The Dark Side Of The El Primero – The Zenith El Primero Tourbillon Skeleton

Among the novelties presented by Zenith at Baselworld 2016 were two open-worked versions of the El Primero Chronograph revealing a side of their iconic movement we are not used to seeing. The first one is a “simple” chronograph while the other is regulated by a Tourbillon. As the Le Locle-based manufacture is now launching internationally both models, Monochrome takes a closer look at the Zenith El Primero Tourbillon Skeleton.

9 years ago

Christmas Buying Guide – 5 Best Dive / Sports Watches of 2016

Today, our readers on the other side of the Atlantic are celebrating Thanksgiving, and while this day doesn’t make a lot of sense for those in Old Europe or Asia, it however opens the festive season. And who says festive season says Christmas and our usual buying guides – and also an overview of the best watches we’ve seen this year. After long debates and fights at the Monochrome-Watches headquarters (not literally, no worries), here are our 5 Best Dive / Sports Watches of 2016, for all budgets and tastes.

9 years ago

Hublot introduces 3 new editions of their bold and sporty Big Bang Ferrari Unico

Pairing up what is certainly the most emblematic sports-car manufacture, Ferrari, with what might be the most hyped watch brand, Hublot, and you have as a result a strong, flamboyant bond. Since 2011, these two brands joined forces to create watches that are in the vein of the philosophy of both the car brand and the watch brand: strong, bold, highly masculine and, using Ferrari’s expertise, innovative and performant. For 2016, using Ferrari’s latest models and technologies, Hublot introduces 3 new editions of their bold and sporty Big Bang Ferrari Unico.

9 years ago

Breitling Chronomat 44mm Blacksteel Special Edition – Looking Into The Past And The Present Of This Extraordinary Line of Sport Chronographs

Breitling was founded in 1884, and right from the start, specialised in chronographs to that extent that it is fair to say that the form of the chronograph, as we know it today, had been solidified due to the development done by the company. It was in 1942, that Breitling introduced the first watch with a circular slide rule, the Chronomat. Some years later (1954) the legendary Navitimer was also introduced. However, the focus of the article is on the Chronomat, perhaps one of, if not, the most commercially successful Breitling of the past sixty years. Contrary to general belief, it is not the Navitimer but the Chronomat that has proved to be Breitling’s biggest seller. However, before we examine the Chronomat Black Steel 44 SE we must understand how this model evolved.

9 years ago

Panerai and Mike Horn together again – Introducing the Panerai Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days GMT “Pole2Pole”

Crafted for adventures. Panerai’s history was shaped by the needs of the Italian Navy, that it has supplied with precision instruments and watches for years. Designing tool watches, robust products for facing the most extreme situations, is the brand’s raison d’être. This rugged character made Panerai the perfect companion for Mike’s Horn expeditions. Following Arktos (2002-2004), the North Pole Winter expedition (2006) and Pangea (2008-2012), Panerai will be a partner of the Pole2Pole expedition. In this new enterprise, the South African-Swiss explorer circumnavigates the world from pole to pole with a new special edition Panerai strapped on his wrist, the PAM00719.

9 years ago

The Doxa Sub300 50th Anniversary – A step back in time to the glory days of the dive watch

At Baselworld 2016, Doxa introduced its 50th Anniversary Sub300 model, a great dive watch with unquestionable pedigree. So we, at Monochrome, eagerly waited for a prototype to arrive at the HQ for a review. Once a black-dial Sharkhunter variant received, we immediately put it to its paces comparing, debating and discussing about it. That is the purpose of this article: make you understand how important and cool this watch is. However, before I proceed with my assessment, I feel that a short overview of the history of the company is needed to put things into a proper perspective.

9 years ago

Introducing – Tudor Pelagos LHD with left crown and cream indexes (hands-on photos, price)

After several collections based on the Heritage Black Bay, Tudor Watches comes back in the game of the rugged, professional-oriented and modern watches, with a new version of its tool: the Pelagos. After a first version introduced in 2012, with a black dial, after a revamp in 2015, with the addition of a blue dial and the introduction of the manufacture movement, the Pelagos is back in a version that most will definitely name “the coolest”. Please say hello to the Tudor Pelagos LHD 25610TNL, or the lefty version with cream indexes and red “Pelagos” printing.

9 years ago

Hands-On – Rolex Yacht-Master 116621 Two-Tone Everose Gold / Steel with Chocolate Dial

The big novelty from Rolex at Baselworld 2016 was… you named it: the Daytona Ceramic Bezel 116500LN – a very nice watch but, after all, a simple cosmetic evolution of an existing model. However, there was some more watches to discover. One stayed a bit under the radar, an evolution of the Yacht-Master, a watch that has never been favorited by Rolex purists. On the other hand, since last year, this model has been revamped by the Crown, with the introduction of the Everose / Ceramic version. While we were expecting it to be introduced in steel, Rolex decided differently, with the new Rolex Yacht-Master 116621 Two-Tone Everose Gold / Steel and Chocolate Dial. And it has some arguments…

9 years ago

Review – Citizen Aqualand Promaster, The Blue Collar Dive Watch from Japan

When we refer to Japan and its watch industry everyone, and rightly so, instantly think of one company: Seiko. However, there is more than that. Although Seiko has produced a large number of excellent, iconic and historical timepieces, it is unfair to forget other companies like Citizen. In this article we are going to examine one of the most iconic dive watches coming from Japan of all time. No, it is not the Tuna Marinemaster or the Seiko 6105, but the iconic Citizen Aqualand Promaster.

9 years ago

Tudor and its Heritage – The 1970s Chronographs and the Tudor Heritage Chrono

As we’ve seen in our two first episodes of “Tudor and its Heritage“, the brand did an important move into sports watches in the middle of the 1950s, starting with the Submariners, followed by the Ranger. These vintage pieces led to the creation of two current watches, the Heritage Black Bay and the Heritage Ranger, two pieces paying tribute to the rich past of Tudor Watches. However, there’s a another type of watches that we didn’t explore yet, and in this field, Tudor has been very active: chronographs. Today, we are going to look at how, starting in 1970, the brand created some highly iconic and bold chronographs, which later inspired the super-cool Tudor Heritage Chrono.

9 years ago