Monochrome
For globetrotters jumping across time zones, the most useful travel companion is a GMT or a more sophisticated world timer. Although cynics will counter that argument by whipping out a mobile phone or a smartwatch, there is nothing as reassuring and personal as your very own travel watch. Thanks to Louis Cottier’s ingenious solution in […]
Monochrome
More a complication than a category or style of watch per se, the chronograph still ranks high in brands’ portfolios. As the end of the year is fast approaching, it’s time for the MONOCHROME team to elect its favourite watches of 2025, and that includes the best chronographs we’ve seen over the year. Plenty of […]
Monochrome
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 […]
Monochrome
By now, the history of the Dirty Dozen military watches is probably well known to just about everyone who would be reading an article like this, but here is a brief overview for any of you stragglers. Over 80 years ago, as World War II was raging on, the British Ministry of Defence (M.O.D.) saw […]
Monochrome
Whenever we can shine a little light on something interesting that has to do with watches coming from the Netherlands, we tend to get a little bit extra excited. Call us chauvinistic, but we’re proud of the things that are being done in our small country. So when we learned that someone we knew quite […]
Monochrome
When Mido introduced the Multifort 8 Two Crowns earlier this year, it was clear the brand had found a confident voice within the competitive world of integrated sports watches. Compact, slim, and thoughtfully detailed, it proved that good design, reliable movement and fair price still matter. Now, Mido expands the series with the Multifort 8 […]
Monochrome
Continuing on from last week’s Just Because story showcasing a selection of the most tantalising backsides, we revisit the topic to show you some more of the finest movements we’ve seen in our year-round watch journey. We bring together watches from indies, as well as established brands, for the sheer joy of looking at the […]
Monochrome
If you’re not a big watch nerd like us, you likely don’t give a lot of thought to the glass covering watch dials. It’s not just a generic window and a bigger deal than you might think, as we’ll see in this instalment of the ABCs of Time. Some enthusiasts even demand one type over another, […]
Monochrome
After years of speculation, rumours, teasing and will-they-wont-they stories, it is finally here! Toyota’s ultimate performance car, the GR GT! And to put their money where their mouth is, they immediately released a GT3-spec race car alongside it, aptly named the GR GT3. And although looking at the brand’s current catalogue of mostly hybrid and […]
Monochrome
Kari Voutilainen is one of the most respected names in independent watchmaking. Since founding his atelier in 2002 in the Swiss Jura, the Finnish-born genius has been creating timepieces that combine the best of traditional craftsmanship with true mechanical ingenuity. His watches won’t be mistaken for someone else’s work, with elaborate guilloché dials, exceptional finishing […]
Monochrome
This morning, we all had a very pleasant message when we woke up… all 33 pieces of our fourth collaboration with Habring² were gone. Maybe it didn’t sell as fast as our first MdS, when all 33 pieces sold out in just 17 minutes, but still, we’re super happy and grateful that all 33 pieces […]
Monochrome
A conundrum shared by watchmakers for centuries concerns the issue of constant force, or how to produce a steady, unwavering stream of power from the mainspring to the regulating organ to prevent rate variations and maintain amplitude consistency. The big question is how? Taking the bull by the horns, Girard-Perregaux tackled the dilemma with the […]
Monochrome
Seiko’s Prospex diver series has long established the brand´s reputation for serious underwater engineering, in particular with the 1968 300m water-resistant Professional Diver (6159), which stands as one of the brand’s earliest defining tool watches. That same character lives on in the modern Prospex 1968 Heritage Diver GMT series, introduced in 2023 as Seiko’s first […]
Monochrome
For our fourth MONOCHROME Montre de Souscription, we are teaming up once again with independent Austrian watchmaker Habring², a brand dear to our hearts with whom we created our first MdS watch. Following the instant success of the Montre de Souscription 1, a monopusher chronograph with a salmon 1940s-inspired sector dial, we’re staying true to our passion […]
Monochrome
Month after month, the Swiss watch industry is experiencing stagnant sales and even a marked decline in exports to key markets. All voices – industry, studies – are turning to China to explain the current difficulties, praying for a rapid return to growth in the Middle Kingdom, after years of crazy growth. We have to […]
Monochrome
For more than 15 years, Zeitwinkel, an independent watchmaker based in Saint-Imier, has quietly crafted mechanical watches focused on precision, clarity, and long-term reliability. Founded in 2006, the brand produces all its movements in-house and builds every watch by hand in small numbers. Its collections, including the 273° with large date, the 188° with small […]
Monochrome
With companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, space tourism is no longer the stuff of sci-fi novels. While Omega’s Speedmaster Moonwatch has dominated the space story, others, like Fortis, have produced robust tool watches for astronauts, cosmonauts and “novonauts” alike. Boasting space-tested calibres, Fortis releases a fresh batch of four Stratoliner […]
Monochrome
The Girard-Perregaux Bridges Cosmos was first introduced in 2019, a show of technical ambition with a hint at philosophical intent. It was (and still is) an impressive watch that provided an emotional and physical connection between the celestial and the terrestrial worlds. Its construction centred on the brand´s signature tourbillon setup, with the addition of […]
Monochrome
It’s official: Patek Philippe is bringing its Grand Exhibition of Watch Art to Italy next year. Milan has been chosen to host the seventh edition of the Grand Exhibition and will open its doors to the public, free of charge, from 2 to 18 October 2026. Marking its seventh Grand Exhibition to date, Patek offers […]
Monochrome
The Chinese Lunar New Year, which kicks off on the 17th of February 2026 and lasts until the 5th of February 2027, welcomes the seventh animal of the zodiac, the Horse. Given the importance of the Moon in determining the cycle of the 12 zodiac animals, Longines has selected a moon phase model from its […]
Monochrome
For the second time, following the inaugural edition won by Raúl Pagès, La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton will host a biennial prize that celebrates the creative talent, savoir-faire and audacity of the independent watchmaking industry, to support and encourage artisans and entrepreneurs and accompany future generations, the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives. […]
Monochrome
As most of you might know by now, this year Breguet celebrated its 250th anniversary. And this highly important brand, whose founder has been instrumental in the development of modern watchmaking, has released rather incredible models all year long. It started with a deceptively simple Souscription model that won the GPHG 2025, followed by a […]
Monochrome
Dutch watchmaker de Rijke & Co. is among those that get noticed by thinking differently. The brand’s debut Amalfi collection, launched in 2019, was built around a clever rotatable centre case inside an outer cradle, a concept that fused functionality and design ingenuity. For its second collection, the brand steps away from case mechanics and […]
Monochrome
We’re thrilled to announce the upcoming launch of our next Montre de Souscription. Following the release of the Montre de Souscription 1, a salmon-toned, sector dial chronograph based on the Habring² Chrono-Felix, the Montre de Souscription 2, a MONOCHROME white interpretation of the Czapek Antarctique, and the Montre de Souscription 3, a discreet and traditional […]
Monochrome
Among French watchmakers, few names carry as much heritage and affection as Yema. Founded in 1948 in Morteau, the brand’s history is tied to adventure and innovation, with the Superman diver becoming its most emblematic creation. Over the past decade, Yema has made a remarkable comeback, not only reviving its legendary designs but also re-establishing […]
Monochrome
TAG Heuer‘s relationship with Hiroshi Fujiwara, founder of Fragment Design and a pioneer of Tokyo street culture, has become one of the most stylistically consistent collaborations in contemporary watchmaking. Their first joint venture in 2018 distilled the vintage Carrera into its purest form; the second, in 2020, reinterpreted the 1970s Autavia through a graphic, bolder […]
Monochrome
Vacheron Constantin’s luxury sports watch, the Overseas, has come a long way since its 1996 debut as the spiritual heir to the iconic 1977 reference 222. Now in its third generation, the Overseas is a versatile unisex collection with a wide range of case sizes, complications, and the brand’s winning DIY interchangeable strap/bracelet system. Just […]
Monochrome
Founded in 1934 by Raymond Dodane, Lebois & Co. built its reputation during the golden age of mechanical watchmaking, crafting elegant, precision-driven chronographs. After decades of dormancy, the brand was revived in 2016 by a Dutchman, Tom van Wijlick, with a clear mission: to honour its heritage through nicely executed timepieces inspired by its vintage […]
Monochrome
Following a well-received collaboration between Doxa and Topper Jewelers, last year’s white-hot SUB 300T Great White, the partnership returns for 2025 with another creation: the Doxa SUB 250T GMT Great White Topper Edition. Limited to 100 pieces, this new release builds upon the compact, travel-ready SUB 250T GMT introduced earlier this year, offering a fresh […]
Monochrome
We all love a good watch, that much is obvious. And what constitutes “good” is fairly straightforward in most watches, too. A solid, legible design, attractive details, fine ergonomics and a reliable mechanical movement. But sometimes, you want a bit more. Or a lot more, in the case of these six fine mechanical marvels. Each […]
Question, suggestion, or just want to say hi? Drop a note.
Comments
No comments yet, be the first to weigh in.