Hands-on – The New and Bold Audemars Piguet x KAWS Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon Companion

Among Switzerland’s elite Haute Horlogerie brands, Audemars Piguet often stands out for doing things differently and exploring different territories. In particular, the brand is not shy to connect watchmaking to a broader culture as we have seen with recent collabs with Marvel (Spiderman, Black Panther) or with the cool Travis Scott x AP Royal Oak […]

1 month ago

Introducing – The Full-Gold AP Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin

We’ve talked about the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin on multiple occasions already, and for obvious reasons. When first presented as a prototype watch named RD#2, it was the world’s thinnest perpetual calendar wristwatch, with an impressive 6.2mm thickness. Despite Bulgari re-gaining the title a year later, this Audemars Piguet remains truly impressive and is […]

2 months ago

Buying Guide – A Selection of Bold, Modern and High-End Openworked Watches

Lovers of complex mechanical watchmaking can rejoice with this week’s Buying Guide selection, as all of the watches on show come with openworked dials and movements. Not content with the most classical styles of skeletonization, we’ve opted for a range of contemporary and bold watches instead. On top of that, they reveal their most intricate […]

2 months ago

Buying Guide – Curing Gold Fever With Five Heavyweight Luxury Sports Watches

If there’s one thing to be said about luxury sports watches, is that if done right they will stay on your wrist for a very long time. The undeniable appeal of such watches comes down to the shaped cases, integrated bracelets and often textured dials. Mostly crafted from robust stainless steel, there are those that […]

3 months ago

Introducing – AP Unveils Chroma Forged Technology, a Coloured & Lumed Forged Carbon for the ROC Split-Seconds

With its ultra-contemporary design, the Royal Oak Concept collection has always been a vessel for innovation at AP, and that since its creation in 2002. First with a cobalt-based super-alloy (Alacrite 602), the Audemars Piguet ROC collection has used some of the brand’s most complex movements, daring designs or advanced materials. Now, it’s time for […]

3 months ago

Introducing – The AP Code 11.59 Flying Tourbillon Chronograph in new Shades of Grey

Introduced in 2020, a year after the debut of the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet collection, the Flying Tourbillon Chronograph’s combination of two complications with an openworked dial was designed to showcase the brand’s high-end watchmaking skills. The latest iteration of this model comes in a two-tone white gold and black ceramic case and an […]

4 months ago

Hands-on – The Irresistible Allure of the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Selfwinding Chronograph

Ever-evolving, Audemars Piguet’s Code 11.59 collection was given a facelift in 2023 with a series of stainless steel models. Respectful of the complex case architecture that has few detractors, the controversy surrounding the somewhat dull dials of the inaugural members was addressed with a new embossed dial pattern and revisited indices, hands and typeface. A […]

4 months ago

Hands-on – Revisiting the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked in White Gold

Initially introduced in 2022 as part of the 50th-anniversary celebrations of the Royal Oak, the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked was first released in steel (reference 16204ST), featuring a steel-grey skeletonized movement and contrasting pink gold hands and indices. Following this, the watch was also made available in pink, yellow and white gold cases. While the […]

5 months ago

Retrospective – What are The World’s Thinnest Watches Per Category?

Ultra-thin watchmaking is a fascinating topic, one of our favourite areas of expertise here, at MONOCHROME. Ultra-thin watchmaking is horology at its purest, a no-compromise search for the slenderest movement that has to be considered a true complication. While high-watchmaking often seeks to bring as many complications as possible in a single movement, ultra-thinness is […]

5 months ago

Buying Guide – Originality Done Right – 5 Watches With Truly Audacious Case Designs

Considering how time is indicated on most watches – hands rotating 360-degree around the dial – it is no surprise that the vast majority of timepieces available on the market have round cases. But there is always room for creativity, originality and audacity. Watches don’t have to be round to be either striking or elegant. […]

5 months ago