Category: High-end Watches

Hands-on – Romain Gauthier Prestige HMS Stainless Steel and Meteorite

Romain Gauthier is, without doubt, one of the top watchmakers when it comes to decoration – check this… you’ll understand. His watches are mechanically fascinating, rare and his level of expertise in movement’s finishing, in the traditional “Vallée de Joux” style, undeniable. Mouthwatering material for seasoned collectors. Today, the man unveils its latest watch, based on the (apparently) simple Prestige HMS, and for the first time crafted in stainless steel. Don’t believe in compromises though, as the execution of the dial and the movement compensate entirely. Meet the HMS Stainless Steel and Meteorite.

6 years ago

A Technical Perspective – Understanding the Concept of Multiple-Regulator Watches

The presence of one single heart is ingrained in our idea of biology and… watchmaking. In order to live – or to indicate the time accurately – one only need a single beating heart. But there are a few creatures with multiple hearts. And more and more watches come with multiple regulators – for different reasons. It is time to understand what multiple regulating organs can add to a watch.

6 years ago

Hands-on – A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon with Pink Gold (Salmon) Dial

Montblanc, Audemars, Patek and more… Salmon/pink dials are THE trend for the 2018/2019 collection. Even though not entirely novel, we’ve never encountered so many watches with pink-coloured dials as we have this year. Don’t get us wrong, we actually love salmon dials here, at MONOCHROME (see Frank’s love letter here). There are, however, different ways to execute a salmon dial and when it decided to do its first real pink-coloured timepiece, A. Lange & Söhne took the high-end road… really high-end, with the new Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon and its solid pink gold dial.

6 years ago

Hands-on – De Bethune DB25 Starry Varius Chronomètre Tourbillon

Bringing together technical, aesthetic and conceptual creativity, De Bethune watches are definitely in a class of their own. Among the brand’s latest creations, the DB25 Starry Varius Chronomètre Tourbillon was awarded the 2018 chronometry prize at the prestigious GPHG last November… We already enjoyed the non-tourbillon version, but it had been a while since we had been hoping to go hands with this complex version of the star-studded timepiece.

6 years ago

Hands-on – Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Automatic now in Carbon

2018 was the year of the ultra-thin watch. No debate! Piaget and Bvlgari, which started to race a couple of years ago on that topic, literally smashed one record after another in less than 2 months. The final word, however, went to the Roman brand, which introduced the ultra-impressive Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Automatic at Baselworld 2018. After winning the thinness record, Bvlgari has decided to play on the weight of the watch. While not breaking lightness records, the new Carbon version of this watch makes it light as a feather.

6 years ago

SIHH 2019 – Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar

Vacheron Constantin’s very own customisation department – Les Cabinotiers – has created a one-of-a-kind timepiece that perpetuates the brand’s longstanding tradition of combining sophisticated horological complications.  Following the release of the Mécaniques Sauvages animal-themed collection, the Grande Complication Phoenix, and the Minute Repeater Tourbillon Sky Chart,  Vacheron gives yet another display of the virtuosity of its watchmakers and artisans grouped in the Les Cabinotiers, where bespoke fantasies come to light. The latest unique piece shared by the brand is this Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar fitted with a totally revisited and ultra-thin movement: Calibre 1731 QP.

6 years ago

Video – Live from SIHH 2019 – Wilhelm Schmid of A. Lange & Söhne

In our latest video coverage of SIHH 2019, our editor-in-chief Frank Geelen sits down with Wilhelm Schmid, CEO of A. Lange & Söhne. Find out which of the five watches unveiled during the SIHH 2019 will go down as collector’s pieces, and why 2019 is such a special year for some models of the Saxon […]

6 years ago

SIHH 2019 – A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon with Pink Gold Dial

Introduced in 2016, the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon ranks among A. Lange & Söhne’s most complex watches – together with the 2017 Tourbograph Perpetual Pour le Merite and the 2018 Triple Split.  Featuring a flyback chronograph, a perpetual calendar with moon phases, an outsize date, and a one-minute tourbillon discreetly integrated on the back – there are lots of goodies in […]

6 years ago

SIHH 2019 – HYT H1.0 – A New Take on the Fluidic Complication

The SIHH 2019 has opened its doors and since you all know it is not just about Richemont brands anymore, but other brands are exhibiting as well, it results in a flurry of new watches this time a year. Next up is a new chapter in the HYT fluidic watchmaking adventure, the HYT H1.0. Not entirely new as a mechanical watchmaking concept, but still worth having a look at a significantly redesigned H1.

6 years ago