Audemars Piguet Tradition Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph | Fratellowatches
The Audemars Piguet Tradition Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph (reference 26564) is one of those watches that will never be in my financial reach, but nevertheless very enjoyable to see and to try on my wrists. It is one of those advantages if you are going to SIHH or BaselWorld, you are able to see and try watches that have 5 digit (sometimes even more) price tags.The Tradition timepiece clearly shows that Audemars Piguet is more than the Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore watches. Although being the best sellers of their collection, the Tradition and Millenary collections are definitely worth investigating as well for those who are looking for classic and / or high-end timepieces.Norma...
Speedy Tuesday Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow Rattrapante 3582.51.00
It’s Speedy Tuesday! This week we have a rare bird for you: the Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow Rattrapante. To be totally honest with you, we kinda forgot about this one actually. However, friend of the show Ruckdee from Thailand (who contributed with his Speedmaster Mark II before) reminded us of this rattrapante timepiece.The Broad Arrow collection has been discussed before (here and here) and is a significant part of the Speedmaster collection.? This rattrapante however, only lived a short life in the Speedmaster family.Ruckdee bought it in 2009 when he heard that it would be taken out of production. The other reason – or excuse – is that the Speedmaster Broad Arrow uses ...
Hands-On Grand Seiko SBGW047 Review
If there is such a thing as the Seiko bug, then I've clearly been bitten and now have a serious case of malaria.? However, it wasn't always this way.? I've been travelling to Japan at least annually since 2004 for business and while my evening and weekend watch pursuits were not nearly as fervent as today, I did not really notice Seiko until 2012.? I bought a quartz Seiko tuna in Fukuoka and have never looked back: adding a large, yet affordable, collection of vintage pieces along the way.Since that time, whenever work took me to Japan, I'd notice a rather austere display case in most brightly lit (think of an overdose on fluorescent lights and you're getting close) Japanese camera stores se...
#TBT Yema Rallye Chronograph
The last time I reviewed a Yema, the Daytona as it's nicknamed, I came away with a rather lukewarm feeling. The watch was nice, but I likened it to a lookalike product; it's close to the real deal, but somehow lacking in the details. Today, though, we focus on a different model, the Yema Rallye, and I'm delighted to tell you that this watch is far more worthy of praise. Furthermore, the model, in a slightly different format, has a real motorsports connection. #TBT returns from its recent travels to the distant lands of gold plating and smaller sized watches to bring you something a bit more customary. Now, let's go check out that YemaThe proportions of the Yema Rallye, with its nearly 39mm o...
E.C.A Denise A very Scandinavian dive watch
After the success with the Calypso watch, E.C.Andersson Watch Co. is back with a completely new design, their first professional diver and heavy-duty tool watch, made the Scandinavian way.Mentioning heavy-duty often makes us think of massive steel blocks, the E.C.A Denise is quite the opposite, sophisticated and refined, yet optimized for an active lifestyle.Designed to be a four-season tool watch, the Denise is as usable during ocean diving in summer as winter navigation in the Alps where visual landmarks are abundant. Primarily being a 200m dive watch, the ceramic bezel can apart from being used to measure time with the second, minute and hour hand, be utilized as a reliable compass.A cent...
Montblanc 1858 Automatic Limited Edition Hands-On
The creations that come out of the design department of Davide Cerrato (Managing Director of Montblanc Watches) are spread out on a very wide scale. Some are affordable and modest. Others are complicated both in terms of watchmaking. All I'm saying is, that we should not jump to a conclusion when judging Montblanc and categorize them in one way or the other. Having said that, today we will have a closer look at the simplest SIHH 2019 release, the Montblanc 1858 Automatic Limited Edition. Simple in terms of complications, nothing else.1858 CollectionBefore we talk about the watch itself let's first position the 1858?pieces, into the Montblanc collection. Basically, the brand has two main desi...
The Seiko Prospex Diver SPB107 Topper Limited Edition
Fresh off embargo, we have the new Seiko Prospex Diver SPB107 Topper Limited Edition.? For those of you who don't know Topper Jewelers, they're a prominent authorized dealer of many brands and are located in Burlingame, California.? I know the name quite well because a number of years back, Topper bought a load of no-date Longines Legend No-Date Divers and I was too silly not to buy one.? But aside from having the clout and interest in enthusiast watches-, they're unlike most AD's because they've worked directly with several brands over the past several years to create limited edition watches.? One such watch that came (and went very quickly) was the well-received no-date Oris Divers Sixty-F...
Speedy Tuesday The Speedmaster Enamel Dial 50th Anniversary
In 2007, Omega celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Speedmaster family. In my opinion, there is one very special member of this group that is too often overlooked. Perhaps?reference 311.33.42.50.01.001.001 is shunned for its enamel dial. Maybe it’s down to its F. Piguet based 3201 movement. Whatever the cause for its past neglect, it’s about time it got a bit more attention.And, in my opinion, it deserves it. Not only because of the commemorative character of the watch but because of the enamel dial, hand-wound Omega caliber 3201, and, last but not least, its impressive presentation box.Omega Speedmaster 50th Anniversary (2007)In 2007, Omega introduced two Speedmaster models th...
Breaking News: Bvlgari Exits Baselworld 2020
Stop the presses! Bvlgari has something to say…Although I’ve always wanted to say that, I really wish it wasn’t under these circumstances. Minutes ago, the news that Bvlgari will not be attending Baselworld 2020 broke. As one of the most exciting and forward-thinking brands of the past decade, Bvlgari’s absence is a real blow to a fair already reeling from a mass exodus.A decision for nowBvlgari has made one thing very clear: This is not yet a decision to end the brand’s relationship with Baselworld going forward. It is simply a decision for now. Given the roaring success of LVMH’s watch week and the positive reception to Bvlgari’s latest releases (s...
Inside the Studio: A Day Out with Zero West
Don’t feel guilty for not knowing about Zero West. It was only 2015 that the prototype dials started taking shape. Now with an ever-expanding collection that celebrates British engineering, Zero West is hitting its stride.I had a brief introduction to the brand during an event in London. Designer Andrew Brabyn helpfully explained the backstory, and I was excited to go hands-on with a few pieces from Zero West. Still, a rowdy pub and many interested onlookers made it a challenge to get too familiar with the collection. Hence, I was thrilled to learn Zero West hailed from the South Coast of England ?my neck of the woods. Specifically, Emsworth, a small coastal village situated about 10 ...
Oris Carysfort Reef Limited Edition Is A Vision In Gold
The new Oris Carysfort Reef Limited Edition is really something special. Not only is it a gorgeous watch, but it also marks the moment in time Oris may have jumped the pricing shark.You’ve heard the term, “jumping the shark,” before, right? That moment a previously credible entity goes a little bit too far and alienates its core fanbase? Well, as much as I love Oris (and the Oris Carysfort Reef LE in particular) the price may be a bit much for fans of the brand to swallow.The term has its roots in the popular TV Show?Happy Days. The Fonz, in an attempt to prove his bravery (and, apparently, to showcase actor Henry Winkler’s water skiing skills), jumps a confined shark...
#TBT The Watches That Got My Wife Into Vintage Prim, Elves, And Elgin
Before we met, my wife had one modern quartz Cartier Tank from 2010. I think she wore it exactly zero times over the last 12 months. Who is to blame? Today's suspects: the vibrant rectangular Elves, the 1920s Parisienne fashion wonder by Elgin, and a couple of indestructable Prim workhorses from Czechoslovakia. All vintage!My wife recently described her vintage watch renaissance with the sentence, “A mechanical vintage watch is a mechanical vintage watch.” Even though she often forgets to set the time and wind them up before she leaves the house. She doesn't need to. “The experience is the same,”?she objects with confidence. I?can't argue with that. I?just like to tea...
Czapek Faubourg De Cracovie Ocean D'Or Chronograph Is The Kind Of Watch Release I Live For
It will come as no surprise to anyone who might have stumbled across my previous writings on the Czapek brand to know I am a fan. After almost a decade of following the brand since its rebirth in 2012, I feel part of the Czapek family. And while I have gushed over last year’s Antarctique model (entirely unapologetically), and fawned over the Quai de Bergues range responsible for this hallowed marque’s renaissance, there was one line of watches in the catalog that never sent me gaga. With the release of the Czapek Faubourg de Cracovie Ocean d'Or, the brand’s well-established chronograph line finally has me on board.Oh, it is so,?so satisfying when a brand you love gives you ...
An Introduction To The G-Shock Square Premium Series.
It’s safe to say that we all know Casio’s G-Shock Square. The watch that - almost forty years ago - more or less won the battle against the laws of nature. Designed to withstand a drop from a height of 10 meters, withstand 10 bar of water pressure, and offer a battery life of 10 years. Those three goals amounted to a hitherto unseen level of resistance in a time when watches were still fragile instruments.The G-Shock watches, which most of us know, are plastic products. That’s how Mr. Kikuo Ibe designed them in the early eighties and how they came onto the market. We’ve covered these regularly; if you’re relatively new to them, a good article to start with would...
How My Watchmaking Background Influences My Collecting Habits
I have a sizable watch collection. When people ask, which they often do, I tell them it’s around 75 pieces. That’s probably a relatively accurate median, but it fluctuates above and below that number as I churn through the lower realms of my hoard on a regular basis, gifting, selling, or trading watches that deserved a long look but never quite cracked my rotation. But is there any rhyme or reason to this hulking morass of timekeepers? Well, for a long while there was a lot of rhyming but not much reasoning. The chance acquisition of an Omega Speedmaster MK40 changed all that and reminded me where I came from…Okay, not literally. I know exactly where I come from. As a Dubli...
Six Uni-Compax Chronograph Watches For An Unlimited Budget
Did you read my stories on uni-compax chronographs within $1,000 and $5,000 budgets? If so, you might already have a newfound love for this genre. While you might expect this part to have a $10,000 budget, I'm jumping the shark and going straight to chronograph heaven. With a budget envelope saying, The Sky's The Limit, the choices are as difficult as they are dangerously tempting.What if you are unrestrained by monetary worries, or like me, you enjoy a good daydream now and then? What do you buy? At this level, the chronographs available range from classic elegance to futuristic panache. Choose between stealth wealth, heavy glamour, and a micro-mechanical monochrome masterpiece. Not all of ...
[Video] Watches With Meaning Highlights From RJ's Collection
We receive quite a few messages about our personal collections or personal favorites. Based on these requests, our Social Media Manager Sinara asks founder RJ about his personal collection. RJ decided to bring some of his most meaningful watches.Robert-Jan started collecting watches in the late 1990s as a student. His first major purchase was his Omega Speedmaster Professional 145.012-67SP, but he already had received an Omega Constellation ’95 before that as a graduation present. Omega is a brand that runs in the family, as you will see in this video. One of his most cherished watches is the one that Sinara asks about first, a gold/steel Omega Constellation Deluxe from 1969. It belong...
Random Musings On Vintage Omega, Seiko, , And More
Collecting vintage watches is something that I truly love. The watches, the people, the endless searching for knowledge are all part of the gig. Making mistakes, getting ripped off, and, again, the people represent some of the pitfalls. Over the past ten years, I’ve been through a lot of it, and have I learned anything? I’d like to think so… sometimes.Vintage watches are my thing and during our Collector’s Week here on Fratello, I thought it would be fun to share some of what I have learned on this fascinating journey. Well, it’s fascinating to me at least! Seriously, though, collecting has been a wild ride and pretty damn introspective too. So, perhaps some of ...
One Watch Per Brand: How Limiting Myself Brings Me Fulfillment
Let me start off this article with a personal question - what would be the perfect watch collection for you? Some of you may have thought long and hard about this already, and you could list off all the watches you could ever desire. For others, it’s a question that may catch you off guard, and you may have to get back to me in a few years. But for me, it’s a question that has constantly guided all of my watch acquisitions since 2016. Assembling a collection that suits what I value in watchmaking as well as my budget is a task I do not take lightly. Each watch I buy does not exist in a vacuum but as a part of my greater horological vision. As such, I find it best that I follow so...
Grand Seiko SLGH011 Green Birch
I saw the picture of the new Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 80 Hours Green Birch SLGH011 and immediately What A Wonderful World started playing in my head. I don't think the Grand Seiko watchmakers in Shizukuishi are listening to this evergreen song when they're putting together the new Green Birch. But if they are, it wouldn't surprise me, either.I won't get into the part where the beautiful landscape of northern Japan is a bottomless source of inspiration for the Grand Seiko watch designers. No more snow crystals only seen between January 13th and February 2nd. I won't mention Mount Iwate either. But I do, for a moment, have to say something about the enchanting forests in the Shizukuishi regio...