#TBT: Meylan Chronograph
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 extensive spa treatment. When the watch finally arrived, it was worth the patience because it's really a fascinating chronograph. Of course, when you're looking at a piece from a brand that's essentially unheard of, some archaeological research is on order. In today's #TBT on the Meylan Chronograph...
InDetail: RJ ARRAW 6919
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 and great music. Lastly, something more watch related, July 21 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing. We Speedy Tuesday guys know this of course, but Omega is not the only watch manufacturer that prepares for the occasion. During SIHH 2019, RJ (formerly known as Romain Jerome) introduc...
Watches & Pencils #46 Double Barrel Movements
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 the movement has an increased power reserve and sometimes more efficient distribution. The actual power reserve depends on several things. For example:The complications of the movement (e.g. chronograph).Whether the double barrels are linked in parallel or paired?serially.Multiple or a single gear tra...
Speedy Tuesday: The first Omega Speedmaster Snoopy Award
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 important role in the safe return of astronauts Haise, Swigert, and Lovell. You can read all about it in the article explaining why there’s a Snoopy on the dial that I wrote a few years back.Omega was awarded NASA’s Silver Snoopy Award in October 1970 for the role played by the Speedmaster duri...
Lytt Labs Inception Prodigy Watch Review
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 Labs is a Singapore-based brand that already has several models based around the same case silhouette in the catalog. If you haven’t heard of the brand, don’t worry. I’ll break down the good and bad of the Inception Prodigy, which should provide you with a decent overview of the whole...
Grand Seiko Heritage Collection Series 9 SLGH007 Tree Ring Dial In Platinum
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? That you’ll be too bewitched by that beautiful black dial to notice…The Heritage Collection Series 9 SLGH007 watch is a special piece. Sure, it features one of the brand’s most impressive movements. Yes, it has an artful dial. Of course, it is fashioned from platinum. But what is pe...
#TBT The 1970s Sunburst Surprise Alpina "Monaco" Watch
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 particularly accessible watches today. That's exactly why I went for this unusual Alpina when it popped up on eBay. I?bet I?am not the only one thinking, that the designer who first sketched the Alpina AL 55-126 44 had a few Monaco watches around.No hunting of the Alpina “Monaco”So how exactly...
NOMOS Glashutte Club Automatic 753 Limited Edition Watch Review
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 sees the oft-overlooked Club Automatic line get three new entrants. We have one in onyx, one in navy, and one in a very fetching olive.All three of these new models are presented on different bands. The onyx dial is presented on the popular NOMOS Sport Bracelet. Both the navy and the olive dials are...
Meet Grand Seiko's New 24 Seasons GMT Collection
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 hour presentation on their new global strategy and new watches for 2021. Remember the 2019 24 Seasons collection? Meet the four new GMT “24 Seasons” watches of the Grand Seiko Heritage collection.24 Seasons – Grand Seiko GMT24 seasons? We have four! Correct. But in Japan, they exper...
Hands-On: IWC Pilot's Watch Chronograph Edition "Tribute To 3705"
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 you the IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph “Tribute to 3705”. Indeed, a very similar watch to the original 3705 from 1994 but with a few important differences. When written in full, the differences consist of the case diameter, the case material, and the movement. Yet, I will still call...
Video: Hands-On With The Breguet Hora Mundi 5717
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 in my hands and I want to tell you why it, and the Breguet brand in general, should never be far away from the top of your wish list.This is what you come here for. Today I'm spending time with the Breguet 5717 Hora Mundi in rose gold. Despite its classic design, it’s a bit of a beast. It's he...
Breitling Triumph Motorcycles Top Time Chronograph (Live Pics)
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 Triumph factory.On a sunny morning in London, I find myself in the waiting lounge of a heliport. Trust me, the job of writing about watches is not always this glamourous. At that very moment, I found myself wondering how lucky it was to be in this position. That was until a VVVIP client glided through th...
The Best Modern Dive Watches Under $5000
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 budget. In this installment of the series, we will look at the best modern dive watches available for under $5K. Let's find out what some of your potential best modern dive watches are.Dive watches are by far the most popular watch genre nowadays, and that’s not just something we see hear our ...
My Guilty-Pleasure Watch: The TAG Heuer Formula 1 WA1211
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 guilty pleasure, my guilty-pleasure watch was one that remained a secret… until now. You've read the title, and you already know that the watch in question is my TAG Heuer Formula 1. Specifically, it's the 34mm plastic-bezeled, lume-dialed reference WA1211. It seems that, without knowing that I wou...
The Five Best Tissot Watches In 2022
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 Tissot watches as of 2022.Tissot's collection comprises something for everyone. There are dive watches, dress watches, and sporty chronographs. There are quartz watches, automatic watches, and classical hand-crankers. Tissot prides itself on helping both new and long-time watch enthusiasts enjoy thi...
The NOMOS Glashutte Tangente Gets New Platinum Gray Dials
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 affordable out-of-house creation that brought quality components together in a high-brow design at a reasonable cost. Today, it has become a trend-setting game-changer, always on the front line of the brand’s latest developments. And yet, it is still the same loveable cutey we’ve always known....
Buying Status For Less Than $5K Breitling, TAG Heuer, And More
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 expression of personal style and taste, and an exuberant person will proudly wear a watch with the same characteristics. The right watch will get you noticed in real and virtual life for all kinds of reasons. Buying status, visibility, and likes for less than $5K is possible. And guess what? You don't need...
H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Perpetual Calendar In Tantalum
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 trick we’ve seen from Moser before, what we haven’t seen before is the use of dark gray tantalum. And that’s exactly the material that was used for this Endeavour’s beautifully shaped case. It creates the perfect context for that textured fume blue enamel dial to jump right ou...
The Nodus Sector GMT An Owner's Review
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 from microbrands seems conspicuous, it isn't. Micro and independent brands know what brands are up to before we do. I had heard of the NH34 movement months before Seiko announced it. This means that brands had plenty of time to come up with their own affordable GMT watches, like Nodus and the Sector G...
Wrist Game Or Crying Shame: Cartier Tank Divan
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, the model name didn’t instantly ring a bell, so I clicked the link, saw the picture, and said, “Ugh, that one…”Now, I know this friend of mine likes oddball watches. My Submariner almost bores him to death. But I also love my share of less obvious weirdos, so I appreciate his ...