Watches are the main focus of Fratello Watches. However with our monthly Strap Review articles and many similar articles we try to bring you some interesting stuff from the world of accessories. We have already introduced G.L.C. Straps for you guys not too long ago. Owner Massimiliano and his team?are known all over the world. They attend watch shows such as the Munich and Miami fairs. If you are

Watches Under 1000 EuroA mechanical watch doesn’t need to cost you an arm and a leg. Although one could say anything above $50 Euro for a watch is ‘luxury’ anyway. According to some studies and reports on (Swiss) watches, everything above 500 Swiss Francs is considered to be a luxury watch. I don’t like the term ‘luxury’ very much, I just like to see – or

From mainstream to a highly exclusive original Roger Dubuis. Do you know that feeling? After wearing a certain type of watch for some time, you look for something totally at the other end of the spectrum? This week I’m wearing what I consider one of the most beautiful watches in my collection.Roger Dubuis Hommage MonopoussoirThe Roger Dubuis Hommage Monopoussoir H40 on the wristA strange mo

Belgium is known for the usual suspects: beer, chocolate, laces, waffles and Manneken Pis. Nowadays the country seems to have a couple of new additions to that list. More precisely; additions coming from the watch world. Belgium is the home of Belgian Watch Club, a group who share the love and passion for watches as much as they do for straps. Well, at least one of them. Michael, the name behind M

Where do you buy and sell your vintage watches? One great option is online auction platform, Catawiki. They host around 30 weekly Watches auctions and have some unique features that set them apart. Every auction is curated by a team of experts, so each of the 2500 watches up for auction every week is first reviewed by their watch specialists to ensure quality and authenticity. We spoke with one of

After a rather long hiatus, Watch Strap Review came back in June with a very cool strap. As you might have read in the article; it was a strap that GLC Straps produced using original leather from a Mercedes 190 SL. Some of you asked me where could they find the exact same leather Mercedes used in the 50's? To clear up any misunderstandings, they peeled off the leather of the actual seats of a car

This week, I am looking at brands that have designed watches for the Stuttgart-based sports car brand, Porsche.I partly took inspiration from Tomas' #TBT article on the Porsche Design by IWC reference 3704 that you can read here. Scrolling through Chrono24, I found more awesome watches that co-branded with Porsche. Before Porsche Design became, well, Porsche Design.All watches are pre-owned and pi

There is something magical about salmon-colored dials. It’s not a dial color you see very often, but the love for them amongst enthusiasts is palpable. I also love a beautiful salmon dial. So I was more than happy to see Montblanc add the Heritage Monopusher Chronograph to its collection. With its vintage aesthetic and great salmon dial, this might just be the most stylish piece in the catal

I’ve been a part of the Fratello team for the better part of 10 months now, and despite the Speedmaster expertise in the ranks here, I think I was the only team member who didn’t have a chronograph, let alone a Speedmaster. Just don’t tell RJ, or I’ll probably be in trouble! Despite still not having a Speedmaster in the collection, I have finally added a chronograph in the

When it comes to practical complications, it’s difficult to argue against the everyday usefulness of the calendar. Sure, complications like the minute repeater or rattrapante are romantic, awe-inspiring displays of watchmaking prowess. But are their functions of any real consequence to most of our daily lives? Likely not. The calendar, on the other hand, affects us all whether we like it or

We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. Though most of what we write about is largely focused on the most recent releases and developments, for many of us a lot of the fun can be found in the sometimes weird and often wonderful world of vintage watches. It's a world full of history, remarkable watches, incredible stories, and quirky details. It inspired us to come up

After what feels like a lifetime, I’m back penning an article for Fratello. Did you miss me? Did you even notice? I won’t be offended if it’s the latter. Mainly as the team at Fratello has been pumping out solid content all summer. On my side of things, a couple of significant events occurred that required my full attention. A job promotion and a house move in tandem profoundly i

When I set out on an hours-long drive, I always have a 12-hour chronograph on my wrist. If I had to make an exception, a wild card would go to the one and only Seiko Motorist. If there were one, that is…A time-only watch doesn’t belong behind a steering wheel. When I read what I just wrote out loud, it sounds hard to believe, even to myself. Well, what I can do when I feel it that way?

Sinn is consistently praised for its ultra-functional timepieces. Watches are developed to serve a function first, and the form must serve that function. But there is no denying that Sinn has also developed an instantly recognizable style in that quest for functional excellence. A style that many people, including myself, love. With the new T50 line, Sinn introduces the titanium brother of the bra

Do you know what they call a sporty, chic, steel Tudor with yellow gold accents in Switzerland? No. What do they call it? A Royal with cheese.' If you’ve ever watched Quentin Tarantino's legendary movie Pulp Fiction, you will get this loose paraphrase of a famous dialog between Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega. Need me to refresh your memory? The scene in the car in which Vincent, who had to

Blancpain is a brand with a rich and complicated history. Founded in 1735, it revolutionized the dive watch and reached sales of 100,000 watches per year by the late 1950s. The brand disappeared in the 70s to be revived in the 80s. The watches from that early revival era are now surprisingly affordable. Something we should probably have a closer look atI speak specifically of the 1990s, and 2000s

Swiss watchmaker Rado, known for its use of high-tech materials, has a rich back catalogue of diverse designs, including the funky spaceship-shaped DiaStar 1 from 1962. Today, the modern incarnation has been outfitted with an open-worked dial and a Ceramos bezel, resulting in the DiaStar Original Skeleton. This new model lays bare a variant of the R808 automatic calibre, now entirely coated in an

Cuervo y Sobrinos does a fantastic job of bringing back the charm and spirit of a pre-communist Cuba. You probably all know the stories about how Havana was the lively capital of the Caribbean region. One of the city’s most famous inhabitants in the 1940s and 50s was American novelist and journalist Ernest Hemingway. On top of that, the Nobel Prize-winner was a regular visitor of the Cuervo

Since Vulcain decided to focus more on models outside of its bread-and-butter alarm watches, we have seen an array of new models coming to the market. Primarily based on vintage timepieces, the new Vulcain models include chronographs, time-only watches, and divers. The last of those is an exciting line consisting of the Nautical Heritage alarm diver and the Skindiver Nautique, a simple three-hande

English brand Fears introduces a new version of its core model, the Brunswick. This new version reintroduces gold to the collection after the Midas version was discontinued in 2018. The new Midas II features a gold-plated 38mm cushion case and a beautiful bead-blasted dial.Additionally, the Fears Brunswick 38 Midas II comes with two straps - a pale blue Alcantara and a dark blue Barenia option. Th