Results for The Dirty Dozen

Interview: The '80s Design Iconoclast Who Would Not Be Put In A Box

Influenced by everything from Swatch to Bauhaus, Alain Silberstein's watches have never fit a conventional mold.

Announcements: The Year’s First Trade Show Kicks Off Tomorrow With The Second Edition Of LVMH Watch Week

Bulgari, Zenith, and Hublot are all launching new timepieces, with TAG Heuer notably absent.

Burgess Clock B, The World’s Most Precise Pendulum Clock, Is Made To A 250-Year-Old Design By John Harrison, Longitude Prize Winner And Inventor Of The Marine Chronometer - Reprise

Two-hundred fifty years ago, Longitude Prize-winning clockmaker John Harrison made clocks losing just one second per month. But that wasn't enough for him: in his later life, Harrison claimed that he could make a wall clock with a then-unheard-of-precision of just one second over 100 days! And 250 years later, it turns out he was right.

Just Because: The Amazing Secret That Big NATO Doesn't Want You To Know

NATO too chunky? Knives out.

Ep #146 Watch Spotting on the Disney Fantasy Cruise Ship

... Read more

Brand-Name Designers and the Watch Trade

Watches & Wonders Miami debuts in the Design District

Revolution USA covers, and participates in, Watches & Wonders Miami.

Rivkah - The 3D Printed Watch: Case Design

... Read more

Officine Panerai and the Design Miami/ Visionary Award

How Much the Carrera Heuer-02T Doesn’t Cost

Private time with, not one, but two TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer-02Ts.

Louis Erard Partners with Brilliant Earth on the Jeweler’s First Watch Collection

Louis Erard has been making collaborative watches for years. In fact, you can pretty easily point to limited edition collaborations as a venture that has sustained the brand over the last several years, and made them newly relevant to a broad spectrum of enthusiasts and collectors. Their collaborations tend to follow a familiar, tried and true format. For the most part, they work with established, often higher end, independent watchmakers, and graft the design signatures of those watchmakers onto various Louis Erard platforms, most often their Regulator. The list of collaborators at this point is extensive, with names like Chaykin, Kudoke, and Vianney Halter contributing to Louis Erard’s ongoing project. Their latest, though, is a little different. The Solstice Collection, a line unveiled last month with Brilliant Earth, represents a new approach, and takes Louis Erard’s name off the dial entirely.  Brilliant Earth is a jewelry brand founded in 2005 that has gained traction for their commitment to transparency in the sourcing of their precious metals and stones. Their public face is one focused on sustainability, and are known to use recycled precious metals as well as lab grown diamonds in their engagement rings and other jewelry. The Solstice Collection represents their first watch line.  The Solstice Collection consists of two watches, Summer and Winter. They are built on Louis Erard’s La Petite Seconde platform, and feature 39mm stainless steel cases and run on...

Ming Taps J.N. Shapiro for the 37.06 Lightning

Ming has joined forces with J.N. Shapiro for a decidedly contemporary twist on traditional guilloche. The 37.06 Lightning proves its possible to combine disparate design languages cohesively, and to offer meaningful hand craftsmanship for less than five figures, with a few sensible trade-offs. Initial thoughts Ming and J.N. Shapiro are two of the three members of the Alternative Horological Alliance (AHA), a loosely affiliated coalition of brands that also includes Fleming. The Lightning is not the first time that Ming and J.N. Shapiro have worked together — they co-developed a tantalum bracelet designed to fit watches from each brand — but it is the first time they’ve collaborated on a wristwatch. And while J.N. Shapiro is best known for more traditional designs and an obsessive focus on in-house production in the United States, the brand’s expertise in guilloche clearly translates beyond its own house style. The radiant polychromatic dial looks right at home in a minimalist Ming. The artisanal dial makes intuitive sense paired with Ming’s typical look, especially considering the lume plots and brand logo are engraved on the underside of the sapphire crystal. This approach means the dial does not have to be touched post-heat treatment, and the shimmering guilloche pattern can extend edge to edge without interruption. The Lightning is priced at a relatively accessible CHF6,750, a price point that entails a few trade-offs elsewhere in the watch — namely the move...

First Look - The New Serica Ref. 7505 Field Chronometer, 35mm of Genuine Ruggedness

There’s a tendency, somewhat natural and hard to counteract, to think that a watch needs to be large and heavy to be robust. This, however, is a rather contemporary perception, as vintage watches, even the most rugged of them all, were often sized under 36mm – think, for instance, about the members of the Dirty […]

Photo Essay: Patek Philippe Rare Handcrafts 2026 Honours the Power of Nature

As Watches & Wonders drew to a close, Patek Philippe opened its annual exhibition of Rare Handcrafts at its salon on Rue du Rhône. It was a peaceful escape from the hustle of the Palexpo, and the perfect setting to view several dozen pieces from the new collection, ranging from Dome Clocks to wristwatches and pocket watches. The exhibition is open to the public until May 9th. Attendance is free, but visitors must register in advance online. Dome Clocks Among the prevailing themes of this year’s collection, the power of nature featured prominently. The Dome Clock ref. 20202N-001 “Magma” is the perfect example. The organic composition is almost shocking in its simplicity and minimal palette of just five colours of transparent enamel — and just seven more used for miniature painting. The volcanic depiction is undeniably violent in a way that creates a pleasing tension with the controlled techniques employed to create it, including silver leaf paillonné and a needle technique for creating the lifelike look of the volcanic rock, outlined with more than 23 g of gold wire. Of course, fired enamel has a lot in common with magma. In short, this choice of molten medium contributes to the authenticity of the work. The glowing lava is mirrored on the dial with 12 large baguette-cut sapphire hour markers totaling about 3 cts. Like the other Dome Clocks featured, the Magma is powered by an electrically wound 17’’’ pocket watch movement that offers a look into the firm...

Invisible Complexity: The New Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux

Of all modern high-end brands, Parmigiani Fleurier is among my favorites. In fact, the Tonda PF has consistently ranked as the top watch on my list for the past several years. The smooth design and what must be one of the best bracelets I’ve ever tried help boost its ranking. Then, there’s the dial. A […] Visit Invisible Complexity: The New Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux to read the full article.

I sold a watch, and I feel dirty

Tom Austin explores how the process of selling a watch that once felt personal and expressive reduces to something much more transactional.The post I sold a watch, and I feel dirty appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Recap - The Best Dress Watches of 2025

As the end of the year draws nigh and the festive season is about to kick off, we need to look back at what has been a rather surprising dozen months for the watch industry. Although the market isn’t at its best, we’ve rarely seen so many watch launches. As every year, the MONOCHROME team […]

First Look - The Voutilainen KV21 Tonneau, An All-New Collection for the Indie Watchmaker

A seminal figure of independent watchmaking, Kari Voutilainen is one of the most respected and revered craftsmen of the watchmaking industry, manufacturing only a few dozen timepieces each year to a standard that mass production can never attain. With integrity and exceptional artistry, his creations – produced in highly limited numbers – are considered grail […]

"Are Citizen Watches Good?" In-Depth With The Japanese Brand

How much do you really know about Citizen Watches, the tough and stylish Promaster collection, the proprietary Eco-Drive technology, and other signature innovations of the Japanese brand, like the exclusive Super Titanium and the recent series of automatic calibers in the luxurious Series 8 models? In this article, we explore the history of Citizen Watch Company from its founding to the modern day and spotlight a dozen notable watches in today’s Citizen collection that have caught the attention of the Teddy Baldassarre team. By the end, you should be much closer to answering the question of whether Citizen watches are good-quality and whether they're for you.  Citizen History and Early Milestones With its very high-tech lineup and avant-garde designs, one might be inclined to think Citizen Watch Company is a relatively new player on the worldwide watch scene. One would be mistaken, however. The company today known as Citizen traces its roots all the way back to 1918, when it was founded as the Shokosha Watch Research Institute by Kamakechi Yamazaki. The name “Citizen” first appeared on the dial of a pocket watch that Shokosha produced in 1924; it is believed to have been suggested by Yamazaki’s close friend Shinpei Goto, then the mayor of Tokyo, who believed such a watch should be universally appealing and accessible to all “citizens” of Japan. Shokosha merged with the Schmid company, a Japan-based manufacturing firm founded by expatriate Swiss watchmaker Rodo...

Omega’s Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Returns

A hit when it was launched a dozen years ago – time does fly – the Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon was the first-ever Speedmaster in ceramic. Now Omega has refined and reworked the concept – the case is now almost 1 mm thinner – while retaining the all-ceramic construction and distinctive aesthetic. The new Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon (DSOTM) makes its debut in four variants. The first two stick closely to the original, right down to the same automatic cal. 9900 movement, but in a slimmer format. More notable is the manual-wind version containing the cal. 9908, the first DSOTM offering with this movement, making it even thinner. And it has no date to boot. Rounding out the quartet is the Speedmaster Grey Side of the Moon (GSOTM) that is also manual-wind but powered by the historically-based, Moonwatch-famous cal. 3861. This adopts the lunar-textured surface, front and back, first seen on the Apollo 8 edition. The first manual-wind DSOTM that has a black-and-red livery Initial thoughts Contemporary collectors are spoiled for choice when it comes to the Speedmaster, which is available in seemingly endless configurations. While that’s arguably a criticism, it demonstrates Omega’s industrial prowess, which enables the brand to deliver large volumes of watches that are objectively high quality and equipped with some of the industry’s best chronograph movements, without keeping customers waiting. Regardless of the shade of grey or black, the watches are ins...

Swatch Just Made the Weirdest (and Priciest) MoonSwatch Yet

I genuinely thought we were done with these. The lines, the madness, the rotating cast of Bioceramic planets-it felt like the MoonSwatch thing had run its course a dozen releases ago. But Swatch, in all its chaotic energy, has decided we’re not done yet. So here we are. Again.

The Most Expensive Richard Mille Watches Ever Sold

Known for their cutting-edge use of lightweight materials and extravagant prices, Richard Mille is arguably the most exclusive watchmaker in the world. Before getting into the most expensive Richard Mille watches, it's good to get a little context on both the brand and the man. While not a watchmaker by trade, Mille and his brand co-founder Dominique Guenat understood the importance of having a vision and making it a reality. An obsession with lightweight materials and design that push the boundaries of what’s possible in a package as small as a wristwatch, along with some excellent marketing (not to mention good luck), have resulted in a brand that is at the pinnacle of the very highest end of the market. Image by Sotheby's Yes, the six- and seven-figure price tags of Richard Mille watches continue to baffle people (we covered why here). Exclusivity is key, especially in a world where the number of billionaires jumped 500% between 2000 and 2024, and the number of ultra-high-net-worth-individuals (UHNWI) with at least $30 million in net investible assets has grown to 626,619 globally. Of course, Richard Mille watches do not fetch record-breaking prices simply due to exclusivity but because of the exhaustive R&D; process that is unlike any other in watchmaking. Here, we will take a look at some of the most expensive Richard Mille watches ever. By the nature of how these things work, just about all of these sales are coming from the auction market, where the already mind-bo...

Watches, Stories, and Gear: Pro Tripods, Teenage Engineering’s Scooter, and MB&F;’s Corvette

Peak Design Launches the New Pro Tripod Line     If you ask Peak Design, six years ago they re-imagined what a tripod could be with their Travel Tripod. Designed to be lightweight, compact, and most importantly, useful, the tripod took the market by storm, becoming the “go to” option for many photographers. Taking what they learned from this first release, along with some input from Jimmy Chin (Oscar-winner, outdoor fanatic, and talented storyteller), they’re back with a brand new collection, the Pro Tripod. Featuring similar design language to the original travel tripod, this new line allows customers to choose between portability (Pro Lite) and rigidity (Pro Tall) for the ideal addition to their kit. Each of the three models features a newly designed ball head with a “quicker and stronger camera attachment”, fluid panning, and a single adjustment ring that locks (and unlocks) the ball head. Additionally, Peak Design has re-engineered their leg locks to allow for faster setup and tear down. With over $2.8 million dollars pledged and 3,000 plus backers at the time of writing, it’s clear that people are excited about this new line of tripods. You can check out the new series of tripods in each of the Peak Design stores or on their kickstarter page, here. Denis Villeneuve Tapped for the Next Bond Film There was some big news in the world of James Bond this week. While the world waits to see who will be tapped to play the superspy following Daniel Craig’s run,...

Breitling Introduces the Top Time B01 Racing Chronograph with a Little Help From an Automotive Icon

While more marketable leagues like Formula 1 entice with hypercars, social media presence, and reality TV, rally racing continues to wow spectators with its gritty and furious breed of off-road motorsport. Still, the rally world isn’t without flashes of luxury, and Breitling’s three new Top Time B01 Racing models look to celebrate the sport in all its dirty, dangerous beauty. Fortunately, the Swiss brand has a wealth of innovations to pull from their Top Time line-most notable is the “dashboard” dual-chronograph dial design that helps give the new Racing models that rally-inspired edge.  All three Racing models are anchored by a stainless steel cushion case that gives the watch a squared-off and recognizably retro-futuristic look. With a 38mm diameter and a 44.4mm lug-to-lug measurement, the Top Time Racing should wear comfortably on most wrists but remain legible-both important factors to consider in motorsports, where one wasted second could spell disaster (or mortal danger). Raised, grooved sections add texture and dimension to each rounded corner of the case and mirror the tight spacing of the ¼ second dashes around the dial. All three models feature perforated calfskin straps nestled within an 18mm lug width, a design that calls to mind vintage racing gloves but still emphasizes durability and sportiness.  The aforementioned “dashboard” dual-chronograph dial mimics an instrument cluster, with “squircle” (yes, Breitling does call them that) subdi...

Recap - The MONOCHROME Team’s Favorites Timepieces of Watches and Wonders 2025

Watches and Wonders 2025 is about to close its doors and it’s time for Team MONOCHROME to fly back home after one of the most intense weeks of the year. We’ve seen hundreds of watches, if not thousands, published way over a hundred articles, took several thousands of photos and published over a dozen videos […]