Let me just start this with a disclaimer: for me, picking an easy Top 5 Watches of a rather exciting 2021 is almost impossible. I have fallen in love with wristwatches many times this year, from press shots to the hitherto unknown joy of handling a $100,000 piece of wrist art at, get this, an actual event. Remember those?So with this in mind, I went with my ten-minute instinctual scribbles. To be

In the past, brands like Longines, Tudor, Oris, and TAG Heuer dominated the mid-range of the watch market. But every year - and sometimes even multiple times a year - many watch brands increase their prices. It usually happens in fairly acceptable increments and often without much notice or any explanation. But then, all of a sudden, a few years later, all those fairly small increments have added

You know that I'm Norwegian. It’s a given with that Norse god’s name that brings me nothing but embarrassment. I mean, I don't ski, fancy glacier climbing, or even enjoy nature much either. But never mind, my dad has been living just outside London for 40 years, so I consider myself half-British by proxy. But that is only one of the reasons I'll happily fly the flag for the rapid rise

Dear Oris, please tell me you haven't already started producing titanium cases for the Aquis Regulateur Der Meistertaucher 2.0. I really need to revisit the matter of Der Meistertaucher because I'm having second thoughts. In my article about the regulator-dialed diver this past October, I wrote that I wanted you to bring that standout dive watch back because of its originality, functionality, and

Michel Parmigiani had made a name for himself as a highly skilled restorer of antique timepieces and mechanical automatons when in 1996, the Sandoz Foundation supported him in founding his own watchmaking brand, Parmigiani Fleurier. This brand thrived, and those curious enough to approach it soon discovered its promising potential. Yet, for quite a while, it remained an insider’s tip. This l

In our #TBT series this year, we featured a quartz Breitling Colt, a unique design by Tian Harlan, and pleasingly original names like Telefoot. We highlighted never-before-seen complications like a Medana with a rotating day crystal, rare pieces like the Heuer Autavia with rounded numbers, and even virtually unknown models like the Gallet Big Date Chrono. It’s time to take a look back at the

When it came to picking my entries for this Best Watches Of 2023 series, I decided to dig deep - far deeper than I did for a recent podcast with Balazs, in which my initial picks were all from the last several months. That’s a challenge in a watch market where our attention span is often short. So yes, I’ve done my best to consider the past 12 months. Get ready for some surprises!This

Hello, and welcome to the last episode of Fratello Talks in 2023. Today, RJ, Lex, and your host Nacho are here to discuss their personal, professional, and horological highlights of the year. It’s the 2023 wrap-up episode! Tune in and watch (or listen) as the guys reminisce over some of the past 12 months. They touch on topics ranging from some of the year’s best watch releases and eve

Maybe you remember that I once came up with an iron rule: if it’s over $10K, it must be less than 10mm thick. In the explanation that followed, I mentioned the Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 XPS. This 41mm steel Alpine Eagle iteration, with a sophisticated Monte Rosa salmon-pink dial and small seconds at 6 o'clock, made the cut with great ease. Not only is it very slim, but it also features the in-

Casio G-Shock presents a high-end MR-G model inspired by Japanese craftsmanship every year. A regular MRG-B2000 is already on G-Shock’s top shelf. However, models designated with resounding Japanese names, such as Tsuiki, Tetsu-Tsuba, Sadanobu Gassan, Shougeki-Maru, and Hana-Basara, are the epitome of G-Shock technology. The Juryoku-Maru: San, a katana specially made for G-Shock by master sw

De Bethune DB26,?there are few modern manufactures as diverse as De Bethune: in addition to some extremely classical looking timepieces, there are also extremely avant-garde models on offer such as the DB26.Even the balance shape is unconventional – teardrop shaped rotating eccentric masses on the end of blued arms, and no sign of a circle to be seen anywhere! There is also a tension spring

We started with Speedy Tuesday on May 29th 2012 and with great pride we write you that in 2015, we published 55 Speedy Tuesday articles. Even though we wanted to stick to one per week, we did some extra at times we thought it was necessary. On Instagram, we noticed that there are over 16,000 images tagged #SpeedyTuesday, wow! We often browse through all tagged images and love that there is so much

Here we are in the last week of 2016 and we're going to kick it old-school style by looking at a classic chronograph, the Wittnauer 235T. We've featured a watch from the brand before with a look at the remarkably unique and bold 242T and while today's watch might not trigger any grail alerts, it's deserving of its own #TBT because it's such a satisfying watch. Also, if you're a at all a speculator

Last October, I was invited to a Bvlgari event in Rome, Italy. Together with a group of journalists from other watch media, I had a diner with the CEO (Jean-Christophe Babin). During this diner, listening to Babin talk about the (Italian) DNA of Bvlgari and discussing the Bvlgari Octo design, it became clear to me, that watches aren’t some side project for Bvlgari, known for its precious jew

It may seem a little early to talk about news' of Baselworld 2020. But news has been breaking from the organiser and from major brands lately, and we don't want you to miss out.A while ago, Fratello has been informed by Grand Seiko and Seiko that the brands have cancelled their presence at Baselworld 2020. Instead, they will be staging their own GS Summit in Tokyo in early March.After exhibiting f

The Speedmaster First Omega in Space is now being discontinued. What makes the Speedmaster FOiS 311.32.40.30.01.001 so special and do you need to order one while you can?The word has been out for a while already: the Speedmaster FOiS is being phased out. Omega also confirmed to us that it’s over and done with. In a lot of countries, they are already sold out and not being restocked. In some

Unless you want to go down the road of modded watches, the simplest way to give your precious timepiece a fresh look is a new strap. Especially if the piece is on a bracelet, throwing a leather strap can change how the watch looks and feels entirely. This is not rocket science; many of us use this trick. However, for those of you lost in the world of wristwear, I have selected the Top 10 Straps yo

We take a quick look at the new Oak & Oscar Olmsted Matte, a thoughtful variant on the brand’s field watch.It’s hard to believe that it was almost a year ago when I caught up with Oak & Oscar founder Chase Fancher in person. He visited Frankfurt and was kind enough to host a cocktail event at my favorite spot in town. Aside from the fantastic refreshments, Chase brought the bra

We welcome you back to Wrist Game or Crying Shame with a take on the Cartier Ballon Bleu. Will you take it or leave it? We’ll have to see, but before we get there…A couple of weeks back, I showed you the JLC Master Control Ultra Thin, and an overwhelming 93% of you did the right thing by awarding that watch a Wrist Game win. Hey, 7%-ers, it’s ok to be flat-out wrong sometimes! Th

When we talk about Tissot and 2021, there is one obvious place to start the Tissot PRX. Its release was an instant success. It suddenly, and kind of out of nowhere, refreshed the Tissot brand from top to bottom, and it gave the brand’s core collection a new anchor. When I think of Tissot now, I think of the PRX. That is a crazy thing to say for a novelty, even if it is based on a model from