Despite having a design that has remained largely unchanged since its initial introduction in 1954, Rolex’s Submariner watches – especially well-preserved vintage references – frequently receive the most attention (and brings in the highest prices) at auction.
It is only one-and-a-half year ago. That’s when Oris introduced the Divers Sixty-Five, a new kid on the “vintage diver’s watches block”, and collectors around the world embraced this very cool, and very affordable, vintage inspired divers watch. After the first model, with similar hour markers as an old Oris from 1965, a second model …
Launching a watch brand is not that simple, mainly because you have to face an established industry, with its brands, its suppliers and its habits (and some are secular ones…) The watchmaking industry was extremely difficult with newcomers, until our 2.0 era brought to small independent people, however full of ideas, a process called crowdfunding. E.C.Andersson is among them, with the idea of a sporty pillow-shaped watch with a smaller size than the most famous of all the pillow watches (a certain Officine…), with mechanical movement, for a low price and with nice design. Here is the E.C.Andersson North Sea.
In an effort to reign in the past while continuing to offer pieces that catch the eye of modern watch buyers, Longines has built up a legitimate offering through their Heritage Collection. Whether you’re looking for a diver or a Weems, there are quite a few choices that seem to be placed above the usual options you have when looking at the brand.
Under the leadership of Jean-Claude Biver, TAG Heuer has been making some moves that are helping to reenergize the brand. The TAG Heuer Aquaracer keeps getting better, and these new models improve on the previous version with cool black PVD titanium cases and hip, vibrant colors.
One of the surprise hits for me at Baselworld 2016 was the new Mido Ocean Star Captain V in titanium. Mido is one of the less well-known Swatch Group brands – at least in the United States – but it has some cool watches, and the brand’s flagship dive watch collection has always been the Ocean Star.
If you remember, back in December 2015, when Benoît Mintiens (the founder of Ressence) showed me the Ressence Type 5 for the first time, I actually ended my article with a wish to have this watch as my summer watch. The team of Ressence heard my wish and granted it so here we are, with my review of this great, sort of unique watch, which I’ve been wearing for an entire summer. Usually I tend to be rather technical and factual in my reviews, but here I’m going to be slightly more focused on the wearability and on the feelings, trying to position myself as the owner of this watch. Here are my thoughts after my summer with the Ressence Type 5 on the wrist.
Inspired by their iconic 6309, Seiko’s new SRP777 diver is an excellent dive watch, but does it have what it takes to stand out among Seiko’s impressive range of tool divers?
Back in Baselworld 2016, Doxa introduced its 50th Anniversary Sub model, a great dive watch with unquestionable pedigree. We will discover why this dive watch is so important by looking back at an early Doxa Sub 300, belonging to one of the preeminent Doxa collectors – and a great friend of Monochrome and me, personally – Mr. Marco Thier. By examining the story behind its creation, I hope to shed the light on the importance of the Doxa Sub in the history and the evolutionary course of the dive watch in general.
Built for the extreme, dive watches were born from an utilitarian purpose: diving is all about time and depth. Yet, their most important promise might very well be that strapping a rugged dive watch around your wrist, gets you ready for the next adventure or adrenaline fix. The perfect option if you want to test your ability “not to crack under pressure”. Celebrating the brand’s tagline, Aquaracer collection is complemented by new attractive colored models. Monochrome goes hands-on with the TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300m Black Titanium Sand’ and Blue.