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. […]
If you’re looking for something watch-related to do in London in early June, you can forget all about the summer edition of The Watchmakers Club. That’s because all 250 available spots have already been snapped up… Sad, isn’t it? Not really, as in fact, you might still have a chance of getting in thanks to […]
Written by Aaron Sigmond and Mark Bernardo, with a foreword by New York Times’ Clive Cussler, SEA TIME: Watches Inspired by Sailing, Yachting, and Diving explores the ties between the nautical and watchmaking world from marine chronometers, regatta chronographs to popular dive watches. This lavishly illustrated coffee-table book SEA TIME looks at over 100 modern […]
For a company that built its name as a purveyor of precision marine chronometers, Ulysse Nardin has a long-standing and authentic link to the sea. Combine this with the brand’s penchant for extravagant complications and showmanship and you get the Marine Mega Yacht, a watch that combines a flying tourbillon, a tide indicator, a moon phase indicator with miniature lifelike recreations of a ship’s features – anchor, chain, propeller, windlass and bow – directly on the dial! With a price tag of just over EUR 300,000, the platinum watch is a limited edition of just 30 pieces.
If there is an official standard defining the features for a watch suitable for diving (ISO 6425), no such definition or standard exists (at least one that would be used throughout the industry) for another popular watch category: the pilot’s watch. Each and every brand has its own vision of what a pilot’s watch should […]
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FHS) reports exports up 6.3% at 21.2 billion CHF in 2018, back above the 20 billion Swiss Francs mark. Exports have now climbed for two consecutive years as demand had bounced back in 2017 (19.9 billion CHF, +2.7%), after two years of decline. The performance achieved in 2018 is still inferior to that of 2015.
Following our series of articles about the “Online Watch Market”, we take a look at a player with an original business model in this ultra-competitive market: Troverie. Their idea is to make things easy and secure, being backed by the original manufacturers’ guarantee. Peter Kramer, their COO, shares with us what differentiates Troverie and his ambition for the future.
The 29th edition of the SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie) will soon be throwing its doors open with some 35 brands gearing up to unveil their latest models. The Geneva-based event, which runs between January 14 to 17, is one of the two major watch shows of the year – together with Baselworld. Just as the synchronization of the calendar of both events has been announced, MONOCHROME talks with Fabienne Lupo, Chairwoman & Managing Director of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) about what’s new for SIHH and FHH.
The rumor was around since some time now, and many were hoping for this to happen, and now it is official. Baselworld and SIHH will coordinate their dates as of 2020. The two major trade shows of the watch industry will synchronize their calendars. The SIHH will be held from 26 to 29 April in Geneva, followed immediately by Baselworld from 30 April to 5 May in Basel. Better yet, the calendars have been synchronised until 2024.
While September 2018 showed a (slight and isolated) fall in exports of Swiss Watches, the FH – Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry – reports that “industry exports have reverted to the sustained trend reported previously“. With a total of just under Swiss Francs 2 billion (1.987 billion precisely), exports of Swiss Watches were 7.2% […]