Did you know that orcas sometimes intentionally beach themselves? They do it to hunt for shoreline seals, for instance. It's a spectacular sight, but there’s quite a bit of risk involved, and seeing them struggle to get back to sea is a nerve-wracking experience. Last week, a Citizen Promaster Eco-Drive Diver Orca beached on the shores of Fratello - was it hunting for Fratelli? Finding the s

Every price segment has its king, and for watches under $5,000, it’s Tudor. Luckily, Thomas and Jorg already had their turns in this series, and both featured Tudor watches as their first picks. That’s good because now I can focus on other interesting stuff. Although the budget is quite comfortable, it’s certainly not an easy category. Generally speaking, the more expensive watch

It’s been a while since I’ve been up close and personal with IFL’s customized takes on the evergreen G-Shock, and this time, it’s personal. After all, I do live pretty close to the Arctic, so I feel an affinity for the CasiOak Orca.But we have plenty of readers far away from Europe, let alone the chilly Arctic region. Yes, I do feel a kinship with orcas and ice floes, but w

3rd Generation Speedmaster pre-ProfessionalIt’s Speedy Tuesday! Earlier this year, Bert and I went on a horological trip to Switzerland and visited the OMEGA museum in Biel. One of the people from the museum showed us a number of Speedmasters that they had on archive (that is: not displayed in the museum). One of them was this very early Speedmaster 105.003 also known as the 3rd generation o

Earlier this week we joined IWC Schaffhausen for the start of the Passione Caracciola. An event which is easiest described as an oldtimer rally dedicated to German race car driver Rudolf Caracciola. We head off to Zurich where the event wil kick off, and at the evening before the rally begins we gather at the Grand Dolder Hotel.First stage on our agenda. Behind the scenes at?the recording of a new

Self-winding mechanical watches with iconic design 100% made in Switzerland at a totally un-Swiss price.While Blido Watch has only started-up in late 2017 with Kickstarter funding, the two initiators Pierre Nobs and Simon Husslein are very experienced and competent watch-guys and this shows in the product.Sketched with a few minimalistic strokes, the Blido is unique and archetypical; it just won

Here at Fratello, we obviously love watches, but we also love to meet with other watch enthusiasts. What better way to host an event for our readers in a beautiful place where you can enjoy some stunning masterpieces of German watchmaking?Baden-Baden, where you can enjoy the good-good life, is where we held our Glashutte Original event together with Tourbillon Boutique. A beautiful city in the Bla

Earlier this year, we showed you the announcement of the Hamilton Murph. This watch is inspired by the Hamilton used in the Interstellar movie from 2014.Michael did a write-up on the Hamilton Murph and its role in the Interstellar movie, so I am not going into that in this article. I will be looking at the watch as such. Hamilton sent us the Khaki Field Murph Auto for review, including the limited

Our last special Watch Strap Review; Legendary Vintage Bracelets article was well received by you guys.Thanks for that. We thought it would be cool if we continued the series with yet another iconic accessory. This time we took a closer look at a brand most of us at Fratello has a thing for. No, it's not neither Seiko. It's the other brand. I'm talking about Omega of course. When it comes to Geor

New releases from Patek Philippe don’t always feel this new. We are used to seeing minor updates to a collection that often feels more entrenched than established. But that is fair enough. When you can arguably claim to be the G.O.A.T. why mess with a winning formula? However, with the release of the Patek Philippe Ref. 6007A-001 Calatrava watch in steel, the Genevan manufacture has shown it

Early date watches have a?lot of charm. If they come with an unusual running disc instead of sub-seconds, you get a truly unique watch. Meet an early date Medana with MST 234 caliber. If you’ve ever tried to hunt down a decent early date watch - and by early, I mean earlier than mid-1940s Datejust - you learned two things. Its not easy to find a well-preserved example. And, perhaps unexpect

The watch industry, like its products, has a lot of moving parts. Millions of people around the world play their part in bringing our interest to life. But it is true that some people play a much more visible role in the task than others. Those characters that come to define eras of watchmaking should be championed. They should be listened to, learned from, and respected. Even if they did name the

This morning, Swatch Group announced important management changes. Per July 1st, there will be new CEOs for Longines, Rado, Union, Tissot, Hamilton, and Certina. Besides that, there will be changes to the executive group management board and the extended group management board.It is important to note that all changes are internal. All roles have been filled by existing Swatch Group employees who&#

For 2020 Breguet has chosen to expand its Marine collection. In March, we saw the release of a new rose gold Marine Tourbillon equation Marchante 5887. Today sees Breguet adding another six new watches to the Marine collection. Although not technically “new”, they are very welcome additions.The Marine 5517, 5527, and 5547 have been familiar faces in the current Marine collection that w

I can look at watches with two mindsets: the first is the I want type, and the second is the I adore perspective. When it comes to a Tourbillon With Three Gold Bridges it's definitely the latter, since funding will always be a problem so I want mode remains switched off. But I do adore the unique, robust, arrow shaped bridges that dominate any GP built on that historical foundation. In recent time

The heavens have always been a fascination of homo sapiens. Each culture throughout history, having moved past the hurdles of securing shelter, sustenance, and governance, has at some point turned its collective gaze to the skies, considered a font of knowledge and mystery for those adept at seeing. Modern humanity has fared no differently; now armed with technological and scientific developments,

After launching the world’s first sapphire dive watches, ArtyA rounds off its diver collection with a stunning novelty. The Wave, a COSC-certified dive watch, features an artistic enamel dial of concentric ripples. This new model comes in four variants, each limited to nine pieces. It is a hypnotic visual experience that will immerse you in a VR world where you are shrunk to the size of a mi

It's totally fitting to be writing about the newest additions to the Accutron Spaceview line while reading a book called The Brief History of Timekeeping by Chad Orzel. Orzel's book highlights several key moments in the development of timekeeping technologies that have occurred in the past 2,500 years, including Stonehenge-like structures in Northern Europe, sundials, clock towers, and the first m

Let's be honest, how many of you would choose to take the Rado Captain Cook Automatic Chronograph on a sailing trip around the world? The watch is named after Captain James Cook, the famous British 18th-century explorer and cartographer, but I doubt the watch's buyers follow in the famous navigator's footsteps. Twenty-first-century life for most doesn't include navigating thousands of miles across

This year is the 40th anniversary of G-Shock, and to say it’s going unnoticed would be a lie. We have seen a plethora of new commemorative releases from the Casio sub-brand, including the Remaster Black series just ten days ago. And the celebration shows no sign of slowing down, with G-Shock now introducing seven new Clear Remix models. The concept provides a true look behind the scenes and