Novelty Archives - Page 396 of 405

Testing The New Oris Altimeter Rega Limited Edition Right Where It Should (… In the Swiss Alps)

Basically, what you see here is one of the most innovative – and coolest too – pilot watches on the market. No, it is not fitted with a super-high-end movement neither it has the most spectacular design ever. The point is not here. Certainly, you already heard about the Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter, a watch we already experienced before. This watch actually is the world’s first automatic mechanical timepiece with a built-in mechanical altimeter. Admit that for a pilot watch, that’s quite an interesting feature. A few days ago, the brand introduced a new version, the Oris Altimeter Rega Limited Edition (resulting from a partnership with Rega, Switzerland’s air rescue service) and what’s better than a proper field-test, in the Swiss Alps, to experience the altimeter function.

H. Moser & Cie Removes “Swiss Made” From Its Watches And Teases Us With The Upcoming Most Swiss Watch Ever Created

As of the 1st of January 2017, the “Swiss Made” label will change its rules, being reinforced and aiming in providing a more Swiss production to the end consumer. In other words, a “Swiss Made” watch will have to comprise 60% of components of Swiss origin in order to be considered eligible (as a reminder, the previous rule was that at least 50% of a watch’s value has to be realized in Switzerland). A reinforcement it is, however, not enough for a manufacture named H. Moser & Cie. For various reasons that we’ll explain, the brand doesn’t agree anymore with these rules, deciding to forgo the Swiss Made label and jointly, unveiling the most Swiss watch ever created; produced in Switzerland, by Swiss watchmakers and using materials of Swiss origin.

Book Review – “The Wristwatch Handbook” by Ryan Schmidt

The world of mechanical timekeeping is a fascinating, complex – sometimes arcane – field. As its subtitle puts it, The Wristwatch Handbook aims at offering a comprehensive (lavishly illustrated 350-page) guide to mechanical wristwatches – A useful reference for the new collector or anyone interested in learning more about watches.

Introducing the Lytt Labs Inception – Unconventional Meets Accessible

There’s some new kids on the block and they go by the name of Lytt Labs. Born from a meeting between a Frenchman, a Swissman and a Singaporean who together conceived the idea of crafting contemporary, urban styled watches that play with light through the use of original shapes, materials and patterns. Their timepieces eschew traditional codes and instead provide their own cool, offbeat take on mechanical watchmaking. Meet ‘Inception’, the first watch in the Lytt Labs collection, boasting an unusual time display framed in a bold pebble-shaped case.

Pre-SIHH 2017 – Piaget Altiplano 60th Anniversary Collection, Celebrating 60 Years of Ultra-Thin Watches

Keep these three informations in mind: 1957 – 9P – 2mm. Three informations that sum up an immense technical achievement and define an icon of the watchmaking industry: the Altiplano. If we had to summarize Piaget to one single fact, it would inevitably be “ultra-thin” watches – even if this would clearly be a disappointing shortcut. Since 1957, Piaget is one of the best, if not the most significant representative of the ultra-thin concept, a story that started with the calibre 9P and its 2mm height (and now, you know why these three informations are so important). To celebrate 60 years of ultra-thin watchmaking, here is the Piaget Altiplano 60th Anniversary Collection, to be introduced at the SIH 2017.

IWC Introduces the Aquatimer Chronograph Edition “Sharks”

Today, increasing numbers of shark species are facing extinction. More than 100 million sharks are caught every year whilst continued over shing depletes their nutritional resources. To help awareness about this issue, IWC is about to launch a specific limited edition of its Aquatimer Chronograph, the Edition “Sharks”, with specific dial and engraving. Overview.

Montblanc Introduces Bronze Into Its 1858 Collection, Including The Stunning 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter

The Montblanc 1858 Collection certainly is one of our favorites here, at Monochrome. It indeed pays tribute to the military roots of the Villeret manufacture and the 1930s pilot watches produced at that time by Minerva (now part of Montblanc). Large diameters, highly contrasted dials, cathedral hands… all sounds perfectly vintage and faithful to the Minerva heritage. To even reinforce that vintage feel, the brand is about to introduce some new models in the collection, which for the first time will use bronze elements for the case, and this includes the stunning Montblanc 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter, that we already showed you several times.

The New A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Moon Phase, now with Integrated Day/Night Indicator

The Lange 1 is the icon of the A. Lange & Söhne collection since its re-inception, in 1994. Back then, it was a quite disruptive, yet hyper-elegant watch… and it still is. Another recurring theme at A. Lange & Söhne is the moon, which can be found on several watches of the Saxonian Manufacture – See the Saxonia Moon Phase. So what if you combine both? You’ll have the Lange 1 Moon Phase. And since the standard Lange 1 went under a slight but welcomed update in 2015, it is time now for the moon version to benefit from the new Lange 1 movement and from a new day/night indication, right into the moonphase indication. Here is the new, SIHH 2017, A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Moon Phase (not to be confused with the Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase).

TAG Heuer Appoints Alec Monopoly As Art Provocateur – and J.C. Biver Tells Us Why It’s Good For TAG

A few days ago, right from the Miami Contemporary Art week, TAG Heuer and its CEO, Jean-Claude Biver (also President of the LVMH Watch Division), announced the appointment of American street-artist Alec Monopoly as Art Provocateur for the Avant-Garde brand. Well, as you may have seen already (it was all over social medial feeds), some reacted quite fiercely to this announcement, judging the collaboration rather irrelevant. However, we were there and we took the time to sit down with Mister Biver and Alec Monopoly, to understand what was behind this appointment. And we can tell you that first, it’s far from being a stupid idea, then it’s a real first in the industry and finally, it’s a great idea for an industry that faces a lack of creativity.

Pre-SIHH 2017 – Baume & Mercier adds a GMT Function and a Blue Dial to its Clifton

The Baume & Mercier Clifton is not just a watch but an entire collection, which looks at the almost entire scope of traditional (yet accessible) complications. You’ll be able to find a Small-Second watch, a Complete Calendar watch, a Chronograph, a Chronograph Complete Calendar, a Dual Time, a Retrograde Date or a Large Date Power Reserve. Clearly, the choice is wide (and add to that some dials options). For the SIHH 2017, Baume adds a version for travelers, the Clifton GMT Power Reserve, which aligns itself among the range of small complications offered by the Clifton collection and adds a striking blue dial to the usual white / black options.

Watch Dandy

Category: Novelty