The El Primero, Zenith’s historical and undoubtedly iconic movement, needs little introduction. Launched in 1969, it was amongst the very first automatic chronograph movements introduced by the watch industry, and with original specifications, having a column wheel, a horizontal clutch and, mostly, a high frequency of 5Hz. But that’s about the engine. There were watches […]
Today is Tuesday… and in terms of watches, you know what it means. Omega didn’t wait long in 2021 to bring its first novelty for “Speedy Tuesday” and, clearly, this is a very important one. Today, Omega updates its most iconic watch, a model that has been practically untouched since the late 1960s, with the […]
Ollech & Wajs might be a niche brand that isn’t known by a broader audience, it is one that has gained a certain famed among seasoned collectors and professional watches aficionados. Almost dormant for several years, the brand has recently been relaunched by a trusted and dedicated collector, who decided to keep the original “tool watch” […]
While the Western world has celebrated the arrival of 2021 a few days ago, China traditionally has a different calendar and Chinese New Year commences on the 12th of February, welcoming the Year of the Metal Ox. Multiple luxury and high-end watch brands will participate in the commemorations by introducing timepieces with an Ox theme – […]
At MONOCHROME, we’re always thrilled to see the launch of new independent brands, specifically when we’ll be talking of high-end and truly hand-made horology. Cramain was founded by a young duo, Kilian Leschnik and Dr Julian M. Stiels, out of the shared vision to create timepieces that would be crafted solely by their own hands, with […]
Jaquet Droz has always placed a lot of emphasis on its Ateliers d’Art watches. Developed in the company’s La Chaux de Fonds workshop in Switzerland, these watches boast centuries-old artisanal techniques that have been passed down the family line from one generation to another throughout its 250-year heritage. These include miniature painting techniques and relief […]
I’ve said this many times; dive watches are a dime a dozen these days. You’ve got Rolex, Blancpain and Omega (among others) covering the high end, while Seiko, Hamilton and Oris bring things down to Earth. From a usability standpoint, few things separate these offerings as depth ratings vary from 100 to 300 metres and […]
While Habring² is certainly famous for its impressively simplified take on the DoppelChronograph (split-seconds), something Richard Habring developed while working for IWC, there are more displays that are dear to the brand. This includes first a precision display, the jumping seconds or dead-beat seconds. Another one that Habring² has often used in the past is […]
Created in 2015, The Limited Edition (TLE) is a rather unique UK-based concept that aims at gathering some of the most limited and high-end timepieces from independent watchmakers. To mark its 5th anniversary, TLE has teamed up with Armin Strom to present two cool Gravity Equal Force limited editions with a black-and-gold colour scheme and […]
A few months ago, we took a look at the Certina DS Action Diver Powermatic 80, a watch that impressed us for its quality, its mechanical content, its classic design and mostly, for its fair price. Robust, fully-equipped and designed with a no-nonsense approach, it is a great all-purpose dive watch. Only available until now […]