The Monochrome Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte (MdS4) is a limited-edition collaboration between the team at Monochrome Watches and Austrian independent Habring², built around the brand’s signature jumping seconds complication. Powered by the hand-wound A11S calibre, the watch reflects the marque’s focus on technically robust, thoughtfully refined movements and offers a straightforward value proposition.

Limited to 33 individually numbered pieces and sold exclusively through a short souscription-style sales window, the MdS4 highlights both Habring²’s technical merit and Monochrome’s aesthetic sensibilities.

Initial thoughts

Richard and Maria Habring are outliers in the field of independent watchmaking. Among the sole guardians of the Austrian watchmaking tradition, the husband and wife team produce a range of deceptively technical (yet honestly priced) watches. This rare combination makes the brand’s watches appealing to many insiders like the team behind the Dutch website Monochrome Watches, that have just announced their latest 1930s-inspired collaboration.

While the watch and its movement are the work of Habring², the team at Monochrome turned to designer and Time+Tide contributor Pietro Pilla for the Art Deco-inspired dial design.

The discreet black dial features applied Roman numerals that alternate with delicate teardrop-shaped indexes, a choice that helps prevent the dial from looking too crowded. The printed railroad scale that rings the dial is more instrument-like, with five hash marks per unit. Normally I’d consider this outermost chapter ring the seconds scale, but since the seconds hand jumps in discrete one-second increments, the smaller graduations only serve to indicate the minutes with a higher degree of resolution.

An appealing touch is the bridge-like arch over each of the five-minute markers, a detail that gives the otherwise pared-back and purposeful dial a bit of period-correct ornamental flair.

Inside, the MdS4 is powered by the well-known Habring² A11S, which features Mr Habring’s own jumping seconds function visible through the sapphire crystal case back. While the movement has utilitarian roots, Habring² has refined the source material, both technically and aesthetically, to the point that its origins are barely recognisable. In short, it’s difficult to do any better in this segment of the market.

The MdS4 is priced at €6,000 excluding taxes. Habring²’s watches are almost always a compelling value, and that’s true in this case as well; the thoughtful touches applied by the team at Monochrome make it an appealing new iteration of an already strong platform. The distribution model is unusual, so collectors should be aware that the watch will only be on sale for a period of two weeks, or until all 33 individually numbered units are sold.

Art Deco-inspired

The MdS4 will feel familiar to collectors who have come into contact with a Habring² Erwin, which features the brand’s jumping seconds complication. The fully brushed stainless steel case resembles that of the Massena Lab collaboration from 2020, and is distinguished by its flat, stepped bezel and nearly perfect proportions.

Designed to embody the spirit of 1930s-era dress watches, the MdS4 blends Art Deco motifs with an instrument-like feel to reimagine a gentleman’s wristwatch from the interwar period. The 38.5 mm size is small enough to carry off the vintage-oriented theme, but large enough to suit contemporary tastes.

The dial is a glossy black to create visual contrast with the printed white scales and dial text. The markings are thin and neat — a factor that makes the elegant serif fonts feasible.

The polished handset matches the applied Roman numerals and teardrop hour markers. That is to say there’s no lume, but low-light reading should be possible at most angles thanks to the reflectivity and contrast of the polished hands.

Discreet dial, discrete movement

Most independent watchmakers targeting this segment of the market rely on a handful of off-the-shelf calibres; it’s simply too costly for most watchmakers to develop something unique, and many watchmakers lack the engineering experience required to make reliable new constructions. But Richard Habring is not most watchmakers, and his depth of experience with the Valjoux 7750 platform, gained during his influential tenure at IWC, set him on a course to be more self-sufficient.

The A11 platform, which spans both chronograph and time-only variants, can trace its origins to the humble cal. 7750, and retains many of that movement’s best characteristics, such as its sporty 4 Hz frequency and high-torque barrel. But it would be reductive to equate the two calibres.

For one thing, Habring² has redesigned and reworked nearly all of the critical components to reduce tolerances and improve material quality. For example, many components that are stamped in a typical cal. 7750 are remanufactured by Habring² using more precise techniques like laser cutting.

This process results in components that are more amenable to traditional finishing, which is why the circular brushing and perlage look as good as they do. The care in construction extends to the heat-blued screws, which enrich the look of the A11.

Of course, the movement’s signature feature is its jumping seconds complication, inspired by historical precision clocks, which can be seen in action in the centre of the movement.

Key facts and price

Monochrome Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte

Diameter: 38.5 mm
Height: 9 mm
Material: Steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: A11S
Features: Hours, minutes, and jumping seconds
Winding: Hand-wind
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 48 hours

Strap: Leather strap

Limited edition: 33 pieces
Availability: On the Monochrome shop for a period of two weeks (or until all 33 pieces are sold), starting on December 18, 2025 at 3PM CET. Deliveries are expected in February 2026 and March 2026.
Price: €6,000 excluding taxes (including a non-refundable deposit of €2,000 plus taxes due at the time of order)

For more, visit shop.monochrome-watches.com