Posts Published byraftmenpiece

First Look – The Doxa SUB 200 Grande Roma Edition

First Look – The Doxa SUB 200 Grande Roma Edition

Dive watch specialist Doxa has been busy with collaborations lately. Retailer editions, small runs, watches tied to a place or a partner. We have seen it with the SUB 200 Azure and SUB 200 Dune created for Caribbean retailer Art of Time. Same watch, same idea, just a different flavour each time. Now the brand heads […]

Dive watch specialist Doxa has been busy with collaborations lately. Retailer editions, small runs, watches tied to a place or a partner. We have seen it with the SUB 200 Azure and SUB 200 Dune created for Caribbean retailer Art of Time. Same watch, same idea, just a different flavour each time. Now the brand heads

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Introducing – Indie Brand Akhor Launches the Lumiere Blanche Editions

Introducing – Indie Brand Akhor Launches the Lumiere Blanche Editions

Geneva-based independent brand Akhor presented its inaugural Le Temps en Équilibre collection in 2025, built around a patented dual-disc display system, and it was immediately recognised for its innovative dial concept and proprietary movement. The new Lumière Blanche editions expand the concept with a new artistic direction, where white becomes the central design element. The […]

Geneva-based independent brand Akhor presented its inaugural Le Temps en Équilibre collection in 2025, built around a patented dual-disc display system, and it was immediately recognised for its innovative dial concept and proprietary movement. The new Lumière Blanche editions expand the concept with a new artistic direction, where white becomes the central design element. The

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Buying Guide – Small but Mighty II – Six Mechanical Chronographs Under 40mm

Buying Guide – Small but Mighty II – Six Mechanical Chronographs Under 40mm

Just last week, we looked at six very versatile watches of 36mm and under, and this week we’re sort of revisiting the topic. However, instead of looking at more time-only or time-and-date watches, we turn to one of the single most popular complications in the industry: the mighty Chronograph! While a chronograph movement requires a […]

Just last week, we looked at six very versatile watches of 36mm and under, and this week we’re sort of revisiting the topic. However, instead of looking at more time-only or time-and-date watches, we turn to one of the single most popular complications in the industry: the mighty Chronograph! While a chronograph movement requires a

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The ABCs of Time – Why Are Some Watch Cases Filled with Oil?

The ABCs of Time – Why Are Some Watch Cases Filled with Oil?

Wristwatch manufacturers focus on keeping cases air and watertight so the movements can operate trouble-free in daily use. This started in earnest in 1926 with Rolex’s robust Oyster case, but even delicate dress watches today have a degree of water and dust resistance for splashes, rain and so on. However, a small handful of brands deliberately fill […]

Wristwatch manufacturers focus on keeping cases air and watertight so the movements can operate trouble-free in daily use. This started in earnest in 1926 with Rolex’s robust Oyster case, but even delicate dress watches today have a degree of water and dust resistance for splashes, rain and so on. However, a small handful of brands deliberately fill

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The Petrolhead Corner – Mercedes-Benz Goes MAD With The Unimog Luxury Show Truck

The Petrolhead Corner – Mercedes-Benz Goes MAD With The Unimog Luxury Show Truck

Forget your Defender, sell your G-Wagon, Mercedes-Benz has just presented the “Final Boss” of Go-Anywhere-Do-Anything luxury cars. What you see here is the Mercedes-Benz Unimog Luxury Show Car. Or truck, rather, as it’s the size of a house and if this were to roll up behind you on the highway, you’d better move out of the way. If not, […]

Forget your Defender, sell your G-Wagon, Mercedes-Benz has just presented the “Final Boss” of Go-Anywhere-Do-Anything luxury cars. What you see here is the Mercedes-Benz Unimog Luxury Show Car. Or truck, rather, as it’s the size of a house and if this were to roll up behind you on the highway, you’d better move out of the way. If not,

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Hands-on – Coachbuilder Meets Watchmaker on the Chopard Zagato Lab One Concept

Hands-on – Coachbuilder Meets Watchmaker on the Chopard Zagato Lab One Concept

Initial reactions to Chopard’s Zagato Lab One Concept were anything but neutral. Far removed from Chopard’s more conventional Mille Miglia racing-themed watches, this avant-garde concept car on the wrist – with its radical “bird cage” car-chassis aesthetics – was embraced by some as a daring pole-position contender, while others needed more time to digest its […]

Initial reactions to Chopard’s Zagato Lab One Concept were anything but neutral. Far removed from Chopard’s more conventional Mille Miglia racing-themed watches, this avant-garde concept car on the wrist – with its radical “bird cage” car-chassis aesthetics – was embraced by some as a daring pole-position contender, while others needed more time to digest its

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Introducing – Beaubleu and the Monnaie de Paris Join Forces to Strike the Dials of La Pièce 1 & 2

Introducing – Beaubleu and the Monnaie de Paris Join Forces to Strike the Dials of La Pièce 1 & 2

Beaubleu is a young, independent French brand founded in 2017 by automotive and luxury product designer Nicolas Ducoudert. Gaining attention for the circular, orbiting hands featured in the brand’s collections, Beaubleu returns with new models born from an unexpected collaboration with the Monnaie de Paris, the official French national mint. Founded in 864, the mint […]

Beaubleu is a young, independent French brand founded in 2017 by automotive and luxury product designer Nicolas Ducoudert. Gaining attention for the circular, orbiting hands featured in the brand’s collections, Beaubleu returns with new models born from an unexpected collaboration with the Monnaie de Paris, the official French national mint. Founded in 864, the mint

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First Look – The new Fortis Marinemaster M-44 DLC Gravity Black and Black Resin

First Look – The new Fortis Marinemaster M-44 DLC Gravity Black and Black Resin

First introduced in 2021 alongside its smaller, less pro-oriented M-40 version, the Fortis Marinemaster M-44 was part of the new collections to mark the renewal of the brand, and yet it carried a name with historical importance. For once, not a watch linked to pilots, the Marinemaster (specifically the rugged, high-performance M-44 versions) is more […]

First introduced in 2021 alongside its smaller, less pro-oriented M-40 version, the Fortis Marinemaster M-44 was part of the new collections to mark the renewal of the brand, and yet it carried a name with historical importance. For once, not a watch linked to pilots, the Marinemaster (specifically the rugged, high-performance M-44 versions) is more

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Portrait – Juha Eskola, The Latest Indie Discovery From Finland, On His Journey Into Watchmaking

Portrait – Juha Eskola, The Latest Indie Discovery From Finland, On His Journey Into Watchmaking

The independent watchmaking scene is as wide as it is deep, and we regularly stumble upon new and exciting projects and brands. And since indie watchmaking is also at the core of MONOCHROME Watches, we try to serve you as many of these as we can. For the next new indie discovery, named Juha Eskola, […]

The independent watchmaking scene is as wide as it is deep, and we regularly stumble upon new and exciting projects and brands. And since indie watchmaking is also at the core of MONOCHROME Watches, we try to serve you as many of these as we can. For the next new indie discovery, named Juha Eskola,

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Industry News – Béatrice Goasglas Appointed CEO of Tag Heuer

Industry News – Béatrice Goasglas Appointed CEO of Tag Heuer

Following the sudden and surprising departure of Antoine Pin in January, after being at the head of TAG Heuer for just over a year, the Swiss watchmaker owned by French luxury powerhouse LVMH has just announced the appointment of a new CEO – after several shakups, following the departure from this role in 2013 of […]

Following the sudden and surprising departure of Antoine Pin in January, after being at the head of TAG Heuer for just over a year, the Swiss watchmaker owned by French luxury powerhouse LVMH has just announced the appointment of a new CEO – after several shakups, following the departure from this role in 2013 of

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