Finally!!! The Identity Of The Other NASA-Tested Watches
This week, we had the good fortune to visit Omega in Biel for a #speedytuesday get together. For certain, the occasion will always be remembered as the world debut of the resurrected caliber 321. But there was something else that was divulged during part of the program that truly piqued my interest the absolute truth on two of the other references that were tested by NASA when selecting what would ultimately become the Moonwatch. Yes, folks, you will read the black and white truth about two of the watches that didn't become Moonwatches.? These are the other NASA-Tested watches.Speedmaster 105.003 complete set (image via DB1983.com)The Other NASA-Tested WatchesPetros Protopapas, the Brand Her...
#TBT The Venus 211 Caliber In A Bucherer Chronograph
Today's #TBT on the Venus 211 is a special one as it is the first article from a new Fratello contributor, Tomas Rosputinsky (@rosputinsky_tomas on Instagram). Tomas is from, and lives in, Slovakia and has a taste for some rather eclectic vintage watches. In the future, we'll see pieces on both the new and old from him, but today we start with something decidedly dated. Welcome, Tomas!I think it was after a full week with the Speedmaster 60th LE (my first Speedy ever) that I realized how often I look at my wrist searching for the date. No matter how much I enjoyed the Speedmaster, that week drew my attention to vintage date watches. But this time with a renewed curiosity, trying to understan...
Announcement: Rob Nudds Joins Fratello As Managing Editor
I am very delighted to announce that we have a new team member here at Fratello. Let me introduce you to Rob Nudds, our Managing Editor.In the last year, we’ve made significant strides towards growing Fratello. Not only did our worldwide reach increase, but also our team welcomed several new members, such as Sky Sit, Andreas Ahrens, Jorg Weppelink, Tomas Rosputinsky, and Ben Hodges, to either the fold or more advanced roles. With some familiar names and some new names, helping us cover interesting industry news, and produce in-depth articles on vintage watches and (hands-on) watch reviews of new releases, Fratello has been building towards something quite special. To help keep an ever-...
Aramar Walrus, inspired by diving watches of the sixties & seventies.
Not an homage to an existing watch model, but inspired by the cool cushion case diving watches of the sixties and seventies in general, the Aramar Walrus takes the brand in a different direction after a terrible start.Aramar Watch Co. is an independent designer and producer of wristwatches founded in 2010 and based in The Netherlands. Above all, Aramar is the brainchild of true watch fanatics. It proved that passion doesn’t necessarily lead to designing, producing, and selling the right products. For instance, models like Transatlantic and Arctic Ocean (we deliberately don’t link here, and don’t even want you to look them up) almost made us decide not to cover anything Aram...
Hands-On: Hamilton Khaki Pilot Schott NYC Watch
A little while ago, in one of our Hot Take articles, we already introduced the new Hamilton Khaki Pilot Schott NYC watch to you.As soon as this watch was released, I knew I had to line one up to review. I caught my first glimpse of this model in September when I visited Hamilton, but I wasn’t able to spend much time with it then. After the release, however, Hamilton kindly gave me one for a few days. Before I headed off to put the Hamilton Khaki Pilot Schott NYC through its paces, however, I got the chance to attend the launch event in New York.From New York to New JerseyThe launch of the Hamilton Khaki Pilot Schott NYC happened in New York City. During the day, however, we took a trip...
Counterpoint: Are Brands Releasing New Watches Too Often?
New watches: who doesn’t love them? As fans, the latest releases keep us interested and thirsty for more. We’ve never had so much to choose from, but have we finally reached the point of “too much of a good thing?” Let’s discuss.Ah, the good old days… It wasn’t so long ago when most watch brands released their newest wares on an annual basis. Baselworld and SIHH were the in-person forums where all was shown - and shown all at once! Attending these shows and providing coverage on all the new watches was a test in stamina and memory. As a reader, it probably felt like pure overload. After all the dust settled, though, people could sift through the news...
Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1R Is Discontinued
The year 2021 saw many significant changes come to the watch industry. Not many of them, however, felt quite as significant as Patek Philippe announcing that the 5711 Nautilus would be discontinued. Sure, this was followed by a number of releases in the Nautilus product line, including the now-infamous green and Tiffany blue-dialed versions. Nevertheless, the message was clear: Patek does not want to become a one-watch brand. And as iconic and beautiful as the 5711 is, there are plenty of other models that deserve far more recognition than they currently get. Swimming upstream or going against the hype doesn't really seem like the logical thing to do for most brands, who simply want to sell ...
The Breguet Marine Collection The Brand's Unsung Hero
The start of the year is one of my favorite times for writing. Why, you ask? Well, it’s because the year is so fresh and new. There are no new trends yet for 2022; we still need to give the year a chance to find itself and decide what it wants to be. With that in mind, it’s the perfect time to appreciate what already exists with the clarity that the new year brings. Some of a brand’s more impressive work can get lost among the noise of its flagship launches. With that in mind, I wanted to take a look at Breguet’s Marine Collection. Why? Because I believe it’s the unsung hero in the Breguet family.Breguet had a solid year last year. While it released a couple of ...
Hot Take: Oris Big Crown Calibre 473
With the introduction of the hand-wound Oris Big Crown Calibre 473, another important step in the evolution of the long-running Big Crown Pointer Date makes its appearance. The watch also shows Oris’s determination to stand out from a movement perspective once again. The Oris Movement Creation Program outdid itself with the introduction of Calibre 473. The movement, featuring a five-day power reserve, elevated anti-magnetic characteristics, and a 10-year warranty, also has a neat trick up its sleeve in the form of a movement-side power reserve indicator that looks very neat indeed.The new Oris Big Crown Calibre 473 is a reinvented Big Crown Pointer Date. The recently introduced Big Cro...
Family Heirloom: The Forgotten Moonwatch
Sometimes we feature stories from our readers about their Speedmaster watches. This is a story from Jason, who inherited his grandfather’s watch, a beautiful Speedmaster Professional 145.022-69 with a straight-script case back. The thing is, he never knew about this watch until his grandfather passed away and he went through his belongings. Without further ado, enjoy this great story about a family heirloom.The forgotten MoonwatchDespite being a fan of watches and familiar with his grail watch, the Speedmaster, Jason never identified the watch in the pictures of his grandfather as a Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch. The reason for this, probably, is that his grandfather used to wear ...
H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Centre Seconds Vantablack
Nothing. The concept of nothing - the empty set, zero - is easy to fathom when it comes to quantity. When it comes to the void - the distance between heavenly bodies, a force so powerful that even light cannot escape - the concept becomes more abstract. H. Moser & Cie. explores minimalism in many ways, chiefly in dials that are bereft of any decoration. More recently, the brand has used Vantablack, the darkest man-made material ever created, to enhance this feeling of nothingness in its dials. It is spectacular in its results and is now available in a watch that is more suitable for everyday wear, the Endeavour Centre Seconds Vantablack.The Endeavour line is Moser's take on a simple, rou...
Was 2022 Zenith's Big Comeback?
It's that time of the year again when we turn around and have a good look at what caught our attention in the previous one. For me, a brand like with its mix of incremental changes and a single crazy 50mm+ diver's tool seemed almost irrelevant. Indeed, other brands were not holding back in what was an exciting 2022. Last year opened my eyes back up to Zenith. Whether or not 2022 was the brand's big comeback is up for debate, but I’m pretty convinced that this is more than a hot take.In 2022, Zenith gave us a beguiling mix of heritage and pop-culture collabs that were missing from most other brands. Most big premium Swiss makers tend to fall into one of two camps, carefully fettling he...
Introducing The New Grand Seiko SBGH311 And SBGR325
The year 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of Grand Seiko’s caliber 9S. Today, we celebrate said anniversary with the introduction of the Grand Seiko SBGH311 and SBGR325 models. These two new watches pay tribute to the original 1998 release in which the caliber 9S debuted. Both models feature dials inspired by the brand’s favorite geographical feature in northern Honsh, Japan - Mt. Iwate. In fact, it’s not the mountain itself but rather the sky around it that has lent its beauty to adorn the dials of these two latest creations from Grand Seiko. But before taking a closer look at the watches, it’s only right to remark upon the importance of the anniversary they exist to...
A Questionable Auction, And Swatch Group Stays Away From CPO
Welcome to another episode of Fratello On Air. In this installment, Balazs and Mike touch on two topics. We start with the fact that Swatch Group has no intentions of following into the CPO market. Next, we talk about a recent article highlighting concerns about a questionable auction that took place in 2018. Sit back and relax while we work the mics....
Daan's Watch Resolution For 2023: Buy Less, Enjoy More
I must say, 2022 was quite a busy one in my watch box. Three watches left my collection, and a whopping six new pieces (plus a bonus one) came in! So 2023 is definitely going to be about getting more familiar with the newcomers and less about adding more and more watches. Actually, that was also the plan for last year, but then, you know, things just kind of happened. But, as you’ll understand, my watch budget has pretty much been exhausted for now. So, for 2023, I’m more or less bound to simply enjoy the watches I already own, and that’s certainly no punishment!I’m very happy with the additions from last year, and I do feel they deserve all the appreciation they can ...
Why Are Mechanical Watches So Expensive?
I have the honor of kicking off a new series of articles on Fratello. This is Back to Basics, a series intended to explain the fundamentals of our hobby. The content covered may be familiar, even obvious, if you are a horological veteran. But with the watch passion spreading and attracting new people every day, this is our way of welcoming newcomers. In this first installment, I will cover the basic question: why are mechanical watches so expensive?Ironically, that isn't actually such a basic question. Or, at least, it is one with a rather complicated answer. I do see why Nacho assigned this topic to me, though, as I have spent the past year developing a watch of my own. As a result, I know ...
Lex's 2024 Watch Resolutions: Like A Leopard In A Tree
If I had stuck to my 2023 watch resolutions, I would be either wearing a Breitling Spatiographe or a titanium Girard-Perregaux pour Ferrari chronograph while writing this. I'm not. That’s because I didn’t buy either of those watches. Instead, I bought other ones, and that taught me that I shouldn’t make any resolutions about buying specific watches. Instead, I'm going to be like a leopard in a tree. I won’t actively search; instead, I will patiently wait for my “prey” to pass under my tree. My 2024 watch resolutions are based on patience, opportunism, and a thoughtful approach. It’s a seemingly paradoxical combination, yes, but I will try to explain ...
Who Will Win The Battle Of Thin?
Within the last five years, to the delight of us watch geeks, we have seen several horological records broken, from power reserves to accuracy. And gone are the days of needing a 17mm thickness and a 45mm diameter to have a decent dive watch with a 200m depth rating. But a different lateral game afoot involves shaving and repositioning cogs, bridges, and gears. With shifting goals, who will win the Battle of Thin?Yes, the challenge is on. Bvlgari’s remarkable turnaround saw the brand’s Octo Finissimo beating records almost every year from 2014 to 2021. And Piaget is still a contender. But is the new championship winner from Richard Mille worth its nearly $2 million price? Is it e...
New: Blancpain Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms Ocean Of Storms
The new year had only just started when Swatch started sending new teasers into the world. “Ocean of Storms” ads were printed in various newspapers, and at the beginning of this week, the message was also published on the brand’s Instagram page. The ads also mentioned January 11th, 2024, the date of the first new moon of the year. Of course, all this information referred to an upcoming release, but what would it be this time - a new MoonSwatch, a new Scuba Fifty Fathoms, or a completely new collaboration? We now know that it’s the new Blancpain Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms Ocean of Storms.As soon as I saw the first ad, I suspected it would be a new watch in t...
Fratello's Top 5 High-End Horological Wishes For 2025
Another Friday, another list! Last week, we kicked the year off with a list of horological wishes for 2025. This week, we extend our list of wishes by focusing on some high-end brands. Some interesting developments in 2024 led to this new list. With personnel shifts and new introductions in the past year, we thought it would be a good idea to focus on the higher end of watchmaking and express our wishes for 2025.We saw many great watch releases last year, but these five wishes go a bit deeper than that. They are more related to brands doing well or bigger gestures that we want to see more of in 2025. You will quickly find out what we mean, so let’s jump straight in!1. Breguet becoming ...