Why Do Watch Brands Keep Looking Backward For Good Design?
Watchmaking is a field steeped in tradition. Big brands pride themselves on boasting centuries of heritage. At the same time, the mechanical watch is, largely, declared technically obsolete in 2024. So it seems only natural that watch brands look to the past for design inspiration. Almost every major brand now has one or several reissue model lines. Many even offer exclusively vintage-inspired watches. We have to ask ourselves: is this indeed only natural or a sign of creative poverty?Let's have a closer look at what “vintage-inspired” even means to form a clearer image and perhaps find an answer.Image: TempusGood design often comes from utilityLet's start with what constitutes g...
Fratello Talks: Two-Tone Watches
Welcome to our latest episode of Fratello Talks. This week, Nacho is joined by RJ and Daan, and the three delve into the divisive topic of two-tone watches. This includes any watch with a case and bracelet made of more than one metal with a distinct color difference. Though typically a combination of steel and gold, two-tone watches can also feature several other materials. This creates a rather distinct look, highlighting specific design elements of the watch and breaking from the norm of single-material watches. While this is not everyone’s cup of tea, a recent rise in the popularity of bimetal watches has pushed us to embark on this discussion. But before we set sail, let’s ch...
Caliber 3135
Andrew Babanin wrote a great essay on the caliber 3135 at TimeZone. He starts his review with the following short, simple but yet so caracteristic introduction,” is a manufacture with old traditions and one hundred years of history. is always considered a luxury watch, giving assurance to its owner.I would like to review a quite common model Submariner (Ref. 16610). The case and the bracelet are made of stainless steel. It is a COSC certified automatic chronometer with central seconds and date indicator. There’s a special Triplock screwed down crown with increased water protection. “And what follows is everything beyond short and simple.. a superb review on the caliber ...
Rafael Nadal Gets His Richard Mille RM027 Back After It Got Stolen
Rafael Nadal, who won Roland Garros for the 7th time last Monday, reported his Richard Mille RM027 Tourbillon stolen from his hotel in Paris. This $374.000 USD tourbillon time piece was lend to him by sponsor Richard Mille. Unfortunately for Rafael Nadal (and Richard Mille), it wasn’t the first time that he lost one of his precious RM pieces. It happed before in 2010 with his $500K USD Richard Mille.French news paper ‘Le Parisien’ reported that the police traced the swiping card from hotel room and ended up arresting a bar tender from the hotel. The bar tender confessed the theft and led the police to the watch on Tuesday night. The bar tender hid the watch near a Metro rai...
Seamaster Tuesday Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Deep Black
For just this once, we turn Speedy Tuesday into Seamaster Tuesday, to introduce you to the new Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Deep Black collection. However, before we take a thorough look at the new Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Deep Black, let’s give you some background on the Seamaster collection and the Planet Ocean in general.Seamaster HistoryYou probably know that Omega introduced the Seamaster in 1948 and that it looked nothing like the dive watches of today’s collection. Actually, those first Seamaster models were based on Omega watches that were supplied to the Royal Airforce during WWII. The British’ required reliable watches with high precision movements and, water ...
Hands-On Sjoo Sandstrom Royal Capital Review
It is no secret that sports watches get a lot of love from us and most of you. However, there is little wrong with a good dress watch. The problem is that it is rather difficult to find one of those, without being it ‘your grandfathers’ watch. Once in a while, I come across a dress watch that appeals to me. In fact, I notice that my ‘hunger’ for a nice dress watch is getting bigger as I am getting older.?I got in touch with independent Swedish watch manufacturer Sjoo Sandstrom (founded in 1986 by?Christer Sjoo and Mikael Sandstrom). Sjoo Sandstrom creates?sports watches, but they also have dress watches in their Royal Capital collection. Their Sjoo Sandstrom Royal Cap...
#TBT The Seiko Ashtray Series Fantastic 80's Titanium Divers
Titanium. We're spoiled by the abundance of the stiff, strong, and lightweight metal today and tend to pay little regard to how difficult a material it is to process and shape. For watches, many now simply consider it as yet another traditional offering on the palette of watch materials, but this wasn't always the case. No, when I was growing up in the 80's, titanium was darn near like talking about uranium or something ultra exotic and it often invoked thoughts of the Cold War, Russian-built submarines or my all-time favorite plane: the SR-71. But we're here to talk watches and that's why we'll turn our attention to a family of divers that integrated the then-innovative material into their ...
Watches Of The Stars Of The Toronto Raptors...And Drake
The NBA has a new champion since Thursday night; the Toronto Raptors.?We do not talk about sport here at Fratello. We have our occasional articles from various car racing events or golf, for example.Perhaps a sportsman gets onto a list when we talk about famous watch wearers. Pretty much that's about it. However, we love sports, and I, for one, am a huge basketball fan. As such, I was following this year's NBA finals with great enthusiasm to see if the NBA finals-rookie and underdog Toronto Raptors (a city I will be visiting in August) would be able to defeat the All-Star-studded Golden State Warriors or get schooled by the last two years' NBA champion. Well, the Raptors did it. A franchise ...
Hands-On With The Toughest Trident Dive Watch
On May 1st, Christopher Ward introduced their C60 Trident Elite 1000 Limited Edition as well as the C60 Trident Pro 600, and the C60 Trident GMT 600 as part of their Trident 3 collection.This collection has been updated for the 10th anniversary of the Trident dive watch series. The Trident is a best-seller for the UK brand, and with these new models, Christopher Ward shows what they’re capable of doing. According to Mike France, CEO and co-founder of Christopher Ward. We received the toughest version of the three new models, the C60 Trident Elite 1000 limited edition and gave it a try.One of the good things of selling directly is that you are also in touch with the customer and get unf...
Gucci Enters Serious Watchmaking With The 25H collection (2021)
Italian fashion brand Gucci celebrates its 100th year of existence in 2021. To celebrate the centenary, the brand has created a collection of high-end watches. Or rather, the brand announced over 30 high-end timepieces in four different collections. The most eye-catching for watch enthusiasts is, without a doubt, the Gucci 25H collection. For the collection, Gucci combines an in-house developed family of movements with design looks clearly inspired by the growing popularity of luxury sports watches. Let’s have a look at these new Gucci watches.In all honestly, I did miss the announcement of the Centenary models back in April. With all the Watches & Wonders craziness going on, these...
Pre-Release Hands-On: Yema Superman Skin Diver LE (2021)
The case and the bezel are the same. So is the dial style. The major difference in the new Superman Skin Diver is the treatment of the indexes. The lime green Super-LumiNova has been ditched in favor of beige and the polished silver marker borders are nowhere to be seen.I?was so intrigued by the re-edition of the 1963 OG, that I?instantly asked for a?hands-on review sample. I liked it so much, I even nominated it for our pleasantly crazy March Mania tournament. While I was busy thinking about purchasing it, it sold out. It's one of the few watches that I have really fond memories of. The latest Navygraf Marine Nationale GMT?didn't really push my buttons, to be honest. But when Yema recently ...
Citizen Super Titanium: 5 Harder And 40% Lighter Than Steel (2021)
They say the clothes maketh the man. Is it true, therefore, that the case maketh the watch? Watchmaking is many different things to many different people. Perhaps its angles of appreciation are so multitudinous because its disciplines are so many. Watchmaking is not one simple craft. Knotted up within the field of horology are many distinct areas of expertise. While movements (and their jewels, and wheels, and hairsprings, and so on) represent one portion of those disciplines, the case represents another. This craft is, in itself, a pursuit that requires years of experience to master. Citizen believes it has taken a mighty step forward in this field with its Super Titanium watch cases.Thanks...
Titoni: Timeless Elegance From The Line 1919 Collection (2021)
Titoni's most minimalist watch series, the Line 1919, presents the company's first-ever self-developed and manufactured movement. The name of this series pays homage to the founding year of the Swiss brand.The Line 1919 celebrates Titoni's long-standing promise to produce classical timepieces that remain true to the finest tradition of Swiss watchmaking. The first-ever self-developed and manufactured movement in Titoni's history, the T10 caliber, ticks at the heart of all models in this series. We recently discussed the origins of this caliber on Fratello here.Timeless design at its purestThe design of this series is inspired by purist minimalism and brings timeless elegance in line with the...
The Ultimate Omega Speedmaster Snoopy Which Is The Best?
When the Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 50th Anniversary debuted on October 5th, 2020, the Speedmaster enthusiasts went crazy. That included me, of course, as I am a fan of the Snoopy/Apollo 13 story. So, I decided that I needed to add one to my collection.The Snoopy 50th Anniversary, or “Snoopy 3”, is the fourth watch that commemorates the Apollo 13 mission of 1970 and the role that the Speedmaster played in it. I explained the story in detail here, but in (very) short:An explosion on the Apollo 13 spacecraft caused the crew (and the command center in Houston) to abort the mission and put all energy into ensuring the astronauts returned safely. To make a safe entry into t...
Two New Oris Aquis Date Calibre 400 Divers In Steel And Gold
Lately, we have seen a number of watch brands embrace the classic steel-and-gold bicolor (or two-tone) look. Made popular in the ’80s, it's a trend that saw a decline over the course of the ’90s. The early 2000s and 2010s didn't treat two-tone watches much better, and the look came dangerously close to extinction. In recent times, however, we have seen a resurgence of steel-and-gold watches. Oris now joins in with two new Aquis Date Calibre 400 dive watches with 18K gold bezels. It's worth noting that Oris was never afraid of two-tone watches. Though its bicolor watches usually feature bronze instead of gold, it's nice to see this luxurious metal adorn the brand's flagship diver....
Hands-On: HTD Aquatc Palletoni And SpaceBoy Dive Watches?
I hear you! Summer isn't quite here yet. But having had a couple of weeks of warm, sunny days here in The Hague, it's already starting to feel like it is. And let's face it, June 21st is just around the corner. So, what better way to call in the summer than with a perfect pair of beach-ready, vintage-inspired, beautifully made skin divers? I certainly can't think of one, and it seems that the folks at HTD can't either. And though not entirely new at this point, I'm very happy to introduce the latest from the Italian brand. These are the HTD Aquatc Palletoni and SpaceBoy dive watches. And though they are indeed divers, you'll see that they feel no less at home inside of a rally car burning r...
#PURPLE: Juicy Watches from NOMOS, Hublot, and William Wood
I wasn't going to admit to remembering the less-than-fantastic Prince movie Purple Rain, but the hit single is ringing in my ears. For those of you still scared of flashy yellows, pinks, and reds, purple provides a luxurious tone. So read on, get dressed up, and add some shots to your Instagram with #PURPLE as the confident hashtag.While perhaps more suited to the dimmed lights of a secluded restaurant than beach life, there are many ways to interpret the grape flavor of purple. From Hublot's breezy flash to the dark suavity of NOMOS, choose your favorite and match it up with some cool gear from our purple-tinged list.Hublot Big Bang Unico Summer PurpleThe name says it all, and this particul...
Fratello On Air: Breitling's New Navitimer Cosmonaute
Fratello On Air is here, and we're excited to discuss the recent Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute release and provide an interview with Fred Mandelbaum. Balazs and Mike are on the mics again talking travel. Tune in and listen to their latest experiences....
Starting A Watch Collection With $5,000: Jorg's Top 3 Picks
When I was asked to pick three pieces to start a watch collection for $10,000, I had to think about it for a long time. I came up with multiple answers and when asked to do the same with a budget of $5,000, it also took me quite a while. I am very much a believer in following the heart. So, if that means spending the majority on just one watch because you absolutely love it, I think you should do it! Unfortunately, that’s not exactly how this series works. So, I also decided to come up with three watches that I would pick with a budget of $5,000. And I didn’t even have to sell my soul in the process!The soul searching for this exercise is easy to explain but hard to accomplish. I...
Longines Unveils The 39mm Spirit Zulu Time GMTs
One of last year’s most praised releases was the Longines Spirit Zulu Time. This series of charming GMTs got critical acclaim for combining great looks with a COSC-certified flyer GMT movement at a competitive price. It was a great addition to the Spirit line-up that celebrates the rich aviation history that Longines has. If there was one remark to be made about the watch, it was that its 42mm size might not fit everyone. Longines has taken that criticism to heart and now introduces four 39mm models. With these new Spirit Zulu Time models, Longines might just have added one of this year’s best releases to its line-up.Ever since Longines introduced the Spirit collection in 2020, w...