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A beautiful product is nothing without a good package, and the same goes for watches. You can design the most stunning dial, back it up with a stellar mechanical movement, but put it in a case that doesn’t match, and it all falls flat. And it’s a real challenge for watchmakers and brands to get […]
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Editor’s note – As our long-time readers might know, MONOCRHOME is usually quite (to say the least) technical. We like to go in-depth, to look at the ins and outs of watchmaking, sometimes tackling highly complex topics. This was the main objective behind our “Technical Perspective” series, where we’ve covered some of the most complex […]
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Have you ever wondered what it is like to drive a Porsche 911 GT3? I did! Of course, it’s the most powerful and driver-focused, naturally aspirated version of the legendary 911, and it is praised by everyone for its brutal power, magnificent driving capabilities and sheer fun. After eight years of driving a 911 Carrera […]
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Graduating from his watchmaking studies in Switzerland this year, young indie watchmaker Ivan Berets is set to launch his first watch. Simply called the Series 1, it is based on his graduation project watch, more poetically known as the Montre d’Ecole in French. With Russian roots, Ivan now resides in Italy and has unveiled the Sereis […]
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In a surprising and quite unexpected move, Alpina celebrated its 140th anniversary in 2023 by unveiling a highly limited run of Heritage Carrée Mechanical watches, featuring the authentic calibre 490 hand-wound movement from 1938 inside, restored and presented in a silver case. Following positive reactions and to ensure continuity, the brand introduced non-limited versions in […]
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Born from the French Ministry of Defence’s Type 20 brief in the mid-1950s, the Type 20 Chronograph watches featured a black dial, a flyback (retour en vol) function, a rotating bezel, and pilot-proof robustness. Alongside fellow suppliers like Breguet, Mathey-Tissot, and Auricoste, Airain’s Type 20 quickly became one of the most recognisable field chronographs. A […]
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Born in the Black Forest and best known for instrument chronographs like the 417 ES and Pioneer series, Hanhart also has a quieter thread that predates its stopwatch fame: the wristwatches of the 1930s (cal. 36/39), valued for clarity and everyday utility. The Silva line infuses that heritage into a modern, time-only series. It is […]
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When discovering new and exciting independent watchmakers, I am often surprised by how many of them come from outside the industry. While many pursue a life and career in engineering, mechanics, and so on, not everyone follows the most obvious path of going to a watchmaking school. The upside of this is that many bring […]
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Besides their accessible dress watches and fairly-priced yet robust retro-inspired divers, Baltic has long been all about race cars and vintage motorsport competitions (not really a surprise when you know the founders’ passion). The connection between cars and watches is obvious, and Baltic materialised it with several Tour Auto-themed models, the latest in line being […]
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As one of the oldest names in the Swiss watch industry, Favre Leuba’s fortunes have fluctuated over the centuries. During the 1960s, Favre Leuba had a notable run of iconic, heavy-duty tool watches. Having changed hands several times, industry veteran Patrik Hoffmann was behind the relaunch of Favre Leuba staged during Geneva Watch Days 2024. […]
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It’s been 20 years since Parisian brand Bell & Ross released its emblematic BR-01 collection, a striking design – known as the “circle within a square” – inspired by dashboard instruments found in fighter jets. This strong connection with military planes and pilots of all sorts has long been the brand’s defining style, pushing the […]
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Just after the introduction of the new Classique 7225, marking the return of the innovative magnetic pivot, Breguet releases another watch within its 250th anniversary collection. But this time, it’s not about shining a spotlight on one of the founder’s innovations, but rather to pay tribute to design principles defined by A.L. Breguet, to all […]
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As you might already know as of now, Breguet is celebrating this year its 250th anniversary. And the brand is doing so by releasing watches that are either evolutions of emblematic models – such as the two stunning hand-wound Type XX – or paying tribute to the countless innovations of A.L. Breguet, for instance the […]
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Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons is the leading watch and jewellery retailer in the United Arab Emirates and the name behind the biennial Dubai Watch Week, now a major event on the industry’s calendar. Marking its 75th anniversary this year, several partner brands have celebrated the event with special editions. Having enjoyed the support of Ahmed […]
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The Defy Skyline collection by Zenith has quickly become the modern pillar of the brand’s angular, integrated, and technical sports collection. We’ve seen the series stretch into complications and materials, most notably last year’s steel and black ceramic Skyline Tourbillons built around the high-frequency El Primero calibre 3630. The latest chapter elevates form and finish. […]
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Watchmaking prizes and competitions have a remarkable virtue. Their primary vocation is to discover new talents and bring them into the spotlight. A perfect example is the F.P. Journe Young Talent Competition, which has been celebrating and supporting young independent watchmakers since 2012. For me, this award was the opportunity to discover the extraordinary talent […]
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If you want to talk about an emblematic design of independent watchmaking, then the DB28 should be on the list. Born in 2010, this watch, with its incredible design, would become a working laboratory of innovation for the brand, developing titanium surface treatments and unprecedented materials for the movement. The DB28 and its floating lugs, […]
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For most of its modern life, the Luminor has been a big-wrist proposition, the classic 44mm and 47mm references defined the line’s presence. This spring’s Luminor GMT Power Reserve Ceramica PAM01574 reaffirmed Panerai’s commitment to high-tech casework at the larger end of the spectrum. At the same time, Panerai has been quietly proving that the […]
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Born in 1931 to withstand the rigours of polo and defined by its unmistakable Art Deco geometry, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso has evolved into one of the most enduring designs in watchmaking. Its swivelling steel case, conceived to protect the crystal from stray mallets, remains as ingenious today as it was nearly a century ago. Over […]
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Some of the most passionate love affairs of the 20th century have had their stories written in Bulgari jewels. One of the most conspicuous affairs consecrated with Bulgari gemstones was Liz Taylor and Richard Burton’s passionate romance, sparked on set while filming Cleopatra in Rome. As any upscale luxury brand knows, there is nothing like […]
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Dive watches span the spectrum: retro throwbacks that trade on romance, do-it-all desk divers that split time between meetings and marinas, and true instruments built for cold, dark water. This segmentation is very much in place at Oris, and the Aquis Pro 1000m belongs in the last category. Previously available with a manufacture Calibre 400 […]
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On the 17th of February 2026, the Chinese Zodiac will welcome the Year of the Horse. Like many watch brands, IWC jumped on the Chinese Lunar New Year bandwagon a couple of years ago with limited editions of its icon, the Portugieser, with burgundy-coloured dials and a restrained approach when it comes to depicting the […]
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Our visit earlier this year to India’s prime watchmaking company, Titan, was a genuine eye-opening experience. Besides witnessing the impressive scale of production (it is immense, and a whole different level than Swiss watchmaking), we also discovered that the industry giant had some unexpected horological capacities. Titan, to celebrate its 40th anniversary, unveiled India’s first […]
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Young French brand Serica has built a loyal following by incorporating vintage cues into clean, modern tool watches and addressing the details that many brands often ignore. After field-ready divers and GMTs put the Paris-based maker on the map, the Serica Parade Ref. 1174 shifted the conversation to the dress watch category – without abandoning […]
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Founded by master watchmaker Gerd R. Lang (1943-2023) in 1983, Chronoswiss rowed against the tide of quartz to become a key player in the renaissance of mechanical watchmaking. Renowned for exceptional craftsmanship and a penchant for regulator displays, Lang’s brand released the Opus chronograph in 1995, the world’s first serially produced skeletonised automatic chronograph, revealing […]
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Last November, Piaget announced a licensed collaboration with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. This allowed the brand to officially rename its cult 1970s black tie dress watch “The Andy Warhol Watch“. Indeed, the revolutionary artist and undisputed king of Pop Art, was the owner of seven Piaget watches, including a 45mm yellow gold […]
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Chronographs come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours, so it’s hard to pinpoint the very best. What helps is the possibility to sub-categorise them, thanks to the fact that there are so many different ones. One class of chronographs that always seems to gather plenty of attention is the two-register, or bicompax chronograph. […]
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Moritz Grossmann continues to explain its vision of watchmaking from Glashütte with two new interpretations of its most complex watch, the Tourbillon Titanium and the Tourbillon Tremblage. These two new versions are mechanically identical to the original model, introduced initially in 2013 when the Grossmann calibre 103.0 established the brand’s first in-house tourbillon, notable for […]
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I’m a child from the 1980s, so I grew up in the world of Nintendos and Playstations, which I played for hours and hours. I wasn’t a total hermit or anything as I did other stuff as well, but I did spend my fair share with a controller in hand, playing games like Tetris, Super […]
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Irish pop-rock icons U2 once sang “Two Hearts Beating As One”, a phenomenon that’s no stranger to any of us, but in watchmaking, we call this Resonance! And resonance is mastered by only a handful of watchmakers, one of whom is Armin Strom! The concept of resonance is far from new, and was discovered by […]
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