The Speake-Marin Magister Tourbillon, the back to basics watch - Monochrome Watches
Peter Speake-Marin is going back to his roots with a tourbillon, after an incursion in the world of sports watches. This complication is of very special significance for him. This is a good reason to take a closer look at his Magister Tourbillon, bringing together a host of details characteristics of his watch design we have been enjoying for some 15 years.Background / Reminder about Peter Speake-MarinAfter qualifying as a watchmaker at Hackney Technical College in London, Englishman Peter Speake-Marin moved to Switzerland in the late 1980s. There, he further learnt his trade at Wostep, the renowned watchmaking school in Neuchatel. Returning to London, seven highly formative years to set up and run the antique watch restauration department at Somlo antiques in Piccadilly London were an influential period on his career, allowing him to discover the valuable works of past masters. In 1996, he was attracted back to Switzerland to develop high complications for Renaud & Papi, the high-

Zenith El-Primero Pilot/Diver 3019PHC - Monochrome Watches
The watch we will show you today launches a new section here at Monochrome. A section exclusively focused on vintage watches. Why exclusively, and why vintage, you might wonder? Vintage watches are the watches of days gone by since they were manufactured in an era when mechanical was the only way to go. These timepieces were designed and manufactured mainly to fulfill their specific functions. They were luxury items; they were symbols of status; but mainly and most importantly the vast majority of them were created to serve a certain purpose, in a world in need of accurate time-keeping instruments. The submariner was actually used by divers, recreational and professional alike. The Omega Speedmaster helped the astronauts of Apollo XIII to return back home. The IWC Mk XI was used by the British and Commonwealth Navigators to find their way through dead reckoning navigation. The Breitling Navitimer was actually employed by civilian pilots to calculate basic parameters of their flight,

Cartier's in-house Chronograph movement - Calibre de Cartier Chronograph - Monochrome Watches
In 2010 Cartier introduced the Calibre de Cartier featuring Cartier’s in-house movement?caliber 1904-PS, a solid base movement that found its way into the new Tank Anglaise as well. Last week Cartier introduced their new in-house chronograph movement, caliber 1904-CH, in a watch with the familiar Calibre de Cartier case and face.?This is of course very different from the classic elegant Cartier mono-poussoir models from the esteemed CPCP collection, however a great next step for Cartier’s mainstream collection. This is the new Calibre de Cartier Chronograph with caliber 1904-CH movement. Ad - Scroll to continue with article I think it’s justified to call this movement, Cartier’s first ‘normal’ in-house chronograph movement, putting aside the exotics from their Fine Watchmaking collection. The previous Cartier chronograph watch

The Auction Hammer: Bonhams to auction Reinhard Furrer Omega Speedmaster Professional NASA 145.022 - Monochrome-Watches
The Omega Speedmaster is getting more and more under?the scope of collectors. For a few years now, some of the rare editions have been?able to reach 40,000Eur or more. This is all due to a long and rich history, to a continuous production since 1957 and to the Space and Moon exploration. At Monochrome-Watches, the ‘Speedy‘ has always been one of our favorites, as we’ve been the very first to reveal you about?the watches worn by Aldrin and Armstrong during Apollo 11 Mission. Don’t expect to see such watches on auction soon – that would be an unaffordable dream. Bonhams however will soon auction another true astronaut watch, the?Reinhard Furrer Omega Speedmaster Professional, one of the very few to come with a radial dial.?Reinhard Furrer?(November 25, 1940 - September 9, 1995) was a German physicist and astronaut.?In 1977 Furrer applied for selection as an astronaut for the first Spacelab mission. He was finally selected for a space mission and?had been a p

NASA to Send Ultra-Precise, Miniaturised, Game-Changing "Deep Space Atomic Clock" to Space - Monochrome Watches
Knowing the time onboard a ship/vessel/spacecraft/vehicle isn’t just about knowing “what time it is”… It goes far beyond that! 18th-century maritime explorers knew that. In order to calculate their position around the globe (establishing their latitude and longitude), they needed to have one heck of a precise clock onboard – marine chronometers back then. Even though technology has evolved (to say the least), the concept remains the same for space trips… And NASA is about to launch a piece of equipment that will drastically change the way astronauts navigate – and yes, the underlying idea is to help them navigate to Mars and beyond!Navigation and timeAs surprising as it might be, time isn’t just a notion of “what time it is”. When travelling, it can take on an entirely different dimension. Something that maritime explorers were quick to understand. Time can, in this instance, be used to determine longitude by accurately measur