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.

8 years ago

Girard-Perregaux 1966 WW.TC Watch

There’s a notable dearth of clean, reasonably sized, mechanical world-timing watches on the market, which is a shame because not only are they super cool, the complication is exceptionally useful. Well that’s about to change with the Girard-Perregaux WW.TC 1966 – a classic world-timer with thoughtfully reserved proportions.

8 years ago

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.

8 years ago

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.

8 years ago

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).

8 years ago

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.

8 years ago

IWC Reintroduces the Portugieser Chronograph Rattrapante – And It Rocks, And It’s Steel…

When it has been first launched in 1995, the IWC Portugieser Chrono­graph Rattrapante (Ref. 3712) quickly obtained the status of icon, first for being a Portugieser (which alone makes this watch totally emblematic of the Schaffhausen-based manufacture) but also for being a quite special split-second. Yes, it is a rattrapante but that’s not the point. It’s special because it is a simple and accessible rattrapante, and that was very cool. Unfortunately, this watch was discontinued in 2006… Until earlier this year, when it came back in a gold limited edition for Milano, today joined by two stainless versions – and that is really cool. Here is the “new” Portugieser Chronograph Rattrapante with two Boutique Editions, for Munich and Rue de la Paix / Paris.

8 years ago