Here, at MONOCHROME, we adore watches. Mechanical, high-end watches, hand-finished. We’re not really the right platform to write about smartwatches, or even quartz watches – this is our editorial choice, and we’ll stick to that. But last week, Swatch introduced SwatchPAY!, and that is a big innovation. I actually believe that this new introduction could, […]
From the earliest days of this watch magazine, which was founded over 13 years ago as Frank’s personal blog, the idea was to share a passion… In this instance, a passion for watches. However, even though we deeply enjoy this passion turned into a full-time job and sharing it with our readers, I have other […]
Since I began MONOCHROME in 2006, the information that brands disclosed about their watches has improved significantly. Diameter and height are now in pretty much every press release, and so is the actual movement. However, lately, we are often asked about the lug-to-lug size. Something that brands do not communicate about and neither do we. […]
In 2013, a Christie’s auction stunned the world with a record setting, eye watering sale of a Patek Philippe Grand Complication. The specific watch in question? Stephen S. Palmer Patek Philippe Grand Complication. The hammered price? USD2.25 million for a Patek Philippe Grand Complication pocket watch completed in 1898 and sold in…
If you’re a soccer fan and you’ve been in the watch industry long enough, you start to see patterns in the many sponsorships which can develop during the course of a few seasons – some of them are surprisingly magical – no, I’m not going to wax lyrical about how mechanical watches represent the…
When one talks about interesting or extraordinary watches, it is usually the independents or the luxury watchmakers that comes into the conversation. It is not unusual, considering that many entry-level manufacturers do not produce watches that are either controversial in design, or timepieces that feature the high-end complications. …
As our smartphones get Leica cameras, better optics, faster processors and biometric security sensors, you’d think they’d be getting more expensive. But they aren’t, in fact they’re getting cheaper. In 1960, a young computing engineer from the University of Pennsylvania introduced us to the concept of…
A recent survey report compiled by The Reputation Institute (RI), a Boston reputation management consulting firm, has uncovered that for a second consecutive year that Rolex has lead a list of the most reputable brands on the planet. Rolex’s retention of the top position underscores the market’s perception of the undeniable…
Given its importance in our perma-growth model of global economics, conspicuous consumption makes the world go round. In general, the luxury industry stands as a world unto itself, it defies traditional business models in that it supplies a desire for goods that people arguably need, at super-premium prices (thus enjoying exceptional profit…
Over 20 years ago, Patek Philippe had unified all of its operating and production units from a scattering of facilities across Geneva into a central campus in Plan Les Ouates. While that might seem good business sense, it was a high risk decision made during the 1995-96 period of industry turmoil. Yet, two decades down the line Thierry Stern…