T-Rex is back in town. You might recognise him after his first apparition as MB&F’s contribution to the upcoming Only Watch 2019 charity auction with a small boy sitting astride the clock. An unconventional table clock by any standards (except for MB&F’s), the T-Rex is a clock with dinosaur legs. Not a walking clock, but […]
For some years now, H. Moser & Cie’s perpetual calendar, wheather in the Endeavour or the Pioneer cases, has been characterized by its exclusive, highly pure display – mostly known for its small, central arrow to indicate the month. Certainly, this was both a signature style for the brand and resulted in a clean look… Apparently too clean and not legible enough according to the brand, which is introducing a revised version of its sporty QP, the Pioneer Perpetual Calendar MD – and MD means Month-Date.
Two years ago, Singer Reimagined (the sister company of Singer Vehicle Design, creator of some extraordinary Restomod 911s) launched an impressive, cool-looking and mechanically innovative chronograph named “Track1”. After the Launch Edition, the brand decided to introduce city-based models, with the gold-cased Geneva Edition and the black ceramic-aluminum Hong-Kong Edition. Following this theme, here’s the […]
The vast majority of watches produced display the time in the classic, standard way – with 2 or 3 hands rotating over a circular dial once per hour or once per 12 hours. Practical for sure, but not the most original way to indicate the time. Still, some watchmakers from the independent scene are proud […]
A few months ago, I found myself in Singapore sitting across from Ming Thein, founder of MING Watches. In my hot little hands was the MING 19.02 Worldtimer, a somewhat polarising watch that has generated plenty of discussion. The fourth model from the Malaysian start-up, it offered our first real indication that MING wasn’t going to be just another niche brand making distinctive-looking, time-only watches. Arguably the MING 17.03 GMT had already hinted at this fact. But with a Sellita movement and a retail price below CHF 1,650, it wasn’t quite the same shot across the bow of Swiss watchmaking as the 19.02. With its Worldtimer, MING is making a bold statement. And people – meaning collectors – seem to be responding.
It is always a pleasure for us at Monochrome to discover new watchmaking talents and their work. Today we are taking a look at Antonin Falk and the watch he crafted in the frame of his watchmaking studies. A 19-year-old French man coming from Savoy, Antonin Falk is studying watchmaking in Morteau, a town next to the Swiss border and Le Locle / La Chaux-de-Fonds. He was named ‘Best Apprentice in France’ (MAF Or National Horlogerie 2016) hand-crafting a Breguet hand and pipe.
German styled watches are typically free from any unnecessary details. No frails, no fuss, just clean and elegant watches. Whether you look at brands like A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte Original, Moritz Grossmann or at smaller independent brands, most of them offer very elegantly, stylish watches. One of these independents is Stefan Kudoke, founder and watchmaker of Kudoke Watches. Besides his intricately detailed skeletonized and engraved pieces, his HANDwerk collection follows the typical German trait. We go hands-on with the Kudoke HANDwerk 1.
Imagine, building a complicated mechanical wristwatch completely by hand to enter a competition about artisanal crafts. Your competitor? Cheese! That is the story of Sylvain Pinaud in a VERY tiny, exaggerated nutshell, but we’ll elaborate on that. The result of his efforts is impressive though, a very modern-looking, hand-built monopusher chronograph. We had time to meet the maker himself and go hands-on with Sylvain Pinaud’s Chronograph Monopoussoir.
What’s the best way to create a watch that customers want? Well, literally ask them what design elements and specifications are most appealing. Pinion, a rising microbrand based in London, posted an online survey on its website in September 2018 and applied the feedback to its latest tool watch, the Atom 39. This is a follow-up to the original Atom from 2017, which featured a 41mm diameter case, black dial and Japanese Miyota 9015 automatic. The new Atom 39 reduces the size to 39mm, offers a white dial variant and upgrades the movement to a Swiss ETA automatic, all based on public feedback.
Having reviewed both Lange’s and Ferrier’s annual calendars in the previous days, today it’s time for a face-off, a chance for these two mid-weight complication champs to engage in a mock battle. The two contestants are clearly very beautiful watches, perfectly matched in functionality and mechanical integrity, so please take a ringside seat and see if you agree with our verdict in the battle of annual calendars pitting the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Annual Calendar versus the Laurent Ferrier Annual Calendar School Piece.