Introducing – Alpina Seastrong Diver Gyre Automatic – Protecting the Oceans

If you read MONOCHROME on a regular basis, the name ‘Gyre’ should ring a bell… A project initiated by fellow journalists Bernard Werk and Jorrit Niels, Gyre Watch aims at raising awareness of ocean pollution and raising money for its clean-up with a watch made from recycled fishing nets. Already involved in ecological projects, Alpina […]

5 years ago

The week the watch world changed

If you are the kind of person that thinks the watch media should “stay in [their] lane” when it comes to commenting on anything but the latest watch releases, then it’s best you scroll on to the next story. This one, like many recent posts by brands and individuals in the industry, is about this week in the world and not just this week in watches. I respect that Time+Tide is a refuge from reality for some and I am not offended if you prefer to leave it that way. Ultimately though, this is a message of hope and optimism. And lastly, of pride, to be in the watch industry at this time when it is bravely pivoting to be a voice for change, regardless of the cost. “Each time a [person] stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” Robert Kennedy This week we are blacking out the Friday Wind Down as a…

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5 years ago

Rent a Rolex Submariner now for $299 a month – will luxury watch rentals ever take off?

“Consumers have demonstrated an appetite to shift away from traditional ownership to newer ways in which to access product.”  That was the intro of the “End of Ownership” chapter in “The State of Fashion 2019”, a detailed report by the Business of Fashion and global management consultants McKinsey. The chapter outlined one of the big trends predicted to change the way we shop. “More consumers will see a growing proportion of their wardrobes made up of pre-owned or rented products, especially for high-value items and accessories,” it said. Describing how the prices of top-end watches and jewellery have nearly doubled since 2005, the report suggested that some disruption to the traditional model was inevitable: “Even consumers with six-figure incomes are looking to discounts and alternative models of acquisition for relief.” Given this purported shake-up – that you’d expect to only be aggravated by the financial stress of COVID-19 – a clutch of luxury watch rental services have popped up around the world. These include Vyrent in the US, Borrowed Time in the UK, Luxothèque in France and Acquired Time in Singapore and Hong Kong.  News of the existence of Helvetia, an Australian service renting out high-end watches therefore shouldn’t come as a…

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5 years ago