Monochrome and Habring² return with the Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte
Jason Lee- Monochrome collaborates with Habring² to unveil the Monochrome Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte.
- The watch notably features a black glossy lacquer dial, with polished applied Roman numerals and diamond-shaped hour markers.
- The highlight is the movement beating inside, the hand-wound jumping seconds Habring² calibre A11S.
Our friends over at Monochrome’s Montre de Souscription series returns for its fourth instalment by circling back to one of the project’s closest creative relationships: independent Austrian watchmaker Habring². This new piece takes Habring²’s Erwin Jumping Second as its base and reframes it through a more decorative, Art Deco-leaning dial concept—developed by our very own Pietro Pilla, our dashing Italian correspondent (who also knows how to design a beautiful watch dial!)
The technical and narrative hook is stated right on the dial: “Seconde Morte,” or deadbeat seconds—where the central seconds hand advances in one-second steps, even though the movement runs at a traditional mechanical frequency. Monochrome is positioning the watch as a nod to precision timekeeping and the older world of chronometry, rather than anything to do with quartz-style mimicry. That’s the premise behind the newly announced Monochrome Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte, offered as a subscription watch in a numbered run capped at 33 pieces.
For anyone who has followed the Montre de Souscription line, the approach is consistent: use the series as a vehicle for collaboration with independent brands that the Monochrome team rates highly. Since launching the concept in 2021, they’ve worked with names including Habring², Czapek and Armin Strom, and MdS4 is framed as a return “to the origins” by leaning on Habring²’s particular mix of classical watchmaking and pragmatic engineering. The platform is the Erwin, which is an evolution of the time-only, hand-wound Felix introduced in 2014—only here, it’s specified with one of the brand’s most closely associated complications: the jumping, or deadbeat, seconds.
The case is fully brushed stainless steel, with a double-step bezel and drilled lugs. The case is 38.5mm in diameter, 9mm thick, and 45.6mm lug-to-lug. Up top, there’s a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, and around back, a sapphire display window held by a steel ring engraved for the collaboration. A double-sealed crown and a 30m water-resistance rating complete the spec sheet.
Where MdS4 clearly diverges from standard Erwin models is the dial. Monochrome describes most regular Erwins as minimalist and deliberately austere; by contrast, this one is intended to be “packed with discreet yet characterful details,” and the Art Deco references are the backbone of that. The base is a black glossy lacquer dial, with polished applied Roman numerals and diamond-shaped hour markers that have been drawn long and slim, set against fine white printed tracks, numerals and logos. In the metal, the design reads like a layered instrument panel: a crisp outer track, and the applied furniture sitting proud, catching light as the wrist moves. Monochrome also keeps its house style consistent with the French “Seconde Morte” text at six o’clock, paired with polished steel leaf hands.
Of course, that “Seconde Morte” label is more than decoration. A typical mechanical movement running at 3 or 4Hz is making multiple impulses per second (often perceived as a continuous sweep), but a deadbeat seconds display still runs at that same underlying frequency while choosing to show the seconds in one-second steps. Monochrome frames the complication’s roots in regulator clocks used by observatories and scientists, and in workshop “master clocks” used as a reference when fine-tuning movements.
Habring²’s solution is exactly what long-time followers expect: direct, serviceable, and slightly contrarian in its refusal to overcomplicate. The jumping seconds system adds no more than seven components versus the time-only Felix base, and the mechanism sits right at the centre of the movement under a tri-spoke bridge. Functionally, an additional gear train accumulates energy via a spring and then releases it once per second, which is what drives the crisp, single-step jump of the central seconds hand. The whole module adds only 2mm of thickness compared to a classic Felix.
The movement itself is the hand-wound Habring² calibre A11S, running at 28,800vph (4Hz) with a 48-hour power reserve from a single barrel. It features tangential screw fine adjustment, an anti-magnetic escapement with a Carl Haas balance spring “in chronometer quality,” and KIF shock protection in compliance with DIN and NIHS standards.
Monochrome also leans on one of Habring²’s main selling points: manufacturing in Austria, with most parts produced in-house or made to spec by independent suppliers in Austria, Germany or Switzerland. Through the sapphire back, the finishing is described as hand-applied and traditionally minded: polished edges, decorative engravings, brushed surfaces, perlage and heat-blued screws.
The watch comes on a handmade taupe nubuck strap with contrasting cream stitching and quick-release spring bars. Monochrome adds a small signature twist with a light-blue leather lining.
Closing thoughts
In a market crowded with “dressy” time-only watches, MdS4’s proposition is narrower but clearer: compact brushed steel, a high-contrast lacquered dial with deliberate period cues, and a complication that’s both visually obvious and historically grounded… Provided you’re the sort of person who notices (and enjoys) a seconds hand that refuses to sweep.
Monochrome x Habring² Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte pricing and availability
The Monochrome x Habring² Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte is available directly from Monochrome’s website, and is limited to 33 pieces. Price: €6,000
| Brand | Habring² |
| Model | Monochrome Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte |
| Case Dimensions | 38.5mm (D) x 9mm (T) x 45.6mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 30 meters |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire front and back |
| Dial | Black glossy lacquer |
| Bracelet | Taupe nubuck leather strap |
| Movement | Calibre A11S, in-house, hand-wound |
| Power Reserve | 48 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, deadbeat seconds |
| Availability | Limited to 33 pieces |
| Price | €6,000 |