Category: Grande Complication

Introducing – URWERK UR-220 All Black

This summer, URWERK announced the final edition of the iconic UR-210. Luckily it didn’t take too long before the brand announced a successor of this staggering beauty, and to my relief, I can say it’s at least as good-looking and stealthy as the marvellous UR-210. That successor was the new UR-220 Falcon Project, which came in a carbon clad. Today, some 5 weeks after that first new UR-220, it’s time for another one. Another one in black, albeit in a slightly different shade of black… let’s have a closer look at the UR-220 All Black.

4 years ago

Hands-on – Ultra-Complex & Extravagant, the Jacob & Co. Astronomia Casino

One might have thought that the precision of Haute Horlogerie could never harmonize with the uncertainty of games of chance? Well, Jacob & Co. merges these two worlds into one timepiece of unexpected complexity. One of its takes on the Astronomia is fitted a fully-operational miniature roulette; at a press of a button, the Astronomia […]

4 years ago

Hands-on – Breguet Marine Tourbillon Equation Marchante 5887

Breguet’s Marine Tourbillon Equation Marchante 5887 is an unabashedly complex and an unabashedly ornate timepiece. It is a massive gold vessel laden with history, complications and maritime flourishes that invites inquiry. One of Breguet’s most technically ambitious timepieces, the 5887 packs a perpetual calendar, a tourbillon and an ingenious running equation of time indicator on […]

4 years ago

Introducing – Patek Philippe 5303R Minute Repeater Tourbillon

Last year at Patek’s “Watch Art Grand Exhibition Singapore 2019”, the brand unveiled its Minute Repeater Tourbillon Singapore, an elaborate minute repeater and tourbillon complication designed for Singaporean collectors and limited to just 12 pieces. To cater to local tastes, the flange of the dial was picked out in red and the flange for the […]

4 years ago

In-Depth – Armin Strom Minute Repeater Resonance – Step 2 in the Masterpiece Collection

If you are a recurring reader of MONOCHROME or simply into independent watchmaking, you are probably familiar with Armin Strom and their innovative Resonance concept. Launched with the Mirrored Force Resonance in 2016, later used to regulate a dual-time watch, the brand’s first “Masterpiece”, the second chapter in this ultra-complex series of watches has just been presented… And here, resonance is used on two levels, as you’ll see below. Meet the impressive Armin Strom Minute Repeater Resonance.

5 years ago

Only Watch 2019 – Patek Philippe 6300A, the Unique Steel Grandmaster Chime

Here it is… The multi-million watch, potential record-breaker as the most expensive watch to be auctioned by Only Watch – remember the 5208T from 2017 (sold for CHF 6,200,000) and the 5016A from 2015 (sold for CHF 7,300,000)? What you’re looking at here is a unique example of an extremely rare piece, Patek’s most complicated […]

5 years ago

Introducing – 4 Tourbillons at Once – Harry Winston Histoire de Tourbillon 10 (Live Pics)

The “Histoire de Tourbillon” saga by Harry Winston is coming to an end. This series of watches was the home for some of the most extravagant pieces created by the brand, together with the Opus series. Having previously used tourbillons with single, double or triple axes, combined (or not) with single or double tourbillons or a carousel, Harry Winston’s latest creation is the last page of a book that impressed over the years. But like all good stories, the end is mindblowing. Meet the Harry Winston Histoire de Tourbillon 10, the first watch ever equipped with four tourbillons in a single movement.

6 years ago