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Prospex Marinemaster… When you hear these two words, you know things are about to become serious. The name Prospex is all about tool watches for Seiko, being the contraction of Professional Specifications. This is the line of watches where you’ll find instruments made for exploration and diving. Marinemaster is another name with great importance for […]
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Released about a year ago, the King Seiko Vanac collection was quite a surprise and, in all fairness, caused some discussions. Based on bold designs from the 1970s, the name Vanac is far from new and was revamped in a sports watch with an integrated bracelet and sharp case, powered by a high-end movement derived […]
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Within Greubel Forsey‘s modern catalogue, the Convexe collection has become one of the brand’s most recognisable showcases of its approach to watchmaking. Revealed in 2019, the Convexe case introduced a double-curved construction, designed to follow the natural shape of the wrist and presenting the movement as a sculptural object. The Balancier Convexe S² first appeared […]
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If high-frequency is often marketed as the pinnacle of precision in modern watchmaking, things are actually more nuanced and more about managing the inevitable trade-offs. Every gain in one area usually comes with a drawback elsewhere. Although he has already worked on high-frequency, low amplitude oscillators, industry veteran Dominique Renaud is now taking the opposite […]
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With over 170 years of history, you can easily imagine that Tissot has a few, if not many, important models in its portfolio. Next to watches such as the PR516 or the 1973 Chronograph, the brand has one particular watch that’s worth mentioning, the Visodate. First created in 1954, it was, as you can guess […]
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The Superman is easily the watch most people think of when Yema comes up in conversation. Introduced in the late 1960s, the French dive watch has been part of the brand’s lineup ever since. Along the way, the Superman has turned up in a few surprising versions, from bronze cases powered by one of Yema’s […]
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The name Marco Lang should be familiar to the most seasoned of our readers, for an obvious reason. The man is one of the most revered German watchmakers and one of the founders of the brand Lang & Heyne, with Mirko Heyne. Having left the manufacture in 2019, Marco Lang created his own brand back […]
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Dive watch specialist Doxa has been busy with collaborations lately. Retailer editions, small runs, watches tied to a place or a partner. We have seen it with the SUB 200 Azure and SUB 200 Dune created for Caribbean retailer Art of Time. Same watch, same idea, just a different flavour each time. Now the brand heads […]
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Geneva-based independent brand Akhor presented its inaugural Le Temps en Équilibre collection in 2025, built around a patented dual-disc display system, and it was immediately recognised for its innovative dial concept and proprietary movement. The new Lumière Blanche editions expand the concept with a new artistic direction, where white becomes the central design element. The […]
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Just last week, we looked at six very versatile watches of 36mm and under, and this week we’re sort of revisiting the topic. However, instead of looking at more time-only or time-and-date watches, we turn to one of the single most popular complications in the industry: the mighty Chronograph! While a chronograph movement requires a […]
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Wristwatch manufacturers focus on keeping cases air and watertight so the movements can operate trouble-free in daily use. This started in earnest in 1926 with Rolex’s robust Oyster case, but even delicate dress watches today have a degree of water and dust resistance for splashes, rain and so on. However, a small handful of brands […]
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Forget your Defender, sell your G-Wagon, Mercedes-Benz has just presented the “Final Boss” of Go-Anywhere-Do-Anything luxury cars. What you see here is the Mercedes-Benz Unimog Luxury Show Car. Or truck, rather, as it’s the size of a house and if this were to roll up behind you on the highway, you’d better move out of the way. If not, […]
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Initial reactions to Chopard’s Zagato Lab One Concept were anything but neutral. Far removed from Chopard’s more conventional Mille Miglia racing-themed watches, this avant-garde concept car on the wrist – with its radical “bird cage” car-chassis aesthetics – was embraced by some as a daring pole-position contender, while others needed more time to digest its […]
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Beaubleu is a young, independent French brand founded in 2017 by automotive and luxury product designer Nicolas Ducoudert. Gaining attention for the circular, orbiting hands featured in the brand’s collections, Beaubleu returns with new models born from an unexpected collaboration with the Monnaie de Paris, the official French national mint. Founded in 864, the mint […]
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First introduced in 2021 alongside its smaller, less pro-oriented M-40 version, the Fortis Marinemaster M-44 was part of the new collections to mark the renewal of the brand, and yet it carried a name with historical importance. For once, not a watch linked to pilots, the Marinemaster (specifically the rugged, high-performance M-44 versions) is more […]
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The independent watchmaking scene is as wide as it is deep, and we regularly stumble upon new and exciting projects and brands. And since indie watchmaking is also at the core of MONOCHROME Watches, we try to serve you as many of these as we can. For the next new indie discovery, named Juha Eskola, […]
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Following the sudden and surprising departure of Antoine Pin in January, after being at the head of TAG Heuer for just over a year, the Swiss watchmaker owned by French luxury powerhouse LVMH has just announced the appointment of a new CEO – after several shakups, following the departure from this role in 2013 of […]
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This is an endless debate in the small circle of watch enthusiasts… Should a dive watch be equipped with a date or not? Purists, sometimes slightly biased in their judgments, will tell you in a very strict manner that no, a date has no place on the dial of a dive or tool watch! “Who […]
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Across its three-handers, GMTs, and even moonphase watches, the indie British brand has built a catalogue full of lively dials while keeping its Swiss-made watches at an accessible price point. That said, it is perhaps safe to say Farer has hardly been shy about colour. Most models stick to the round case, though the brand […]
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Few timepieces showcase the technical sophistication of traditional watchmaking as clearly as minute repeaters. The new Girard-Perregaux Minute Repeater Flying Bridges introduces this complication with its demanding mechanism, combined with a tourbillon and an automatic micro-rotor winding system. The watch is built around the brand’s recognisable Three Bridges architecture, presented in a modern openworked interpretation […]
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As you might know, Tudor, Rolex’s sister company, was founded in 1926 by Hans Wilsdorf (the founder of Rolex) and is thus celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. And for that reason, we can expect big things coming from the Rose. At least, that’s what we think the brand should do. We don’t often make […]
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“Kollokium is not a brand. As pretentious and cliché as that sounds, it’s true.” So, how could we define Kollokium? It’s a collaborative project between three friends, all fairly established names within the watch industry: Manuel Emch, Barth Nussbaumer, and Amr Sindi (The Horophile). Rethinking the way to approach watchmaking, and especially branding, Kollokium frees itself […]
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In a market overcrowded with vintage-inspired dive watches, ranging from truly affordable models to high-end watches produced by esteemed brands, Eska, a name with over 100 years of history (with a stop from 1987 to 2024), has managed to find a place for its cool-looking, well-built and fairly priced Amphibian 250 collection. Modelled after a […]
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Otsuka Lotec… The Japanese brand (or should we call it an atelier) that makes some noise in the global watch collecting community, despite being unavailable outside of Japan – which might partially explain its popularity. A true JDM sensation, Otsuka Lotec is the brainchild of Jiro Katayama, a car designer turned self-taught, independent watchmaker, specialised […]
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When it comes to finding a solid, accessible yet appealing watch meant to be a reliable companion for most of the moments in your life, from the office to the weekend fun, the choice is wide, to say the least. With its Commander collection, Swiss brand Mido has a strong alternative, with a modern, sleek […]
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Junghans is better known for its Bauhaus-inspired pieces, such as the Max Bill series, but the German watchmaker has also ventured into the pilots’ and sports territories. With the new Aquaris series, the brand expands its Sport collection by adding four new references: the Aquaris Diver with green or orange accents, and the more lifestyle-oriented […]
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If you’ve been reading MONOCHROME for some time now, you might know that I have a very strong connection with the Rolex Explorer 36mm, in particular the 1990s reference 14270. Not only is it a watch that I consider to be the perfect example of what a yougntimer is, but it’s also, in my books, […]
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Since its debut in 2023, Vulcain’s Skindiver Nautique has quickly moved from a niche revival piece to a regular part of the brand’s present-day catalogue. These watches draw inspiration from Vulcain’s 1960s skin-diving models. Back then, diving as a hobby was gaining popularity, and compact, practical dive watches like the Nautique felt at home both in and […]
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Glashütte Original released its Serenade Luna in 2024, featuring moon phase indications. Unlike the Panomatic Luna, which is essentially a scaled-down adaptation of the men’s PanomaticLunar with its off-centred dial and Panorama date window, the Serenade Luna was conceived from the start as a women’s watch with a petite 32.5mm diameter, a sprinkling of diamonds and […]
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People often say “bigger is better”, but also “big things come in small packages”. While both statements can be very true in multiple aspects of life, it also goes for watches. In some instances, you want a bit of size and heft in a watch, while on other occasions, you want something a bit more […]
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