The Collector's Series - Robin Nooij and His Tudor Black Bay Smiley Face
The Collector's Series focuses on a shared passion for watches. Stories from real people who tell us why they fell in love with a certain watch. This can be pretty much anything and doesn't necessarily have to be an ultra-complex, ultra-expensive, ultra-rare piece. It can also be a more widely available, attainable watch from a mainstream brand that just resonates with someone. For this, we thought we’d ask our very own contributor Robin Nooij – here on Instagram – some questions about a stand-out piece in his collection. We already knew which piece that is, but now you get to know too.Robin Nooij has been writing and working for us for about nine years now, alongside his job for a large banking company. He's been with us for a while and, as such, has witnessed all sorts of things going on around MONOCHROME. Attending Baselworld, SIHH and various other events, he’s learned about the wonderful world of watches inside out. In this journey into watchmaking, he also

Hands-On With The Steel Code 11.59 Audemars Piguet Collection
Launched in 2019, the controversial?Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 collection has seen some drastic evolutions in the past years. Without even talking about the addition of all possible complications, the classic models – time-and-date and chronograph – have been improved already by the addition of new smoked/gradient dials. But as of now, the collection was available primarily in white or pink gold, with or without ceramic accents. Not anymore, as we now have stainless steel Code 11.59 watches, available in three-hand and chrono, with a new dial pattern and colours that make them sportier, and more casual. 6 references in total, including 2 bolder ones with gradient colour and ceramic elements. Let’s have a closer look.The first year of the Code 11.59 was tough… The launch wasn’t the expected success, and the reception of the watches wasn’t highly enthusiastic. The reason might be the rather sleek dials that were offered in the inaugural models. Still,

First Look: The Longines Spirit Zulu Time Titanium 39mm
Longines’ Spirit collection has been quite the hit from the get-go. The style, fit and finish were on point and ticked a lot of boxes for a lot of people. Since its inception in 2020, we’ve seen quite an impressive and widespread run of pilot-inspired watches in varying degrees of complexity, ?colours and even multiple sizes and materials. One of the most standout models, to us at least, has been the Spirit Zulu Time, the robust travel-ready member of the family. Following the Spirit Titanium and Spirit Flyback Chronograph Titanium, Longines has now sent the 39mm sized Spirit Zulu Time on a similar weight-loss course.The Spirit Zulu Time sub-collection comes in two sizes, but Longines has opted for the smaller 39mm size for this sleek grade 5 titanium version. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if there will be a titanium 42mm Spirit Zulu Time somewhere down the line, but in terms of size, this one is pretty much bang on. It’s a touch thick for some, perhaps, s

Georges Kern, Christiaan Knoop and Stefan Ihnen on the new IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Classic and the new calibre 69000 movement family - Monochrome Watches
Recently at?the 74th edition of the Goodwood Member Meeting (#74MM) IWC introduced three new versions of the Ingenieur. The new models are inspired on the iconic vintage Ingenieur ref. 666 and features similar lines and design cues. The new Ingenieur Chronograph Classic models all feature a brand new in-house movement and of course we want to know everything about that. On first glance it shows similarities with the well-known work-horse movement, calibre ETA 7750, so we decided to pop the question.The brand’s CEO, Georges Kern, and?director of design Christian Knoop talked about the new Ingenieur models, the new movement and the future of the brand. On top of that we interviewed technical director Stephan Ihnen, and talked movements, production facilities and all the nitty gritty details we wanted to know about.?Find out more about the future of IWC, learn?why the brand goes back to more classical design, to more lifestyle oriented collections, and of course, the?new calibre 690

IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Racer - Monochrome Watches
Like I already announced last Saturday, when I wrote about the new Ingenieur Automatic, IWC is seriously redesigning their Ingenieur Collection. Today we can show you the Ingenieur Chronograph Racer, that, like the Ingenieur AMG Black Series, results from the cooperation with Mercedes AMG Petronas.The?Ingenieur Chronograph Racer ?is powered by the IWC in-house automatic flyback chronograph calibre 89361, that we already know from the Portuguese Yacht Club. The totalizers of this movement’s chronograph are placed in one subdial at the 12 o’clock position and the central seconds hand sweeps along the bezel with an engraved tachymeter scale, true to its name ‘Racer’. Ad - Scroll to continue with article The movement used features a flyback function for instant stop, reset and start measuring time again. It beats at a frequency of 28,800 vph,