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There was a time in Formula 1 racing where not one, not two, not three but pretty much half the field had the talent and material to compete for race wins, and thus the championship. During the 1970s, a time that’s considered the golden age of F1 racing, many stars rose to the top. Think […]
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Union Glashütte might be one of the lesser-known brands of the Swatch Group, but it is nevertheless one that has recently caught our attention, and for very good reasons. It shouldn’t be overlooked. Headquartered in the small town of Glashütte, Germany, close to sister brand Glashütte Original (also owned by Swatch), UG acts in a […]
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A venerable brand that was slightly dormant for about a decade, Vulcain is sort of a hidden gem that has long been recognized as the specialist of the alarm watch – a niche concept but one that has to be kept alive. However, for the past couple of years, Vulcain has been revived and now […]
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At MONOCHROME, we are always delighted to discover and present new watchmaking projects. Founded by renowned Geneva-based dial maker, Atelier Olivier Vaucher, and watchmaker Olivier Gaud, TAOS emerges as a new independent watchmaking brand dedicated to métiers d’art and artistic crafts. Each of their watches is one-of-a-kind. The brand debuts with an inaugural collection of […]
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Five months in as CEO of one of the most luxurious watch brands, Audemars Piguet, Mrs Ilaria Resta offers her view on the current market and how she sees the future of the esteemed Le Brassus-based Maison. Dressed in a green suit with a 38mm purple dial Code 11:59 on the wrist, Italian-Swiss Ilaria Resta […]
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Founded in 2008, March LAB is run by three close friends – Alain Marhic, Jérôme Mage and Joseph Châtel. With CEO Marhic rooted in Biarritz and Creative Director Mage based in Los Angeles, the fusion of French horological heritage and LA design culture is evident in March LAB timepieces. While vintage influences permeate their creations, […]
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Mido has done a commendable job updating its Multifort collection to 21st-century technical standards and contemporary tastes. As the brand’s best-selling automatic model from 1934, boasting resistance to magnetism, shocks and water, the refreshed Multifort M is a rugged, accessibly priced, all-terrain watch powered by Swatch Group’s Powermatic 80 movement. An attractive new dial colour […]
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Introduced over 10 years ago (time flies…), Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo collection has become one of the most successful sagas in recent watchmaking history. Not only did these watches break one record for thinness after another, but they also redefined the concept of the ultra-thin watch with a contemporary design and a casual attire. For the […]
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The roots of Chopard trace back to 1860 when Louis Ulysse Chopard founded his company in Sonvilier, Switzerland. The Scheufele family took over the company in the 1960s. Under their stewardship, Chopard experienced a renaissance and evolved from a traditional watchmaking company into a globally renowned luxury brand. Chopard is a vertically integrated, family-owned company, […]
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Since the launch of the Diastar, the world’s first scratchproof watch made from ultra-resilient tungsten carbide in 1962, Rado has become a byword for high-tech materials, especially high-tech ceramic. In tune with the latest trend for skeletonisation, Rado has issued a host of openworked models, ranging from golden oldies like the Captain Cook and Diastar […]
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Baltic is a brand that needs no introduction to our loyal audience. Despite its youthfulness in the industry (first models in 2017), it stands out remarkably among its peers (call them microbrands) in the same price range. Drawing inspiration from classic designs of the 1940s to 1960s, the brand doesn’t reinvent the wheel but consistently […]
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The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF collection features three remarkable timepieces that aim to unravel the complexities of various calendar complications that pay tribute to the rich cultural and historical significance of different “tools to organize days”. The collection includes the complete Chinese Xiali calendar, the Western Gregorian calendar, and the Islamic Hijri calendar. The Hijri […]
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Genus, an independent brand hailing from Geneva, is the brainchild of Catherine Henry and Sébastien Billières. In 2007, Sébastien Billières co-created GMTI, a company specialising in manufacturing of ‘Geneva Seal’ movements for brands, and gained broader recognition in 2019 with the highly acclaimed Genus GNS1, featuring an exotic time display. Fast forward five years, and […]
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Last week, we covered most of the new models introduced by Audemars Piguet, as part of the 2024 collection – which included a new ROO time-and-date, a handsome new alloy named Sand Gold and a striking collab watch with John Mayer. There is one watch that we’ve kept away for now, but it’s a stunner. […]
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The pandemic has opened the door to countless opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs. Thomas Fleming, an avid American watch collector, saw his dream of starting his own independent watch brand take shape during this time. To make this project a reality, Fleming brought together an impressive cast of Swiss partners, including renowned independent watchmaker Jean-François Mojon […]
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Made to be used and abused… This could be the definition of an outdoor, adventure-ready car (a Defender, for instance, the old one), or for that matter, of a proper tool watch. Recently, the team at Fratello, our fellow Dutch watch editors, asked the question of what makes a great tool watch? For them, it’s […]
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Founded in 2014 by two friends from university, Gustave & Cie. is a relatively new French watch brand offering a “more zen vision of time” with its mono-hand watches simultaneously indicating the hours and minutes. Named after Gustave Eiffel, the latest collection from Gustave & Cie. of single-handed, 24-hour watches has been christened Paul, after […]
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Whenever we compile lists for our weekly Buying Guide, we tend to look at common denominators between watches. One such element can be colour, material, a complication or even a price point. As suggested by one of our readers, we are now looking at sporty-chic watches on stainless steel bracelets priced under EUR 3,000. After […]
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William Wood was not a watchmaker by trade, he was a distinguished firefighter in the British Fire Service with a 25-year tenure. To his grandson, Jonny Garrett, William Wood was not just a hero who saved lives but an extraordinary individual whose legacy deserved honour. In 2016, Jonny embarked on a mission to craft timepieces […]
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For close to two decades now, the R8 has been Audi’s poster child sports car, with a sleek design and performance to back it all up. It’s even sparked quite a successful racing career through the factory team but also plenty of privateers. But what if you want something that’s suitable for both the road […]
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Considered the precursor of the luxury sports watch category, the Royal Oak turned fifty in 2022. As expected, Audemars Piguet went to town to fete its icon with a host of celebratory models. However, the excitement grew when AP unveiled the first 39mm Jumbo to be fitted with an ultra-thin flying tourbillon (calibre 2968). Officially […]
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The Lady Serenade and PanoMatic Luna are Glashütte Original’s two mechanical watch collections for women. While the PanoMatic Luna is essentially a slightly smaller version of the men’s model, the Serenade collection was conceived as a ladies’ watch from the start. Available with time-and-date functions, the Serenade takes on a new complication in the form of a moon phase […]
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As the leading watchmaker of his day, Abraham-Louis Breguet enjoyed the patronage of France’s royalty and aristocracy. Among the names on his A-list was Napoleon Bonaparte’s youngest sister, Caroline Murat, also known as the Queen of Naples. A keen collector of Breguet’s timepieces, one of the 30 pieces she commissioned from Breguet was a watch […]
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When Audemars Piguet‘s iconic Royal Oak turned fifty in 2022, the brand announced that the permanent range of Royal Oak models would be updated aesthetically and mechanically. With this in mind, the 37mm Royal Oak was one of the beneficiaries of the ‘new design evolution’ and reappears in 2024 in two luxurious editions in gold […]
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Many watch enthusiasts and collectors will undoubtedly dream of creating their own watch at some point, but few actually set out to do it. And from those that do embark on the Herculean undertaking of launching a brand, even fewer eventually make it and bring an actual finished product to the table. It’s by no […]
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Audemars Piguet reveals new models that showcase the evolutionary design introduced on the first stainless steel Code 11.59 references in 2023. To update the more subdued and widely criticized design of previous dials, a unique “signature” embossed dial pattern has been specially created for this collection, together with different hands and markers, in collaboration between […]
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While the Royal Oak was initially born in stainless steel – which, in our opinion, remains the material of choice for the classic Jumbo – the emblematic Audemars Piguet collection rather quickly embraced gold. Since then, precious metals have become integral to the series, always leaving a memorable impression. In its latest venture, the brand […]
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While there have been time-and-date and triple calendar versions since the mid-1990s, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore or ROO, has always been primarily known as a chronograph watch. It was actually designed as such when it launched in 1993. In modern days, non-chronograph ROO watches were mostly known as the Diver version, which was […]
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It’s no secret that Audemars Piguet has long been involved with celebrities and influential people from the world of music. It usually goes well beyond ambassadors and AP has launched several watches in collaboration with musicians – the latest to surface was the chocolate ceramic Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar “Cactus Jack” made with Travis Scott. […]
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Seiko’s current lineup is one of the strongest in its price range. From the accessible 5 Sports series to the popular Prospex diver designs and the reintroduction of the King Seiko name, Seiko has consistently introduced impressive new timepieces since the turn of the century. The all-new Presage Classic line deserves significant attention as it […]
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