If you've never heard of a Meylan Chronograph, don't be ashamed because up until recently, I hadn't either! Well, I had never seen or heard of one until a few months ago when Andreas of LocalTime showed me something he had just found. It didn't take long for me to decide I wanted it in my collection, but I had quite a wait on my hands as the watch had to travel from the USA and go through quite an

This year marks many anniversaries. For instance: 75 years ago, D-Day happened in Normandy, France. That turned the fate of the Second World War for the better and resulted in liberating Paris soon afterwards (have you read our D-Day related watch review of Tockr?).In August, the rock and roll world will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary Woodstock Festival. It was a week of free love

I’m not only a fan of the outside of a watch, but the inside and all its moving parts are what makes every watch tick. Fascinated by the countless innovations and improvements for watch movements, I picked out one. The improvement of having more power reserve and the distribution by a double barrel in this case. Double barrel movements feature more than one mainspring and barrel. This way th

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission. It is perhaps the most talked-about mission besides the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The mission that had a rough start, to begin with, and almost ended with a fatal accident in space.The Speedmaster didn’t fix the issue onboard the Apollo 13 service module at approximately 200,000 miles distance from Earth, but it did play an importa

Last year, I picked up an interesting watch from a micro-brand making a fair bit of noise. The Lytt Labs Inception Prodigy is another one of those fringe timepieces that could easily never have hit my radar. But having had a little bit of time to analyze the build-quality now seems like a good time to share it with you.Square watches are a tough sell. Massive square watches? Even more so. Lytt Lab

I’ve written quite extensively on the new Grand Seiko 9SA5 Hi-Beat 36,000 movement before and indicated that it could (as I think many of us hoped it would) become a new cornerstone of the brand’s catalog. Today, with the official announcement of the new platinum-cased Heritage Collection Series 9 SLGH007, we get to see the 9SA5 in action once more. The only danger with this release? T

After I?finished last week's TBT about the Heuer Monaco, I?immediately thought of this watch. The original copycat is what I?call my lucky Alpina “Monaco” AL 55-126 44 pick. Now was the perfect time to pull it out from the safe and give it some wrist time. ?Neither the Heuer Monaco ref 73633 nor the Heuer Monaco ref. 1133G (the gray date version without the 12-hour counter)? are partic

I’ve often said that the real skill in watch design is creating something that is new that initially looks familiar. True art can and perhaps should be challenging, but challenging does not mean ugly. It does not mean unpalatable. Objects should encourage you to ask questions of them. The best provide you with satisfying answers over time. The latest wave of NOMOS Glashutte limited editions

Yesterday and today, Grand Seiko’s and Seiko’s Media Experience is taking place. Digitally, of course. Where this is used to be a separate journey to Japan, and a fully packed congress room in Basel, we’re now following Grand Seiko and Seiko on our screens.The same will apply for Watches & Wonders and Time To Move, but it is the way it is. Nevertheless, Grand Seiko had a +1 h

This new IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph ref. 387905 is a tribute to the famous and highly collectible 3705 from the 1990s. This “IWC Fliegerchronograph Keramik,” as it is called, was introduced in 1994 and made of - you’ve guessed it - ceramic. This watch’s production lasted just a few years, and the total production of this IWC was around 1,000 watches.Today, we show

Some brands get all the attention. Others must patiently line the sidelines of your mind, waiting for the attention they deserve while getting down to some serious work. When it comes to high-end luxury watches, we're used to hearing the same old names thrown around. But forget Patek Philippe, forget Vacheron, forget Cartier. Put them back on the shelf. Today, I've got the Breguet 5717 Hora Mundi

Breitling unveils its latest special edition in the expanding Top Time collection. The year 2021 gave us the classic US muscle-car collabs in the Corvette, Mustang, and Shelby editions. Coming out of the gates this year is Breitling's first co-branded watch with British motorcycle manufacture Triumph. I go hands-on with the new Top Time and share my thoughts following a visit to the Hinckley Trium

Here at the Fratello offices, we get a lot of questions from you, our readers. Probably the most-asked questions are centered around the topic of what to buy for different budgets. The most popular budget question is what watch to buy for under $5,000 in different watch categories. That's why we decided to set up a small series of articles focusing on the best watches that you can buy within that

A few weeks ago when we first discussed the idea of sharing our guilty-pleasure watches, I knew exactly the watch I'd be writing about. Nobody else did, as I hadn't even shared with them that I owned this watch. In fact, to this day I haven't even shared a picture of it on my Instagram. It's not that I'm ashamed of this watch - I wear it from time to time and really enjoy it. But like a true guilt

Tissot is one of those brands that you can't help but respect. With a rich history dating back to 1853, Tissot has built a reputation for offering excellent-quality watchmaking and affordable prices. It’s a brand for the people. You won't find high-end haute horology here, but that's OK. The industry desperately needs brands like Tissot. With that in mind, let's take a look at the five best

The NOMOS Glashutte Tangente is an industry classic. It has, in its 35mm form, been around, almost unchanged, for 30 years this year. It was launched in 1992 as part of the brand’s debut collection, two years after NOMOS was founded in 1990 shortly after the fall of the Berlin wall in ’89. And for the past three decades, the Tangente has weathered all comers. Formerly, it was an afford

There are people who wear watches strictly for themselves. The calm and introverted types who, unaffected by hype and trends, go their own way. They buy watches that go completely unnoticed. Kudos to them. But there are also people - many more people, I dare say - who want their watch to send a message. A clear message, even, of status, prestige, or wealth. But their watches can also be an express

I’ll just come clean right away: I’m a fan of the H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour, but I’m not a fan of perpetual calendars. That might change, though, after taking a look at what Edouard Meylan and his team just brought to the table. Because this is a rather interesting-looking perpetual calendar, one without the usual array of sub-dials and cut-out windows. While that’s a t

Seiko did something pretty cool in 2022 by releasing the NH34 (4R34) GMT movement and the Seiko 5 Sports GMT collection. While some complain that Seiko is losing its own game (whatever that means), others applaud the brand for what it dared to do - make GMT watches more affordable and make a good movement accessible to all. Although the timing of the release of numerous NH34-powered GMT watches fr

Recently, my best watch friend that lives in my area sent me a link to a sales listing for a Cartier Tank Divan. “I was thinking of picking up a Tank Divan since they are the oddball ones that are currently undervalued relative to other Tanks, even though they’re rarer. Plus, I think they are actually kind of unique/cool. Here’s the one I’m looking at.” Admittedly, th