If Breguet is renowned for its Classique collection and its pilot’s watch range (Type XX and others), the catalogue also comprises another important collection named La Marine. Not only does it represents the sport(ier) side of the brand – don’t expect bold “Hublotesque” touches, we’re at Breguet – but it is also a link to a […]
$150 never looked so good.
The Talking Watches alum returns for a conversation about tropical dials, how Instagram has changed collecting, and the one modern watch he actually owns.
In the world of watches, opinions about modified or customized or ‘tuned’ watches is usually not very positive. That’s why the official collaboration between LVMH brands Zenith and TAG Heuer with one of these customizers, Bamford, was remarkable, to say the least. For a few years now, another customizer is making a name for itself and does it in a rather qualitative and original way. I’m talking about Artisans de Genève, and today they launch a fully skeletonized Rolex Daytona, which they designed together with ex-Formula 1 driver, Juan Pablo Montoya. And it looks pretty cool!
As part of the pre-SIHH 2019 introductions, Panerai is presenting a new version of its Submersible Chrono, which lays the foundations for a new collaboration with French free-diving champion Guillaume Néry. Knowing what job the man is doing, a professional dive watch sounds like something rather relevant. This new piece is aptly named the Panerai Submersible Chrono Guillaume Néry edition or, in more technical words, the PAM00982. Bold and sporty, it features striking blue accents and an attractive shark grey textured dial. Read on for all the details, including expected pricing.
The Triple Bridges holds a special place in the history of Girard-Perregaux, as does the tourbillon. In 1867, a watch with three bridges and one tourbillon won a prize for chronometry at Neuchâtel Observatory, and the distinctive design became a de facto logo for the brand. The striking design of the triple arrow-headed bridges is undeniably pleasing, but its origins weren’t aesthetic. Constant Girard conceived this design as a method of ensuring the tourbillon was as accurate as possible. From its initial appearance in 1867, the design evolved, and was patented (with the US Patent Office) in 1884. In 1889, the watchmaker unveiled Esmeralda, a tour de force pocket watch with three golden bridges, a tourbillon and a pivoted detent escapement. This was at the Paris Universal Exhibition, where it won the gold medal and became forever enshrined in the canon of Girard-Perregaux’s watchmaking. In the subsequent 100-odd years, GP has made many more tourbillons with triple bridges, holding true to a design that is undeniably classic but still remarkably relevant, as you can see from this well-sized 40mm version in pink gold. Girard-Perregaux has smartly pared back everything else, aside from the titular bridges and tourbillon. Nothing detracts the…
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You’d be forgiven if you missed the Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Relief Dog when it was released at Baselworld as a novelty piece as part of the brand’s Ateliers d’Art collection. However, once you’ve seen it, it truly is hard to forget. The JD PHM Relief Dog was created specifically to celebrate The Year of the Dog, which is the eleventh of the 12-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. Now, aside from the caseback, which we will get to, the dial on the PHM Relief Dog really is something special, thanks to an extraordinary amount of detail and craftsmanship. With just hour and minute hands, Jaquet Droz have kept functionality simple on this time-only watch, creating a piece that is about the more delicate details. The dial really is a showpiece, featuring an 18k yellow gold hand-engraved Pekingese dog playing with butterflies under plum trees, which are made from 23k yellow gold. A black onyx subdial pops against the passionate red cuprite dial, which itself is an unusual dial material (cuprite is an oxide mineral composite). Movement-wise, the in-house Jaquet Droz 2653.Si, with a 68-hour power reserve, will keep the…
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Let’s make things clear! When Frank founded MONOCHROME over 12 years ago, the main objective was to create “an online magazine dedicated to fine watches”. That meant the celebration of traditional, high-end watchmaking. However, we are very much aware that most of our readers can’t afford such pieces and we are very much aware that accessible, down-to-earth, good price/quality watches are important. Yet, lower prices often mean lower quality – but not for us.
For this reason, we will publish several price-oriented buying guides until the end of the year, listing our favourite watches of 2018 – thus, each will be able to find the right watch according to his budget. Starting today, here are our 10 best watches of 2018 priced under EUR 2,000 – and well below that for some of these watches! And because you’re reading MONO, they are, of course, all mechanical timepieces. Believe it or not but “enamel dial”, “in-house movement”, “chronometer” or “annual calendar” are even part of this buying guide!
If you’re ever in Tokyo, I strongly recommend making time for a detour to Sumida. Where? A residential area north of Tokyo Skytree – a bit of a backwater, to be honest. Why? For the Seiko Museum. Even if you’re not particularly a Seiko fan, it’s full of horological discoveries. And if you weren’t a Seiko fan before, you probably will be afterwards. Here are just a few of the many reasons why: The name Seiko’s founder, Kintaro Hattori, started his business in 1881; about a decade later, he opened his own factory – naming it Seikosha. The museum guide told me that Seiko is the Japanese word for “precise”. Wadokei – seasonal clocks Until 1872, timekeeping was based on seasonal variations, rather than the “fixed hours system” we are familiar with – where the length of a day is divided into equal portions, or hours. The “seasonal time system” used in Japan until the late 19th century, divided one day into daylight and night, then partitioned each into six parts. As the length of light relative to night changes from season to season, a daytime hour in summer would be longer than a daytime hour in winter. Consequently, clocks had…
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