Category: Chronographs

Value Proposition – The Mercer Lexington Chronograph Reviewed

It’s not hard to find a chronograph in any price range as just about every watch brand offers one (or many). I’m somewhat picky when it comes to chronographs and tend to like more unique pieces like the Longines Avigation BigEye or Junghans Meister Chronoscope Terrassenbau Limited Edition, and pass on the garden-variety. It’s no secret that there’s an exploding population of microbrands throughout Europe and North America that are undercutting established brands’ prices with Kickstarter campaigns and online-only storefronts. Watches like the Aqua Compressor Endeavour from Farer Universal and Ticonite from ORLO Watches prove that modern technology, a talent for design and mass-produced, high-quality movements have levelled the playing field to a large extent, especially in the sub-USD 2,000 market. Mercer Watch Co. is an excellent example of this and has a well-designed chronograph with a column-wheel movement, and an impressive price to match. Let’s take a closer look at their Lexington Chronograph.

7 years ago

Introducing – Farer Launches Three Automatic Chronographs – Cobb, Eldridge and Segrave

You’d be hard pressed to find a more mature and unique watch company in the world of microbrands than London-based Farer Universal. Their production is predictably limited in number for a small brand, offering a maximum of 300 individual watches within most series (many are limited to 100) and they often sell out in a matter of months. They’re known for using a lot of colours and whimsical designs, yet maintain a sophistication and maturity that keep them from resembling expensive Swatch watches. With the exception of their initial quartz line, Farer always releases new watches in a series of three, all having very different dial designs that share a common case. Following up on the 37mm Hand-Wound series released a few months ago, the company just launched three automatic chronographs that continue their distinctive design language – The Cobb, Eldridge and Segrave.

7 years ago

Hands-on – Chopard at The Zandvoort Historic Grand Prix with a New Limited Edition Mille Miglia

For a few years now, Zandvoort has been hosting one of the best Historic Grand Prices. A fantastic event with an international field of historic race cars from a wide range of categories. Think Historic Formula 1, vintage touring cars, Le Mans legends, one-of-a-kind demos and lots of racing legends behind the wheel. All staged at the Zandvoort International Circuit, the venue of 34 Grand Prix races between 1952 and 1985. This year, one of the main sponsors of the event was Chopard and they came there with one special watch.

7 years ago

In-Depth – What’s the Difference Between a Chronometer and a Chronograph?

This “chronograph vs. chronometer” question is an important one. Certainly, most of our recurring readers here, at MONOCHROME, will have the answer to this question. But what about the others, the ones who want to start their horological journey? As I still hear this question quite often, we thought that it would be good to clarify the situation and to bring the answer to “what’s the difference between a chronometer and a chronograph?”

7 years ago

Review – Longines Avigation BigEye – Longines Back at its Best for Vintage-Inspired Watches

It’s not hard to find vintage-inspired military watches as the market is now flooded with them. If you want something affordable and authentic, Hamilton has you covered. Want to go high-end, IWC and Panerai have a lot to offer, among many others. Longines even has a wide variety in their Heritage collection. Most are excellent examples of a given time period and fine watches on their own, but few have truly unique personalities. The Longines Avigation BigEye bucks the trend with an atypical chronograph that hits a lot of the right notes, but its provenance is a bit of a mystery. It’s also not the first modern big eye chronograph with pieces like the Breguet Type XX having a similar dial. It’s arguably the best vintage-inspired Longines since the Legend Diver, however, and won the Best Revival award at last year’s Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). That’s an eye-opening achievement, so let’s take a closer look.

7 years ago

Hands-on – Maurice Lacroix Aikon Chronograph Automatic “Chase Your Watch” Limited Edition

Introduced in 2016, the Maurice Lacroix Aikon is inspired by the Calypso, a model created back in the 1990s. With the mechanical versions of the model presented in early 2018, Maurice Lacroix enters the integrated-bracelet luxury sports segment. Or more precisely, “accessible-luxury” as it is available as of CHF 1,590 which represents great value for money – read our introductory article here. A new chronograph version, a bold and dark limited edition, is now enriching the collection.

7 years ago

Review – Carl F. Bucherer Patravi TravelTec Black – A First Class GMT Watch for Today’s Globetrotter

The TravelTec is one of the few watches in the business whose name actually matches its functions: a highly technical travel watch. Carl F. Bucherer’s Patravi TravelTec upped the antes in the GMT arena when it was introduced in 2005 with a movement capable of displaying three time zones coupled with a chronograph. Now the globetrotting star of the Patravi collection, the TravelTec has adapted to the changing panorama of materials and also comes in this sleek matte black version with an integrated rubber strap. Although the designers might have had stealth aesthetics in mind with the dark DLC finish, this multi-purpose 46.6mm piece will not fly under the radar. Endowed with brawns and brains, the powerful masculine case of the TravelTec Black houses CFB’s automatic chronograph movement.

7 years ago

Hands-on – Graham Chronofighter Steel Target – A Bold, Aviation-Inspired Chronograph

If you’ve been searching for a bold, aviation-inspired chronograph that will make an unmistakable impression on the wrist, we might just have the watch for you. The Graham Chronofighter Target is larger than life and has a number of nice touches that really catch the eye. Masculine, modern and still featuring the signature elements of the brand, but without the vintage feel of other collections. We recently spent some time getting hands-on with the Chronofighter Steel Target. Here are our thoughts.

7 years ago