Review: Vacheron Constatin Overseas 4500V

In 1977, Vacheron Constantin was late to a historical party, being the last of the Swiss watchmaking ‘Holy Trinity’ to debut a luxury sports watch. The 222 (designed by Jorg Hysek) was then Vacheron Constantin’s answer to Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak (1972 by Gerald Genta) and Patek Philippe’s Nautilus (1976 also by Gerald Genta). It…

8 years ago

Christmas Buying Guide – 5 Best Dive / Sports Watches of 2016

Today, our readers on the other side of the Atlantic are celebrating Thanksgiving, and while this day doesn’t make a lot of sense for those in Old Europe or Asia, it however opens the festive season. And who says festive season says Christmas and our usual buying guides – and also an overview of the best watches we’ve seen this year. After long debates and fights at the Monochrome-Watches headquarters (not literally, no worries), here are our 5 Best Dive / Sports Watches of 2016, for all budgets and tastes.

8 years ago

Dear Santa: A Christmas Wishlist 1

Every year before Christmas, Santa sits in his favourite chair next to the hearth, sipping from a mug of hot cocoa. He is in the North Pole after all and the weather is cold. It is at this time that Santa reads all the letters he’s received from children all over the world with his elven chief toymaker. “Little Bartholomew has been a nice…

8 years ago

5 Retrograde Watches To Fly Back For

Creating a retrograde display is not as easy as it might seem. The difficulty of this complication is however matched by its popularity because a lot of

8 years ago

The Elections… for the Watch of the Year and the GPHG that is!

While the race for presidency in the USA is going on until the last minute, we’ll of course focus… on watches! And in the world of watches, we also have elections. Just two weeks ago I attended the gala award ceremony for the election of the Watch of the Year, organised by our friends of Chronos24 in Poland. And this Thursday, when we finally know who’s going to be the new tenant of the White House, is the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève – a.k.a the 2016 Edition of the GPHG. While the first becomes a bit international due to several international jury members – including yours truly – the latter can best be compared to the Oscars in the world of movies.

8 years ago

Preview of Geneva November 2016 Auctions: CHRISTIE’S GENEVA

Sacha Davidoff Reports On The November 2016 Watch Auctions Following my preview of the Antiquorum & Phillips watch auctions, my brother and I took a look at Christie’s upcoming auction catalog, but sadly did not have the pleasure of viewing the watches in person yet as they are currently traveling. The Christie’s team have focused […]

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