Blue is the new black at Zenith. Over the past few months, the manufacture has released a series of hot blue dial watches that would lend themselves to both formal and casual occasions. Five iconic models are celebrated in a whole new light and provide a great alternative to the ubiquitous black or white-dialed watches.
The world is changing at a very fast pace, technology is becoming so advanced that sometimes the old classic way of doing things, along with it’s intricate details, gets lost along the way. But there are some entrepreneurs out there who have noticed this trend, and instead of taking a backseat and watching, they have become pro-active. And today, a watch called the LUMBR Troy might surprise you, with a highly unusual material.
I hated every minute of training, but I said: Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion. Could this be the silver-tongued boxing champion’s own version of “Don’t crack under pressure”? Muhammad Ali was not just one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, he was also a vocal civil right activist with a legendary never-back-down attitude. Last month, at a charity boxing event hosted at Gleason’s Gym, Brooklyn’s legendary boxing club and Ali’s old stomping ground, TAG Heuer unveiled a collection of special edition steel watches to pay tribute to Muhammad Ali. Inspired by the brand’s 1950s Ring-Master watch – a stopwatch featuring interchangeable rings for timing different sports including boxing – we take a hands on look at the TAG Heuer Carrera Caliber 5 Ring Master Muhammad Ali.
With the L.U.C Full Strike, the high-end collection of Chopard Watches welcomes a minute repeater, a complication never explored by the brand, and launched as the crowning point of the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of Chopard Manufacture. We’ve seen some tourbillons, some perpetual calendars with chronograph, super slim and eco-friendly watches, but never a striking watch. Well, you could easily imagine that it is just another minute repeater, and that, even if nicely-designed and superbly finished, it has nothing spectacular (in any case we can consider that a minute repeater is not spectacular…). However, this Chopard L.U.C Full Strike is featured with something brand new and innovative, and it makes it different from any other minute repeater we’ve seen before.
Yes, this watch is advertised as a ladies’ watch. Yes, it does celebrate 40 years of Royal Oak for ladies (as the first one was introduced in 1976 and designed by Jacqueline Dimier). But, on the other hand, this watch has everything of the iconic 1972 Jumbo and the current 41mm men’s version, just in a smaller 37mm case – which isn’t that small in reality. It has the iconic Genta-look, it has the hand-guilloche dial, it has an in-house automatic movement and, that’s the novelty here, it comes with a superb surface finishing, named gold hammering or frosting, and that is really appealing to us. Overview of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Frosted Gold 37mm.
Hublot is no stranger for doing the unorthodox thing, whether it being on the technical side or on the aesthetical side. Talk about innovative technical prowess and the Hublot LaFerrari pops up. Mention weird or wonderful materials and perhaps you think of the Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti, with its leather dials. Now though, Hublot incorporates a rough-and-tough material, not often used for watchmaking: concrete! Here is the Hublot Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Concrete Jungle made with Artist Tristan Eaton.
Some manufactures grew to an almost mythical status and became legends, and not only among watch collectors. Their fame have simply crossed the circle of initiates to gain a worldwide aura. And as always with legends, there is a gray area. One of them is Patek Philippe. Many tried to bring light on the history of this Old Maison, we did try to bring light on some parts of the story (cf. Nautilus History) but today, you’ll have the opportunity to know everything about Patek, with an official book that can be seen as the definitive history of the legendary Swiss manufacture. Here is “Patek Philippe: The Authorized Biography” by Nicholas Foulkes – and it is available now via Patek.com.
If you follow the actuality about watches on a regular basis, you’ve certainly noticed that Seiko – no the smallest company around, to say the least – is moving quite fast these days. The brand has evolved considerably, introducing watches in all categories of price and expanding the higher-end collections, including Grand Seiko of course, but Presage too. We already showed you earlier this week, with the Presage SSA303J1, that value for money and horological content were the motto of the collection. And this is not about to change with this other novelty in the collection, a more luxurious, more refined and more vintage-oriented watch named Seiko Presage SPB041J1… and again, you’ll have a hell of a watch for your money.
A breakthrough in Watchmaking: introducing the Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance. Until now, Armin Strom was known for its superb skeletonized watches, mixing haute horlogerie features and sporty design. Today, Armin Strom propels a century old concept, Resonance, well and truly into the 21st century. In an exclusive first look, Monochrome unveils this revolutionary development (yes, simply that…) with technical insights, video and pictures.
Kickstarter has garnered a huge amount of watch startup projects, but we like to choose the promising proposals that stand out from the crowd. One company that really caught our attention here at Monochrome, is known as Huckleberry & Co, and what they came with is named The Atticus Watch… Mechanical movement, stylish look, sleek design, minimalist inspiration, an overall refined package with affordable price! A lot to love here.