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Monochrome
We’re less than two months away from the main event of the year for the watch industry… On April 14th, 2026, it will be time for Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026, a giant fair that will gather well over 60 brands, including returning ones such as Audemars Piguet. Something that has become more than a […]
Monochrome
Hitting the road to Fleurier, the discovery of L’Atelier Bernard was not what I expected. Bernard is a rather dated first name – one you rarely hear anymore for young people in Europe’s French-speaking countries. So, when I pushed open the door of their workshop in Fleurier, I was expecting to meet two old Swiss […]
Worn & Wound
One trend in the microbrand/small independent category that I’m glad to see more of already in these early days of 2026 is brands doing more on their own, in-house. Those words, “in-house,” have developed an almost toxic reputation in some circles as they’ve been used liberally to imply a level of craft or development that is not really there when you strip away all the marketing talk. But a handful of brands are taking it back, using it to designate certain manufacturing processes that they’ve taken ownership of over overseas factories. Oak & Oscar has just announced a new watch, the Humboldt ExP-02 that reflects some of the ten year old brand’s new manufacturing capabilities in an exciting and unique way. At a glance, you could be forgiven for thinking this is an ordinary version of the Humboldt, Oak & Oscar’s “classic adventure watch.” Subtly, however, it shows off real watchmaking skill and a willingness on the brand’s part to experiment with new techniques. The centerpiece of the ExP-02 is the dial, which keeps the familiar sandwich style construction that Oak & Oscar is so well known for, but refines it and personalizes it for this piece. Every aspect of the dial manufacturing is done to a very high level in the Oak & Oscar workshop, using new watchmaking equipment that the brand has invested in specifically to create unique components for watches like the ExP-02. According to Oak & Oscar, the rehaut and main dial plate are both cut from alu...
Monochrome
Founded in 2019 by Lilian Thibault, Awake is a young French brand built on the idea that time can be experienced more consciously, through sustainability, creativity, and cultural preservation. In line with this approach, Awake seeks to revive and modernise ancestral crafts from around the world. In 2024, Awake introduced the Son Mai collection, its […]
Hodinkee
A new film from Tudor explores the role of unsung heroes, and their watches.
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Hodinkee
It's the 30th anniversary of one of Audemars Piguet's best neo-vintage models. So there's no time like the present to dig into dozens of never-before-published details you'll want to know, including many direct from the brand.
Revolution
Audemars Piguet reimagines the chronograph for the next century.
Monochrome
Monovant is a new brand founded in 2024 in Greece with watches designed in both Athens and Paris. There’s a unique virtual showroom on its website that allows enthusiasts to interact with a digital version of watches, a concept Monovant calls phygital timepieces (the blending of the physical and digital worlds). This concept extends to […]
Teddy Baldassarre
The Rolex "crown" logo is one of the most recognizable brand marks in the world, signifying the Swiss watchmaker's international renown for exclusivity, luxury, and prestige of ownership. It has been around longer than you probably realize, and, much in keeping with the ethos of Rolex, has seen very little change (although that's not to say it's been entirely unchanged) over its decades-long existence. Here's what you should know about Rolex's legendary corporate symbol and the role it continues to play in defining Rolex as a world leader in luxury watches. Origin of Rolex Brand Name Before the Rolex logo came the Rolex brand name. And unbeknownst to many enthusiasts these days, their favorite brand’s name has not always been Rolex. The original name, Wilsdorf & Davis, referenced the surnames of Hans Wilsdorf (above), a German entrepreneur schooled in the business of Swiss watchmaking, and his partner and brother-in-law, Alfred Davis, who founded the original company in London’s Hatton Garden commercial district in 1905. Wilsdorf was an early proponent of wristwatches, which in those days before World War I were still not as widely popular among gentlemen as pocket watches. The company assembled watches from cases and movements imported from Switzerland, where Wilsdorf had previously worked for a watch manufacturer and exporter, and exported them throughout the British Empire. Wilsdorf bought out Davis’s share of the company in 1919, right around the same time that...
Hodinkee
The French-Chinese brand dips its toes into grand feu enamel with the first new design in three years.
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Teddy Baldassarre
The Valjoux 7750 chronograph caliber has been a mainstay of the Swiss watch industry for more than 50 years, finding its way into hundreds of watch models, under many dozens of names, and providing the technical base for numerous high complications over the years. Why is it so ubiquitous and still such an enduring presence in the watch world today? Here is a brief history of the "workhorse" mechanism that became the world's most famous and familiar chronograph movement. Valjoux 7750 Roots: The Vallée de Joux Sunset over the Vallée de Joux In actuality, the origins of the Valjoux 7750 go back much longer than the half-century it has actually been on the market. The company that came to be called “Valjoux” started up at the very beginning of the 20th century, taking its original name, Reymond Frères SA, from its founders, brothers John and Charles Reymond. The company, which specialized in making mechanical chronograph movements for military and sport-oriented timekeepers, changed its name in 1929 to Valjoux - a shortened reference to the scenic Vallée de Joux in Switzerland, where it and many of its client watchmakers were located. The firm’s most successful and historically impactful creations included the manually wound, column-wheel-driven, monopusher Caliber 22, in 1914, and its even more significant successor, the smaller, longer-lived Caliber 23, in 1916. In honor of the founding brothers' surname, Valjoux movements were inscribed with a shield em...
Worn & Wound
Last week, Hanhart invited 60 guests to their workshop in Gütenbach, located in the Black Forest region of Germany. The schedule for the day was packed, beginning with a factory tour, an 8 kilometers long Black Forest hike, a Hanhart Museum tour, and finally the unveiling of two new 415 ES chronographs. Felix Wallner and Simon Hall, co-managing directors of Hanhart, guided us through the factory and museum tour. The Gütenbach workshop opened in 1934 as the second production facility for Hanhart. It is now their only manufacturing location. It is impressive that this workshop has been in continuous production since 1934. There is a sense of authenticity, and you can almost taste the oil accumulated over eight decades. Simon took us to the first floor where the raw parts are made. Hanhart is in a unique position as a watch company since they manufacture mechanical and quartz stopwatches along with wrist watches. The machines are from the 1960s, but according to Simon, they outperform the modern machines in terms of repairs and total cost of ownership. These machines are used for making pinions, wheels, mainplates, and more. Hanhart manufactures 90% of the parts for their mechanical stop watches in this workshop. Hanhart in the past manufactured more stopwatches than wrist watches. In 2007, they made 20,000 stop watches, but this number decreased significantly as the demand cooled. Simon says that demand is again picking up with annual production of approximately 5,00...
Hodinkee
Come help us celebrate the first Hodinkee Magazine of 2025!
Monochrome
Voutilainen, Sarpaneva, Laine… Just three names coming from Finland that have made an impact on independent watchmaking the world over. But it doesn’t end there, as recently we’ve uncovered young and exciting Finnish watchmakers like Kortela Valta and Reima Koivukoski. And there seems to be something special in the water in the “Land of a […]
Hodinkee
The blue that former CEO François-Henry Bennahmias always wanted is finally here and it's really freaking good.
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Worn & Wound
Last year, one of the most intriguing watches I had a chance to handle was Havid Nagan’s debut, the HN00. I spent a few weeks with it right around the time brand founder Aren Bazerkanian was promoting his second release, the HN01. Now, another year later, and Havid Nagan is back with their third effort, the Classic One. The new naming convention speaks to just how different the Classic One is from its predecessors, and reflects the brand pivoting and changing in real time. In speaking with Bazerkanian, however, it’s clear that those shifts reflect a deep confidence in his own vision, and not merely commercial practicality. “About two years ago, I found myself digging deeper and deeper into the vintage market,” Bazerkanian explained to me, when asked about the inspiration for the Classic One. “Namely, I was very interested in learning about vintage Patek 96 references, Urban Jurgensen, and Parmigiani Fleurier.” The Classic One, as the name implies, evokes classic dress watches like the ones mentioned by Bazerkanian, and many others. The 38mm case is just 9mm tall, making for an ideal wearing experience that isn’t exactly “vintage” in feel, but it’s adjacent to it. The case construction and finishing is very much that of a modern watch, with sharp transitions and clearly defined lines. But it wasn’t just vintage watches on Bazerkanian’s mind when he set about to create the Classic One. “My wife and I had welcomed our daughter,” he told me, “...
Worn & Wound
On the evening of Thursday, February 27th, atop Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center in NYC-with a perfect view of Citizen’s US headquarters within the Empire State Building-Eric Horowitz, the brand’s Managing Director, announced the formation of a new division within Citizen. Dubbed Citizen Premier, this new endeavor represents what Citizen describes as “the pinnacle of watchmaking,” and highlights their ability to marry technological innovations with high-end Japanese craftsmanship in what will be a range of higher end, more refined products, all while maintaining the tried and true value-driven offerings we’ve come to appreciate more and more in recent years. Citizen Premier is an entirely new category within the Citizen ecosystem that launches with two of their most popular brands: Series8 and Attesa. These collections push the boundaries of Citizen’s movement technology and materials expertise. Series8 incorporates bold, contemporary designs into modern sports watches housing automatic movements, while Attesa places a focus on Super Titanium, Eco-Drive technology, and avant-garde design. It’s clear that Citizen views this announcement as a major milestone at a time when the brand is enjoying renewed strength in the enthusiast market. It’s no secret that Citizen has been on a run lately with watches targeted directly at the enthusiast community. Chances are you’ve spotted various Citizens on wrists at Windups and meetups more frequently now ...
Worn & Wound
One of the things that all great micro and independent watch brands have in common is that they lean into exactly who they are. The brands that attempt to cater to changing tastes and trends never seem to last, or if they do they seem to just kind of languish and not really grow or do anything all that noteworthy. Another way to say this is that brands who are authentically themselves, and a reflection of the point of view of those in charge, and their clients, are almost always going to be the most interesting. Oak & Oscar, I think, neatly falls into that category. Whether the designs are your cup of tea or not, there’s no denying that the brand, their aesthetic, and the choices they make line up precisely with the ideas that founder Chase Fancher and his colleagues are trying to bring to the larger watch community. That was apparent in their recent Humboldt GMT SAR limited edition, which helped to underline the brand’s general love of the outdoors, and it’s built into their latest release, a limited edition version of the Atwood chronograph, in an entirely different way. The new version of the Atwood is a collaboration with Wind Vintage, the well known vintage retailer founded by Eric Wind in 2017. The Atwood Wind Vintage Edition is simply a product of two friends coming together to work on a cool product, which Oak & Oscar describes as a tenet of what they’re all about. Eric and Chase go way back, having met in New York just after the release of the Burnham, O...
Monochrome
Less than two months… This is the time left before the main watch fair of the year, also known as Watches and Wonders Geneva 2025 – starting April 1st, 2025. Something that has become more than a tradition but a highly anticipated event in our yearly publication calendar, the MONOCHROME team has gotten creative to […]
Worn & Wound
David Ramsay was a renowned Scottish watchmaker and clockmaker who was born in the late 16th century. During the 17th century he was recognised as a prominent figure in the world of horology and appointed as the first Master of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers and watchmaker to two Kings prior to the English Civil War. Born in Scotland, Made in London David Ramsay was born around 1580 near St. Andrews, in the county of Fife, Scotland and grew up as part of a relatively well-off family in a proudly Scottish household. He later moved to London, England, where he gained recognition for his skills in clockmaking. Ramsay was a mechanical genius and produced some of the world’s most extraordinary horological masterpieces – clocks and watches that are arguably works of art unto themselves. Although he rose to the top of his field as a watchmaker, operating from the seat of power in London, he struggled chronically with money, eventually falling out of royal favour and winding up in a debtors’ prison. In 1594, he was apprenticed to the master armourer Henry Smith who was appointed Royal Armourer to King James VI of Scotland. Ramsay’s training in metalworking certainly played a crucial part in his later development as a watch and clockmaker. This required specialist knowledge and training, such as in hardening and tempering steel, and in smelting iron ore to obtain a more uniform steel of higher quality. He would have also been trained in quality control, finishing a...
Video
Monochrome
In a very unexpected move, the Horlogical Brothers known as Tim and Bart Grönefeld are launching a new, more accessible brand aimed at a broader audience. Honouring their father with the very first model, the newly founded Grøne Oldenzaal brand offers the typical Grönefeld style (design-wise at least) at a smidge over 2k euros before […]
Quill & Pad
At Baselworld 2019, when the curtains were finally opened at the Tudor booth, a watch that had widely been considered a myth by many was revealed to be 100 percent real! The Tudor Black Bay P01 was revealed!
Hodinkee
Sotheby's "GOAT Collection" auction to feature watches and other memorabilia from the seven-time Super Bowl winner.
Quill & Pad
If you like watches at all, you have certainly seen wristshots and perhaps you have even posted a few of your own. Like the selfie, wristshots seem to be ubiquitous these days. But where did wristshots come from, why do they exist, and what are the pitfalls to look out for? GaryG shares a few tips on what he has learned works and what doesn't.
Monochrome
If I were to ask you what the greatest American-made supercar is, what would your answer be? The Corvette? The Viper? The Saleen S7 perhaps? Very likely, but I bet a few of you will immediately think of Gerald Wiegert and his Vector cars. Although it wasn’t meant to be for various reasons, you can’t […]
Video
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