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The origins of Cimier can be traced back to 1924 when Joseph Lapanouse founded his watch company in Holstein, near Basel. A few years later, watches began to be sold under the name Cimier. Among these, the Faux Chronographe, a simplified and affordable take on the chronograph watch, emerged as a huge commercial success. The […]
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Norqain has its finger on the pulse and produces attractive, robust adventure watches that are remarkably popular among action-oriented watch buyers. Norqain CEO Ben Küffer has been able to count on some exceptional friends since he started his brand in 2018. One of these is Jean-Claude Biver, whose valuable input resulted in the Wild One. […]
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Launched in 2017, Reservoir has gained a firm footing on the indie scene with its fascination for measuring instruments found on the dashboards of cars, planes, and even submarines. Old-school manometers, altimeters, speedometers, tachometers and gauges of all sorts are a constant source of inspiration for the brand that displays time with jumping hours and […]
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Hanhart was established in Switzerland in 1882 and relocated to Germany in 1902, positioning itself as a formidable competitor to the pricey Swiss-made stopwatches. It became successful by offering timing devices of comparable quality at a more accessible price point. A significant milestone occurred in 1938 with the development of the Caliber 40 mono-pusher chronograph […]
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Established in 2016 by Sébastien Muller, a fourth-generation watchmaker, Brellum is an independent brand that employs a direct distribution model and offers exclusivity with only a few hundred pieces crafted each year, all COSC-certified chronometers. The Duobox, the brand’s inaugural collection, captured the hearts of enthusiasts with its timeless looks and competitive pricing, with several […]
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Car guys are watch guys… The assertion may seem like a cliché but often stems from a genuine connection. Jean Todt, a towering figure in motorsport known for his tenure as CEO of Ferrari and his role as President of the FIA from 2009 to 2021, is no exception to the rule. He’s also known […]
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Last year, the bold and ultra-modern SpaceOne Jumping Hour emerged from the visionary mind of Théo Auffret, a young Parisian independent watchmaker celebrated for crafting intricate timepieces like the Tourbillon Grand Sport and Guillaume Laidet, the man spearheading the revival of Nivada, Excelsior Park and Vulcain. And it’s now time for the duo to present its […]
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Independent watchmaker Hautlence, which made its debut 20 years ago in Neuchatel, has always been known for its modern approach to watchmaking with creative designs, exposed mechanics and innovative ways of displaying time. Now a sister company of H. Moser & Cie, the brand made a comeback a few months ago with modernized, streamlined aesthetics […]
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Launched in 1963, the Seiko Sportsmatic 5 was Seiko’s and Japan’s first automatic day-date watch. With its solid water and shock-resistant stainless case and bracelet, practical functions, automatic movement and accessible price, the Seiko 5 became an instant best-seller among young people. Following Seiko’s participation in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, exports of the Seiko 5 […]
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The H. Moser & Cie. Concept series, distinguished by the sheer elegance of minimalistic yet very elaborately finished dials, expands to include a watch in a sporty Pioneer case. The result is beautifully controversial, perhaps as intended by the brand, for the athletic, almost brutal, and adventure-ready case gets paired with a very funky-coloured dial. […]
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A lightsaber, wielded by Force-sensitive characters in Star Wars, is a luminescent laser sword powered by a kyber crystal. Shaped like a lightsaber, Urwerk’s SpaceTime Blade cuts through all timekeeping mechanisms with its unique display and countless timings related to our planet delivered via glowing orange Nixie bulbs. Marking its reentry into our atmosphere, Urwerk’s […]
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HYT Watches burst onto the independent watchmaking scene in 2012 with a captivating concept, a truly unique vision and an idea that somehow was antinomic of a mechanical watch; displaying time with fluids. To achieve this, the brand imagined a high-tech micro-fluidic module driven by a mechanical movement. The idea is to use two immiscible […]
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In 2015, Ferdinand Berthoud, a brand with a historical name resurrected by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Chopard’s co-president, unveiled the Chronomètre Ferdinand Berthoud FB1. Since then, we’ve witnessed the successful launch of numerous references in the FB1, FB2, and FB3 collections. These releases have showcased groundbreaking engineering innovations and distinguished themselves with their exceptional design, setting them […]
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Passion sometimes leads enthusiasts down unexpected paths. For some, the journey begins with an insatiable curiosity, gradually evolving into a deep-seated appreciation for the artistry and craftsmanship behind each timepiece. Such was the case for Adnane Kerd, a dedicated watch collector whose journey has now taken a remarkable turn as he ventures into the realm […]
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The design for Doxa’s signature diving watches, labelled SUB (and in particular the emblematic SUB 300 collection), was first introduced in 1966 and proved to be the blueprint for what we know and love today. While the iconic design has been retained over the years, Doxa has been playing around with the overall concept in […]
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MB&F;, or Max Büsser & Friends, is an indie brand that thrives on the creative input of its friends. Pooling together different talents, Max Büsser has produced some extraordinary mechanical and artistic collaborations. While most watch fans get a kick out of MB&F;’s creations and collaborations, very few of us can afford them. To remedy […]
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It’s full steam ahead for Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking division, an appropriate metaphor for a brand founded on Monsieur Vuitton’s revolutionary stacking canvas trunks and long associated with the ‘art of travel’. With the incorporation of the high-end watchmaking manufacture, La Fabrique du Temps in 2011, the brand can produce spectacularly complicated timepieces underscored by a […]
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In 2001, Pascal Raffy, a passionate collector of haute horlogerie, acquired the prestigious name Bovet and embarked on a remarkable journey to revive the brand to its former glory. Mr. Raffy spared no effort in establishing a manufacture characterized by an exceptional level of integration. Among its various achievements, Bovet introduced a series of exquisitely […]
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Since its creation in 2001, MeisterSinger has been seen as the master of the single-hand watch. Unlike most timepieces on the market (at least 99% of them), which display the time with 3 hands – hours, minutes, seconds – MeisterSinger’s models have a different, slightly poetic and slower approach to time with a mono-aiguille that […]
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Released about a year ago, the Jazzmaster Performer collection was Hamilton’s answer for a range of all-rounder, go-anywhere do-anything modern sporty watches. Mostly known for its connection with cinema and its successful vintage/military-inspired watches, the Performer was of a different breed. Sportier, more dynamic, more modern overall and yet sleek, it made a good impression […]
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Founded by couple John and Claire, Byrne is an independent watchmaking brand that debuted in 2022. John, a watchmaker with a design background, serves as the creative driving force behind the brand, while Claire, his wife, handles business-related affairs. What makes Byrne’s creations stand out is their unique display. The face of their watches evolves. […]
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The Purity collection was introduced in 2021 to express Yvan Arpa, Founder of ArtyA’s vision of transparency. Since then has included tourbillon models only, very different and even restrained in presentation from what one would expect with knowledge of ArtyA’s previous creative series; that one was a classic-looking watch. Indeed, the Purity collection is all […]
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Watchmaking is often touted to be about creativity and expressiveness, but when it comes to dials, brands tend to be a touch conservative. Simple silver, black or blue, however beautifully crafted they are, can be a bit, well, plain. And to some perhaps even boring. Luckily there are brands who dare to break those boundaries […]
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As the days gradually get longer, and the sun radiates us with its comforting warmth, the season of going for a leisurely cruise in your car or on your motorbike is finally here again. Done are the days of simply commuting to and from work, and here is the time of taking out your special […]
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We, at MONOCHROME, rarely publish so-called “guest posts” and prefer to use our Collector’s Series as a platform to share our readers’ adventures with a watch. Today, we had to make an exception. The reason is simple. The story was just too good to not be shared. It tells a tale about a watch, something […]
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About as esoteric as they come, the Benthos 500 was a chunky scuba diving watch released by Aquastar back in the late 1960s, before the brand became one of the many casualties of the quartz crisis. I won’t get into too much history of the brand as it has already been covered at length. When […]
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Here it is… the most exciting time of the year for watch enthusiasts, retailers, and journalists is upon us once again. The most important event of the watch industry calendar, Watches and Wonders 2024 is set to kick off on April 9th, 2024 at 08:30 AM Europe Time. The event gains even more importance this […]
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When you think about astronomical watches, timekeepers that are capable of displaying complex indications related to the position of the moon, the sun, the length of days or the equation of time, you might have in mind watches with fairly loaded dials and an array of star-inspired textures. There’s surely nothing wrong with that, but […]
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This might well be the most unexpected release of Tudor in years. A couple of months ago, we already spotted something not supposed to exist, or at least, a watch that can’t actually be acquired by the general public. Released in the frame of the partnership with Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, Tudor created […]
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The allure of contemporary Chronoswiss designs is palpable to watch enthusiasts, as evidenced by the plethora of limited-edition models marked as sold out in the company’s online catalogue, which offers both cutting-edge models and classic designs in peaceful coexistence. The new Strike Two series unveils yet another bridge between the brand’s esteemed past, exemplified by […]
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