Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Moon Enamel Introduction
Roughly a month before the SIHH in Geneva, where Richemont brands (a.o.) introduce their novelties to the press, retailers and consumers, Jaeger-LeCoultre presents their Master Ultra Thin Moon Enamel already. Limited to 100 pieces only, this watch features a dial that is completely executed by hand by a few artisans trained in Le Sentier, where the Jaeger-LeCoultre manufacture is located.Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Moon EnamelThe Master Ultra Thin collection is among our favourites, as we wrote in this article on their Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar.? Jaeger-LeCoultre uses the Master Ultra Thin not only to show their?hand-guilloche blue enamel dial but also their moonphase indic...
#TBT Seiko 7549-7010 Tuna Can 40 Years Bold
In today's #TBT we take a look at the Seiko 7549-7010 Tuna Can. While I'll never say never, this article likely marks the last of our in-depth articles on vintage models from within this particular line of distinctive divers from one of our favorite brands. But, for many out there, perhaps we've chosen to save the best for last. After all, as you'll come to see, the Tuna Can represents what is likely the most wearable and is certainly the least costly of the lineage if vintage is your target.We briefly spoke about the Seiko 7549-7010 Tuna Can in our Top Vintage Seiko Divers reference article (if you've not yet checked this out, they're all there!), but I felt that such an important model des...
Hands-On: The New MING 17.06 Slate
Before we commence our review of the MING 17.06 Slate, here’s the link to the brand’s site for ordering.? As I’ll mention shortly, MING watches sell quickly – so if you like what you see, hit the link.? Now for the review…Regrets, I have a few…When it comes to watch collectors, they always have regrets – also known as “the ones that got away”.? I’m rather fortunate because my list of “should’ve, could’ve, would’ve” pieces is relatively short.? Way back in 2011, I found (more precisely, my Dad alerted me) a lovely Red Submariner in Canada.? That was a win, but they also happened to have a late 60’...
Interview With Giorgia Mondani
You’ve seen them on the bookshelves at (vintage) watch dealers and collectors: the Mondani books. We talk to Giorgia Mondani, who joined her family business at a young age and shared her love for () watches with her +180.000 followers on her Instagram account.The Mondani books are massive in weight and size and are a bit more serious than nice looking coffee table format books. These are books with a purpose. They help collectors to research their vintage () watches and ensure they know what to look for. As you know, it is all about the details when collecting vintage watches.I’ve been a follower of Mondani for many years and bought a large number of their books myself. It starte...
Best Dive Watches Of 2021 Under $2,000 : Seiko, Doxa, And More
Who doesn't love a good dive watch? For many, they are the gateway drug into a life-long passion for watches. And for some, they remain the focus of their collecting for years to come. No wonder then that every single year we are blessed with countless new models, both from microbrands and established luxury brands alike. I'll be keeping things personal today, and show you some of my favorite picks, which all happen to land under the $2,000 price point. To me, this is where true value can be found. These are watches that you can wear as intended without worrying about their value in ten years. It's what tool watches are all about.This is why I've put together a list of my top five dive watch...
The Fast And The Fratelli Semi-Finals: Speedmaster Calibre 321 Vs. Speedmaster ST2 Ultraman
We just entered the semi-finals of this The Fast And The Fratelli contest, with a wonderful Traxxas Bandit RC car (scale 1:10) at stake. Now it is getting tough, with two Speedmasters racing each other in this round. The Omega Speedmaster Calibre 321 meets “our own” Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday “Ultraman” edition. RJ’s Speedmaster Calibre 321 is in the left lane, Balazs’s Speedy Tuesday “Ultraman” is in the right. Start your engines.RJ: I was wearing the Speedmaster Calibre 321 yesterday during the F1 GP in Abu Dhabi. It just felt like an appropriate thing to do. I enjoyed watching F1 this season, although some of the decisions were highly questi...
Fortis In The Arctic: Space, Balloons, Helicopters, And Adventure
I've never seen a helicopter up close before. I'm excited. I'm not expecting to be so (almost literally) blown away by the power of these machines, but it turns out I should have been. We race down to the landing area just in time to see them both land, but it isn't until our (unbelievably young) pilots fire up the engines for take-off that the forces at play become apparent.Matze boards the first copter with his filming equipment. He's traveling with one representative from Esrange who is specially trained to help us recover the payload, wherever it may have landed. As his captain sets the blades in motion, we're treated to a fearsome show of human engineering firsthand. The helicopter is t...
The Breguet Tradition 7097 A Costume Drama For The Wrist
The montre de souscription, or “subscription watch”, presented by Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1796, was not only a pocket watch but also a brilliant conceptual idea. Produced upon registration and fitted with a robust, relatively easy-to-manufacture movement, this pocket watch responded perfectly to the capricious market during post-revolutionary times. And the Breguet Tradition 7097 Automatique Seconde Retrograde I wore on my wrist is reminiscent of those turbulent times. This watch is like a mechanical costume drama and an action movie combined.The stage is Paris. Of course, Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823) was Swiss. He was, after all, born in Neuchatel. But his parents were Fre...
Hands-On Review Bulgari Octo Roma Central Tourbillon Papillon
When Bulgari acquired Daniel Roth back in 2000, it acquired the designs and watchmaking know-how that included Roth's patented Papillion time-display method. Fifteen years later, that acquisition led to Bulgari's creation of the Papillon Tourbillon in a large 45mm Roth-inspired case.In 2021, we see the Papillon take on a new form as it joins the celebrated Bulgari Octo family. However, the addition of the central tourbillon created a beautiful harmony, with the butterfly and the whirlwind in the classy Octo Roma case: call it The Butterfly Effect.The Papillon rebornThe original Roth-inspired 45mm Papillon is a large and oversized watch by current standards. This year, Bulgari decided it was ...
The Omega Speedmaster Watches Dedicated To Apollo 17
It is December 14th, 1972, and Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan is about to set foot on the ladder of the Lunar Module. Before he does so, he kneels and writes the initials of his daughter Tracy in the Moon dust. On his wrist is an Omega Speedmaster 105.003 with caliber 321.Gene Cernan and his daughter Teresa “Tracy” Dawn - Image courtesy of NASAHis watch is on display at the Omega Museum in Biel and was used to recreate the Speedmaster Calibre 321 model in 2020. Cernan’s Speedmaster 105.003 with NASA serial number 28 and product code CF55033 was the last worn on the Moon. As you can see in the following pictures, it has seen intensive use. The bezel fell off, and the Hesali...
Faux Patina: A Cheesy No-Go Or A Nicer Shade Of White?
Recently, I bought a Squale Super-Squale with old radium lume and a brown degrade dial. It looks like it has been completely fried by the gamma radiation from that radium. Except it’s Super-LumiNova, and it’s brand new. As a vintage head, I would have poo-pooed that not too long ago. Now I am happily wearing it. I think it is time for some introspection and re-evaluation of faux patina, or fauxtina for short.Could it be that I am just getting less watch-snobby as I age? Or is there merit to faux patina after all? Let’s try to find out.Patina: for the love of agingOne thing that many of us love about vintage watches is the plethora of aging effects you can get. There is some...
New: Seiko Presage SPB359J1 The 2023 Laurel
In 1913, Kintaro Hattori, the founder of Seiko, presented his first wristwatch under the name Laurel. It very much looked like a pocket watch fitted with lugs to accommodate a strap, and the crown was shifted to three o’clock to make it easier to operate. Now, just short of 110 years later, the Seiko introduces the Presage SPB359J, a homage to that very first Japanese wristwatch. And it definitely looks like the original from back then, but there have also been some significant changes.When you’re a brand like Seiko, you have a nearly infinite number of watches to choose from when making a re-edition. However, it’s not so common for a brand to make a re-edition of its first...
Fratello Favorites: The Best Watches Of 2022 G2's Picks
I am reluctant to say that these are the best watch releases in 2022, but for me, they are. At least they are the watches that left a lasting impression on me within the sheer tsunami of new releases that we’ve seen this year. I realize that, so far, I have only bought only one of the watches from my list. That’s probably a bit weird, but hey, my well of money isn’t bottomless, unfortunately. However, money is no object when determining if a watch impresses me, as is visible in the spectrum of prices in my list. These watches range from $379 to $13,000.While money didn’t influence my choices, let it guide the order of my list. I’ll start with the most expensive ...
High-End Horology Highlights 2023: Releases That Impressed Us
With the end of the year quickly approaching, it is time to reflect on 2023. Today, we'll look back specifically at the Haute Horlogerie releases that stood out to us, from the fantastically futuristic to the terrific traditional. High-end horology seems unaffected by the market slowing down somewhat, so we have been spoiled for choice yet again.The following are some of our favorite releases of the past year. It is a subjective list comprising a broad range of styles within high-end horology. Let's dive in!High-End Horology Highlight #1: MB&F HM8 Mark 2The first on our list is the MB&F HM8 Mark 2. It is another fantastical creation by Max Busser and his band of friends. This one tak...
Grand Seiko Media Experience Tour 2023 In Japan Part 2
Welcome to Part 2 of my mini-series on the October 2023 Grand Seiko Media Experience Tour in Japan. After visiting the Seiko House Ginza and the Seiko Museum in Tokyo, Part 1 of this was about producing Grand Seiko’s 9F quartz and 9R Spring Drive calibers. Part 2 will explain more about the production of Grand Seiko’s 9S automatic and mechanical calibers. Plus, it will show some more of Japan’s beautiful culture, heritage, and - for Westerners - sometimes weird habits.Let me start with where I ended Part 1 - taking the Shinkansen. From the Shinshu Watch Studio in Shiojiri, it was a short bus ride to Nagano Station, where we took a bullet train to Omiya, a suburb of Tokyo. W...
IWC Pilot's Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Mojave Desert
Have you ever thought that tool watches can’t be fashion watches and vice versa? Well, the IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Mojave Desert is here to tear down that wall. Yes, the brand from Schaffhausen has released watches in sand-colored ceramic before, and in quite a few other colors as well, but there was always something wrong, so to speak. The balance between size, design, functionality, and complication was never perfect. The watch we received at Fratello HQ, however, strikes a perfect balance. And by doing so, it opens a world of watch possibilities and erases boundaries.Look, the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Oceana (IW389404) is too blue. The Big Pi...
Hands-On: Maen Manhattan 39 Ultra-Thin
Maen Watches seems to be on a roll this year and moving up the small-brand tiers with its portfolio. The Skymaster 38 that I recently had the pleasure of reviewing was refined and upgraded mechanically, yet it still presented good value. This time, we go hands-on with the Maen Manhattan, but it is a brand-new Ultra-Thin version with a different vibe than its 37mm progenitor.Small is good in my book, so I enjoyed the Manhattan 37. It was a bold move by Maen in a world where 38C39mm cases are still small for some, and it captured the ’70s zeitgeist perfectly. We love chronographs and big dive watches, but the integrated bracelet is super hot. So what does the new Maen Manhattan 39 Ultra-...
Fratello's Top 5 High-End Indie Watches Of 2024
Another Friday, another Top 5! This week, we continue our series of best-of-the-year lists as we cover the best watches from high-end independent brands in 2024. Expect to see an exotic group spanning a nice variety of designs and complications. Of course, five watches do not do justice to the many ones we could have picked for this list. But after some lengthy deliberation, these are the five watches that are our favorites for 2024!A legitimate question this time is whether you can truly create a list of just five watches that came out in 2024. My answer would be a definite “no.” This year has been great in terms of fantastic releases, so any list that you see in the next few we...
Hands-On: The New Venezianico Arsenale Ultrablack And Blue
Roughly six months ago, I penned my first article on a Venezianico watch. It was impressive considering I hadn’t heard of the brand. Since then, I’ve covered several of the company’s watches from a distance. I finally met the team and saw the watches in person at the WatchPro Salon 2024. Among the pieces we saw were the Arsenale Ultrablack and the blue model with C?tes de Genve finishing.It’s often the case that seeing a watch in the metal is disappointing. All new timepieces look nice and shiny, but the details frequently suffer. A month ago, I had the chance to see all the Venezianico pieces from the Arsenale collection, including the unreleased Ultrablack. Folks, ...
Hands-On: The Cartier Santos De Cartier Dual Time
Among all watches, the Cartier Santos de Cartier is my muse. My Santos Galbee XL is my favorite watch in my collection, so I’m always curious to see what new variations will debut among the novelties at Watches and Wonders. This year was particularly exciting because Cartier announced the new Santos de Cartier Dual Time (or “Santos Dual Time” for short). I quickly called it one of my favorite releases from Watches and Wonders this year even though I hadn’t seen it in person yet. Let’s see how it holds up after a quick hands-on.In that Fratello Favorites article, I already mentioned that its bigger size might be an issue for my 17cm wrist. Today, we’ll find...