Today MONOCHROME is visiting Schwarz Etienne, an independent watchmaker with an impressive level of vertical integration. We will first explore the brand and its nicely manufactured watches. Also, we’ll discover one of the best-kept secrets of the watch industry, the manufacturing of one of the most crucial parts of a watch: the hairspring. The hairspring, […]
When talking about contemporary watches, companies generally use either in-house or off-the-shelf movements, the latter supplied by various manufacturers. Many high-end brands like Patek Philippe, Piaget, Rolex and Breguet can produce in-house movements that are optimized for their portfolios. A watch company is considered “complete” when it can produce its own movement, but many still rely on outsourced ones from large Swiss manufacturers like ETA and Sellita. Yet, the market has changed. A few established brands have decided to offer entry-range automatic watches and mostly, microbrands are all over the place, with the need to offer mechanical movements for accessible prices. Alternatives to the usual Swiss generic calibres have thus becomes crucial.
When talking about contemporary watches, companies generally use either in-house or off-the-shelf movements, the latter supplied by various manufacturers. Many high-end brands like Patek Philippe, Piaget, Rolex and Breguet can produce in-house movements that are optimized for their portfolios. A watch company is considered “complete” when it can produce its own movement, but many still rely on outsourced ones from large Swiss manufacturers like ETA and Sellita. Yet, the market has changed. A few established brands have decided to offer entry-range automatic watches and mostly, microbrands are all over the place, with the need to offer mechanical movements for accessible prices. Alternatives to the usual Swiss generic calibres have thus becomes crucial.
Today is the third and last instalment in our series of videos entitled “The Seamaster Chronicles”. Following our two previous movies – the first one focusing on the history of the legendary Seamaster, and the second one looking at how Omega managed to maintain the iconic status of this watch, even after 70 years of loyal service […]
Since 2009 and the introduction of the Carl F Bucherer Calibre A1000, peripheral rotors are getting more and more in vogue. With this smart and stylish solution, the winding mass is an annular segment mounted and swinging around the movement, instead of a centrally mounted oscillating weight rotating over it. This offers an unobstructed view of the movement along with providing the convenience of automatic winding. In addition, peripheral rotors allow watchmakers to design thinner self-winding watches, without adding to their thickness with an oscillating weight rotating over the movement.
It’s not uncommon for watch brands to buy cases, movements, crystals, straps, etc. to assemble at their base location, and then stamp their name on the dial and call it their own. Not all companies can build from scratch and even major luxury brands use ETA movements and various outsourced components. Back in the 1940’s, a brand known as Chronographe Suisse (Swiss Chronograph) provided inexpensive “generic” chronograph watches and parts for brands to adopt and add their name. Even local jewellers branded these watches as their own. They sold watches with in-house “Chronographe Suisse” branding as well, adding some confusion into the mix. Popular in the European market as (relatively) cheap Swiss watches for tourists, Chronographe Suisse became a significant revenue source for small, often forgettable brands and many of these watches are collectables today. At its peak, over 500 workshops were producing watches from Chronographe Suisse supplies. This successful business model thrived from the 1940’s to the 1970’s, before the quartz revolution wreaked havoc on the industry overall. Let’s take a closer look at this somewhat forgotten chapter of twentieth-century watch history.
Some love it, others hate it. Whether you like it or not, the Cyclops is a signature Rolex feature. Born for utilitarian purposes, this polarising innovation was designed to enhance the date aperture and magnify the typical Rolex date display – the Rolex Datejust with its date window was introduced in 1945. Named after the […]
Roman numerals are one of the most classic designs found on clocks and watches. As far as we can go back in history, there have always been some clocks, pocket watches and wristwatches with such numerals on the dials. However, owners of such pieces might have noticed something weird, something rather unusual. While the numeral 4 is commonly written IV in the Roman numeric system, most watches rely on the typography IIII. And of course, just like us, you might have asked yourself why? As always, there is no single answer to a problem, but here are some possible explanations for this absurdly important question.
A classic Breguet is easily recognizable, even at first glance. The fluted caseband, the welded lugs, the Breguet hands, the Breguet numerals, the secret signature are some of the immutable codes that make a Breguet a Breguet. The timelessness of the brand resides in a style that was established by Abraham-Louis Breguet over 2 centuries ago. The great watchmaker has got the most profound influence on the horological art. Some of his inventions changed the world of watchmaking: the perfecting of the self-winding with his ‘perpétuelle’ watches, the ‘pare-chute’ shock-protection system, the tourbillon or the Breguet hairspring to name a few. But today, we’ll focus on the art of guilloché or engine-turned dials.
If scuba diving is a popular recreational sports, it is a dangerous activity that needs to be properly prepared and monitored. If a diver ascends too quickly, this can lead to decompression illness that can be painful and life-threatening. As depth increases the physiological effects become greater. A reliable dive watch and a depth gauge are essential pieces of a diving gear to monitor depth and track the duration of an underwater adventure. Both are needed for using decompression tables. Traditionally, divers were using a dive watch and a depth gauge, to calculate decompression time at given depths. Today, many divers today choose to dive with a computer but some still use a mechanical depth gauge, even if used only as a backup.