It might be hard to believe but we’re already into December, which means its nearly January. Incredible as it sounds, the first major watch fair of the New Year is mere weeks away. That means it’s preview time. We’ve already shown you several models from the likes of IWC, Piaget, HYT and Laurent Ferrier. Now it’s Montblanc’s turn. First on our list are two new Star Legacy Nicolas Rieussec Chronographs.
Frederique Constant enlarges its Classics Index Automatic collection with three newcomers and revisits the Heart Beat in two iterations. True to its mantra of ‘accessible luxury’, the watches feature restrained proportions, classic styling, a touch of high-end guilloché-like, automatic calibres, and, here’s the catch, a price tag that sets them in a different league from most respected Swiss watchmakers. FC’s message that quality is not symptomatic with prices that compete with your mortgage is getting louder and clearer by the day.
At the SIHH last year, Laurent Ferrier introduced a superb watch, both visually and technically: the Galet Annual Calendar School Piece. Not only it brought a brand-new movement, hand-wound and with a clever annual calendar display but the design, totally in line with our perception of Ferrier, was just beautiful. And there was that pale yellow gold case too… One of favourite “indie” watches of 2018. As part of the Pre-SIHH 2019 novelties, the Geneva-based brand is launching new versions of this watch, the Laurent Ferrier Galet Annual Calendar School Piece Opaline Black & White, with new dial colours and finishes.
Since its worldwide introduction in 2016, the Seiko Presage collection never ceased to impress. It all started with superb limited edition chronographs with enamel or hand-lacquered Urushi dials (just that…), watches that have been followed by regular production models with enamel dials or funky “cocktail” inspiration, as well as impressive limited editions such as the Shippo. In two years, Seiko has made Presage a collection as interesting as Prospex. Following this trend, the brand unveils today a new limited edition, the Seiko Presage Urushi Byakudan-nuri SPB085 – and here again, it brings traditional, hand-made Urushi at a stunning price level.
Two years ago, for the SIHH 2017, Piaget unveiled several new watches (almost a collection) for its best-selling piece, an icon of the ultra-thin concept, the Altiplano 60th anniversary editions, as well as a series of bolder variations with colourful dials. Based on the same concept of an automatic an ultra-thin piece with great attention to the dial, Piaget presents, as part of the pre-SIHH 2019 novelties, a new version of the Altiplano Automatic 40mm, this time with a meteorite dial. And we had the chance to get our hands on it way before January.
When the first Senator Excellence model was unveiled in 2016, there was as much excitement about the aesthetic attributes of the watch as its brand new in-house movement. Part of Glashütte Original’s commitment to up the ante on quality and performance, the Senator Excellence line has fleshed out into a full collection, which includes the Panorama Date model that we will be looking at today. A handsome GO watch with the iconic date function, this watch is packed with contemporary design details that go a long way in dispelling the idea that this is “just another classic three-hand dress watch“.
Today, MONOCHROME’s video invites you on a trip to Lucerne, Switzerland, the home of Carl F. Bucherer – and close to the brand’s manufacture in Lengnau. One of the unique characteristics of Carl F. Bucherer is the use of a peripheral rotor, a winding mechanism that rotates around – instead of on top of – the […]
When the name Tudor is mentioned, we certainly all have models such as “Black Bay” or “Pelagos” in mind. For sure, the brand communicated (and created) a lot on these products – which are admittedly great watches. However, there are more watches in the collection than these sporty, vintage-inspired pieces – and that includes, for instance, the “Style“, the recently introduced “1926” or the Glamour – a watch that remained under the radar for us… Until now. Today, the brand unveils a redesigned and slightly more masculine version of this watch, now equipped with a brand new version of the manufacture movement. Meet the Tudor Glamour Double Date ref. 57100/57103.
This year Omega celebrated the 70th anniversary of one of its two emblematic collections, the Seamaster. Born in 1948, made waterproof thanks to the experience acquired with military watches however in a civilian and rather elegant way, the early Seamasters were still gentlemen watches – and not the robust, professional tool that most of us know today. At Baselworld 2018, the brand came with an extremely faithful commemorative pair of watches – the 1948 Seamaster Limited Edition – and now we have a more luxurious version, yet highly exclusive, which made it to the collection. Meet the Omega Seamaster 1948 Limited Edition now in Platinum.
The other day A. Lange & Söhne sent us two watches for review and not one, as they would normally do. The two watches were the new blue dial Lange 1 and Lange 1 Daymatic. While the new blue dials are stunning (really they are!), we already covered them and well, without being blasé about it, it’s a dial colour and we cannot say much more about this. The thing that really intrigues me, already since the Lange 1 Daymatic was introduced back in 2010, is how these two timepieces compare. So we put them next to one another, the iconic hand-wound Lange 1 that has become so important for the brand and the newer automatic sibling named Lange 1 Daymatic. How do they compare? What are the differences and common points? And, what is your favourite?