Some Of The Coolest Affordable Watches Of 2023, So Far - Monochrome Watches
Very few of us watch nuts are fortunate enough to hunt down and acquire tourbillons, minute repeaters or perpetual calendar watches. There’s no denying the appeal of such complex mechanical marvels, but there’s just as much fun (if not more) to be found on the lower end of the spectrum. And while we’ve compiled many lists of this year’s best sports watches, calendar watches or complex chronographs in various instalments of our weekly Buying Guide, it’s now time to take a look at watches that don’t break the bank. So, we capped the budget at EUR 1,500 and go through a selection of watches from the first few months of the year to see what’s out there for you to consider adding to the collection!Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba GreenWhen it comes to value for money, the Swatch Group is home to several brands impossible to ignore, Hamilton being one of them. The new Khaki Navy Scuba in 43mm stainless steel case looks very attractive in this new gradient g

Hands-on: The New Salmon Dial Chopard Alpine Eagle XPS
Chopard introduced the Alpine Eagle collection in 2019 to compete in the growing segment of luxury sports watches with integrated bracelets. A modern interpretation of Chopard’s St. Moritz line from the 1980s, the Alpine Eagle, viewed by many as an attempt to create a genuine alternative to Royal Oak and Nautilus, became an essential part of Chopard’s offer as the collection has grown and is now an array of references in different sizes, materials and includes a flyback chronograph, a flying tourbillon, and a watch with a high-frequency (57,600vph/8Hz) movement, not to mention time-only, time and date, and references richly decorated with precious stones. This year the brand presents an ultra-thin Alpine Eagle model in a 41mm case with a thickness of just 8mm.The case of the Alpine Eagle 41 XPS has a familiar shape, distinguishing flanks and a bezel with eight proper screws and an engraved crown. For balanced proportions in line with the slim profile, the sides of the bezel

First Look: Hitting the Sweet Spot... The new Raymond Weil Millesime Small Seconds 35mm
Raymond Weil's Millesime collection, launched in 2024, is a charming retro-inspired family that has caught many a watch aficionado's eye. Injecting a new lease of life into a brand that was often overlooked, the Millesime family is out to conquer the market of neo-vintage dress watches with modern specifications. Coupled with competitive prices, the Millesime has positioned itself as a worthy contender in the dress watch category. After all, not everybody can afford Patek Philippe's latest Calatrava – the king of dress watches – that seduced more than a few members of the MONOCHROME team. Following in the successful wake of the larger 39.5mm Millesime Small Seconds, Raymond Weil launches a more compact 35mm case size. Inching closer and closer to perfect dress watch proportions, the Millesime Small Seconds 35mm might well hit the sweet spot.Founded in 1976, the brand is now in the hands of Raymond Weil's grandson, Elie Bernheim, the CEO behind the launch of the Millesime. W

Video Review: The Tissot PRX 40 Powermatic 80 Forged Carbon
With the PRX collection, Tissot has found a proverbial sweet spot between style, mechanics and affordability. At the height of the boom of luxury sports watches, in comes Tissot with the PRX, offering tremendous value for money! In just a couple of short years, Tissot has made the PRX the hottest-selling watch in its collection, by a country mile! It packs all the right elements; a shaped case, textured dial, integrated bracelet, and so on. Now though, Tissot ups the ante once more and goes a bit exotic with its latest PRX Powermatic 80, decked out in forged carbon!For the first time, the collection ditches its sleek stainless steel exterior, in favour of lightweight forged carbon. It concerns not only the case but also the dial, neatly tying in the exterior with the interior. The Tissot PRX 40 Powermatic 80 Forged Carbon, as it's officially called, retains the signature style and proportions. It has a 40mm exterior diameter and a height of 11.2mm. With a lug-to-lug size of 44mm, and w

Hands-On - Tudor Black Bay GMT S&G Root Beer 41mm (Specs, Price)
Within the ever-growing and successful Black Bay range by Tudor, we’ve now seen watches covering most of the needs for professional, vintage-inspired sports models. From the classic 41mm diver’s watch to the cool and compact Fifty-Eight models, and then all kinds of materials and colours – including the desirable 925 Silver/Taupe model – it’s an almost endless story. Even when it comes to GMT watches, you’ll have the choice between the classic Pepsi 41mm?with rotating bezel, or the brand new GMT Pro?with adventure/explorer look. And there’s more this year, with yet another watch that is reminiscent of the Crown’s greatest hits… And we’ll see how the Tudor Black Bay GMT S&G is actually the best “root beer” watch now available – and by that, we really mean the one you’ll be able to get, in many ways.? Ad - Scroll to continue with article