Fratello Talks: Brands And Their (Super)Fans
In this episode of Fratello Talks, Daan, Timo, and RJ talk about the fanatic fans of watch brands. The comments on articles where we discuss , Tudor, or Omega are sometimes quite unforgiving towards one of the brands. But often, they are also entertaining (and educational). We discuss why fans are so important for brands, why fans feel the need to defend their favorite brand with all they’ve got, and why some brands have louder fans than others....
Introducing: Vero USDA Forest Service Edition Watches
Today, the American independent brand Vero is launching an exciting collection of watches for those who live and breathe the outdoors. Whether that’s in a professional capacity or a recreational one, these modern field watches should resonate with people who love nature. These watches are robust, colorful, and affordable. Not only that, but they also have a fairly uncommon and interesting kinetic caliber inside. If that sounds intriguing, join me for a quick look at the new Forest Service Edition watches from Vero.A different kind of partnership?This new collection follows in the footsteps of the Smokey Bear watches that Thomas wrote about last summer. Today’s models are the firs...
Introducing: Jacques Bianchi JB200 Posidonie
What comes after black and blue? Indeed, green. That's the way of the watch world. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Take the new Jacques Bianchi JB200 Posidonie for instance. Three years after the launch of the Marseille-based brand's black JB200 Grand Diver and one year after the blue JB200 Poulpro comes a dive watch with a green shade inspired by Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica, aka “Neptune's herbs.” And at Jacques Bianchi, they do “smoke the herb” because inside this 150-piece limited edition is a fume dial.Since reading the press release for the new Jacques Bianchi JB200 Posidonie, I’ve had the 311 (and originally Human Rights) song “Who's Got...
New: Breitling Chronomat B01 42 UK Limited Edition
Breitling has unveiled a stealthy new Chronomat limited to 250 pieces and exclusive to the UK market. It’s the marvel of monochrome that many, including me, have wished to see Breitling’s hero watch become. While other dial colors and accents are flashy and stylish, something is reassuring about a classic black dial with a steel case. In some ways, muted tones showcase the purity of the design without distractions. Taking this further, the new UK limited edition forgoes the striking red accents commonly featured across the range. Instead, Breitling applied a matte white coating to the chronograph seconds hand and used white numerals for the rehaut’s decimal scale. While the...
An Interview With Cuervo Y Sobrinos CEO Massimo Rossi
Cuervo y Sobrinos is a brand that has made its mark with its unique story and remarkable timepieces. Over the last couple of years, I was lucky enough to go hands-on with several Cuervo y Sobrinos models, and I greatly enjoyed them. The timepieces often have interesting tales behind them, and the brand’s standout design signature makes it fun to experience any of its new creations. It is enough reason to talk to Cuervo y Sobrinos CEO Massimo Rossi. It was a long talk about the brand’s history, clients, and plans.From the moment I put the Cuervo y Sobrinos Buceador Caribe on my wrist in 2021, I knew there was something special about the brand. The Buceador Caribe is not your avera...
Hands-On: The Intriguing Konstantin Chaykin Joker "Fiat Lux"
A continuous jovial smile in the often overserious world of watches comes courtesy of Konstantin Chaykin. With the debut of the Joker in 2017, the Russian watchmaker introduced the Wristmons collection of watches that combines fun with serious watchmaking. Over the past seven years, he has created 40 characters for the series. The sheer number of characters is nothing short of impressive. The newest to join the lineup is the Joker “Fiat Lux.” It’s the first of all the Joker models to feature a skeletonized dial. It reveals a serious side of the Joker that we need to check out.Ever since Chaykin introduced the Joker in 2017, the Wristmons collection has been hugely successfu...
Omega Seamaster Milano Cortina Vs. Chopard L.U.C XPS
Good morning, dear Fratelli. It’s Sunday again, which means we’re pitting two watches against each other. This week, Daan defends the recently released Omega Seamaster 37mm Milano Cortina 2026. In the other corner, it’s Thomas with the Chopard L.U.C XPS ref. 61948-5001. That’s right; after the battle of the integrated-bracelet sports watches last week, get ready to wear your dressier attire for this week’s battle. But will it be as close again?In the previous installment of Sunday Morning Showdown, we pitted two of the most iconic sports watches against each other. Let’s first examine how that went, and then we’ll turn the show over to Daan and Thoma...
Omega Planet Ocean
Although Omega is one of my favorite brands, I remain critical to their latest additions like the DeVille Co-Axial (they should have named this ‘Constellation’ since it has a lot of characteristics from the ’50s and ’60s Constellation pie-pan models), Broad Arrow (the watch itself is nice, but the way how Omega markets this watch.. tribute to the Moonwatch, give me a break) and the Aqua Terra (the design is too similair with the Oyster Date, Airking and Explorer models). Taste is personal ofcourse, so I don’t mind if you don’t agree. ??However, their latest addition, Planet Ocean of the Seamaster range is a refreshing watch! I am still not certain about ...
A buyers guide for $2000 watches
Today, my Wednesday Watch article over at MotoringExposure has been published. After writing an article about $1000 watches, I thought it was time to stretch it up to $2000.-Since $2000 opens a lot of horological doors, I narrowed the list of possible doors down by using the following restrictions (based on my own thoughts):1. It should be a well-known/respected brand2. A mechanical movement (Swiss/German origin)3. No plastic parts on the outside (excludes Swatch)4. Stainless steel case and a leather strap5. Sapphire crystal6. NEW! (= excluding vintage) However, we don?????t care for list prices. Do you?I selected three watches and the Nomos Club pictured above is one of them. Curious abo...
Meet Quill & Pad And Win This Awesome Handmade Manu Propria Fountain Pen
Just recently, our long time friends Elizabeth Doerr and Ian Skellern started their own on-line magazine on watches called Quill & Pad. With their knowledge on numerous horological subjects as well as their (combined) experience in publishing they already treated us with quite a few interesting in-depth articles on Quill & Pad since its launch.Anyhows, Elizabeth Doerr and Ian Skellern want to properly celebrate the start of their joint-venture with a number of cool prizes to win. The only thing you have to do is start reading Quill & Pad and subscribe to their newsletter. More can be found here.One of the fabulous prizes you can win is this?Manu Propria fountain pen by Angular Mo...
Girard-Perregaux Iconic 1966 And Vintage 1945 In Blue
Official Press Release: As one of the fundamental primary colors embodying all that is eternal, powerful and elegant, the Girard-Perregaux flagship 1966 and Vintage 1945 collections now feature dials clad exclusively in blue.By its choice of elegant tone, the Swiss Manufacturer offers lovers of fine watches an extra touch of originality and acknowledges the prominence that color has played in many of its historic timepieces. In the closing years of the 18th century, Girard-Perregaux's founder Jean-Fran?ois Bautte, was one of the first master watchmakers to make successful use of this distinctive tone, in what was seen at the time as a revolutionary development. It has been a regular feature ...
Audemars Piguet Historian Michael Friedman And His Top 3 Of Audemars Piguet Watches
In the mid-1990’s, when my love for mechanical watches really took off, I bought as many magazines and watch books I could possibly find as information on the internet was rather difficult to find and not so common as it is now. In a couple of these generic watch books, giving the reader an overview of different watch brands and their models, I always had a couple of favorite brands I’d like to read about. One of them was Audemars Piguet. Not only their octagonal Royal Oak models that I seem to have been appreciating from the first moment on (which is not a common thing to do) but I also studied their round and vintage models with complications with great interest. Although IR...
German Military Timepieces Book Review
German Military TimepiecesIt is obvious that whenever we need to research about our watch or anything else for that matter- we reach for our smartphone, tablet or laptop. If you are one of these guys and only use a book as a doorstop or level the table leg please stop reading now!If you are still here it means you love and use books often. It is true that nowadays most information you find in books is available on the Internetall you need to do is find it. The problem with searching online is that most of the data needs to be collected form many places. We, vintage lovers, tend to rely on the good old way of doing research when it comes to an interesting piece and that is; picking a book fro...
Watch Macro Photo from A-Z
So it’s time for something completely different now! It’s weekend for us and probably most of our readers. Today we present you an easy to digest article. Going through our vast photo archive, we dug up the watch macro photo?A to Z. Some unpublished material or re-editited images. Taking a few detours to fill in the few missing brand names in the alphabet. Maybe an interesting quest for the upcoming Baselworld fair.Kicking it off with the A for A. Lange & Sohne. We didn’t want to zoom in too much as there is so much going on for this Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon.A. Lange & Sohne Datograph Perpetual TourbillonB for Blancpain L-Evolution Tourbillon Carrousel, limite...
#TBT Seiko 6105-8110
Word is out that Seiko will be releasing a new diver on this year’s Baselworld, based on the iconic reference 6105. According to some sources, it will be the Seiko SBDX031 / SLA033 reference. It might be a bit like the re-edition of the Seiko 62MAS that resulted in the SLA017 (click here for a 62MAS vs SLA017 comparison). We hope that the price tag will be a bit lower on the new Seiko SLA033 than it was on the SLA017, or a bit more accessible, as the leaked image we saw on Instagram looked very good. If the price is good, it will tick a lot of boxes for many Seiko enthusiasts.We thought it might be a good idea to look back on the original Seiko 6105-8110 reference, that we initially pu...
Omega Constellation Manhattan 52Mondayz, week #8-2020
After wearing the massive Omega Seamaster Ploprof in my last installment of 52Mondayz a couple of weeks ago, it’s now time to discuss something on the other end of the Omega spectrum. For this week’s 52Mondayz I chose to wear the first generation Omega Constellation Manhattan. It’s an icon from the 1980s that started a new line of watches.That line welcomed its latest generation just three weeks ago. If that’s not a nice reason to dedicate this article to the first generation of the Omega Constellation Manhattan, I don’t know what is.Wearing the Omega Constellation Manhattan feels like coming home every time I put in on my wrist. It’s a feeling of recogniz...
Frederique Constant Classic Art Deco Round Watch
The Roaring Twenties sparked a social revolution in Western society and culture. New Frederique Constant's Art Deco Round collection designed exclusively for Women modernizes the glamorous style of the Jazz Age.The New WomenThe 1920s introduced new symbols and one of them was the modern women - high-powered, visionary, and comfortable openly embracing a lifestyle viewed by many as scandalous. Independent women of the 1920s had a tremendous impact on the future by pushing boundaries in economic, political, and sexual freedom.Frederique Constant's Classic Art Deco collection is inspired by women breaking down barriers as well as the stylistic trends of the period. The deco-inspired design of f...
MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual In Yellow Gold Is The Best Yet
It’s looking increasingly likely to my eyes that the “yellow gold comeback” that’s been threatening to break over the last few years, has well and truly broken. The beneficiary of this new/old trend? The new MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual Yellow Gold. Perhaps the brand’s finest movement gets a new home. And short of El Dorado, there’s no better place to be.Amazingly, this is just the second time in MB&F‘s fabled history that yellow gold has been used as a case material. The sole example prior to the 44mm MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual in yellow gold? The LM101 Frost YG. Even more astoundingly, that was?five years ago (although it still feel...
The Sternglas Kanton Is An Elegant Swiss-Made Automatic
INHORGENTA 2020 in Munich, saw Hamburg-based micro-brand, Sternglas, debut its most sophisticated model to date: The Sternglas Kanton. This automatic model is manufactured in Switzerland in compliance with Swiss-made' standards. It strikes a captivating balance between the classic and the modern.The luminous hands by Luminova and bold color contrast allow for excellent legibility and make no secret of the inspiration behind this timepiece: the visual language of Bauhaus. The delicate curves and satin-finish dial underpin the classic elegance of the watch.The Swiss STP 1-11 caliberOn the inside, the Swiss STP 1-11 caliber movement guarantees precise timekeeping, with a deviation of a mere +15...
Wrist Game Or Crying Shame: Breguet Tradition 7027
Come one come all to Wrist Game or Crying Shame. This week, we look inside the dial with the Breguet Tradition 7027 in yellow gold. But first…Last week, we took a look at the very first Tudor Black Bay model. This ETA-powered variant has earned its Smiley Face nickname due to the arc-shaped font on its dial. Despite the very lively comment section, 80% of you showed us your pearly whites on the way to a Wrist Game win. This week, we go way upmarket with the Breguet Tradition 7027. Let’s see what you think.BreguetI often talk about growing up and learning about watches and brands. My Dad knew and knows quite a bit, but we were also the recipients of quite a bit of in-store learnin...