First Look – The Seiko Prospex Diver GMT Arctic Ocean SPB439

Black Series, PADI editions, Save the Ocean… While the Prospex collection by Seiko is already wide (to say the least), it also includes themed sub-series. The “Save the Ocean” models are some of the most attractive ones, adding a touch of originality to classic models, as well as benefitting a good cause. Following the recent […]

12 months ago

Hands-on – The Powerful Union Glashütte Noramis Chronograph Sport

A company that offers a wide variety of timepieces that cater to all tastes, Union Glashütte goes from bold to classic. Established initially as Uhrenfabrik Union in Glashütte in 1893 by Johannes Dürrstein, a prominent figure in the German watch industry, the brand swiftly rose to prominence in Glashütte watchmaking – until World War II […]

12 months ago

Recap – The Best Vintage-Inspired Watches of 2023

If we talk about trends in watchmaking, vintage has been one of the main sources of inspiration for brands since around 2010. And yet, after all these years, re-editions of glorious past models and vintage-inspired watches are still a hot topic in 2023. Retro-styled watches, vintage reissues and old-school design language are still staples in […]

12 months ago

Recap – The Best Dive Watches of 2023

The end of the year is near, so it’s time for the MONOCHROME team to sit down and look back at everything that happened during what was objectively a rich year for new models… With so many new launches, there was a lot to pick from in all categories and all price ranges. Today, we […]

Hands-on – The Accessible Peren Regia X Automatic 39 Diver

Gone are the days when dive watches truly challenged watchmakers. The Submariner and Fifty Fathoms battled it out in the 1950s, pushing for just 100 metres of water resistance. Modern tech allows microbrands to hit triple that depth today, so small watchmakers like Peren need to focus on design to really stand out. They’ve done […]

First Look – The Retro-Chic Méraud Bonaire Dive Watch Enters the MKII Stage

Retro and vintage remain hot topics within the watch industry, as there are tons of good-looking watches available based on popular designs from bygone eras. Within this highly competitive segment of the market, Belgian brand Méraud has slowly but surely found steady ground. Méraud, founded by Stijn Busschaert, strives to find the horological sweet spot […]

Buying Guide – Embracing the Winter Cold with Six Icy-White Watches

For a large part of the world, the cold season is setting in. Temperatures are dropping, daylight gets pushed back by darkness, snow and ice are grinding cities and towns to a halt and so on. To turn things around and embrace the cold, why not opt for a cool white watch for the winter […]

Opinion – Our take on the Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms

A few months ago, Swatch and Blancpain introduced the Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms. Yup, quite a mouthful. It’s effectively the follow-up of the Moonswatch, which can be seen as Swatch’s take on the Omega Speedmaster. We didn’t cover it on MONOCHROME for obvious reasons (it’s a quartz watch…) despite being a huge […]

Hands-on – Discovering The Retro-Cool Sherpa Ultradive & OPS Compressor Dive Watches

The 1950s and 1960s have been a groundbreaking era for watches when it comes to water resistance. Although the concept of a watertight case wasn’t new at that point, technological and material advancements allowed for great strides to be made in creating waterproof watches. Names such as Submariner, Fifty Fathoms, SUB 300, Seamaster and many […]