Monochrome
Chronoswiss has always moved in its own rhythm. From the regulator wristwatches that defined its 1980s identity to today’s bold Lucerne-built timepieces, the brand has never shied away from doing things differently. Few statements were as radical as the Digiteur, a watch without hands, powered by a mechanical calibre, yet read like an early digital […]
Monochrome
In a press release issued just a few hours ago, the LVMH Watches Division announced having acquired a minority stake in yet another key player in the Swiss watch industry. As a reminder, the LVMH Watches Division comprises brands Hublot, TAG Heuer and Zenith and is under the direction of Jean-Christophe Babin, also CEO of […]
Monochrome
Mido’s TV-shaped Multifort has quietly become one of the most distinctive value propositions in the sports-chic bracket. The core model provided you with the compact square-with-rounded-corners, TV-shaped case, a big date at 12 o’clock, and a modern Powermatic-based calibre, while last year’s S01E01 Test Screen showed how playful the format could be without losing seriousness […]
Monochrome
For many years, you’ve probably known Roger Dubuis for its bold, angular watches with openworked movements and tourbillon(s), most of them under the Excalibur collection. And while most are technically very impressive, this isn’t exactly the style that Mister Dubuis defined when he created the brand in the mid-1990s. The earliest watches, known as the […]
Monochrome
Lebois & Co. was founded in 1934, and since its revival a decade ago, the independent has been steadily building a catalogue that treats vintage codes with the utmost care. The turning point was the Heritage Chronograph, a compact, community-shaped bi-compax that gave the brand a clear design language: classical proportions, crisp typography, and useful […]
Monochrome
Any watch from Christiaan van der Klaauw that carries a planetarium is, by definition, special. Since the mid-1990s, this rare and spectacular complication has been the brand’s signature feature, conceived and calculated by Mister van der Klaauw himself. Recently, the brand, now under the guidance of Pim Koeslag, presented the fantastic Grand Planetarium Eccentric, the […]
Monochrome
One of the founding fathers of watchmaking in Glashütte, together with F.A. Lange, Moritz Grossmann also established the German School of Watchmaking. This important name returned in 2008, when trained watchmaker Christine Hutter founded a manufacture of classically German, high-end watches. For its 17th anniversary, the brand is about to release a first: a watch […]
Monochrome
Rado has become a byword for design-led, high-tech ceramic watches spearheaded by the Ceramica watch of 1990. Although the fully integrated case and bracelet of the Cermica were more rectangular in shape, the sleek, minimalist style passed down through the family tree and was inherited by the True Square Automatic collection, released thirty years later, […]
Monochrome
Vanguart is a young independent watchmaking brand founded by four men: Thierry Fisher, Jeremy Frelechox, Axel Leuenberger and Mehmet Korutürk. Both Leuenberger and Frelechox previously honed their skills at Audemars Piguet. Fisher is in charge of design. Korutürk has a background in finance and was working for a private equity company. Presented in 2021, their […]
Monochrome
Founded by Ming Thein in 2017 and based in Kuala Lumpur, MING is a design-led indie brand with a distinctive and recognisable aesthetic built on contemporary design, where minimalism, luminescence, layering and colour are key players. MING’s first dive watch surfaced in 2019 with the 18.01 Abyss Concept prototype, leading to the regular production model […]
Monochrome
The Impulsion by Louis Moinet is already one of the more extroverted ways to pair a chronograph and a tourbillon. For Dubai Watch Week 2025, the brand dials up the theatre with a sharp new act: the Impulsion Titanium Green, a limited edition that blends carbon, smoked sapphire and green-and-red colourway with the same openworked […]
Monochrome
With an industry that goes back centuries and loves to honour tradition, it’s no surprise that anniversaries are celebrated in style. And honestly, when done right, we’re not going to complain. This year, like clockwork, multiple brands paid homage to horological milestones, from 250-year celebrations of a watchmaking institute to a 20-year celebration of a […]
Monochrome
Time is a little more than a measurement of our observable universe. For example, the Earth rotates on its axis counterclockwise every 24 hours, so we measure a day based on this consistency. The Earth also revolves around the Sun every 365 days, so we measure a year based on that consistency. That said, why […]
Monochrome
In all honesty, I have been rather sceptical about driving electric cars pretty much from the get-go. I rarely like how they look, the range and weight issues bothered me a long time, and if I look for something sporty, I want it to make noise, smell a bit and above all, send vibrations up […]
Monochrome
At this point in watchmaking history, we can say, without taking too many risks, that Bulgari has become the undisputed master of ultra-thin horology. Breaking one record after another, the Italian/Swiss manufacture has been at the forefront of creativity and ingenuity, and while we are undoubtedly in a golden age of the ultra-thin watch, with […]
Monochrome
Atelier Nossedh (passing time in the Sámi language of the Northerners) is a new microbrand created by a Swedish designer, Alexander Gimell, who sought to build the watch he couldn’t find: small, classically proportioned, inspired by some glorious vintage chronographs and made with the kind of restraint that earns wrist time. The debut piece, the […]
Monochrome
I guess this is a first… a proper documentary series on some of the best-known, most successful and coolest Independent watch brands. Industry veteran Wei Koh, founder of Revolution Magazine (among others), presents eight episodes featuring visits to watch brands and collectors, offering a glimpse into what these brands do and how collectors appreciate the […]
Monochrome
It’s easy to almost exclusively think about Longines’ Heritage or Spirit models, for them to be visually attractive, vintage-inspired models with a lot of arguments for a seasoned crowd. Recent watches, such as the Ultra-Chron Classic, the Spirit Pilot Flyback or the Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve, have somehow stolen the show. There’s (much) more […]
Monochrome
In 2009, A. Lange & Söhne unveiled a timepiece unlike any other in the brand’s collection – past or post-resurrection. With no hands and a digital display powered by a mechanical heart, the Zeitwerk, translated from German as “time machine”, was the first mechanical wristwatch to feature a jumping digital display for hours and minutes. […]
Monochrome
If we had to name the one model that defined the concept of a dress watch, it would undoubtedly be the Patek Philippe Calatrava 96. This watch, when launched in the early 1930s, was rather revolutionary and has ever since been the blueprint for anything dress watch. Watch enthusiasts have long recognised its beauty and […]
Monochrome
Awake has built a clear identity around thoughtful materials and craft, moving from early eco-focused projects to last year’s Son Mai lineup, watches that brought traditional Hanoi lacquer work and silver-leaf dials into a permanent, Swiss-powered collection. The Fragments series is the next chapter: three limited editions that fuse Vietnamese Son Mai lacquer with mother-of-pearl […]
Monochrome
Hanhart’s roots run deep in the history of mechanical chronographs. Founded in 1882 in Germany’s Black Forest, Hanhart became a mid-20th-century reference for timing instruments. Its stopwatches and pilot chronographs set benchmarks for robustness, legibility, and ergonomics, a legacy carried forward by today’s collections, most notably, the 417 ES. First developed for the German armed […]
Monochrome
Dressed in all black, the Type 3 BB2 is the perfect representation of what independent watchmaker Ressence is all about. Founded in 2010 by industrial designer Benoit Mintiens, watches by Ressence are pretty much incomparable to anything else on the market thanks to the brand’s out-of-the-box thinking, technical innovation and no hands or crowns. In […]
Monochrome
At MONOCHROME, we have a soft spot for… well, monochrome. The balance of light and shadow on a dial, the quiet elegance of a perfect photograph… something about removing colour to reveal form, texture, and contrast that we find so immensely appealing. So when we learned that Elka Watch Co., the young Swiss brand known […]
Monochrome
Most of us associate Hamilton with robust military field watches employed by the US Army during WWII and their successful second lease of life in the Khaki collections. One of the quirkier models to emerge from Hamilton’s American era was the Ventura, the world’s first publicly available battery-powered watch, with a crazy, futuristic, asymmetrical case […]
Monochrome
Even without going back to the roots of the brand, when it was founded in 1960, there are more than one emblematic model within the current Grand Seiko catalogue. You can, of course, think about the Snowflake, the SBGW231 and SBGW301 and, one that is all the more important to me, the GMT Elegance SBGM221. […]
Monochrome
The Seiko Presage Classic Series has been on a quiet roll. Last year’s SPB463/465/467 trio set the tone with soft, bowl-shaped cases, curved dials inspired by silk, and a 3-day automatic movement that made the Presage feel both more Japanese and more purposeful. The open-heart SPB469/471 extended the idea with radial “raw silk” textures and […]
Monochrome
Since its introduction in 2021, the PRX collection by Tissot has never ceased to amaze and to grow in size. This range, one of the most accessible and compelling Swiss-made sporty-chic watches with an integrated bracelet, has become a commercial hit and has been offered in an array of colours, sizes, complications and materials. From […]
Monochrome
TAG Heuer‘s 2025 overhaul of the Formula 1 collection introduced new, shaped titanium cases, tighter proportions, integrated rubber straps, and crisper dials that pushed the line back to the front of the grid. Timely, as TAG Heuer (under LVMH) also returned as the official timekeeper of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. Now the brand […]
Monochrome
When it comes to complications, Vacheron Constantin is a veritable Titan in the arena and has earned its rightful place in the pantheon of high complications. Celebrating its grand 270th anniversary this year, Vacheron has outdone itself in 2025. Following the release of the world’s most complicated pocket watch last year, Vacheron Constantin has pulled […]
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