It certainly is way too early to claim that we’re in front of some of the best watches of the year, and even though the industry isn’t in the best mood (sales aren’t expected on the rise, China’s situation could affect exports), we expect to see some great news to be launched. Still, and even […]
As a regular reader of MONOCHROME, you will know already that each year, Swiss watch manufacturer IWC focuses on a specific collection. Last year, it was the brand’s legendary Pilot’s Watch series, with a number of cool variations introduced to the market. Here’s a video overview of the highlights from IWC’s CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr shot […]
For many fans of the IWC Portugieser Chronograph, today’s news is big news: not only is this iconic chronograph now equipped with an in-house calibre, you can finally see the movement through the transparent caseback. To be precise, this is not the first time this manufacture movement has appeared inside a Portugieser Chronograph. In 2018, […]
If the value of Swiss watch exports has slightly increased in 2019, the industry has been facing numerous challenges over the past years. Although high-end Swiss watches remain attractive, the low/mid-end segments have been under pressure as the smartwatch expansion seems to have come at the expense of the lower-priced Swiss timepieces. Most watch brands […]
Last year, I had the chance to interview F1 superstar Lewis Hamilton, just before the French Grand-Prix. Part of the discussion was, of course, his impressive racing results but also something more in line with our usual topics; watches. I asked him what if he had the opportunity to design his own IWC watch. He answered “red gold is my favourite (…) I love the Big Pilot’s watch, I love heavier watches (…) Most likely it would be a perpetual calendar (…) A watch as mechanical as possible.” Well, it seems that his idea came to life, with the new IWC “Lewis Hamilton” Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar.
2019 has been another hectic year for the watchmaking industry, with multiple announcements, debates on the watch fairs and numerous novelties. But 2019 is coming to an end and it is time to look back at what were the best models introduced. After a look at our 5 favourite chronograph watches and our 5 best favourite watches, we’ll now look at one important category, the traveller’s watches – GMT and WorldTime timepieces – as this is, to us, the most practical of the complications on a daily basis, for modern gentlemen. Here it is, our “best of 2019” guide for multiple-time-zone watches.
Manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen has dedicated two limited-edition Pilot’s watches to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, the renowned constructor of Formula One cars based in the UK. As the team’s “official engineering partner” since 2013, IWC exploits the many parallels that exist between motor sport’s premier competition and high-end watchmaking. Kitted out with the black and turquoise livery of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, two limited-edition Pilot’s watches – a perpetual calendar and a chronograph – join IWC’s line-up of aviator models.
A few days ago an email from the IWC marketing team dropped into my inbox. Nothing unusual and like always I have a quick look at what the brand plans to communicate now. Maybe a new watch, another limited edition, or an update on the Silver Spirit Spitfire that is on its flight around the globe? Nope, the email was about three videos featuring legendary watchmaker Kurt Klaus and… a smartwatch.
The end of the year is fast approaching, so it’s time for us to look back at the best watches 2019 brought to the watch community. And there were a lot of interesting novelties. So, we reunited the MONOCHROME team, debated and we today we start our “Best of 2019” series, looking at the five […]
There are few brands as specialized in pilot’s watches as IWC… The brand has a long and rich pedigree in this field and, since the comeback of the collection in the mid-1990s with the Ref. 3711 and Ref. 3706, IWC has collaborated with some of the greatest squadrons and special forces – including Top Gun. […]