A manufacturer of watches that goes to extremes. Omega sent its creations to the moon and the bottom of the deepest point on earth, the Mariana Trench. But Omega is also a brand you associate with the glamour of movie star George Clooney, the adventures of secret agent James Bond, and the biggest sports event on the planet, the Olympic Games. Omega is everywhere and it's always right on time becau

The Tour de France, 2022: A bolt of green emerges from the accelerating pack. Hitting a top speed of 54km on the gradual incline towards the finish line, the beguiling Belgian Wout Van Aert sits up in his saddle, head tilted towards the sky, eyes closed. His arms stretch out behind his torso as he arches his back to touch the line with his chest. It's a glorious celebratory pose. Like an Eagle fle

Part of the schedule at Oris’s New York Harbor LE release event with Billion Oyster Project allowed for interaction with Rolf Studer, the co-CEO of Oris. He was gracious enough to sit down with me and talk about the brand, sustainability, and what it means to be a “citoyen”.I sat down with Rolf Studer at the back of the Oris Airstream trailer that had been towed to the New York H

This is not the first time I’ve written about the Straum Opphav in one shape or form here on Fratello. I can clearly recall sitting in a Dresden train station last summer when I first came across the Norwegian start-up. I was impressed by the visuals alone and the apparent attention to detail. When I saw the prototypes in the metal in mid-Autumn, I was even more impressed. Straum had launche

After reading this article, you will have a very thin story to tell in the coffee corner. It will be wafer-thin. Just 1.75mm, in fact, but that's record-breaking, so it's also highly impressive. You will also be able to introduce a new word - Gronograaf. That's the name of Gronefeld's latest creation, the brand's first-ever chronograph. And if you want to show your sustainable side, you could brin

Does the term “Dot Over Ninety (DON) bezel” ring a bell? When it comes to collecting or buying Omega Speedmaster watches, it’s all in the details. After bringing back the beloved DON bezel on the Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday “Ultraman” in 2018, Omega started doing so more often. The Apollo 11 models from 2019 also have this feature, as do the 2020 Silver Snoopy Award 50

The brand-new Uruga collection from Japanese watchmaker Minase presents an intriguing array of 42mm and 31mm options. “Uruga” is an acronym of the Japanese words uruwashii and () and miyabi (, also read as ga), which mean “beauty” and “elegance.” First impressions indicate that the brand is delivering on both principles.?Minase Uruga - an interesting case st

We all know that Seiko releases an astounding number of watches every year. Because of that, it’s hard to remember all or even most of them. But every year, we get at least one marvelous standout that will find its place in your memory. This year, we have already seen the SJE093 (a 38mm remake of the 62MAS), the third Rowing Blazers collection, the Prospex SPB381, SPB383, and SPB385 GMT dive

I love to read stories about watch selections that follow a theme. When I spotted Thor’s list of unusual rectangular watches last Saturday, I instantly started to put together a list of my own featuring rectangular vintage watches. Well, here we are! Besides two crazy mechanical complications, you will also find classic style and even a quartz watch in today’s #TBT feature. Fasten your

Le Tour de France, Wimbledon, Copa America, and UEFA Euro 2024 are all happening right now. If that’s not enough, from July 26th to August 11th, the Summer Olympics will take place in Paris. It’s a very intense summer for sports (or winter if you’re watching from the Southern Hemisphere). At some of these events, like Le Tour and the Olympics, you’ll see prevalent branding

Christopher Ward has developed a distinct style over the past couple of years, but there is still great variety in the different releases. A great example of an aesthetic that differs from the brand’s signature style is the new C65 Super Compressor Elite. This watch celebrates the funky Super Compressor divers from the ’70s. But while the execution of the design might find its roots in

Hello, and welcome to a sunny and warm episode of Fratello Talks! This week, Nacho, Lex, and Daan discuss summer watches. More specifically, they look at the ways they go about picking their ideal watch for the season. Is there such a thing as a perfect summer watch? If there is, you can follow Daan’s method to find it. We also outline some categories, specs, and styles that make a watch ide

This week, exactly one year has passed since the Louis Vuitton Tambour 40mm Automatic appeared in its new braceleted guise. With heavy hitters like the Polo ’79 having appeared this year, what are my thoughts on the Louis Vuitton Tambour one year on?There’s no escaping from the fact that retro and integrated bracelets are big winners in the infatuation game. They’re number one on

Being a big fan of Gerald Genta designs, I just found an article by Desmond Guilfoyle about the design work that Genta did for Omega in the 1960s. I’d read in several magazines and websites that Genta was responsible for some of the Omega Seamaster and Omega Constellation designs, but never knew which ones exactly.Picture by Ms. Stefania Slenzio von LUXURY GRIFFES S.A.Desmond was able to get

Why you want an Extract of the ArchivesWhen I bought my first vintage Omega Speedmaster, I wanted to know more about this specific watch. Information on the Speedmaster I could find on-line or in magazines, but I was curious to learn about the history of my own Speedmaster. For this, Omega – and a number of other brands – are able to provide you with an extract from the archives.Omega&

In front of us is the 11th Laureus IWC special edition in the famous blue color: the IWC Da Vinci Chronograph?Edition ‘Laureus Sport for Good Foundation’.?Let’s have a look.Laureus Sport for GoodThe Laureus Sport for Good (here after: Laureus) is a charitable organization that was founded by Richemont and Daimler in 2000. The goal of Laureus is to use sports to make the world a b

Andwe're back with part 2 of our Summer Special: 60's Vintage Diver Shootout featuring four archetypal watches from brands that are still here today. To recap, in the first episode, we provided a rundown on the specs of our combatants while providing a little flavor on each watch's history. The frontrunners, in most minds would clearly be either the Red Submariner Date or the Omega Seamaster 300

In this Sunday morning column, two of our writers go head-to-head in an epic showdown for the ages. Strong opinions and hysterical hyperbole are welcome (so feel free to join in with the fun in the comments section below). And don't forget to let us know which watches you'd like to see torn to shreds/effusively exalted next week. We'll try and feature as many of our readers' choices as we can. Thi

What would you call a modern watch that looks like the vintage model that served as inspiration? A re-edition, right? The measurements would be a tad larger to accommodate modern tastes, perhaps. Maybe, the design might have some minor changes. But otherwise, the watch would be identical to the original. Inside, however, you'd have a new, often automatic, movement. Now, imagine the same scenario w

Stormy. Slick. Sophisticated. Shimmering. Smokey? Smart… These are some of the words I would use to describe the new Grand Seiko SBGE271 (the black dial) and the SBGE269 (the white dial). I’ve never been a massive fan of Grand Seiko’s elegance collection but occasionally find myself taken by one or two of the models. These bad boys have my attention because their existence is jus