The Doxa Sub300 50th Anniversary – A step back in time to the glory days of the dive watch

At Baselworld 2016, Doxa introduced its 50th Anniversary Sub300 model, a great dive watch with unquestionable pedigree. So we, at Monochrome, eagerly waited for a prototype to arrive at the HQ for a review. Once a black-dial Sharkhunter variant received, we immediately put it to its paces comparing, debating and discussing about it. That is the purpose of this article: make you understand how important and cool this watch is. However, before I proceed with my assessment, I feel that a short overview of the history of the company is needed to put things into a proper perspective.

8 years ago

Introducing – Tudor Pelagos LHD with left crown and cream indexes (hands-on photos, price)

After several collections based on the Heritage Black Bay, Tudor Watches comes back in the game of the rugged, professional-oriented and modern watches, with a new version of its tool: the Pelagos. After a first version introduced in 2012, with a black dial, after a revamp in 2015, with the addition of a blue dial and the introduction of the manufacture movement, the Pelagos is back in a version that most will definitely name “the coolest”. Please say hello to the Tudor Pelagos LHD 25610TNL, or the lefty version with cream indexes and red “Pelagos” printing.

8 years ago

Hands-On – Rolex Yacht-Master 116621 Two-Tone Everose Gold / Steel with Chocolate Dial

The big novelty from Rolex at Baselworld 2016 was… you named it: the Daytona Ceramic Bezel 116500LN – a very nice watch but, after all, a simple cosmetic evolution of an existing model. However, there was some more watches to discover. One stayed a bit under the radar, an evolution of the Yacht-Master, a watch that has never been favorited by Rolex purists. On the other hand, since last year, this model has been revamped by the Crown, with the introduction of the Everose / Ceramic version. While we were expecting it to be introduced in steel, Rolex decided differently, with the new Rolex Yacht-Master 116621 Two-Tone Everose Gold / Steel and Chocolate Dial. And it has some arguments…

8 years ago

Review – Citizen Aqualand Promaster, The Blue Collar Dive Watch from Japan

When we refer to Japan and its watch industry everyone, and rightly so, instantly think of one company: Seiko. However, there is more than that. Although Seiko has produced a large number of excellent, iconic and historical timepieces, it is unfair to forget other companies like Citizen. In this article we are going to examine one of the most iconic dive watches coming from Japan of all time. No, it is not the Tuna Marinemaster or the Seiko 6105, but the iconic Citizen Aqualand Promaster.

8 years ago

Tudor and its Heritage – The 1970s Chronographs and the Tudor Heritage Chrono

As we’ve seen in our two first episodes of “Tudor and its Heritage“, the brand did an important move into sports watches in the middle of the 1950s, starting with the Submariners, followed by the Ranger. These vintage pieces led to the creation of two current watches, the Heritage Black Bay and the Heritage Ranger, two pieces paying tribute to the rich past of Tudor Watches. However, there’s a another type of watches that we didn’t explore yet, and in this field, Tudor has been very active: chronographs. Today, we are going to look at how, starting in 1970, the brand created some highly iconic and bold chronographs, which later inspired the super-cool Tudor Heritage Chrono.

8 years ago

Hands-On – TAG Heuer Carrera Caliber 5 Ring Master Muhammad Ali

I hated every minute of training, but I said: Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion. Could this be the silver-tongued boxing champion’s own version of “Don’t crack under pressure”? Muhammad Ali was not just one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, he was also a vocal civil right activist with a legendary never-back-down attitude. Last month, at a charity boxing event hosted at Gleason’s Gym, Brooklyn’s legendary boxing club and Ali’s old stomping ground, TAG Heuer unveiled a collection of special edition steel watches to pay tribute to Muhammad Ali. Inspired by the brand’s 1950s Ring-Master watch – a stopwatch featuring interchangeable rings for timing different sports including boxing – we take a hands on look at the TAG Heuer Carrera Caliber 5 Ring Master Muhammad Ali.

8 years ago

Value Proposition – Review of the Fortis Cockpit One (a nice tool and a lot of watch for your money)

When you’re on the hunt for your perfect watch, or even just a compulsory purchase, there is a lot out there to lust after. For example, when it comes to dive watches we’ve seen that there are a lot more than just Submariners, Seamasters or Panerais to choose from, which is great especially if you are shopping with somewhat of a limited budget. Case in point, this newly introduced Fortis Cockpit One, an automatic Swiss watch with some very nice features, in the 1000-1500 Euro/USD/CHF price bracket. Today we’re taking a long, hard look at what you get for that money in one of our familiar extensive reviews!

8 years ago

Introducing – Hublot Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Concrete Jungle made with Artist Tristan Eaton

Hublot is no stranger for doing the unorthodox thing, whether it being on the technical side or on the aesthetical side. Talk about innovative technical prowess and the Hublot LaFerrari pops up. Mention weird or wonderful materials and perhaps you think of the Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti, with its leather dials. Now though, Hublot incorporates a rough-and-tough material, not often used for watchmaking: concrete! Here is the Hublot Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Concrete Jungle made with Artist Tristan Eaton.

8 years ago

Tudor and its Heritage – The old and new Tudor Ranger face to face

Last week, we started a new series of articles named “Tudor and Its Heritage“. As you might have guessed, we are here looking at how Tudor Watches successfully drew the lines of the Heritage collection by looking at some of its glorious vintage watches, however not copying them, but re-interpretating some key elements into a modern package. Vintage-inspiration, not vintage reedition. Our first episode focussed on the most expected ones, the Submariners and the actual Heritage Black Bay. However, the Heritage collection does comprise much more, including the Tudor Heritage Ranger, inspired by one of the most controversial watches of the brand, the Oyster Prince Ranger. And we have them face to face today – and we have a little extra too…

8 years ago

The History of the Vacheron Constantin Overseas – The Other 1970s Icon

In the 1970s, the post-war global economic boom came to an end. The new, accurate quartz watches gained popularity and plunged the Swiss watch industry in a deep crisis. As the inexpensive electronic watches began to flood the market, the competition from foreign manufacturers created a major economic turmoil, and with it, the need for Swiss brands to reinvent themselves, making necessary disruptive changes. And that includes the Vacheron Constantin Overseas, a watch born in that exact period.

8 years ago