In less than a week from now, it will be February 29th… Not a big deal, for sure. Unless you’re into watchmaking and want to see something mechanically fascinating. Indeed, watchmakers are sometimes a bit nerdy and imagined a complication that takes into account all the weird things of the Gregorian calendar. This means months […]
Meet the 14th watch made by IWC Schaffhausen in support of a good cause, “Laureus Sport for Good” – a charity that relies on sports to help children and young people overcome violence, discrimination and disadvantage in their lives. Following multiple blue-coloured watches, such as this special Mark XVIII or this Chronograph Yacht Club, today […]
Let’s play a little game of “spot the difference”… And before we allow you to turn the watches over and look at the caseback, it’s going to be a tough one. Indeed, there’s a new IWC Portugieser Chronograph, under the reference 3716, a watch that replaces a 22-year-old icon, the classic Portugieser Chronograph 3714. And […]
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.