It’s summer, and while the Swiss watch industry takes the month off, we’re picking our favorite watches once again! This time, however, we’re not sticking to a specific budget. Instead, we’re keeping the theme consistent but aiming at three different price categories - sub-$1,000, sub-$10,000, and a no-holds-barred, unrestricted category. The goal is to see how varied our p

Linde Werdelin is a brand that we’ve been covering from their (and our) early days on. Not only because Jorn Werdelin, Morten Linde and their entire team are great people, but also – of course – because they truly have something to show with their modern sports watches.This time – and we already had a little sneak preview – Linde Werdelin presents the SpidoSpeed Titan

One of the watches that impressed me most during Baselworld was the Glashutte Original Senator Chronometer with blue dial in white gold (reference?1-58-01-05-34-30). Blue dials are hip & happening again since a while, and Glashutte Original decided to jump on that bandwagon with this Senator Chronometer with this distinctive dark blue grainy dial.The danger with dials that have a color other t

A bit of horological news from The Netherlands. The Netherlands? Yes, the country that brought you Christiaan van der Klaauw, Gronefeld and some more. Watchmaking and The Netherlands go way back, to the 17th century actually, when Christiaan Huygens invented the pendulum clock in 1656 and a few years later, the balance and spiral spring in watches. In 1673 Huygens published his book “Horolog

Incredibly sporty, truly authentic and extremely versatile. The Belisar Chronograph Sport makes a striking impression in many ways, from its carbon bezel to its screwed-down rubber flanks but even more impressive is its ability to sport a new look every day. Three interchangeable straps make this watch the perfect accessory for any occasion. Its inner drive comes from the UNG 27.01 mechanical move

When I started collecting watches in the late 1990’s, my watch dealer – and now Fratello contributor – Gerard told me that I needed a Datejust. “Can’t go wrong with a Datejust as they always work. With anything.”. A short and simple statement from someone who had – by that time already – seen and tried it all. A few years later, just after graduati

When I started collecting watches in the late 1990’s, my watch dealer – and now Fratello contributor – Gerard told me that I needed a Datejust. “Can’t go wrong with a Datejust as they always work. With anything.”. A short and simple statement from someone who had – by that time already – seen and tried it all. A few years later, just after graduati

You probably have heard of Artisans de Genve lately, with La Montoya, their last customization project where they offered to modify, for the first time in the world, a 4130 movement into a skeleton.The independent and innovative watchmaking workshop based in Geneva offers an exclusive service of watch modification for private customers. The modifications are made exclusively upon request in a ve

I’m wearing the Fortis Aeromaster PC-7 Team Edition Chronograph this week. A watch on loan which makes one realize how privileged at Fratello we are with the possibility to wear so many different watches. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have considered this watch. But wearing it for a more extended period proved me wrong in that.The Fortis PC-7 Chronograph is part of a set of two wat

Almost four years have passed since we first talked about Two Stitch Straps on the pages of Fratello Watches. A lot has changed for both parties during that time. It was always inevitable, however, that we revisit the young company based in Serbia to check out its new designs. Enter; Two Stitch Straps Vol. 2.Ivan and I see each other from time to time, during watch fairs mostly. Although he doesn&

I’m a sucker for compressor or compressor-style cases. But that doesn’t mean I had any intention of going easy on the Milus Archimdes when I heard I’d be getting it on my wrist for a couple of weeks…Everyone’s got a weakness. Mine is a double-crowned watch case. I’m not sure when it started. I’m not even sure which model turned me on to the compressor in

Don’t call it a complication (because, technically, it isn’t). Despite that weird fact, the tourbillon mechanism is one of the simplest to understand yet complicated to create that our industry has to offer. Invented to eliminate (or reduce, at least) the effect of gravity on the isochronous performance of a watch, the tourbillon has achieved almost mythic status over its 220-year life

The treasures are still out there! Last week, I wondered for a while if everything Speedmaster-related was skyrocketing (no pun intended) out of reach, but I quickly found out that this is not the case. Yet.Two of my favorite Speedmaster watches are up for grabs (hey, everything is relative these days) for a total of $5,000. I am talking about the Speedmaster X-33 and the Split-Seconds (or Rattrap

I gave a rundown of all the watch brand and Formula One team partnerships for the 2021 season following the Imola Grand Prix in April. When it came to Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin, I came up short. These two iconic marques only began the collaboration this season. So with the ink still dry, we were still eagerly anticipating the new Girard-Perregaux watches to celebrate the co-branding. Until

I must say that I’m rather intrigued by what Tudor is doing with its Black Bay lineup. Instead of going down the path of more steel editions, the brand has shifted gears into some relatively different types of materials. We pit two of the newest releases against each other to see what you think. It’s the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Silver versus the Black Bay Ceramic.That’s right

The analog display is something completely new for the adventurous Frogman. From digital to analog is reverse evolution some might say, but looking at revolving hands works very instinctively for numerous people. It seems like the development of “do-all” professional diving gear is taking an unexpected (but strangely satisfying) U-turn in the case of the newest Frogman watches. So, han

We all know that list prices are often not set in stone. Except for when you’re buying a limited-edition or waitlisted piece, getting a discount on a brand-new watch is almost a given. The only question is how big of a discount you can get. But this situation could be changing as we speak. Luxury watches are in demand more than ever before, and brands are trying to sell more and more watches

Not so long ago, I found myself sitting around a long table at Blancpain HQ, eating lunch and chatting with the top brass about the unfathomable success of the Fifty Fathoms family. The centerpiece to this enjoyable lunch was an imposing black Peli case that glared at me so hard from a few feet away, it damn near put me off my chicken. The conversation eventually fell away from my ears. The room t

Two years ago, Oris introduced the Holstein Edition 2020 to celebrate the brand’s 116th birthday. I had the chance to try out the full-bronze edition of the Divers Sixty-Five, and it was one of the most fun watches I’d worn in a long time. Last year, Oris introduced the Holstein Edition 2021, a celebratory version of the Big Crown pilot's watch with a movement from the brand’s 40

Whether a movement is in-house, proprietary, or supplied by a third party often results in heated discussions amongst watch enthusiasts. Is an in-house movement better than a third-party movement, and can a brand really call a movement “in-house” if it doesn’t produce it on-site? In this article, I will touch upon all these topics and try to shed a bit of light on this often-murk