Hands-on – De Bethune DB28 Yellow Tones – Mellow Yellow

In a radical departure from De Bethune’s hallmark heat-blued titanium colour palette, the DB28 surprised us at Basel 2019 with its two-tone golden suit. The transition from cool cosmic blue to warm radiant gold raises the temperature on the DB28 and gives the watch an entirely different personality. Packed with six patented De Bethune technical […]

7 years ago

Hands-on – Greubel Forsey GMT Quadruple Tourbillon

Take two of the best of Greubel Forsey wristwatches, merge them into one and you have their latest creation, the GMT Quadruple Tourbillon. Like always, when we’re talking about Greubel Forsey, you know and feel that this is a different level of watchmaking that is simply second to non. The stellar finishing of the Greubel Forsey GMT Quadruple Tourbillon is only on par with other Greubel Forsey timepieces. This GMT Quadruple Tourbillon is a limited edition of 66 pieces in total, and is launched in an 11 piece limited edition in white gold and it comes at a ‘stellar’ price of CHF 780,000. 

7 years ago

Baselworld 2019 – De Bethune DB21 Maxichrono Re-edition

First introduced in 2006 in the elegant DB21 case, relaunched in 2014 in a more modern DB28 case, the De Bethune Maxichrono was and still is one of the most fascinating and mechanically impressive chronographs of the lot. Functionality, mechanical ingenuity, beauty of construction and decoration… A sort of dream-chrono. Denis Flageollet’s vision of the […]

7 years ago

Baselworld 2019 – Urban Jürgensen’s Luxury Sports Watch, the Jürgensen One GMT (Hands-On)

Urban Jürgensen is known for crafting some of the most refined dress watches. However, just a few weeks ago, the independent Swiss/Danish watchmaker entered the luxury sports watch category with the sophisticated Jürgensen One collection. The model stands out with a dynamic steel case with curves and fitted with a distinctive bracelet with oval-shaped interlinks. […]

7 years ago

Baselworld 2019 – Schwarz-Etienne Ode To The Seventies (Live Pics)

If Schwarz-Etienne is renowned for its production of great watchmaking classics, the brand also regularly releases highly creative métiers d’art timepieces, in particular with the Ode Series. Following the “Ode to the Week” and “Ode to Spring” limited edition sets, the latest creation in the ‘Ode’ series is inspired by the psychedelic art of the seventies. […]

7 years ago

Baselworld 2019 – Czapek Faubourg de Cracovie Chronograph Tao with Panda Enamel Dial (Live Pics)

Panda dials are favourites among watch aficionados. The racing-inspired timepieces with white or silver dial and contrasting black sub-dials became en vogue during the 1960s and 1970s, with sports chronographs providing high contrast readability. Their modern-retro flair never went out of style. But as classic as the panda dial has become, it has been rarely fashioned out of enamel, one of the most traditional manufacturing techniques – the only example we have found is a Jaquet-Droz “reverse panda”. Czapek is about to change that with its new Faubourg de Cracovie Chronograph Tao “Panda”.

7 years ago

Baselworld 2019 – Arnold & Son Nebula 38mm – Smaller Proportions, Same Spectacle

The vogue for smaller watch case sizes has sent a clear message to watchmakers who are re-editing their most popular timepieces in more contained, classic diameters. Arnold & Son, the Swiss brand with the British surname – which specialises in modern interpretations of heritage pieces with a marked penchant for symmetry and complexity – has […]

7 years ago

Baselworld 2019 – Montres Karsten Frässdorf Spirograph Tourbillon Sport – a Unique Balance Wheel with Auxiliary Thermo-Compensation

If you are a regular reader of MONOCHROME, then you are no doubt already familiar with Karsten Frässdorf. After working behind the scene for several brands, the German Master watchmaker decided to create his own brand. His first creation with Montres Karsten Frässdorf, the Spirograph Tourbillon, is an innovative Tourbillon fit for daily wear and […]

7 years ago

Baselworld 2019 – Ressence Type 5 Night Blue

Ressence likes to do things like no other in the watchmaking industry… Its approach is both modern, technical and unique, and yet lots of traditional mechanics inside. Already impressive with its in-house orbital display of the time, Ressence decided to even improve the concept with an oiled-filled piece, with the Type 3. And then, benefiting from this distortion-free system, a dive watch was launched. For 2019, the Ressence Type 5 gets updated with a Night blue dial – relevant for a dive watch!

7 years ago