Hello there, and welcome to Fratello Talks. Last week, LVMH Watch Week took place. This week, Nacho, RJ, and Lex are looking at all the watches released by Zenith, TAG Heuer, Louis Vuitton, and Daniel Roth (to name a few). We review all the releases and share our thoughts on those we found worth highlighting. With Watches and Wonders just a couple of months away, you might not have expected the de

Although I don’t wear it often, I still like my Chronoswiss R??gulateur Automatique a lot. Great dress watch and first ‘real’ Chronoswiss watch (introduced in 1987 as a hand wound wrist watch).Christopher Meisenzahl mentioned the review on the Chronoswiss Digiteur at The Purists forum last week, and I thought that you might be interested!Enjoy the review by William Riepl on the C

A while ago, I posted about the Girard-Perregaux Richeville chronograph with caliber 8381. This movement is not inhouse as I wrote, but it is based on the Lemania 1872. David Alstott emailed me this correction and included a nice scan of a Lemania 1872 trio.You can read more about Girard-Perregaux at WatchRap (by ThePurists), they have a special section for Girard-Perregaux.

Last sunday, I went to the Rikketik watch fair in Houten/The Netherlands. This fair is being held a few times a year, and is also held in Antwerp/Belgium. Besides wrist watches, there are a lot of clocks and pocket watches for sale on the fair. So far so good.My last visit to the watch fair was at least 1 – 1.5 years earlier and as soon as I entered the large hall with all the sellers, I kne

The best brand of them all, Patek Philippe, introduces a new automatic chronograph in a large platinum case (40.5mm, at least for PP this is large :-)), Ref. 5960P.“The movement is the new automatic caliber CH28-520 IRMQA24H with 40 jewels, a 55 hour power reserve and a flyback column-wheel, a power reserve indicator, an annual calendar, and day/night display. The rotor is 21kt gold. And, li

I’ve never been a big fan of TAG Heuer, but I do like their classics. Like this one below, the Monaco (also known as the Steve McQueen model):Photo by -AndrewIn this thread at TimeZone they are showing off their Heuer Monaco watches. If you are interested, take a look.For the real Steve McQueen (and/or Heuer) fans, there is a clothing line by this brand called ‘Vintage 55’ dedica

Yesterday (January 30), tennis player Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open against Rafael Nadal (Richard Mille ambassador). It has been a battle that lasted five sets and almost 6 hours. When he finally lifted the trophy, watch spotters immediately recognized the timepiece on the wrist of this Audemars Piguet ambassador. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver, ref.15703ST. A perfect fit fo

Just before SIHH 2014, I received this Officine Panerai Luminor Marina 8-Days reference PAM00510 for a review. A week of wearing this Panerai made me go back 10 years ago, when I first bought a Panerai Luminor Marina. A watch that I fell immediately in love with at the time, with its large case and thick vintage looking calf strap. This time however, the Panerai comes equipped with an in-house dev

Today on Speedy Tuesday, we'll return to a watch we've reviewed before, the Omega?Speedmaster Apollo XI 35th Anniversary limited edition. Why is that? First off, selfishly, I get to spend time with one whenever I visit my parents because my father owns the watch you see here. But more importantly, and more germane to events over the last month, this model strikes me as a really great companion pie

Fortis enthusiasts out there might wonder why we did not cover the brand as extensively as we did the previous years. Well, on the one hand many new and interesting things happened and on the other hand Fortis just recently supplied us with some of their novelties. After this hands-on review of the Fortis Pilot Classic chronograph, Mike Stockton will take a look at something cool too. Like every y

Before I get to this stunning looking IWC Big Pilot Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition Le Petit Prince, I have to admit something. I never read Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) as a child.It was only a few months ago that I decided to order the book, as I felt that what I have missed, I want to catch up together with my young daughter. So, I started reading it to my five-year old daughter, only

There is no better time to write about this watch than now. I am not sure if it is me or the gaskets, oils and tiny particles in all my 60+ year old watches that don't feel very comfortable experiencing the temperature shocks of walking from cold streets to well heated meeting rooms. Anyway, if there is one mechanical timepiece designed to enjoy this freezing January weather it would be the surrea

Grand Seiko’s journey began in the 1950s. The best and brightest watchmakers working for the brand banded together with a lofty goal: They set out to create the company’s finest watch yet. In December 1960 the inaugural Grand Seiko hit the market. It was the first installment of a story that has now reached its sixtieth year. Leading the celebrations is the Grand Seiko SBGH281.To celeb

Honestly, how surprised would you be if, while wiling away the hours in the privacy of your home, an URWERK UR-100 GunMetal buzzed through an open window and landed on your dining room table, before two tiny (but very well-dressed) aliens hopped out and proclaimed Planet Earth as their own? Me? Not that surprised at all…Earlier this week, I wrote a quick article about the Konstantin Chaykin

Good news! This morning, Watches & Wonders officially confirmed that there will be a (partly) physical event in Geneva from March 30th to April 5th.I can't tell you how much I’ve missed these watch shows! It has been far too long since the last one, ever since everything ground to a halt in early 2020. Well, except for the Geneva Watch Days initiative at the end of the summer. So far, th

At this point, you should now know the definition of a guilty pleasure. When it comes to watches, the pleasure is picturing yourself wearing something far outside your comfort zone. For me, the Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Wired satisfies me as much as I know it shouldn’t. The regular Laureato from Girard-Perregaux has its fair share of detractors, which I am not one of. Yes, the resem

Like most Dutch people, I'm looking forward to the speed skating events of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. And especially short-track speed skating on the small rink, because that's where we, most likely, can harvest a bunch of gold medals. In other countries, curling is the main event, or (ice) hockey, or biathlon, or downhill skiing. To be honest, I also enjoy sports I normally wouldn't watch bec

There’s something to be said for a good, versatile watch. Not everyone wants or needs a rugged dive watch with 500 meters of water resistance. In fact, the majority of people don’t. For the average person, you could argue that a more appropriate watch combines sporty and dressy elements for those who want something they can wear every day but isn’t bold and “in-your-face

One of my favorite film franchises was/is the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Having never read the books, I was hooked and invested in the story as soon as I watched the first film. I always thought The Two Towers was an incredible film, and I doubted they could top it. However, the third and final piece of the puzzle, The Return Of The King, exceeded all expectations. What a film! Why is this relevan

Last week, we witnessed the introduction of the first Speedmaster for 2023, the Super Racing with its new Spirate System. The release wasn’t so much about the watch as a whole but about the incredibly precise movement. But the Speedmaster Super Racing will not be the only new Speedmaster this year, of course. Any brand needs to continuously push for new models and references, not least of al