VIDEO - The Vacheron Constantin Overseas - Part 1, the Origins, the 222 and the Evolution of an Icon
In 1977, Vacheron Constantin, the oldest watch manufacturer in continuous operation, celebrated its 222nd anniversary. For this reason, the brand?decided to create a special watch, right in the middle of what was known as the “quartz crisis”. Swiss brands needed to reinvent themselves, making necessary and often, disruptive changes. This is when the Vacheron Constantin 222, a true luxury sports watch,?was born – a watch that would later become an icon under the name Overseas. In our latest series of videos, we talk with Christian Selmoni, the brand’s heritage and style director, about the Vacheron Constantin Overseas. Today, in this first part, we focus on the origins, which includes the 222 and the first generations of Overseas.The Vacheron Constantin Overseas is a topic we’ve explored several times here, at MONOCHROME, especially in this article, which looks at the whole history of the collection. The story of the Overseas starts with a watch named the 2

The Evolution of the Escapement and recent innovations - Monochrome Watches
250 years after Thomas Mudge invented the first lever escapement, developing escapements has once again become the new frontier in technological breakthroughs of old-fashioned mechanical watches; a crowning glory for the most innovative, skilful and daring watchmakers. Here's a review of recent prospects and advances concerning what is certainly the most important part of a watch, the escapement.With this article dedicated to the escapement, we're introducing to you a new column, entirely dedicated to technics: A Technical Perspective. We learnt from recent talks with you, our readers, that you are interested in learning more about movement?parts, about innovation and about the way some complications work. Today, we'll clarify the evolution of a crucial part of a mechanical watch, the escapement.Invented by the English Horologist Thomas Mudge in the middle of the 18th century, the Swiss lever escapement is currently used in almost all of the mechanical watches we have today. Yet, after

Some Of The Coolest Nicknames in Automotive History, Part 1 - Monochrome Watches
Nicknames, I'm sure we all had one at one point in our life. Personally, I am sometimes referred to as the big guy due to my sturdy 2.01m frame. We also have quite a range of nicknames for watches; the Pepsi, Kermit and Hulk for instance, or the Omega Speedy, Tudor Snowflake, Seiko Tuna, etc. The list is almost endless. Things are rather similar in cars, especially cars that stand out from the crowd. We all know the VW Beetle is often called bug, but there are more interesting nicknames out there. Some funny, some quite offensive, and mostly down to one attribute. Today we pay tribute to some of the greatest nickname bestowed on cars.Chaparral 2J a.k.a. “the Vacuum Cleaner”We've featured this car before, in our first Weird and Wonderful Automotive Innovations episode, but considering it is properly unusual and carries a few nicknames, it fits right in here. The Chaparral 2J was so extreme, they never got it running properly and was eventually outlawed. It effectively rend

First Look: The new Schwarz Etienne 1902 Petite Seconde
Sometimes, moving forward means going back to recover the good things from the past. That appears to be the case at Schwarz Etienne, a small, independent brand from La Chaux-de-Fonds that wants to raise its profile and become better known on the watch scene. Founded in 1902, the brand is now in the hands of CEO Florian Brossard. Keen to exploit Schwarz Etienne's high level of vertical integration, the brand's full potential is about to be unleashed. Presented during Geneva Watch Week 2025, the 1902 Petite Seconde collection marks a new chapter in the brand's design language. A blend of old and new, the three-hand dress watch in three dial colours reveals a refined sector dial design, and the movement heralds the return of the brand's signature finger bridges.Brossard has an interesting background. Trained in micromechanics and movement design, he was involved in rebuilding the legendary Minerva manufacture, followed by long stints at Montblanc and Greubel Forsey. As he points out in th

The Alpine A110 Edition - A French Treasure // The Petrolhead Corner
Pour une fois, cet episode de “The Petrolhead Corner” sera en fran?ais… Ok sorry, switching back to our usual English. But I could have gone French all the way, as today’s topic is bleu, very bleu. As some of you might know, I’m French, I love cars and I love sports and vintage engines – hence this weekly car-related column. As such, without surprise, I have a special thing for Alpine, which represents a lot as a Frenchy, but also on a personal basis. So today, The Petrolhead Corner puts his baguette under its arm and drives to the French countryside.Image by PetroliciousIf you think French cars, you have Renault, Peugeot and the likes… Nothing to drive me crazy (pun intended), in all fairness. On the other side of the spectre, there’s Bugatti. Yes, it has Italian roots, it is owned by Germans but cars have been produced and are still manufactured in French Alsace, near the German border. But let’s be honest, those cars aren’t