It’s becoming more and more frequent for watch brands to create special, exclusive editions for bona fide collectors. A collector’s club based in Silicon Valley is the latest recipient of a customised Zenith watch for its members. With such a high concentration of IT companies and the looming presence of Apple, it would be fair […]
The number of watch brands introducing very long warranties is as long as the history of modern (post-quartz crisis) watchmaking. Until recently, two years of warranty was the norm. However, more and more watchmakers tend to offer five years and even more for some special editions. And that raises the question: does it actually make […]
Summer is on its way (or is already in for some of us)… Thus it is time to find the right watch to wear on the beach, on a boat, at a party, next to the pool or to hold your favourite cocktail! In short, a watch that looks cool and that can resist to this […]
Innovation can be a rather confusing buzzword in the world of watches, an industry full of tradition and somehow playing on the “old-school” concept. Still, the Swiss watchmaking industry continues to innovate and to surprise us – and 2019 already had its lot of crazy advanced timepieces. So here are 5 developments that take mechanical […]
The concept of watch fairs has been a controversial topic for the past years. Obsolete, too expensive, not flexible enough… We’ve seen multiple brands leaving Baselworld or the SIHH, and even more of them complaining about this very idea of trade fairs. Solutions were found though, with the Geneva- and the Basel-based shows uniting forces and coordinating their dates from 2020. Still, the situation isn’t perfect for some. While still attending Baselworld 2020, LVMH’s Watchmaking Division has decided to add a date to the product launch schedule, by creating its own, private “Pre-Baselworld event” in Dubai, on January 2020.
This year, as you’ve probably noticed, is the 50th anniversary of two important milestones for the watchmaking industry. On one side is the Moon-Landing. More important for today’s topic, 1969 marked the introduction of the Zenith El Primero, part of the first automatic chronographs launched on the market. In order to celebrate 50-years of this iconic movement, Zenith has already released several great pieces, all based on the reference A386 – in steel as part of a special revival box, or in gold with 3 limited edition watches. Today, it is another of the inaugural 1969 El Primero watches that will be re-issued, the reference A384 – and its availability will make quite some enthusiasts happy.
Tradition meets innovation in this new Zenith Defy model with its dramatic setting to host two watchmaking classics: a fusée-and-chain escapement and a tourbillon. In keeping with the avant-garde spirit of the Defy family, Zenith stages the show in a gravity-defying, 3D, openworked setting that reveals absolutely everything. Available in full carbon or platinum cases, these limited editions are not for the faint of heart.
The chronograph is, without doubt, one of the most popular complications. A complex, purposeful piece of engineering, it is a must-have for watch aficionados… and the category has given rise to some of the most iconic watches (think Moonwatch or Paul Newman here). Among the numerous new models presented at Baselworld 2019, some really stood out. Here’s a look at 5 of our favourite chronographs of the fair.
High-frequency chronographs have long been part of Zenith’s identity. It all started in 1969 when Zenith introduced one of the best and most accurate chronograph movements ever created, the iconic El Primero. Fast forward to 2017, when Zenith introduced the Defy El Primero 21, an innovative chronograph with two regulators, capable of measuring hundredths of […]
Baselworld 2019 has come to an end. As always, it has been a rather packed event, despite a strange impression with the absence of Swatch Group’s brands, several other brands and an unusually high number of brands presenting their watches in different locations around the official ‘Messe’. If the mood was good overall, the future of the show was on everyone’s lips with speculations surrounding the attendance of the LVMH brands, Breitling and many more to the next editions of the fair. Now the dust has settled, team MONOCHROME looks back and chooses the best of show…