Twenty-eight and one. In grim times, influenced by the Coronavirus, we’ll try to cheer you up with some good news on this bissextile day. Amidst cancellations of Time To Move, the Grand Seiko Summit, Watches & Wonders, and the latest victim Baselworld, we delve deep to help the watch industry survive. Here’s what we picked up for you this week.Urwerk UR-111C Two-ToneOne of the most

Dress watches are on the rise. While sports watches from the likes of Tudor, Omega and Seiko are perpetually generating interest, bubbling away in the background is a resurgence of clean and classic watches. Take, for example, this Longines 1946. As pared back as a watch can be, yet our Fratello readers flocked to learn more. To broaden our coverage of dress watches, I looked to none other than th

Until recently, I had never changed my opinion about the originality of a watch three times in the same week. But that happened when the intriguing Gallet Navigator Telemeter crossed my path. Two other great collectors joined me on my journey of exploration, and they were equally puzzled. The buying experience of this rare Gallet Navigator Telemeter has resonated with me for two months now, so I t

Even without mentioning the name, if I tell you these watches have an all-polished 36 or 38.5mm case, Roman and Arabic numerals, a hand-wound movement, and colorful dials with a contrasting sub-seconds hand, you’ll probably already know what watches I’m talking about. The Nomos Club Campus has become quite an icon for the young Saxon watchmaker. No wonder the brand keeps improving its

Are rising watch prices getting you down? Well, we’ve got good news for you. In this week’s episode of Fratello Talks, Nacho, Timo, and RJ take a look at some horological hidden gems under $5K. These are watches you can buy either new or pre-owned that offer something truly interesting for the price. If you want to get the most for your money, these nine options are perfect ways to go.

Omega Speedmaster Mark IIIHappy New Year everyone and Happy Speedy Tuesday! We started Speedy Tuesday somewhere half-way 2012 and it has become the most popular topic here on Fratellowatches. We are very thankful for your enthusiasm and submissions! This year, we will continue our Speedy Tuesdays and will have some great Omega Speedmaster related give-aways as a sign of our appreciation to you, ou

A new year, a newly introduced watch! Recently Seiko added two new designs to their ‘Cocktail Time’ line. I had a hard time choosing but went with the Seiko Presage Sakura Fubuki.The Seiko Presage Sakura Fubuki, SRPC03, on my wristSeiko Presage Sakura Fubuki ref. SRPC03Ever since Seiko introduced them in 2010 in Japan, Cocktail Time models proofed to be very popular. And I think the fo

2017 is over, so welcome 2018! 2017 was a big year for us at Fratello Watches. Reader traffic grew and our team is stronger and more excited than ever to bring you unique content. Regarding that notion, let's take a look at?our least worn watches of 2017 – from most of the team that is – and, why not, we'll talk about what graced our wrists most because that seems to be a popular thing

Since the early 2000s, a special project team (Advanced Research Department) within the Patek Philippe manufacture is occupied with the future of (haute) horlogerie. In 2017, their effort resulted in two major innovations: the new Spiromax(R) balance spring made of Silinvar(R) and a new solution to set a second time zone in timezone watches.To welcome these innovations, the manufacture is launchin

For all friends of Pilot watches ARCHIMEDE presents now in-house fabricated Blued-Steel Watch Hands for their Pilot 42 A & H.For a few years now, ARCHIMEDE has offered their in-house fabricated blued-steel watch hands solely in their DeckWatch and a number of special editions. ARCHIMEDE now announce that their facilities have developed these high-quality watch hands for the Pilot models as wel

It's been a while since we reported about a Speedmaster sighting by a celebrity. In the past, we have seen Russel Crowe wearing one in many of his movies. He also had a Speedmaster in his private collection until recently. He auctioned numerous personal memorabilia away, including the watch, towell, pay for his divorce. ?Ed O'Neill, the star of Modern Family, Married with Children and one of my fa

Genteel Handmade's top priority is to make the small things unforgettable. Being inspired by the attention to detail that is involved in the making of an Omega timepiece, they created a unique strap that perfectly fits your Omega Deployant.Genteel Handmade offers you the freedom to design a truly unique strap. When designing an Omega-Style Deployant Strap, you can choose the leather, thread, linin

Often overlooked by collectors, but never lacking respect from them either. Cartier: One of the most influential brands when it comes to the history of the wristwatch.When a friend writes a book on a subject he’s so passionate about, it is very difficult to write something about it. What if the book isn’t very good, or not worth spending your money on? Well, I can be very short about t

We've been following EZA ever since their re-launch a few years ago. Whenever we have the chance, we catch up while enjoying a beer (or two) in my hometown Rotterdam or in Switzerland. Last week we had one of those moments and they had something exciting to share. While catching up they opened a watch roll on the bar (labelled Monday to Friday) and pulled out their new model, the EZA 1972.EZA 1972

In this podcast, Balazs and Mike sit down on the very last day of 2020 and hit upon a couple of key topics. Collaboration watches and re-release hope for 2021 are in store in this latest episode.Our Fratello on Air podcast is also available via Buzzsprout,?Soundcloud,?Apple Podcast,?Google Podcast,?Deezer,??Stitcher, and?Spotify.

I have a lot of odd habits. I think it’s probably normal for those with minds to which the hobby of watchmaking appeals to have a few neuroses. One thing I am particularly particular about is how I store my watches. As such, I’ve been on the hunt for a smart, uniform solution to house my ever-growing collection that now numbers north of 70 pieces. After much trawling, I came across the

2020 was quite a year in all respects and that’s true regarding timepieces. Here were some of my favorite watches over the past 12 months.I recently penned an article on the vintage Japanese watches that entered my collection during 2020. That was a seriously fun article to write, but what about new watches - Japanese or not? Well, I am here to say that this year, of all years, was one of my

Fratello On Air returns with a seriously focused episode as our resident Seiko nut, Mike, speaks with Nick Ferrell, the owner of DC Vintage Watches. If you’re a Seiko fan, you won’t want to miss this!Nick Ferrell is the owner and founder of DC Vintage Watches, a site that not only sells vintage Seiko, but will help clients find the watch of their dreams. Nick is a seriously nice person

As a fan of alternative case materials, I love seeing watches made of uncommon metals. We’re all familiar with stainless steel and probably gold and platinum too. But over the last few years, I’ve noticed a marked increase in brands using tantalum for all or part of their watches. What is tantalum? And does it make for a good watch?Tantalum is a metal. That much, I am pretty sure you k

And all of a sudden, 2021 is done. In case you're wondering what happened from a horological perspective, I tried to reconstruct the year in about 1,500 words - what struck me, stayed with me, and what have I learned in the last year. And that’s important, if you ask me, because it's easy to look back at what happened, but learning from the past to understand the present and the future is th