Last year saw the introduction of a new brand on the independent watchmaking scene, a brand that impressed with a novel way to display the time; Genus Watches. While the vast majority of watches display the time in a classic way (with 2 or 3 hands rotating over a round dial), Genus came with something radical, […]
The first time we met with Remy Cools and presented his work on MONOCHROME was in 2018. At the time, Cools had freshly graduated from his watchmaking school, the Lycée Edgar Faure in Morteau. This talented young craftsman had caught our attention with his montre d’école, the school watch that he completed in order to […]
The density of horological technicality packed into this watch is enough to take your breath away. Following in the stellar wake of Brainstorm Chapter One released in 2019, Chapter Two takes on board a host of complications: double-sided flying tourbillon; world timer indexed to a second time zone; and moon phase and power reserve indicators. […]
An independent watchmaker from the Vallée de Joux, Romain Gauthier is considered a master of hand decoration in Swiss watchmaking, demonstrating the savoir-faire of his team through impeccably finished movements. To mark the 15th anniversary of the Romain Gauthier brand, what better way than to take one of his outstanding models and make it even […]
Mars, our nearest neighbouring planet in the galaxy, is destined to be the next habitable place for us as a species. At least according to a wide range of experts and a number of initiatives bent on achieving that very goal. It is probably the most daunting challenge man has ever faced. Mars is a […]
Chronoswiss has been manufacturing regulator wristwatches since 1987 and this ‘complication’ (or at least this specific display) has become a genuine trademark for the Lucerne-based manufacturer. A couple of years ago, Chronoswiss presented a modern 3D take on this traditional display with the Flying Regulator Open Gear. Today we are going hands-on with a bold yellow / black hand guilloché dial limited edition of the model.
Independent Dutch watchmaker Fred Dingemans (b.1961) is something of an anomaly in the rarefied universe of watchmaking: he didn’t study watchmaking and he makes his watches by hand in his garden shed using pre-electronic machinery (a lathe, a drilling machine-cum-press and an engraving machine) he inherited from his job in precision mechanics. Embracing the DIY […]
If you are a regular reader of MONOCHROME, you probably know Petermann Bédat. This independent brand was founded by a duo of young talented watchmakers, two friends who established their workshop in Renens (near Lausanne, Switzerland) to perform restoration work and who ended up creating their own project. We already discovered their first watch, which […]
Guilloché has been practised since the 15th century. This artistic craft consists in engraving regular, repetitive patterns with a machine, hence the difference with hand-engraving. For hand-guilloché, a craftsman drives the machine with a wheel and guides the piece to be engraved by hand. Engraved with a CNC machine, the pattern will be perfect, always […]
Among the many bold and futuristic creations of independent watchmaker Urwerk, if I had to pick the one watch that best represents what the brand stands for, it would be the UR-210. Unique in design, sci-fi inspired, showing the time in a way that no other watchmaker does, large and provocative… It is the essence […]