High-end Watches Archives - Page 114 of 121

Pre-SIHH 2017 – IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph (and a bit about the future collection to come)

It has become sort of a tradition for IWC now. Each year, when the SIHH is about to open, we all know that the Schaffhausen-based manufacture will come with an entirely revisited collection. After the 2016 Pilot’s Watches, the 2015 Portugeisers, the 2014 Aquatimers and the 2013 Ingenieurs, it’s now time to revamp the other collection, a range of watches that might not be the most popular among a large audience: the Da Vinci. An icon of the 1980s, this watch has since seen many variations, being even dressed in tonneau-shaped case. For the SIHH 2017, IWC goes back to the roots of the collection and, to open the festivities, introduces the flagship version: the IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph.

The Nine Reviews You Loved Most in 2016 On Monochrome-Watches

Like we always say, Reviews are crucial for us, at Monochrome-Watches – and for two main reasons. First of all, in order to bring you the best possible stories and the most objective opinions, we need to have some proper wrist-time with the watches. It’s no debate here: wearing the watch and experiencing it for a while, as if we were owning it, is mandatory. It is our editorial philosophy. Second, as watch journalist, we believe that our reviews will influence your choices and for that reason, we think that you also need these reviews to make the most informed purchases. This is why, to close 2016, instead of showing you our most read stories, we’d like to show you the nine reviews you loved most this year on Monochrome-Watches (based on page-views and reactions).

Flowers of Evil – Skull Watches That Keep You On Time… Until It’s Your Time!

“A Carcass” (a must-read; here) is without doubt Charles Baudelaire’s most infamous poem, exploring the idea that beauty can be found in even the most morbid scenes. Like Baudelaire’s “Flowers of Evil“, skull watches attempt to extract beauty from horror. These magnificent mechanical works of art emblazoned with the face of death are at once both shocking and engaging. They also serve an important purpose, an allusion to which we can find in one of the last stanzas of the poem

A. Lange & Söhne: State of the Art Tradition

When our editor in chief, Frank, asked me if I was interested in photographing seven (yes 7) A. Lange & Söhne watches, I was as happy as a kid in a candy (electronic?) store. I took this opportunity to think about the brand. What differentiates Lange? What makes their watches unique? Why do people pay an enormous amount of money for a simple hand-wound watch? I will share my personal views as well as photos to illustrate my points. In many ways, Lange watches resemble – or exceed – the reliability, robustness, quality and performance of German cars. When you strap a Lange watch on the wrist, it is as if you just took your seat behind the steering wheel in a German luxury car.

Music From Germany – Hands-On With The Glashütte Original PanoReserve

London; birthplace of the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Phil Collins and countless other musical geniuses. Over the decades the city has boasted a thriving and ever changing music scene, influencing pop culture worldwide. Perhaps one of the best known venues is Ronnie Scott’s, based in Soho in London’s west end. Opening its doors for the first time in October, 1959, Ronnie Scott’s is one of the oldest jazz clubs in the world and has hosted the likes of Miles Davies, Count Basie and Kurt Elling amongst a myriad of others. As with watchmaking, good jazz music is all about precise execution, consistent quality and just a touch of the unexpected. The Glashütte Original PanoReserve embodies all of these qualities and more and, like a good jazz record, only seems to get better with time. Today we take a closer look to find out why.

Christmas Shopping Guide – The Best Of Indie Watchmaking Of 2016

After showing you our selection for the best sports and dive watches, after the 5 best chronographs, the best dress watches or the best of the ultra-complicated watches, it is now time to end these guides with what certainly is our most preferred category, the one that properly creates sparkles in the eyes of our team: the best of “indie watchmaking” of 2016. Just before Christmas, we bring you the ultra-bold, the ultra-complex, the ultra-everything. No compromises, no justification of price, no industrial matters. Here, it’s all about dream, passion, creativity and innovation. Here are our 5 best watches from independent watchmakers introduced in 2016.

First Look – F.P. Journe Brings Havana Dials To The Octa Automatique Reserve and Lune

We already knew F.P. Journe watches with black dials, with gold dials or with blue dial (that blue dial…). Well, today, we will be the first to show you Journe watches with a brand new kind of color. Discreetly unveiled on the newly launched social media channels of the brand (see here for the post), we’ve been rather surprised and intrigued when seeing it, here at the Monochrome-Watches redaction. No more suspense, here are the new F.P. Journe Octa Automatique Reserve and Automatique Lune with stunning Havana Dials, live.

Fighting Gravity… Twice – Hands-On with the Blancpain Tourbillon Carrousel

The accuracy of a watch is always subject to the influences of gravity. Changes in position can have significant effects on how effectively a watch keeps time, particularly disturbances in the balance wheel isochronism. Traditionally speaking, watchmakers have tried to counter the negative effects of gravity by using rotating devices to average out positional errors: the tourbillon – patented by Breguet in 1801 – and the carrousel – patented by the Danish horologist Bonniksen in 1892. Today, Monochrome goes hands-on with the stunning Blancpain Tourbillon Carrousel, which for the first time combines both systems, coupled by a differential gearing mechanism.

Hands-On With The F.P. Journe Octa Divine, Redesigned and Enlarged

After the Chronomètre Optimum, the Perpetual Calendar and the Octa Lune, this year (introduced during the SIHH 2016) the F.P. Journe Octa Divine also moves to a 42mm diameter. Yes, you’ll have to get used to it, but as of now, Journe will only deliver 40mm and 42mm watches – and he said goodbye to the 38mm case with this exclusive collection. Well, that’s not the only novelty here, as the entire dial has been redesigned and the display also evolved. Today, we go hands-on with this F.P. Journe Octa Divine, another proof of the manufacture’s mastery of originality and elegance.

“The Monochrome Video Week” – Recapping Some Of Our Most-Viewed In-Depth Movies

Today is the closing day of “The Monochrome Video Week”… and until now, we hope you enjoyed to look at these in-depth movies, filmed in our own style, by our own crew, and of subject of our own choice. After looking at haute-horlogerie finishing at Montblanc, after taking a closer look at 20 years of visionary watchmaking with URWERK, after showing two brands dear to our hearts, MCT Watches and Ateliers DeMonaco, it’s time for us to recap some of our best-viewed movies. From the conservative but so desirable world of A. Lange & Söhne, to a proper visit of an integrated manufacture with Armin Strom or a jump into the creative world of MB&F and the MAD Gallery, here are five movies for the watch lovers.

Watch Dandy

Category: High-end Watches