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Results for Mother of Pearl Dial

31,832 articles · 2,206 videos found · page 518 of 1135

Urwerk Introduces the UR-100V LS Ceramic Worn & Wound
Urwerk Introduces Feb 6, 2026

Urwerk Introduces the UR-100V LS Ceramic

The Urwerk UR-100 has become one of my favorite designs in high end independent watchmaking. Whenever I encounter one (a rare event given the brand’s annual production of just around 200 watches total) I’m blown away by the way it distills the essence of the brand into a completely wearable, compact, package. I’ve always been a fan of the Urwerk philosophy, but until I tried on a UR-100 I always felt the watches themselves might be too ungainly or oddly shaped for me personally. There’s something about this case though, mostly its impressive thinness, that makes it feel like a “normal” watch on the wrist but still something otherworldly when you look down to check the time. That, to me, feels like a sweet spot.  The latest from Urwerk brings a new watch into the UR-100 lineage with the UR-100V LS Ceramic. This is effectively a new variant of the original UR-100V LS (short for “light speed,” which we’ll get to momentarily) that appeared in 2024. The new watch features a white ceramic case, a first for the brand and more complex than it first appears, and the same whimsical ideology of its predecessor, and many other Urwerk watches, which are all in one way or another a commentary on timekeeping itself.  All Urwerks (well, almost all) share a common wandering hour satellite time telling mechanism that has become their calling card. It’s actually a rather mechanically elegant way to tell the time, basically with a wandering hour “pointer” to a fixed ...

Introducing – The New Sarpaneva Stardust Pluto and Stardust Mars Monochrome
Sarpaneva Feb 6, 2026

Introducing – The New Sarpaneva Stardust Pluto and Stardust Mars

Since founding Sarpaneva Watches in Helsinki, the independent Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva has consistently explored an approach shaped by the Nordic visual universe, mechanical honesty and a powerful sense of narrative. Best known for his Korona case design and expressive moon displays, Sarpaneva has built a recognisable catalogue which offers a combination of traditional watchmaking […]

Review: Casio G-Shock GW6900 Teddy Baldassarre
Casio Feb 5, 2026

Review: Casio G-Shock GW6900

G-Shock continues to fill an important role in the landscape of watch collecting, almost solely occupying a genre that it essentially created. G-Shock watches are practical, accessible, and functional; but they’re also so much more than that. They are expressive, vibrant, and fun. Their impact on the broader culture around watches can’t be understated, and it’s a connection that remains intact today, over 40 years after emerging onto the scene, and over 30 years since the formation of the 6900 lineage. The design that hails from 1995 has changed surprisingly little, and remains one of the vanishingly few items that can make that claim without looking completely out of place on the wrist today. As the saying goes, good design is timeless. I’m not so sure this is technically "good" design, but it is unique and timeless in its own way. When it first debuted in 1995, the 6900 design used a rounded case, representing a departure from the blocky cases that had typically defined what a G-Shock was. Situated above the square digital display were a trio of circular graphics, with a button situated under the dial itself, all set within a shock-resistant structure. The watch brought the best features of the 5000, the 5900, and the 6600 together, creating a "best of all worlds" in a way. These features represented unlimited possibilities, and were almost mysterious at a glance, but they signaled just what was possible with a digital display.  Those three circular graphics wer...

Audemars Piguet Introduces the Neo Frame Jumping Hour Worn & Wound
Audemars Piguet Introduces Feb 5, 2026

Audemars Piguet Introduces the Neo Frame Jumping Hour

I have what you might call a love/hate relationship with Audemars Piguet. They are, without a doubt, makers of some of the finest watches in the world. Objectively speaking, there’s a level of craft involved with the production of AP watches that is hard to match at the scale at which they operate. Every Royal Oak I’ve ever handled feels like a perfectly made thing without any compromises. I honestly can’t say the same about equivalent watches from other brands in the so-called Holy Trinity.  And yet, there’s so much baggage with Audemars Piguet in our current watch culture. I wrote about it here, specifically as it relates to the Royal Oak and how it has become a signifier of wealth and status that has overshadowed watchmaking and watch culture. I find this flex culture to be a huge turn off, and the way AP seems to lean into it, by producing more and more varieties of Royal Oak, some with mini sculptures of Marvel characters on the dial, to be a signal that they’re a willing participant in the watering down of their brand.  But then Audemars Piguet will go ahead and release something beautiful that is not a Royal Oak and I’m reminded that derisively referring to them as The Royal Oak Company (something I’ve done frequently over these last few years) is ultimately unfair. Earlier this week, as part of a larger drop that included several exotic Royal Oaks, a pocket watch, and more, AP launched what might be one of the riskier watches they’ve introduced in...

Breitling Launches First Titanium Navitimer in New Aston Martin Collab Teddy Baldassarre
Breitling Feb 5, 2026

Breitling Launches First Titanium Navitimer in New Aston Martin Collab

Breitling announced today that it has become the Official Watch Partner of  British luxury carmaker Aston Martin and the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One racing team. The multi-year global partnership, which marks the Swiss watchmaker’s return to the high-octane world of F1 motorsports after many decades, kicks off with a wristwatch milestone: the Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team, which is no less than the first timepiece in the iconic Navitimer series with a case made of lightweight titanium.  The two world-renowned companies have some ties throughout their prestigious histories. Breitling, while it has not been as visible in the racing world over the years as brands like Rolex and TAG Heuer, was an early contributor to motorsport timing. In 1907, Léon Breitling, who had founded his eponymous watchmaking firm in 1884, invented a device called the “Vitesse” (French for “speed”), a mechanical chronograph capable of measuring speeds up to 250 miles per hour. Its utility and precision spurred the Swiss police to adopt it for speed enforcement, which led to the world’s first speeding tickets. Just six years later, in 1913, Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford drove their hand-built automobile to a defining victory up the treacherous Aston Hill, giving their company a name and kicking off a long tradition of making cars built for both performance and luxury. The paths of the Swiss high-horology house and the British marque cr...

Introducing – Mercedes-AMG F1 Pilot George Russell Teams Up with IWC for Two New Pilot’s Watches Monochrome
IWC Feb 5, 2026

Introducing – Mercedes-AMG F1 Pilot George Russell Teams Up with IWC for Two New Pilot’s Watches

British driver George Russell, currently racing for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, joined IWC’s paddock of ambassadors in 2022. Exchanging the steering wheel of his F1 for the design board, Russell worked alongside IWC’s creative team to design the new limited edition Pilot’s Watches, emblazoned with the F1 pilot’s signature blue colour featured on his […]

First Look – The New Niton Prima Revives a Historic Name Monochrome
Vacheron Constantin Cartier Gubelin Feb 5, 2026

First Look – The New Niton Prima Revives a Historic Name

The revival of a long-dormant watchmaking name always sparks our curiosity at MONOCHROME. Born in 1919, the Manufacture des Montres Niton S.A. became known for its watches and movements featuring jumping hours. Niton supplied movements to Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Cartier, Gubelin and many more… Today, the brand returns with the Niton Prima, an elaborate […]

Introducing: The Mind-Blowing Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage Pocket Watch Fratello
Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage Pocket Watch Feb 5, 2026

Introducing: The Mind-Blowing Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage Pocket Watch

We have seen quite a lot of news from Le Brassus this week, haven’t we? If you thought we were done, think again! In fact, we’re barely getting warmed up. Today, I get to introduce you to possibly the most impressive of all the new releases, the Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage pocket watch. Now, before […] Visit Introducing: The Mind-Blowing Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage Pocket Watch to read the full article.

The Best JDM Seiko Watches And Their Modern Alternatives Teddy Baldassarre
Seiko Feb 4, 2026

The Best JDM Seiko Watches And Their Modern Alternatives

As we all well know by now, the watch-collecting hobby can get hyper-specific. Today, I am wading into the weeds of one of the most highly specialized sub-genres of the Seiko collecting universe, that of Japanese Domestic Market pieces from the brand, which I will be referring to here on out as JDM Seikos. Down below, I’m going to walk you through, first and foremost, what the term JDM Seiko actually means, then get into the most universally coveted models, and similar watches that you can more easily find in the brand’s international repertoire. [toc-section heading="JDM Seikos vs. “Japanese-Made”Seikos"] Image: Provenance Watches Given that Seiko is one of Japan’s most significant and historic watchmakers, you might be asking, as you find yourself here in this section, “Seiko is a Japanese brand, so aren’t all Seikos Japanese-Made?” As with most things, the answer is not as straightforward as the question. If we were to base our answer on the framework dictated by the U.S. Trade Commission standards, any watch that has a movement assembled in Japan is good enough to be considered Japanese-made. This casts a pretty wide net. Japan, on the other hand, follows the more rigorous parameters set by the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum). Based on APEC standards, a watch movement and dial components must be assembled in Japan to rightfully claim “Japanese Made” status. Across its catalog, if Seiko can rightly claim the “Japanese Made” label ...

Affordable Vintage: the Longines Grand Prize Worn & Wound
Longines Grand Prize Longines Feb 4, 2026

Affordable Vintage: the Longines Grand Prize

Longines is a storied and well-respected Swiss watch manufacture that formed in 1832 and has continued uninterrupted to this day. From the first wrist chronometer in 1911, to groundbreaking flyback chronographs in the 1930s, to the world’s first hi-beat wrist chronometer in 1959, Longines holds their own in the watchmaking world.  My favorite period for watches is the 1950s through the 1970s and Longines was one of the top accessible brands during that time. In 1954 Longines began a marketing strategy of product families, launching the Conquest line of watches. In 1957 they introduced the Flagship line, adding to what would become a large group of watch families, many of which are still made today. Other lines that came later include the Admiral, the Ultra-Chron and the Grand Prize. The Grand Prize line was named in honor of the multitude of watchmaking awards and honors that Longines had accumulated over the decades. It was a relatively short-lived family, produced from about 1958 to 1964 according to my research. I have found that the majority of Longines watches produced during these decades were all fairly equal in quality and craftsmanship, with most of the differences in the families being design related. The Conquests were rugged and sporty, on par with the early non-diver Omega Seamaster watches. The Flagship series were dress watches, while the Admiral line was a mixture of both. The Grand Prize family were pretty much all thin, elegant everyday type dressier w...

Introducing – The Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Selfwinding 38mm in Pink Gold Monochrome
Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Selfwinding 38mm Feb 4, 2026

Introducing – The Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Selfwinding 38mm in Pink Gold

Audemars Piguet introduced the Code 11.59 in 2019, emerging as a contemporary AP-style expression of classic watchmaking. Over the years, the line has matured, expanded and reviewed its proportions. Introduced in 2023, the 38mm case offered a more compact and versatile interpretation of the Code 11.59 design. In early 2026, the brand presents two new […]

Audemars Piguet’s Latest Gen Perpetual Open-Worked or All-Ceramic SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet s Latest Gen Perpetual Feb 4, 2026

Audemars Piguet’s Latest Gen Perpetual Open-Worked or All-Ceramic

Audemars Piguet (AP) debuts a trio of new perpetuals calendars, led by the first open-worked version of brand’s cutting edge perpetual calendar launched last year with the skeleton cal. 7139 inside the Code 11.59 and Royal Oak. And rounding out the trio is the first all-ceramic Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar powered by the cal. 7138. Initial Thoughts The open-worked version of AP’s latest-generation perpetual calendar movement arguably does most justice to a clever movement that is one of the most notable such movements on the market. While there was little visual difference between solid-dial versions of AP’s new perpetual calendars and the preceding versions, the open-worked examples are less similar, at least up close, as the perpetual calendar works are so clearly different. The new open-work dial givers owners a look at what is going on under the hood as they adjust the calendar, which I see as a significant value add given the unusual and innovative mechanics. While AP could have been more daring, the last year’s crop of Royal Oak Perpetuals were good looking watches. The new pair, in both Code 11.59 and Royal Oak formats, look nearly identical from an arms length to their predecessors. The open-worked models are mostly monochrome, the Code 11:59 is rhodium-plated white gold with a black ceramic mid-case while the Royal Oak is titanium with polished Palladium 500 bulk-metallic glass (BMG) accents and rose gold dial furniture. Neither break new ground for the b...

Audemars Piguet Upgrades the Royal Oak Chronograph 38 mm SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet Upgrades Feb 4, 2026

Audemars Piguet Upgrades the Royal Oak Chronograph 38 mm

Audemars Piguet (AP) updates the Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph 38 mm with a new manufacture calibre, sapphire display back, while slightly tweaking the iconic design – and retaining the price of its predecessor. The new cal. 6401 comes with welcome quality-of-life improvements such as a longer power reserve and instantaneous date without tradeoffs in wearability, beat rate, or even cost, making this compact chronograph one of the most sensible and compelling offerings in the Royal Oak line. Initial Thoughts AP debuted the first Royal Oak chronograph in 1997 and it was powered by the Frederic Piguet cal. 1185, a landmark movement for automatic chronograph design. Now, nearly three decades later, AP is a true industrialised manufacture, and the cal. 1185 has been replaced with the new cal. 6401, a modern movement that with meaningful upgrades under the hood. This also comes with some minute tweaks to the dial and a crowd pleasing display case back, while the case and bracelet remain as excellent as always. Laudably, this comes without a significant price increase, with the new Royal Oak Chronograph 38 mm in steel costing only 3.6% more than its predecessor. New Engine AP’s new cal. 6401 is a solidly-spec’ed movement despite being small and thin for a modern chronograph. It’s wide and taller than the Frederic Piguet cal. 1185 but only slightly. It is 27 mm in diameter (up from 26.2 mm) and 5.7 mm tall (up from 5.5 mm) though even with the addition of a sapphire ...

First Look – The Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon Titanium, Now In Ruby Red Monochrome
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon Titanium Now Feb 4, 2026

First Look – The Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon Titanium, Now In Ruby Red

Vacheron Constantin’s Overseas luxury sports watch family is now in its third generation, but its roots trace back to the 222 model of 1977. A well-represented collection with complications and straightforward time-and-date models, the Overseas is widely acclaimed for its attractive design, high-end finishings, in-house movements and versatility. In 2019, a tourbillon was added to […]

Audemars Piguet Jumps Retro with the Neo Frame SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet Jumps Retro Feb 4, 2026

Audemars Piguet Jumps Retro with the Neo Frame

Ahead of its much anticipated Watches & Wonders return, Audemars Piguet (AP) has reached deep into its archives for what in past years would have been a [RE]Master model. But now AP has renamed its vintage reissues, and it is the Neo Frame Jumping Hour that takes inspiration from a similar guichet model from 1929. This perfectly timed launch comes at a time of renewed interest in the digital display format. Initial thoughts Each time an established brand launches a completely new collection, the public response can be either positive (think Rolex Land-Dweller) or underwhelming. AP has come face-to-face with this in the past with the Code 11.59, which was bold but not well received initially (though much of the early criticism can be chalked up to cynicism). That experience hasn’t stopped the brand from continuing to diversify its portfolio away from the Royal Oak, and the latest effort capitalises on the growing interest in guichet watches. In doing so, AP reimagines an obscure piece from its own past, adding strong touches of modern design to create something with a more distinctive visual identity than one might expect from a simple jumping hours watch. Though the Neo Frame nomenclature might take a while to enter the vernacular, the guichet design feels like it’s coming to market at the right time. Ironically, the sleek profile of the Neo Frame’s case looks much like a sports smart band - albeit much glossier. Specifically, the way the polished black face connec...

Introducing – Colourful Accents for the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Collection Monochrome
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Feb 3, 2026

Introducing – Colourful Accents for the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Collection

Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Offshore, also known as The Beast, muscled its way onto the scene in 1993 as a beefier and bolder version of its famous sibling, the Royal Oak. Drawing its inspiration and name (offshore) from the world of powerboat racing popular in the 1980s, the ROO family expanded, and in 2010 surfaced […]

Audemars Piguet’s 150 Heritage is a Universal Cultural Calendar SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet s 150 Heritage Feb 3, 2026

Audemars Piguet’s 150 Heritage is a Universal Cultural Calendar

Audemars Piguet celebrated 150 years of existence in 2025, but its celebrations have continued into the new year with the 150 Heritage Pocket Watch. While many large ultra-complicated pocket watches are exercises in nostalgia, the 150 Heritage is a modern marvel of micro-mechanical engineering with never-before-seen functionality inside a surprisingly compact 50 mm case. Initial thoughts Few brands can match Audemars Piguet’s track record of producing Grand Complication pocket watches, but the 150 Heritage surprises by adapting a calibre originally intended for the wrist. A complicated pocket watch with a simple name, the 150 Heritage is built around the cal. 1150, a newly developed hand-wound movement that adapts the architecture of the ambitious cal. 1000 developed for the Code 11.59 Universelle, and as such it includes past RD-series innovations. That said, the differences between the Universelle and the 150 Heritage are quite significant, thanks to an intriguing new feature: a hinged mechanical calculator, isolated from the movement. The intricate system is housed inside the case back and allows the user to effortlessly cycle through dates across any year to be able to read a surprising number of culturally-relevant dates based on lunar, solar and lunisolar cycles.  The device feels a bit like a time machine, as the lucky owner can go into the past or look into the future and find out the exact dates of Catholic Easter, Ramadan, Equinoxes and many others, along with...

Traska Introduces their First Chronograph Worn & Wound
Rolex Feb 3, 2026

Traska Introduces their First Chronograph

While the news today is dominated by big releases from Holy Trinity brands that will be nearly impossible for mere mortals to see in person, let alone buy, Traska has what feels like an antidote, or at least a cleansing breath when it feels we’re being flooded with watches that fall into the dreaded “hype” category. Their first new watch in nearly four years is also their first chronograph (conveniently named, the Traska Chronograph) and it applies much of the brand’s ethos into a platform that we’re honestly surprised they hadn’t pursued to this point.  If you need a refresher on Traska, we invite you to read up on Venturer GMT, which Griffin reviewed recently here. While this is a look at one specific watch, Griffin gets to something about how we understand Traska, which is that they produce watches that are part of a long lineage of purpose built tools. The word “Rolex” is invoked multiple times in that Venturer review not because Traska has a connection to that brand’s current status as the most well known luxury object in the world, but to a previous state when watches were prized for their simplicity and usefulness. Rolex made great leaps from the middle of the last century onward simply by standardizing a design language for sports watches that has become definitional to the category at this point, and I think what Traska is doing with a commitment to using steel hardening treatments and offering other points of value in every watch while adhering...