Category: Luxury Watches

Introducing – Oris Big Crown Pointer Date 80th Anniversary Edition 40mm Bronze

Oris launched a significant pilot’s watch back in 1938 and it’s become one of the brand’s iconic pieces. The original Big Crown Pointer Date had an oversized crown to allow easy adjustments for airmen with gloves. It also had the original date complication (patented in 1915 by A. Hammerly) that used a central pointer hand instead of the familiar date window (also patented by A. Hammerly). The watch was an affordable, reliable tool for pilots and has remained in production for 80 years. During the “Quartz Crisis” of the 1980s, the Big Crown Pointer Date helped Oris weather the storm and remain relevant, and is arguably the most important line in their portfolio. The company is celebrating this remarkable achievement with a special 40mm bronze edition with a green dial. This follows the bronze 36mm Big Crown Pointer Date that launched back in March of 2018.

7 years ago

Visiting the Panerai Manufacture, the Brand’s Highly Efficient Production Site (With Exclusive Live Pics)

The Panerai manufacture was completed in 2014 and is currently headed by Jean-Marc Pontroué. Located on the outskirts of Neuchâtel, the 10,000sqm building was constructed with eco-compatible standards. It gathers all product development and production teams under one modern roof to operate the brand manufacturing activities (parts, movements and casing). There, 250 people carry out their specialist work. In addition to the Swiss manufacture, Panerai’s headquarters are located in Italy where key corporate functions, such as design and marketing, take place.

7 years ago

Pre-SIHH 2019 – Piaget Altiplano Automatic 40mm with Meteorite Dial (Hands-On)

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.

7 years ago

Hands-on – TAG Heuer Carrera Fragment – Retro-Style and Calibre Heuer 02

Today, TAG Heuer announces a new partnership with one of the most influential personalities in the world of streetwear: Japanese designer Hiroshi Fujiwara, the face behind the brand Fragment. While some might find a certain interest in this venture, this is clearly not what will get us excited here, at MONOCHROME. However, there is something very special with this new creation… It looks just stunning. Meet the TAG Heuer Carrera Fragment, a reasonably-sized, retro-inspired, back-to-basics Carrera powered by the in-house calibre Heuer 02 – and that is just plain cool.

7 years ago

Review – Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date

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“.

7 years ago

Hands-on – Brellum Duobox Pandial Black-DLC

Brellum is a niche independent watch brand that was launched just two years ago by Sebastien Muller, a fourth-generation watchmaker in the Swiss Jura. His first model, the Duobox, is a no-nonsense chronograph offering excellent value for the money. Recently, the collection received a cool-looking Panda version (white dial with black sub-counters) – the “Pandial”, reviewed here – and today, this model gains boldness with a new black DLC-coated case. Meet the Brellum Duobox Pandial Black-DLC.

7 years ago

Hands-on – Jaquet Droz SW Chrono – A Sporty Take on the Brand’s DNA

For many, a ‘Jaquet Droz Sport Watch’ might come across as an oxymoron from a brand about to celebrate its 280th anniversary and intimately associated with refined artistic watches and complex automata. And I’m guessing that not too many of you knew that Jaquet Droz has had a Sport Watch (SW) in its catalogue since 2008, a sporty rendition of the Grande Seconde family, known as the Grande Seconde SW. Taking the sports watch concept into sportier terrain, Jaquet Droz presented a column-wheel chronograph at Baselworld 2018 with an upgraded silicon balance spring in the movement. Released in two contemporary dial colours, the SW Chrono abandons the iconic figure-eight dial configuration of the Grande Seconde in favour of a horizontal chrono display. Let’s take a closer look at the SW Chrono.

7 years ago

Introducing – Zenith x Bamford Chronomaster El Primero Solar Blue Limited Edition for MR. PORTER

The Zenith Chronomaster El Primero Solar Blue is an original initiative. Exclusive for MR. PORTER, this ‘tripartite’ limited edition is a collaborative development by Zenith and British watch customizer Bamford Watch Department. It is a further evidence that MR. PORTER is strengthening its watch operations and offerings, with more and more brands in its portfolio and a number of exclusive editions. This will come as no surprise all the more as Richemont took control of Yoox Net-a-Porter.

7 years ago

Introducing – The Habring2 Erwin LAB01 – A Bronze Edition from the Newly-Created Massena LAB

On one side: William Massena, one of those inescapable names of the watch industry. A former head of an auction house, Managing Director of one of the largest watch forums, he is first and foremost an avid watch collector and a true connoisseur. On the other side is Habring², a small, independent watchmaker from Austria with superb craftsmanship and interesting (but not overpriced) complications. So what happens when you mix these two? The Habring² Erwin LAB01 Bronze, the result of William’s new project, the Massena LAB.

7 years ago