Imagine a statement piece that combines high-end mechanics with animated art to create a wrist-mounted spectacle. Louis Moinet’s Astronef Techno does just that, turning heads for all the right reasons. As an extension of the Astronef family, its flying satellite double tourbillon now perches above a color-bursting, microelectronic dial crafted from silicon wafers.The novelty made its sneak-p

In today’s episode of Fratello Talks, Nacho, RJ, and Lex take a look at and try to make sense of watch prices today. It’s often a hot topic of discussion in the comments. In a world where price increases happen two or more times a year, it’s a challenge to keep up with where value lies. But is it a mistake to expect bang-for-buck in the world of luxury? Then, the matter of brands

Getting your ocean-capable watches wet has been a mantra I’ve taken to countless reviews. But long have I postponed taking my dive watch, the blue Tudor Black Bay 58, scuba diving.The reasons are many. Frankly, though, none of them are good enough to justify how someone (a passionate ocean enthusiast, at that) who lives 60 meters from the Pacific Ocean does not scuba dive by now.It’s n

Of course, we can’t buy all the watches in the world, and not all watches are within our budgets. So, especially as someone who professionally writes about watches, I’ve learned to appreciate ones that are not in my financial scope or simply not my style. In some cases, that’s harder to do than in others. But with the creations from MB&F, it’s usually not that hard. Tak

Italo Fontana has very well figured out how to design big watches. U-Boat watches are between 45mm and 55mm in diameter and even reach 65mm in the particular case of the U-1942. One thing that has not been associated much with these gargantuan timepieces, however, are complications. Showing that they are at the height of more traditional watchmakers to produced complicated watches, U-Boat released

I am happy to announce the 2014 WatchStars Award winners, voted by almost 50 international and independent jury members.An independent international panel of experts selected timepieces in five categories, from Swatch to Patek Philippe via Kari Voutilainen. The almost 50 international jury members (click here for an overview of all jury members) were free to choose any brand, model, reference numb

Years ago, even before I started Fratello Watches, I visited this Omega dealer?near the place where my parents lived. I think I might already have my first Speedmaster that I bought in October 1999, so probably around 2000/2001.?The sales person showed me this – then – new Omega Speedmaster Rattrapante Chronometer reference 3540.50. At the time, a futuristic looking watch with a carbon

As most of you know we try to bring a diverse selection of vintage watches to #TBT week after week. It's obvious that among vintage watches we (at least Mike and I definitely) have a soft spot for complications. Nowadays the most sought after of these happen to be chronographs, but you all know this by now. So what is cooler than a vintage chrono? A vintage military chrono!Junghans BundeswehrAs mo

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In this Sunday morning column, two of our writers go head-to-head in an epic showdown for the ages. Strong opinions and hysterical hyperbole are welcome (so feel free to join in with the fun in the comments section below). And don't forget to let us know which watches you'd like to see torn to shreds/effusively exalted next week. We'll try and feature as many of our readers' choices as we can. Thi

When Omega introduced the Speedmaster 60th Anniversary in 2017, it was a big thing! It was a tribute to the original Speedmaster reference CK2915, but with the calibre 1861 movement. Then, in 2020, Omega introduced the 105.003 tribute with its calibre 321. How do these two watches compare? Is it worth going after a Speedmaster 60th anniversary, or do you want to save up a bit more for the Speedmas

Oris has been making big steps over these last twelve months. Obviously, we were delighted to work with the brand on our Fratello Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date. Next to that, the brand released its new Calibre 400 to much critical acclaim. And we have seen a string of new releases, the latest being the Carl Brashear Cal. 401 Limited Edition. Now Oris is back with a new release for its Change

Today, we examine a rare vintage Citizen Auto Dater 40M Diver. We’ll talk about why this watch also happens to be a bit of an enigma. Its good looks, however, require no sleuthing.One could say that we have our “boat on plane” here on Fratello when it comes to looking at vintage Japanese watches (i.e., we’re cruising). You folks seem to like seeing these unique pieces from

We’re back again with another edition of Watch Dating Profiles. This time we’re going to Russia, where the vodka is cold and the watches are jettisoned into outer space. Seriously, Russian watches today either look back in history or towards the future, but almost always to space. There’s a lot of space to look at with Russian watches too. With the longest history of space explor

I love the visionary idea that Carlo Crocco had in the late 1970s to create a watch that combined different materials. With the Hublot Classic that came out in 1980, Crocco created a watch that combined a yellow gold case with a rubber strap. Back then, it was considered pure blasphemy. To combine a precious metal with the material generally associated with cheap quartz watches was unheard of. Fou

When it comes to creating mesmerizing and original dials, Grand Seiko is an industry benchmark. Snowflakes, white and green birches, the brilliant blue sky over Mt. Iwate at dawn - it's the beauty surrounding the Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi translated into dial art. But GS is not the only brand with an obsession for dials. That's why it's time to present you with five dialed-in alternatives to

You guys know by now that I am a fan of Unimatic. I won’t lie, I love the design signature of the Milan-based brand a lot. With their minimalist design approach, Unimatic founders Simone Nunziato and Giovanni Moro have found the magic canvas for their timepieces. The style they developed is modern, minimalist, and easy to recognize overall. But the next layer is that the style combines very

It’s easy to end up in an exciting discussion about Heuer, Omega, or watches. But didn’t know many collectors that would lose track of time when discussing Alpina until I met Bas from Vintage View. Today, we will look at his personal treasure, a Valjoux 13-powered Alpina “Leftie”.I got to know Bas on Gallet fan pages. He had a nice MultiChron 12 with minty-green lume that

Today, on white sands by the crystalline waters of the Rangiroa Atoll in French Polynesia, Blancpain unveiled the Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the birth of what many recognize as the first modern dive watch, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Since 1953, watches and diving have both come a long way. This should not come as a surprise, as seven decades are enough t

Seiko is one of those brands that many of us start looking at when we get into this hobby. However, it took me a while to appreciate Seiko, and as always, it started with some vintage pieces. I think my first model was a King Seiko that I got after seeing RJ’s a good few years ago. When Grand Seiko became a separate brand and slowly started to claim space in the industry on its merit, I was