Monochrome
The Escale Collection is a classic of Louis Vuitton with a distinctive design, strongly inspired by the idea of travel and by LV Trunks. The Escale collection was mostly known for its world timers with handsome dials decorated with micro-painting and flags, or dual-time displays. Which makes sense, considering the name of the watch, which […]
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Following up on the Multifort 8 Two Crowns from early 2025, Mido is bringing a simpler yet still geometric and integrated design with the Mido Multifort 8 One Crown. As you might have guessed, a single crown at 3 o’clock replaces the twin crowns at 2 and 4 o’clock, which also removes the internal rotating […]
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The independent watchmaking scene is not only important to MONOCHROME, but also gains the attention of an ever-growing number of people in the watch community. To us and probably to many of you, it’s the creative freedom, the attention to detail, the artisanal craftsmanship that’s more often than not on full display that excites us. […]
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Technology has overshadowed some of the advancements of watch dial lume that have progressed for over a century. For example, the digits on Hamilton’s Pulsar P1 LED watch from the early 1970s were bright by the nature of the tech – light-emitting diodes. Timex introduced INDIGLO back in the early 1990s, which provides a bright, uniform […]
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Every year, in early January, my racing heart beats a little faster for a very simple reason. It’s the men and women who bravely try to conquer the desert on two, four or more wheels for days on end. Travelling thousands of miles through the toughest terrain, it’s not for the faint-hearted. And with the […]
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When it comes to finding some of the most accessible automatic watches on the market, at least coming from established and reputable brands, it is hard to beat what Citizen has on offer. Whatever the style you’re looking for, the brand has something for you. Looking for a chic, sporty watch with a 1980s vibe? […]
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For more than a quarter of a century, mostly through its Masterpiece collection, Maurice Lacroix has delivered pretty appealing watches based on single or multiple retrograde indications – a design statement that somehow became a signature style for the brand. Following the recent launch of the Aikonic Master Triple Retrograde, a watch with retrograde displays […]
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Rado is a byword for innovative, resilient high-tech materials designed to weather life’s knocks and blows, and for its taste for square and rectangular case designs. Touted as the “world’s first scratchproof watch”, Rado’s 1962 DiaStar got the brand noticed with its proprietary Hardmetal tungsten carbide composite case. Like its DiaStar ancestor, the 1983 Anatom […]
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French watchmaker Pequignet has added a hand-wound piece to the 39.5mm Royale Paris collection that eschews the usual complications for a classy, time-only dial. It complements the time-only Royale Paris 36mm automatics that come with three dial colours, along with the hand-wound Royale Paris Aventurine 41mm Limited Edition. It shares many design elements with the […]
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Known for its highly decorated, openworked in-house movements finished to very high standards, Armin Strom entered the dress watch category in 2021 with its surprisingly restrained Tribute 1 model in 2021. While still bearing most of the attributes of the brand, design-wise or technically, the Tribute collection was simpler, more discreet and mostly, featured almost […]
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Young, independent Dutch brand VPC (Venustas Per Constantiam) returns with its next release, the Type 39VM, following its debut model, the Type 37HW. Founded by Thomas van Straaten, watch journalist at Fratello, collector, and now the founder of the design-driven microbrand, VPC was created around a beauty-through-restraint approach. After setting a standard with its hand-wound […]
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Despite a challenging political and economic context worldwide, and the undeniable impact of tariffs on exports to the US, luxury powerhouse Richemont, owner of Cartier, IWC, JLC, and Vacheron, seems to remain strong. Indeed, in its latest quarterly report for the three-month period ended 31 December 2025 versus the prior-year period, and at constant exchange […]
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Founded by brothers Alberto and Alessandro Morelli in 2017, the Venice-based brand was initially launched as Meccaniche Veneziane. The company got noticed with the Nereide diver and the Redentore dress line before rebranding in 2022 to strengthen its identity and link to Venetian craftsmanship. The Redentore Utopia II, after the 2024 Redentore Utopia, is the […]
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With more than a century of watchmaking under its belt, Hamilton has more than earned its place in history. The brand has ventured into many areas of the industry, and has launched a fair share of iconic watches, such as the Ventura, Pulsar and Chrono-Matic. Military-issued and -inspired watches like the W10 and the Khaki […]
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The Lycée Edgar Faure in Morteau has been nurturing an impressive wave of independent watchmakers, emerging with fresh visions and artisanal talent. In recent years, it has produced notable names such as Sylvain Pinaud, Théo Auffret, Rémy Cools, John-Mikaël Flaux, Cyril Brivet-Naudot, Thomas Aubert and Alexis Ramel-Sartori, and many others. Today, we turn our attention to […]
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RGM Watch Company is part of a small and exclusive club of American watchmakers that are truly vertically integrated. Based in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, Roland G. Murphy’s atelier produces multiple in-house calibres and complex, hand-made Guilloché dials via antique rose engine lathes. Teddy Baldassarre is a huge figure in the watch community with over 1.3 […]
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Founder of Independent Atelier and watch collector Benjamin Hui has spent a good portion of his life devoted to the work of Kiu Tai Yu. As one of the key figures in the birth and rise of Chinese high-end independent watchmaking, Tai Yu was the first applicant from China to become a member of the […]
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Founded in 2000 by legendary designer Gérald Genta, the brand Gérald Charles, now under the leadership of CEO Federico Ziviani, has become known for its approach to technical refinement and design innovation within the distinctive Maestro case, an instantly recognisable creation of Genta. Gérald Charles continues to develop its collections based on Genta’s artistic legacy, […]
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A watch packed with history and pivotal in Oris’ destiny, the Big Crown Pointer Date saw the light in 1938. As the brand’s first dedicated pilot’s watch, the oversized crown was designed so pilots could operate the watch while wearing gloves in their unheated cockpits. With its legible Arabic numerals, graphic railway track, cathedral hands […]
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To celebrate the upcoming Chinese Year of the Horse, which kicks off on 17 February 2026, Arnold & Son presents a limited edition of eight Perpetual Moon timepieces. Marking its sixth consecutive year of editions dedicated to the Chinese New Year, Arnold & Son turns to its fascinating Perpetual Moon reference, presented in a 41.5mm […]
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The modern Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional, the direct descendant of the watch that accompanied Apollo 11 crew members to the Moon, doesn’t need much introduction anymore. It is, undeniably, one of the most iconic and storied timepieces in existence. But there is more than one Moonwatch. Besides the classic steel version with a closed back […]
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The resurgence of French brand Yema over the past few years has been marked by a steady, successful effort to refine its heritage designs and by its commitment to in-house watchmaking. Founded in 1948 in Morteau, France, the brand built its reputation through tool watches like the Superman and Skin Diver of the 1960s, watches […]
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Satellite hour displays are exciting because, apart from the lyrical mood, for most brands, except Urwerk, which made it a signature feature, they are a departure from the ordinary. They stand out from the core collections, reflecting the design, engineering effort and each brand’s specific interpretation of the wandering hours indication. In 2018, when H. […]
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As a watch enthusiast and a fan of classic motorsport (superficial, but still), the Union Glashütte Noramis Chronograph Limited Edition Sachsen Classic 2025 struck me immediately for the clear connection to the 1952 Grosser Werkmeister, the from-behind-the-Iron-Curtain, one-off East German-built racing roadster that inspired it. It´s amazing how Union Glashütte ties its themed design to […]
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Mido’s flagship Ocean Star collection is a contemporary evolution of its 1940s Ocean Star dive watch family. Often described as an all-round ‘surf and turf’ model, the Ocean Star 200C, introduced in 2021, comes with upgraded features like ceramic inserts and textured, colourful dials and Swatch Group’s latest-generation calibre 80. The new Ocean Star 200C […]
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With temperatures dropping well below zero, and our small country of the Netherlands struggling with a thick layer of snow this past week, you can always rely on us to bring the heat. And it’s not only in our petite habitat that snow, ice and cold weather have an impact on daily life, but in […]
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At the dawn of mechanical time, hands weren’t a thing as bells would chime to signal an event or relay the hours. These giant mechanical bell towers were seen in Europe throughout the Middle Ages, with examples like the Salisbury Cathedral clock in the 14th century still functioning today (after restoration, of course). These early […]
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In the ever-increasing world of restomods, remasters, continuation cars and so on, some projects raise the question of why it hadn’t been done before. By now, we’re well familiar with the slew of Porsches from Singer, Nardone, Tuthill, KAMM and so on, but there are plenty of brilliant machines out there to receive the same […]
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If I had to describe the return of L.Leroy, once one of France’s most illustrious watchmaking houses, with its name respected as much as those of Breguet and Ferdinand Berthoud, it was very theatrical. Founded in 1785 by Charles Leroy in Paris, it became famous for its marine chronometers, regulator clocks, and commissions for European […]
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The life of an independent watchmaker, or a duo in this case, is hardly ever easy. Roope Kortela and Rene Valta, who you might know from the portrait we produced about a year ago, are pulling the covers off their next watch, but some challenges had to be overcome. When we first spoke with the […]
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