Introducing: The Monochrome × Habring² Doppel 38 Unique Piece For Save The Children
Our colleagues at Monochrome and Habring² are no strangers to each other. When the online watch magazine celebrated its 15th birthday in 2021, Habring² collaborated with them on a celebratory watch. Now, they pair up once more, and this time, it’s for charity. This unique piece will be auctioned at the Geneva Watch Auction XVII in Geneva, May 23-24, 2023.
What we have here is a Habring² split-seconds chronograph with a salmon sector dial in a 38.5mm case. That sounds rather sweet, doesn’t it? Let’s have a closer look.
Habring² and Monochrome
As mentioned above, these two companies have collaborated before. They introduced the Montre de Souscription 1 for Monochrome’s 15th anniversary in 2021. This watch was a 38.5mm mono-pusher chronograph with a salmon sector dial. More on that dial later.
The original MdS 1
The MdS 1 was a classical two-register chronograph in a fully brushed case. The style was very much inspired by the watch designs of the 1940s. Inside of it ticked the hand-wound caliber A11C-H1 developed by Maria and Richard Habring, the Austrian watchmaker couple behind the brand.
The watch, as the name suggests, was offered on a souscription basis. That is a fancy (French) way of stating that the 33 pieces were presold to their lucky owners before production. Now, if that sounds like a rare watch, today’s introduction is 33 times rarer!
Doppel Felix
Habring² Doppel-Felix
But before I get to today’s new watch (I promise I will), I want to take you back to the Habring² Doppel-Felix that RJ reviewed back in 2018. This watch featured the rattrapante caliber A11RD developed by the Habrings.
A doppelchronograph — the German term for a split-second chronograph — allows for the timing of sub-events within longer events. Two central chronograph seconds hands are stacked, running as one when activated. The push of a button then stops one while the other continues. With another push of the same button, the hand catches up again. You could, for instance, time laps while also timing the entire race. Once everyone has crossed the line, you can stop and reset both hands.
The Habrings updated the caliber in 2021, and in 2022, they fitted it in a 38.5mm case. Okay, now that we have covered two watches, it’s time to put them together. Today’s release is, in a sense, a marriage of the MdS 1 and the Doppel 38.
Monochrome × Habring² Doppel 38
This unique piece features a 38.5mm case, but this time, it is fitted with an old-school stepped bezel. It makes for an even more vintage-inspired aesthetic that goes perfectly with the overall theme, especially once paired with a salmon dial that had remained from the initial MdS 1 project.
If you turn the watch around, you are greeted by a large sapphire display case back. It shows the doppelchronograph caliber in all its glory. “Monochrome × Habring²” and “Piece Unique” are engraved around the perimeter. You know, just in case your friends don’t believe you have the only one around.
The dial really is a joy to behold. It features several different finishing textures across its different sectors. Paired with black printing and a blued handset, the result is quite the looker.
Auctioned for charity
The Monochrome × Habring2 Doppel 38 is set to be auctioned during the Phillips Geneva Watch Auction: XVII on May 13–14, 2023. It is lot 30 and carries an estimate of CHF 10,000–20,000.
All of the proceeds will go to Save the Children, an NGO that champions children’s rights worldwide. The organization responds during conflicts and crises, protecting the children affected. Save the Children is also highly active in ensuring that kids worldwide receive the education that seems so normal to many of us. Let’s hope Monochrome and Habring² manage to raise a significant sum for this great cause!
