The MONOCHROME Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte

For our fourth MONOCHROME Montre de Souscription, we are teaming up once again with independent Austrian watchmaker Habring², a brand dear to our hearts with whom we created our first MdS watch. Following the instant success of the Montre de Souscription 1, a monopusher chronograph with a salmon 1940s-inspired sector dial, we’re staying true to our passion for independent watchmaking and our trust in Maria and Richard Habring by unveiling a new collaboration model, an Art Deco interpretation of the Erwin Jumping Second. A timepiece with an unprecedented dial, created with the help of a young designer, the Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte is discreetly original, packed with details and includes a complication that resonates strongly with our love for precision timekeeping: the deadbeat seconds.

“With the MdS4, I wanted to bring something fresh to a watch I’ve always loved, the Habring² Erwin. Besides the near-perfect proportions of this timepiece, it’s the dedication of Maria and Richard to independent watchmaking that appeals to my team and me, as well as the rare complication, the so-called seconde morte or deadbeat seconds, a reference to chronometry and watches of yesteryear. For this new Montre de Souscription, we have teamed up with a young designer, Pietro Pilla, who also works with our great friends at Time+Tide. The MdS4 represents everything I love about watches – the passion and the friendships that come with it.” Frank Geelen, founder of MONOCHROME 

Since our foundation in 2006, we have always had a strong focus on independent watchmaking. Following the launch of the first Montre de Souscription in 2021, we’ve taken great pride in creating watches in collaboration with some of our favourite independent watchmakers – Habring², Czapek and Armin Strom. Our fourth Montre de Souscription goes back to the origins of the concept and once again relies on the expertise of Habring^² to share our vision of watchmaking. 

Following our own take on the brand’s monopusher chronograph, the Chrono-Felix, it is time to apply our touch to another signature model of the Austrian duo, the Erwin Jumping Second. This time, however, our inspiration and creation process was slightly different, but we’re particularly proud of the result: the MONOCHROME Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte.

the MONOCHROME MdS 4 Seconde Morte, in detail

For our Montre de Souscription 4, named Seconde Morte to retain the French nomenclature, we’ve used the Habrings’ Erwin model as a base. This evolution of the time-only, hand-wound Felix model launched in 2014 is equipped with one of the Austrian brand’s most acclaimed complications, jumping seconds or deadbeat seconds. 

The MdS4 Seconde Morte is a fine expression of our preferences, a watch that blends elegance with a restrained, almost instrumental attire. Reconciling old and new, the MdS4 Seconde Morte is a dress watch with vintage cues and contemporary features; its dial is an accomplished blend of discretion and rich details. It is an unprecedented take on the Habring^² Erwin with character and refinement. And a monochromatic touch, of course.

Like the Salmon MdS1, the case is made of stainless steel and entirely brushed, giving this elegant, compact watch a more utilitarian feel. Adding a retro touch, we opted for a double-stepped bezel, once again brushed and paired with drilled lugs. The case is a perfect blend of compactness and modern proportions, measuring 38.5mm in diameter and only 9mm thick, so it fits comfortably beneath even snug-fitting sleeve cuffs. It is equipped with a lightly domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment as well as a sapphire caseback, framed by a steel ring with dedicated MdS engravings. 

What makes the MONOCHROME Montre de Souscription 4 truly special is the dial. For this new model, we’ve enlisted the help of a young designer, Pietro Pilla, who is also a contributor at Time+Tide. While classic editions of the Erwin tend to play on a minimalist, deliberately austere look, the Montre de Souscription 4 is packed with discreet yet characterful details, all of them the result of a long and demanding design process. 

Art Deco inspiration is clear here, particularly in the highly detailed seconds track, the unique shape of the Roman numerals and the applied diamond-shaped hour markers. Deliberately slim and elongated, these polished elements are paired with a glossy black dial and thin white-printed tracks, numerals, and logos. There is an undeniable tension in this dial, a contrast between the utilitarian feel of the brushed case and this elegant, detailed dial that wouldn’t be out of place in a 1930s dress watch. To remain consistent with the Montre de Souscription series, we’ve opted for a French “Seconde Morte” indication at 6 o’clock. 

What is a seconde morte or jumping seconds? Why does the seconds hand on this watch jump once per second, instead of sweeping around the dial as it should on a mechanical watch? Rest assured, the MdS4 is not a quartz-powered watch. This wouldn’t be possible at MONOCHROME. Most mechanical watches, running at 3 or 4Hz, have a so-called sweeping seconds hand that performs between 6 and 8 pulses per second, giving the impression that the hand glides over the dial. A seconde morte or deadbeat seconds movement still runs at a traditional frequency (4Hz in the case of the MdS4) but displays its seconds in a jumping way, at one pulse per second. 

Deadbeat seconds movements were not created to replicate the jumping motion of a quartz watch. Their origin is historical and noble, going back to the days of regulator clocks used by observatories and scientists, as well as master clocks used in watchmaking ateliers as references to fine-tune movements. 

The development of the jumping seconds mechanism for the Erwin is hallmark Habring. Elegantly simple and pragmatic, the system comprises no more than 7 additional components compared to the Felix model’s time-only movement. Functional reliability and service-friendliness are important to Habring². Right in the centre of the movement is the jumping seconds mechanism, held in place by a tri-spoke bridge. It consists of an additional gear train located next to the seconds wheel that gathers energy from a spring and releases it every second, making the seconds hand jump. 

This deadbeat or Seconde Morte mechanism is neatly integrated into the A11 base movement, adding only 2mm to the watch’s total thickness – compared to a classic Felix model. The hand-wound A11S calibre is manufactured in-house by Habring² in Austria, with most parts produced in-house or custom-made by independent suppliers according to Habring² specifications, in Austria, Germany or Switzerland. Running at a 4Hz frequency, it is equipped with a tangential screw fine adjustment, an anti-magnetic escapement with a Carl Haas chronometer-quality balance spring, and a KIF shock protection in compliance with DIN and NIHS standards. Its single barrel delivers a comfortable 48-hour power reserve. The sapphire back of the MONOCHROME Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte reveals an elegant hand-decorated finish, including polished edges, decorative engravings, brushed surfaces, perlage, and heat-blued screws.

Complementing the watch is a handmade taupe nubuck leather strap with contrasting cream-coloured stitching, MONOCHROME’s light-blue leather lining, a stainless steel pin buckle and quick-release spring bars. 

About habring2 and the movement

As you know, not all watchmakers come from Switzerland and one of our favourite independent brands comes from Austria. Habring² was founded by Maria and Richard Habring. In 2001, Richard and Maria Kristina were married and decided to become partners in life and in work. In October 2004, the couple founded a watchmaking company named Habring². The first watch, the Time-Only, based on a Unitas 6498 hand-wound movement, was presented in late 2004.

In 2005, Maria and Richard presented a watch with a rather unusual complication that would become a classic for the brand: a jumping seconds. Back then, the watch was powered by restored vintage Chezard movements from the 1960s, with a central deadbeat or seconde morte seconds. And, together with the DoppelChronograph, the jumping seconds has become one of the signature watches of the brand. 

A key moment for the company came in 2014 with the introduction of the brand’s own A11 calibre series. Up until this point, all movements used by Habring² were sourced from ETA or other movement makers, then modified internally to add the brand’s signature complications: monopusher chronograph, rattrapante, foudroyante (jumping seconds). In 2014, they presented the Felix, a hand-wound small seconds movement. But if you know how Richard thinks, you can imagine that even the conception of the movement was executed with a keen sense of pragmatism. The construction of this movement still relies on the architecture and gear train of the 7750, but with major improvements. 

First of all, most components of the A11 are exclusive to Habring² and have nothing to do with ETA anymore. One of the reasons for creating the A11 was to become independent, so parts are either made in-house in Austria or sourced from nearby partners in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Notably, most key components are made in-house, including the escapement with its pallet fork and escape wheel, and the terminal curve of the hairsprings. The A11 was constructed to retain the qualities of the Valjoux while also being superior in many ways. It’s also built to be robust and easily repairable in the long run. 

Other improvements include a tangential screw regulator index instead of the common Etachron. Also, instead of parts welded together by an automated process, Habring² manufactures components separately, assembles them by hand, and secures them with pins. This is true, for example, of the cam used on the chronograph. Other evolutions include parts manufactured by laser micro-cutting rather than stamping and tumble-polishing, resulting in much finer tolerances and much more pleasant finishing.

Availability & PricE

The MONOCHROME Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte is offered as a subscription watch in a maximum run of 33 pieces, all individually numbered. It will be on sale for 2 weeks only, starting immediately or until all 33 pieces are sold. The first deliveries are scheduled for January 2026, with all remaining watches due for delivery by March 2026.

Available at the MONOCHROME Shop, the Montre de Souscription 4 Seconde Morte watch is priced at EUR 6,000 excluding taxes, and includes free insured international shipping and a 3-year warranty by Habring². When ordering the watch, we will ask for a non-refundable deposit of EUR 2,000 (excl. taxes). The remaining amount will be charged when the watch is ready to be shipped.