Breaking News: ORIS Carl Brashear Cal. 401 Limited Edition
Oris is introducing a new movement in its third collaboration watch with the Carl Brashear Foundation. Meet the Oris Carl Brashear Cal. 401 limited edition watch of 2,000 pieces.I am pretty sure you will remember the recent introduction of the Oris caliber 400 movement. The 400 is an in-house movement with a power reserve of 5 days. It is anti-magnetic (2,250 gauss) and comes with a warranty of 10 years. My colleague Ben (our in-house Oris guru) wrote an opinionated piece on the Aquis with caliber 400 here. But, today, we are showing you the new Oris Carl Brashear Cal. 401, which is limited to 2,000 pieces in total. It is a bronze variation on the popular Oris Diver Sixty-Five model.Carl Bra...
Two For Tuesday: The Sedna Omega Speedmaster Vs. The Canopus Omega Speedmaster
Two for Tuesday is here and this time we are going for the gold! That’s right, it’s time to dig between the couch cushions to collect all that dough. You’ll need it as we pit the new Omega Sedna Speedmaster against the Canopus Speedmaster.It’s been a couple of weeks since Omega dropped its quartet of new Speedmaster models. We’re still frothing at the mouth here and, as such, have plenty more new Speedy content on the way. The newest Speedmaster models look like a sure-fire hit. While that in itself may not be wholly surprising, the release was different this time, though, and the watch cognoscenti seem to notice.The stainless steel models have gotten most of th...
Hublot Classic Fusion Italia Independent Jorg's Guilty Pleasure
Guilty pleasures - everybody has them, but should they? As Lex explained in the first article of this series, a guilty pleasure could be defined as something that you enjoy but is frowned upon by your peers. It’s a possible reason for embarrassment, especially amongst friends. But why should you be embarrassed? As Lex said, “You should celebrate that you have the ability to feel such wonderful things because of your so-called guilty pleasure.” That’s why I want to present my guilty pleasure to you - I love the Hublot Classic Fusion Chronograph Italia Independent “Pied De Poule”!I have some mad love for Hublot. There, I said it… again! A little over a...
Community Spotlight: Winters & Bui Photography & Watches
Here at Fratello, we love to shine the spotlight on special projects that members of the watch community are working on. Today we have the pleasure of introducing a new YouTube channel: Winters & Bui - Photography & Watches. It’s being launched by Lydia Winters and Vu Bui. And if their names ring a bell, you might know them already. Perhaps from their positions at Mojang Studios as Chief Storyteller and COO, respectively. The Swedish video game developer was responsible for the creation of the well-known sandbox video game, Minecraft. But if you don't know them from that already impressive side of their career, you may have come across their Instagram pages, where they often po...
H. Moser Endeavour Small Seconds Total Eclipse The Armoury
The geniuses at H. Moser & Cie. are the masters of fume dial art, and the Endeavour series is the perfect canvas. As the most traditionally styled case from Edouard Meylan and his artisan team, it is used to full effect. What better frame for a degrade piece of circular art than a conservative, flawlessly polished case. The H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Small Seconds Total Eclipse The Armoury is perhaps the strongest Endeavour, yet its dial is colorless.For me personally, the Endeavour Centre Seconds and Small Seconds have always had an allure. But at between 40 and 42mm, they felt large. Now, that is not due to their diameter, per se. But when the narrow bezel drops down with smooth per...
The Patek Philippe 5070P Is (NOT) My Grail Watch
The Patek Philippe Ref. 5070P is NOT my grail watch. And that's because the watch, although the object of my desire, is not the object of my extended, difficult quest. I don't actively chase the hand-wound, old-school chronograph, so both technically and literally, it's not my grail watch. Why go on a wild goose chase for something I can't afford? But in an imaginary watch world, my grail watch is a platinum Patek Philippe that would look great with a pair of jeans (and a pink sweater).Actively pursuing the platinum Patek Philippe Ref. 5070P, with its radiant blue dial and old school looks and movement, is nothing more than a foolish and hopeless search for or pursuit of something unattainab...
#TBT A Reverse Exercise With Vintage Casio Ads
The other day, I did something I hadn’t done for quite a while: I spent an hour browsing random vintage watch ads. And what a good time spent it was! I came out of it with three fantastic Casio watches to share with you today.?I usually do it the other way around - I track down vintage ads for a bunch (or 20 bunches) of watches. As a co-founder of the Ad Agency Of The Year in Slovakia, the country I live in, I have always had an eye for print ads. A few years ago, I decided to share my passion with you, and I wrote a story about unusual Seiko print ads.What do we need (Casio) ads for?Well, nothing, to be honest with you. Some collectors even find it funny to collect some old pieces of ...
Fratello Talks: Watch Brands' Price Increases For 2023
The Omega Speedmaster Professional will be priced at $7,500 as of February 1st (it was $7,100). The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Duoface? It is now $13,100 instead of $9,100 not even a year ago. That’s a price increase of nearly 44%. It almost sounds like is keeping it sane for its sports models with increases of approximately 2%. The catch here is that you can’t buy them anyway. Nacho, Lex, and RJ talk about the price increases of watch brands in 2023....
The Colorful Hublot Releases From LVMH Watch Week 2023
Hublot never disappoints when it comes to adding some sunshine to a gloomy January. During LMVH Watch Week 2023, the Nyon brand introduced quite a large number of new releases. Hublot showed once more that it loves creating timepieces that stand out due to the combination of colors and materials. Looking at the newly introduced timepieces, “simple” and “subdued” are not the keywords that come to mind. “Vibrant” and “colorful” are definitely more like it. And I could use a bit of color and a smile in a horribly gray Dutch January. So let’s check out the new Hublot releases from LVMH Watch Week 2023.Whenever Hublot releases new watches, I a...
Pre-Owned Spotlight: Olma, Girard-Perregaux, And Breguet
Let’s start today’s Pre-Owned Spotlight article with a little disclaimer: the watches I present below serve as mental bookmarks. You could see them as pieces of inspiration for starting a pre-owned hunt of your own. Let’s just dive in immediately, and you’ll see what I mean.This is the first time I’m writing for the Pre-Owned Spotlight series, so I can still draw from my own little watch list. Now, the list is not that long because, as I already told you here, I’m quite content with all the options I can choose from in the morning. But there are always dreams and other interesting watches that pop up when I visit get-togethers and browse around on forums.I...
The New Fears Brunswick 40 Topper Edition Series II
British watchmaking has carved out a niche for itself thanks to a handful of strong brands leading the pack. And with the newest versions of the Fears Brunswick 40, Nicholas Bowman-Scargill attempts a daring feat. Together with top US retailer Topper, we are treated to a blend of Californian nature and British watchmaking.Many small brands have great backstories, making the buyer feel part of a revitalization or community. And Fears Watches has the real story of a family firm now run by the founder’s great-grandson. Before we looked at the new colorful quartet, I chatted with Nicholas Bowman-Scargill about this latest retail collaboration.The new Fears Brunswick 40 with TopperI caught ...
Fratello's Top 5 Current Seiko Watches Under $500
Another Friday, another Top 5! After two lists of the best watches under $1,000, we’re staying on the topic of affordable watches. This week’s list focuses on the best Seiko watches under $500. The Japanese brand used to be the undisputed king of affordable mechanical timepieces. However, with rising prices, we sometimes think those days are gone. But are they? We have selected five models from the different product ranges that perfectly show that Seiko still has some amazing options for people who don’t want to spend a fortune.It’s no secret that increasing prices are a constant annoyance in the eyes of watch fans. Many of our favorite brands have steadily increased ...
Watches Worn By The Celebs Of Today Won't Be Tomorrow's Icons
Paul Newman made the Daytona famous for all kinds of reasons, but money wasn't one of them. Will Bradley Cooper make the Louis Vuitton Tambour a legend of the watch world? Well, when the American actor was an IWC ambassador, he didn't get a watch (nick)named after him. Also, once his deal with the brand from Schaffhausen ended, he posted a picture of himself wearing a watch from a brand that you don't buy for yourself on his Instagram page. And more examples prove the rule that watches worn by the celebs of today won't be the icons of tomorrow. But there might be a few exceptions.Okay, I used Bradley Cooper in the intro as an example of how ambassadors move from brand to brand. But if you w...
Introducing: Studio Underd0g Pepper0ni and Hawaiian
Did anyone order pizza? Well, actually, I know many of you did. When Studio Underd0g founder Richard Benc and Time+Tide founder Andrew McUtchen seemed to launch a pizza watch last April, watch enthusiasts went wild. Unfortunately, it was a very well-played April Fools’ joke, and everybody could soon get back to what they were doing. However, requests for the watch just kept coming, so Richard decided to make the pizza-hungry watch crowd happy and put it into production. And now there’s not just one but two pizza chronographs - the Pepper0ni and the Hawaiian.Richard and Andrew in the April Fools’ videoIt’s not the first time that one of Richard’s April Fools̵...
Back To Basics: Buying A Pre-Owned Watch
Buying a pre-owned watch can be daunting at first, especially if you are new to the game. You read horror stories of fake watches or watches with incorrect parts. And you would not be the first to end up with a watch that is not functioning properly. For many, this is reason enough to buy nothing but brand-new watches from authorized dealers. But you may be cutting yourself short there. Buying pre-owned can be an attractive option for several reasons but only if you can do so with confidence. I aim to boost that confidence with a few practical pointers in this installment of Back to Basics.At Fratello, we have a broad reader base. Some of you are lifelong collectors, while others are just di...
Vacheron Constantin 222 Vintage Vs. Modern
Vacheron Constantin has recently taken the stage by reintroducing the stainless steel 222. This year, the world’s oldest continuously operating watch brand is celebrating its 270th anniversary - one of the reasons it’s part of the Holy Trinity - and started strong by giving us a recreation of its classic from 1977. Nearly five decades ago, a then-23-year-old watch designer named Jorg Hysek designed the original Vacheron Constantin 222. It featured the same JLC-based movement as the other two steel sports watches in the haute horlogerie segment, the Royal Oak 5402ST and Nautilus 3700/1A. However, the 222 was eventually replaced in 1996 with the Overseas collection.A 222 ad from 19...
Camille Fournet via TCStraps
About 3 years ago, I visitted the Camille Fournet office in Paris, together with Gerard Nijenbrinks. I was immediately impressed by the quality and looks of their straps.A few months ago, I bought a Panerai and as you probably know, they come with a little screwdriver to exchange straps quite easily. So after a quick browse on the internet I discovered the TCStraps site by Elliot Lazarus. They have an incredible collection of Panerai straps and buckles. I decided to order a tan beaver(tail?) strap for my Panerai PAM00113 (white dial Luminor Marina), an expensive strap, but it looks marvelous on the watch. I get a lot of comments on this one.Last monday, I got in a pre-Vendome style buckle, a...
Dream Watch Alert! AP Royal Oak Equation of Time 26603ST
As you probably noticed already, the SIHH 2010 expo results in a lot of new and impressive timepieces by numerous manufacturers. Unfortunately, I could not make it to the SIHH and GTE myself this year, but at least I am able to track all new releases via WatchUseek, Perpetuelle, TimeZone and WorldTempus.Audemars Piguet is also exhibitor at the SIHH in Geneva and was actually the first brand that I kept an eye on, since I’ve seem to be bitten by the AP bug. The ‘regular’ Royal Oak timepieces suits me best and not the Offshore models. These are too bulky for me and I am not too sure about all the exotic materials AP uses for these watches. This year, I am lucky, because Audem...
Piaget Altiplano 900P Live Pictures From the SIHH 2014
The SIHH 2014 started today and we had appointments with a number of brands already, including Piaget. We wrote about the new Piaget Altiplano 900P before (here), but didn’t see it in the flesh yet. The groups of people present during the presentations are quite big (> 30 persons), so there is little room to do some quiet photography work. In any case, we hereby show you some live pictures of this ultra-thin 38mm timepiece.Piaget has a long history of creating and producing ultra-thin watches, it has become their signature actually. Their famous caliber 9P from 1957 only measured 2mm (manual winding). Their calibre 12P from 1960 only measured 2,3mm, for a self-winding watch. From th...
Richard Mille RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur
We know we don’t cover many ladies watches here on Fratello Watches, but this Richard Mille RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur that was presented to us this morning is really something you have to see. It is one of the two pieces that Richard Mille introduced during the SIHH 2015. Normally they have about 8 – 10 pieces every year, but they decided not to blow all their ammo during SIHH and get snowed-under with all the SIHH novelties from other brands. Later this year, Richard Mille will unveil more timepieces to reach their ‘normal’ number of new watches.However, let’s talk about this Richard Mille RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur first. We will cover the other novelties from ...