#TBT My Breitling Grail Ref. 765 AVI "Lucy Digital"
There is something to any vintage watch, but the Breitling AVI ref. 765 “Lucy Digital” has it all. And I mean it. The size, the design, the movement, the twist, the originality, the legibility… and I could go on. It’s the ultimate vintage watch to own.The analog Breitling AVI ref. 765 is quite a popular watch and not so easy to come by. No wonder it became the role model for a re-edition three years ago. Equally, it was no surprise that the release was quite a success. The 15-minute totalizer with lumed indexes is so unique, and the super-cute, tiny syringe hand is a detail that will make you melt.Staying cool and waiting for a 765 AVI “Lucy Digital”Despit...
40 Years Of Swatch: The Plastic Watch That Changed Everything
Did you know that Swatch turns 40 years old next week? On March 1st, 1983, Swatch introduced its first collection of 12 watches in Zurich, Switzerland. And, as they say, the rest is history. To celebrate the great history of Swatch, we will bring you a series of articles dedicated to this special brand. From its history to the standout models and spectacular promotional campaigns, Swatch is and always has been a unique brand. In this first article of many, we dive into the great history of Swatch. How did it get started, and what have been some of the most remarkable achievements? It’s time to kick off Swatch month with a look back at how it all began!Owning a Swatch… It was a sp...
New: NOMOS Glashutte Tangente Neomatik Blue Gold
NOMOS's Tangente neomatik is a classic timepiece that never gets old. And the Glashutte-based watchmaker knows it. Here comes a new take on it that amalgamates the brand's winning ingredients. From the minimalist aesthetic to the in-house automatic movement, the latest Tangente neomatik is instantly recognizable in a NOMOS style. It revisits one of the brand's favorite deep blue colors in a galvanized and sunburst finish. The new model comes in two case diameters of 35 and 38.5 millimeters.Iconic designsSince its founding in 1990, NOMOS has developed a reputation for crafting high-quality and effortlessly wearable watches with an incredibly consistent design language. The brand’s relen...
Finding The Best Watches Under $500 Ben's Pick
When our managing editor Nacho handed me this assignment, my first response was, “Pick for 500 euros is an easy one: Seiko.” It could not have been a quicker cognitive connection than $500 budget nice watch = Seiko. But further consideration found me asking myself “why?” Why was Seiko the obvious choice? Has it become the autopilot answer to this question? And, more importantly, in 2023, is it still a valid response? These follow-up questions led me down a rabbit hole and to my eventual choice, the Orient Mako.I love my Seiko watches, and it truly is an approachable watch brand for the masses. But my reference point for entry into Seiko was more than 20 years ago. The...
Watch Box Stories: Adrien's Fantastic Watch Collection
I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy reading through the watch box stories from your fellow readers about their collections (or parts of them, at least). Last week, we featured Wesley’s impressive collection (click here), and today, Adrien will share a part of his. Adrien collects watches with his wife, who has been a watch collector longer than he has. It’s always great to see that women enjoy this hobby as well!After we share all the stories, we will raffle off a Peli case and a few other accessories among the contributors. So far, I've seen some very interesting contributions, and I am excited to share them here on Fratello in the coming days and weeks. Without fur...
The Plastic (S)Watch That Saved The Industry In 1983
Lex, Nacho, and RJ talk about Swatch and its upcoming 40th birthday! One of the coolest brands of the 1980s celebrates four decades of amazing and colorful watches. Last year put Swatch back on the horological map with the MoonSwatch, but there’s so much more to the brand that saved the entire Swiss watch industry in the 1980s. In this episode, Lex, Nacho, and RJ show the plastic watch a lot of love, not only for the MoonSwatch but also for many other Swatch variations....
Introducing: The Fears Redcliff 39.5 Date
When Nicholas Bowman-Scargill relaunched his family’s watch brand in 2016, the Redcliff Quartz was the first watch from Fears in 40 years. However, in 2020, the Redcliff was discontinued. Except for a limited quartz Redcliff “Edwin Edition” that came out in 2023 to celebrate the brand’s founder’s birthday, the Redcliff hasn’t been a part of the recent catalog - until now. The more contemporary and sporty Redcliff family of round watches makes its return, now with an automatic movement from La Joux-Perret. And there’s not just one new watch but four of them. Let’s take a quick look at the Fears Redcliff 39.5 Date in Mallard Green, Cherry Red, Pe...
G-Shock GW-B5600 Charles Darwin Foundation Series
Today, we’ll take a look at three watches that fall within a very popular range of G-Shock models. These pieces also have a charitable aspect. Meet the trio of GW-B5600-based collaborations with the Charles Darwin Foundation. If animals are your vibe, you’re going to like them a lot!It was back in 1999 when G-Shock first partnered with the Charles Darwin Foundation on a line of watches. At that time, the brand used the round, ana-digi AW-500D as the basis for several different-colored models. These watches, by the way, are collectible today, and as the owner of a similar model, I can vouch for their comfort level. Now, 25 years later, G-Shock has rekindled its relationship with t...
Introducing: Four Brand-New Tissot PR516 Chronographs
The first Tissot PR 516 was introduced in 1965, and a chronograph version followed three years later. Today, we get four new versions that lean on that aesthetic from the late ’60s and early ’70s. This is the new-for-2024 Tissot PR516 chronograph in three quartz versions and one hand-wound execution. I went hands-on to see what's what.The quartz models are priced at $545 for the all-steel versions and $595 for the two-tone version. The mechanical PR516 comes in at $1,975. All models are available from Tissot as of today.Some Tissot PR516 historyAs mentioned above, the PR 516 (with a space in the name) dates back to 1965. The first version was a time-only watch in a style that we ...
Hublot Innovates With The New Big Bang Unico Magic Ceramic
History repeats itself. You know of the debate about which automatic chronograph came first. Was Zenith's El Primero, the Caliber 11 developed by Heuer, Breitling, Hamilton, and movement specialist Dubois Depraz, or the Speedtimer by Seiko the first? Now we have a new case of Who came first? It involves two watches - the Hublot Big Bang Unico Magic Ceramic and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chroma Ceramic. The AP was presented last year but is, for now, a prototype. The Hublot is not a prototype but a 20-piece limited edition. You be the judge of who's first and takes the prize.Last year, Audemars Piguet presented a couple of prototype watches with cases made by using Spark Plasma Si...
Girard-Perregaux Laureato 38mm Vs. IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40
It’s Sunday again, so it’s time for another Sunday Morning Showdown. Mike and Jorg go head to head in a battle over integrated-bracelet sports watches this week. Two weeks ago, we had a similar match-up when Vacheron’s 222 went up against the Royal Oak. This week, two more famous watches in the same category fight for the win. The main difference between these watches and the two contenders that battled it out two weeks ago is their price. Both the IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40 and Girard-Perregaux Laureato 38mm are much more affordable than their famous peers. But which of the two would you pick? Get yourself a cup of coffee, and let’s get going!This week’s battle...
Rebellion Will Reveal Its Predator Chrono Mono-Pusher
Rebellion, Masters of The Power Reserve, will be revealing their Predator Chrono Mono-Pusher during this coming BaselWorld show. Last year, they introduced the Predator Chrono with the regular start, stop and reset buttons. This year, they are going Mono-Pusher. This means that there is only one button – on top of the crown – for starting, stopping and resetting the chronograph mechanism.Will this Predator Chrono Mono-Pusher be a true competitor for Hublot’s Big Bang, AP’s RO OffShore or the LW SpidoSpeed Chrono? All these watches are crafted from high-tech materials and have a strong relationship to the racing world.Click here for my article on this pre-Basel release...
The Watch Editor's Pick Frank Geelen
Chronos24.pl and Fratellowatches.com are proud to present you this new, special, bi-weekly section dedicated to our fellow watch journalists and bloggers. Ever wondered what they really like? read on.Without going into the long-lasting dispute about who is a journalist, who is a blogger, and which of this two is better (like it matters) we tried to find out about a? more interesting topic: what are the personal favorite watches of watch editors and which timepieces would they purchase when having unlimited resources. In the next coming weeks (every other Monday) we will bring you some of the biggest names from the world of watch editors, both acclaimed authors with an impressive track-record...
Wally Schirra's Gold Omega Speedmaster Professional
About a week ago, I was contacted by Lawrence, a fan of Speedmaster watches. He started reading Fratello Watches after the kind staff of the Omega Boutique in Natick, MA made him aware of our Speedy Tuesday feature. Now, we get quite a bit of e-mail per week (in all honesty it is on a daily basis) but Lawrence wrote me that he had something special. A watch that belonged to Wally Schirra, the only astronaut to have flown Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions.Wally Schirra passed away in May 2007 (age 84) and just two months before, he was interviewed by my friend Chuck Maddox, who passed away one year later, in May 2008 (read my interview with Chuck here). You can read the interview between Wa...
Hands-on Grand Seiko SBGV019G 9F Quartz Limited Edition Review
Once in a while we make an exception and cover a battery-operated watch here on Fratello Watches. While we normally prefer mechanical movements, it doesn’t mean some quartz movements aren’t interesting. What should one think of the multifunction watches like a Speedmaster X-33 or Spacemaster Z-33, or the Apple Watch? But when it doesn’t concern a multifunction watch, there needs to be something special about it, right? For example, a watch like the OysterQuartz Datejust and Day-Date at least contain some mechanical parts.For me, the Grand Seiko SBGV019G I am about to review is a special watch as well. I would almost say ‘despite the quartz movement’ but perhaps...
WatchTime Magazine Announces New Editor-in-Chief
As per March 1st, friend of the show Roger Ruegger (known for his blog dive into watches) will be the new Editor-in-Chief of WatchTime Magazine. The current Editor-in-Chief (for 16 years), Joe Thompson, will take the role of Editor-at-Large and remains with the publication as a writer and reporter.I’ve been an avid reader of WatchTime Magazine (Ebner Publishing) myself since 2000 or so (not anymore, as it is not available in The Netherlands since a couple of years) and together with the German magazines Chronos (published by Ebner), Uhren Magazine (published by Ebner) and Armband Uhren (published by Heel) helped me tremendously in gaining knowledge about watches in those years, when on...
Angelus Collector's Guide Download The Complete Document Now!
Angelus Collector’s GuideJust before Christmas last year a great project was released and I could not be more proud of it. For months I helped, researched, photographed material to appear in this extensive journal. Thanks to?Klassik Uhren Magazine, a publication that like us also belongs to Ebner Publishing, we had the pleasure to publish a very excessive article about one of my personal favorite brands; Angelus. I have dealt with the brand before on the pages of Fratello Watches when I wrote about my Hungarian Air Force chronograph and my Chronodato, both for #TBT.Klassik Uhren ArticleDr. Christoph ohm-Kuhnle's wonderful project came out in Klassik Uhren 6/2016 (in Germany). Our Germa...
Omega Speedmaster Professional 52Mondayz, week #9-2020
As some of you may know, my horological life began some 25 years ago with an Omega Speedmaster Professional. Of course, it wasn’t my first watch. Although my very first watch was a mechanical one, quite a lot of quartz and digital watches - like Casio G-Shock, Citizen, and many many Swatches - had been on my wrist already.?But it must have been beginning of the ’90s that a friend of mine bought a Speedmaster. It didn’t take more than a month before I had one on my wrist as well.Omega Speedmaster Professional ref 3570.50.00That was not only the start of an ever-growing watch collection, but it also spurred a career change. My interest in these kinds of watches felt so natura...
Glashutte Original launches A Limited Edition PanoMatic Luna Watch
Glashutte Original has released a Limited Edition PanoMatic Luna. It’s a thoughtful and beautifully designed watch. Whether you feel the romantic vibes of February or not, the German brand is doing its best to tug on your heartstrings.The new Glashutte Original PanoMatic Luna incorporates the GO DNA in an extremely feminine model. Inspired by symbols and colors of love, the round watch has a seductive appeal with a sparkling touch. A highly-polished stainless steel case is topped with an anti-reflective sapphire crystal. Also, the bezel, set with 64 brilliant-cut diamonds, gives an extravagant touch to the 39.4mm case.A softened case that exudes femininity from edge-to-edge.It seems th...
Spinnaker Dumas On The Wrist For A Week
I didn’t see this coming. I was wholly prepared to hate this poor man’s Ploprof - I was almost looking forward to it. But then something happened. Something I hadn’t expected. The Spinnaker Dumas, for all its patent weirdness, charmed me into submission.I’m still a bit annoyed about it, to be honest. Although it’s true that I never tire of being surprised, I don’t much like being wrong. And I was really wrong about this one. This is by no means a perfect watch, and it’s not likely to dislodge my stalwart Omegas, Breitlings, Laventures, or Aquadives from my wrist, but it is something worthwhile. It is most definitely not the dead-ended avenue I though...