Latest watch news · Page 22

What We Know Time flies, and it’s been almost 10 months since J.N. Shapiro launched the brand’s first complication, a limited-run monopusher chronograph for a private group of collectors in the Boston area. It featured a salmon-and-black dial and a stainless-steel case, limited to 14 pieces. Now the concept is back, with the same movement, but with some arguable upgrades in how the entire watch is treated. The brand has tapped tantalum and zirconium as major parts of the watch's construction, materials used extensively in aerospace engineering for their special properties. "Our workshop is located in one of the largest aerospace manufacturing hubs in the world," says Shapiro in their press release. "Companies like SpaceX, Boeing, Northrop, and JPL are all nearby. This watch is a nod to that environment, using space-age metals and meteorite to reflect where we come from and what inspires us." The watch comes in two dial variants, both cased in 38mm-by-9.6mm (8.2mm without crystal) tantalum cases. The dark grey material, famously hard to machine, is incredibly heavy, giving the watch a lot of gravitas on the wrist. Photo courtesy J.N. Shapiro. The first dial, which is the most direct homage to the Californian tie with aerospace, features a Meteorite with a blued zirconium chapter ring and blued hands. The chapter ring is engraved with hour markers and Arabic numerals at 3, 6, and 9, plus a minute track, but no specific chronograph scale. The subsidiary dial counter has a...

In the ideal world of watch collecting, every collector should have a platinum piece. One of such piece is ideally a Parmigiani Fleurier Toric.

It’s no secret that I have a soft spot for the Omega Speedmaster, and over the years, I’ve collected several of them. But beyond the watches, I also find myself collecting Moonwatch-related items, such as old catalogs, pins, pens, boxes, and books. To date, the best book on the topic is Moonwatch Only. From the […] Visit Moonwatch Dials: The Most Expensive Book I’ve Ever Bought to read the full article.

Farer's new Racing Chronograph collection injects bold, vibrant colours into the vintage-inspired tricompax chronograph scene

Just a couple of weeks ago, we were recording an episode of Fratello On Air when Balazs brought up the new Timex Atelier collection. Frankly, I had no idea what he was talking about, which is odd because I check out the brand’s website every so often. Lo and behold, when I did hit the […] Visit Watch Out, World: The New Timex Atelier Chronographs Are Really Good to read the full article.

We tested 17 quartz watches that make the movement feel like a strength, including solar field watches, serious divers, high-accuracy pieces, and weird digital icons.

What We Know Vacheron just brought back its incredibly unique Traditionelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar, and it's a welcome sight for dedicated collectors of the brand, along with general enthusiasts of unexpected yet innovative takes on complicated watchmaking. If you're not familiar with the original Traditionelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar, launched back in 2019, the watch offered an incredibly novel solution to a problem often found within perpetual calendar watches. Let's be honest, though the entire appeal and genius of the perpetual calendar is for someone wearing one watch all day, every day, for the whole year, watches like these are most often owned by those with a large collection to begin with. A weekend for a perpetual calendar in a watch box or drawer would mean that the complication would need to be set again after winding, and so Vacheron introduced this perpetual calendar with a whopping 65-day power reserve. To achieve this, rather than putting in an unfeasibly large mainspring in the barrel, the Traditionelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar lives up to its name by offering a new system that allows for switching between two beat rates for the watch—a contemporary high-beat 5Hz frequency with a 4-day power reserve for normal timekeeping during wear, but a much slower 1.2Hz mode with that prolonged power reserve for the "Standby" phase. The Caliber 3610QP comprises two separate gear trains for the two regulating systems, with a series of differentials tha...

First launched in 2019, the Vacheron Constantin Traditionelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar remains one of the most fascinating watches in its category. Thanks to a movement with a secondary, low-power mode, the Twin Beat has an extended power reserve measured in months – all contained in a reasonably sized, 41 mm case. The original version of the Twin Beat was complex and finicky. Now Vacheron Constantin (VC) has refined and upgraded the movement, resulting in a second generation model with an extra five days of power reserve in Standby mode – which means the watch will run for 70 days. Initial thoughts I described the original Twin Beat as a “genuinely interesting, albeit pricey, watch”. Even though several years have passed, the Twin Beat remains genuinely interesting. It is a novel concept executed in a sophisticated manner. In contrast to majority of ultra-long power reserve watches, the Twin Beat is ordinarily sized. I am certainly glad VC has revived the concept and made it better. The original probably had a few kinks in the movement that made production difficult so the first generation never really made it to market in significant numbers. The kinks have been resolved with the new version, which is probably also more robust from a usability point of view. The same holds true today of the price, though given the overall price index of the market, the new Twin Beat is arguably less expensive in relative terms. The first generation model Two running modes On ...

Since its launch in 2021, the Seastar 2000 Professional has occupied an interesting spot in Tissot’s catalogue. For around EUR 1,000, it delivers a specification sheet that normally comes with more expensive dive watches: a helium escape valve, a ceramic insert bezel, 600m water-resistance, ISO 6425 certification, and a robust Swiss movement. In short, this […]

Welcome to another episode of Fratello On Air! This week, we talk about how hype can help or hurt brands. Naturally, there are plenty of other topics on the docket, including television, German culture, and more! This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Hype is a funny […] Visit Fratello On Air: How Hype Can Help Or Hurt A Brand to read the full article.

First released in 2019, Vacheron Constantin’s Traditionnelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar marked a before and after in the sophisticated realm of QPs. While not the first watchmaker to feature dual frequencies, Vacheron’s Twin Beat broke new ground as the first movement allowing you to switch between the two regulating mechanisms, converting a gas guzzling complication […]

When I think of Farer, I don’t necessarily associate the brand with pilot’s watches. Moreover, I don’t link it to any particular watch category at all, even though I’ve previously reviewed a couple of iterations of the Farer World Timer. Instead, the brand is best recognized for its compelling use of color. That said, the […] Visit Hands-On With The Farer Pilot Series II Curtis — A Fresh Take On The Pilot’s Watch to read the full article.

The honorary president who kept the family independent, survived the quartz crisis, and built a generational legacy. Philippe Stern, honorary president of Patek Philippe and the man who shaped modern fine watchmaking, passed away on June 14, 2026, aged 88.

The fusee and chain system is one of those terms in high horology parlance that instantly elevates the status of a given watch. And yet few appreciate the elegance and subtle complexities of this horological contraption that surprisingly predates the invention of the hairspring itself. The need for constant torque A high-performance oscillating system requires a somewhat constant power source in order to keep it swinging consistently. This issue relates to isochronism and the insufficiencies of real-world oscillators. For a watch, this means that its precision is, to a degree, dependent on how constant the torque reaching the escapement is. This is not as easy as one might think. The mainspring stores potential energy in its wound coils, which it then slowly feeds into the gear train as the barrel unwinds. Because of how the system is built, and due to physics-related constraints, the power coming from the mainspring barrel is all but constant. Ideally, the torque would be linearly decreasing — meaning that the slope of the barrel torque is directly proportional to the arming angle. Coiled mainspring inside a barrel. When a mainspring barrel is fully wound, the torque it feeds into the going train is maximal, sometimes causing the balance wheel to swing too wide and over-bank. As the mainspring unwinds, the torque stabilises to a steadily declining rate. But as the movement enters its last hours of power reserve, the torque from the barrel decreases considerably and more...

Charlie Paris has been designing and assembling accessible watches since 2014. The Alliance line represents the French indie brand’s take on a go-anywhere, do-anything (GADA) model. I got a chance to go hands-on with the Charlie Paris Alliance in two versions. This is how we got along. The Charlie Paris Alliance features a sunburst dial. […] Visit Hands-On With The Versatile And Thoroughly Modern Charlie Paris Alliance to read the full article.

Doxa is one of those watch brands where the lore is kind of hard to escape. Every release is the subject of intense enthusiast discussion as the watches are contextualized through a complex history. There’s real mystique to the brand, which I think largely stems from the fact that Doxa’s dive watches were always true enthusiast products, made for actual divers as tools of their trade. This sets them apart from Rolex, Omega, and many other Swiss luxury houses, not because they didn’t also make tools for real divers (they certainly did), but because they also focused their attention on more mainstream pursuits. Doxa, at least in the public imagination, 50+ years on, did not. They’re seen as a brand for purists, and still appreciated by them to a great extent, even if they sometimes do something that’s a little on trend. There’s perhaps no watch in their catalog with more lore attached to it than the Sub 200 T.Graph, a chronograph version of the Doxa’s iconic Sub 200 diver. This watch was briefly released in a very limited way all the way back in 2019, and, ever since, collectors and fans of the brand have been clamoring for a non-limited edition. This week, Doxa has given the people what they want, with the introduction of the Sub 200 T.Graph II.  The new Sub 200 T.Graph II is, at least on the surface, exactly what you’d expect a modern, permanent version of the T.Graph to be. It is sized down just slightly from the 2019 limited edition, with a 42mm case in ...

What We Know Angelus is bringing back one of my favorite traditional chronograph designs with the new multi-scale Instrument de Mesures. The new version of their 2025 GPHG Chronograph award-winning monopusher features three scales for telemeter, tachymeter, and pulsometer, and comes in a black or white dial, harkening back to early 1930s and 1940s chronograph designs where chronographs were pure utility. Powered by the manually-wound A5000 movement, a version of a La Joux-Perret 5000-4 (a movement manufacturer which is under the same ownership umbrella as Angelus), the watch measures 39mm by 9.25mm with a stainless steel case and display caseback, a single co-axial crown pusher for the chronograph, and 30m of water resistance. The movement has a 42-hour power reserve and runs at 3Hz. If the movement architecture looks familiar, LJP owns the rights to the famous THA monopusher movement.  The telemeter scale allows you to calculate distance by measuring the time between when you observe something and when you hear it. The tachymeter, of course, allows you to measure speed over a distance. And the pulsometer allows you to check your heart rate. Combining all three can be a mess of a thing, but long ago, the watch world settled on this beautiful stacked set of scales with a snailed, swirling effect. The watch also features lume at the hour markers, hidden in the three scales.  The new Angelus Instrument de Mesures is limited to 25 pieces in each dial version and retails for ...

Philippe Stern, who served as general director and later president of Patek Philippe from 1977 to 2009, died yesterday at the age of 88. Under his stewardship, the Geneva manufacture was transformed from a small, workshop-scattered operation into the global benchmark for fine watchmaking, a position it holds to this day. He was the third generation of the Stern family to lead the company. His grandfather Charles, alongside his brother Jean, had acquired Patek Philippe from insolvency in 1932 from their position as the firm’s trusted dial supplier. His father Henri had built the company’s modern international distribution network and established the Henri Stern Watch Agency in New York, laying the commercial foundations on which Philippe would build. Father and son, Henri and Philippe Stern. Image – Patek Philippe Philippe Stern became managing director in 1977, at the height of the quartz crisis. The timing could not have been more demanding. Swiss watch industry employment was collapsing, from roughly 90,000 workers to a fraction of that figure within a few years, as electronic timekeeping rendered the mechanical watch commercially marginal almost overnight. Many established manufacturers collapsed, merged, or abandoned mechanical production entirely. Stern’s response defined his presidency. He kept the tooling, retained his engineers, and committed Patek Philippe irrevocably to mechanical watchmaking at the precise moment the industry consensus ran in the opposit...

Long-time MONOCHROME readers might remember that we were among the very first to cover the work of Dutch designer and watchmaker Laurens de Rijke. Back then, the focus was on the ingenious Amalfi Series I, a watch with a rotating inner case inspired by driving and travel. Since those early days, De Rijke & Co. […]

After hands-on testing, these field, pilot, digital, and tool watches stood out for making the time easy to read without fuss.

Philippe Stern, the visionary executive who led Patek Philippe through the end of the quartz crisis, kept the family company independent and secured its position at the top of Swiss mechanical high horology, died on June 14th at the age of 88. The Geneva-based company announced Philippe Stern's passing in a statement calling the Patek Philippe Honorary President a "pioneering and visionary spirit" who "left an indelible mark on the history of the family manufacture, preserving its independence and establishing its global stature." Philippe Stern. Photo courtesy Patek Philippe. Stern led Patek Philippe as President from 1993 to 2009. During his tenure, he consolidated Patek Philippe's manufacturing at a new flagship manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva. He integrated its production capabilities to bring as much as possible in-house. He also oversaw the launch of the Nautilus sport watch in the 1970s, the multi-year project to build the Caliber 89, the most complicated portable mechanical watch at the time, boasting 33 complications. In 2001, he inaugurated the Patek Philippe museum in Geneva, an unparalleled exhibition of not only Patek Philippe but of the entire history of horology. Philippe Stern was born in 1938 into a family already at the center of Swiss watchmaking: his grandfather, Charles Stern, had recently acquired the Patek Philippe manufacture in 1932, and his father, Henri Stern, had just joined the company. After studying economics and commerce, Philippe Ste...

In Greek mythology, there is the well-known story of Icarus, a heady youth whose lofty aspirations send him flying on homemade wings of feathers and wax. In its cautionary denouement, Icarus flies too high and gets too close to the sun, melting the wax, sending him crashing back to Earth. If Carina Massone Negrone knew the story of Icarus, she would also likely have known that the greater the altitude, the danger is not the sun's heat but extreme cold and a lack of oxygen. And yet, in 1935, the Italian aviator set an altitude record in an open-cockpit piston-powered airplane that remains unbroken to this day. Tudor has just debuted a short documentary film about Negrone, called "La Pilota: The Daring Story of Marchesa Carina Massone Negrone", which covers the flying pioneer's remarkable life and the watches—Tudors, of course—that she wore. Carina Massone Negrone was a "marchesa," a noblewoman by her marriage to a marquise, and could have enjoyed a life of ease in her palazzo in Genova. But her adventurous spirit compelled her to pursue activities that might have seemed "unladylike" in 1930s Italy. She was an avid swimmer and skier and fished the Mediterranean for sharks. And in 1933, at the age of 22, she took flying lessons from an Italian fighter pilot and became the first woman to get her pilot's license from the Reale Unione Nazionale Aeronautica. Only a year later, she set an altitude record for a seaplane by flying to 5,544 meters. But she wasn't done yet—far f...

Gerald Charles launches an addition to their Maestro 2.0 Ultra Thin collection with a new Asia Limited Edition in a jade dial.