monopusher Chronograph Japan Edition
If you’re a recurring reader of MONOCHROME, you should very well be aware that we, as a team, have a thing for chronographs, and specifically, vintage-inspired chronographs manufactured by?husband-and-wife duo Richard and Maria Habring. After all, this was the inspiration behind our very first Montre de Souscription, a sector dial monopusher with salmon colour… And since we’re definitely biased, there’s another watch that always resonates very loud at the redaction room, a rare and absolutely stunning model made exclusively for Habring2 long-term Japan retailer Shellman, the Monopusher with Breguet numerals and snail-shaped scales. We’ve already featured a black example on MONO and today, it’s a silver edition that makes it to the magazine. To us, typically a watch you should look at closely, and maybe add to your collection.?Habring2 is the kind of brand/watchmaker we love at MONOCHROME. Based in the small town of Volkermarkt, Austria (already somet

Hands-On - Omega Seamaster 1948 Limited Editions (Baselworld 2018, Specs & Price)
What's old is new again, and Omega's Seamaster 1948 gets a second lease of life in 2018 with two limited edition models that capture the retro spirit of the originals combined with turbo-charged 21st-century engines in the form of Co-Axial Master Chronometer movements. Seventy years down the line, the Seamaster 1948 reappears to seduce a new generation of buyers with two very attractive models, one with central seconds and the other with a small seconds sub-dial. With their elegant 38mm cases, monochromatic silver dials, Spartan aesthetics and non-existent date window, the Seamaster 1948 models were definitely one of our favourites at Baselworld 2018.Brothers in armsLaunched in 1948 to coincide with Omega's centenary, the Seamaster is Omega's most veteran line in the current collection and the granddaddy of Omega's powerful family of diving instruments -including the Seamaster Diver 300m Bond watch. As the direct descendant of Omega's utilitarian wristwatches supplied in bulk to the Br

SIHH 2015: Montblanc Heritage Chronometrie ExoTourbillon Minute Chronograph - Monochrome Watches
Today, 19 January 2015, is the first day of the 25th edition of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, or short SIHH. In the coming week?we’re going to show you a plentitude of new timepiece, including some of the finest high-end timepieces on the market. In this first article of the week we’ll focus on what we see as one of the most promising watch brands of the moment, and on one of their most spectacular timepieces: the Montblanc?Heritage Chronometrie ExoTourbillon Minute Chronograph. Read on to find out everything, from specs to retail price, about this sumptuous?timepiece and?enjoy our photos.?Its name already reveals that we’re dealing with a watch that features a chronograph and an extraordinary tourbillon. The Montblanc Heritage Chronometrie ExoTourbillon Minute Chronograph (yes, that a mouthful) features no normal tourbillon, but the in-house developed and built ExoTourbillon. This tourbillon was first introduced in 2010 and in 2013 they introduced t