Just a few weeks ago, in the sunny and colorful city of Miami, Maurice Lacroix released something funky - the new Aikon #tide. It’s the latest and most eco-friendly member of the Aikon collection. Fratello was there to witness the launch of this exciting summer watch that has much more to offer than it seems.Thanks to its competitive price, fresh looks, and environmental conscientiousness, t

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore debuted in 1993, and it was groundbreaking when it hit the floor at the Basel watch fair that year. But it took a while to get there. Back in 2018, just after the 25th anniversary of the watch, we met up with a passionate Royal Oak Offshore collector. As the Royal Oak itself turned 50 years old yesterday, it seems like a fitting time to revisit this unforgett

I bet it would be a hit if Tissot decided to relaunch these jet-turbine-like Visodate desk clocks. Dear Tissot, you’re welcome.When Nacho texted me the other day to ask for an idea for this column, I didn’t feel like I wanted to see another watch re-edition. I don’t want to say I am fed up with them, but I instead decided to look into my archive folder to see if there wasn’

For our Sunday Morning Showdown this week, we will feature another new release from Watches and Wonders 2023. IWC’s big introduction for this year was the new Ingenieur. With the revamped version of this illustrious watch, the Schaffhausen brand brings back a fan favorite. Finally, the “Genta Ingenieur” returns to the modern sports watch arena. Will it be a hit? That remains to b

The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris takes place on the 26th of July, so mark your calendars! This also means that, as of today, it’s only 100 days away. Omega is getting ready for its 31st time as the official timekeeper for the event. To get us all in the mood, the brand is releasing two new models of the Speedmaster Chronoscope - one in stainless steel and the other in nothi

I was genuinely excited when the second Christopher Ward C65 Dune GMT was officially announced about a month ago. The first version of this watch blew me away last year. I had a chance to wear the C65 Dune GMT for a couple of weeks, and by the end of that time, I knew I wanted one. There was only one small problem: I missed the release of the 200 pieces, so I was too late to get my hands on one. A

After a three-week break, Fratello On Air returns. One of us traveled to Geneva, while the other went to Florida. Both of us saw fancy cars, but only one of us saw impressive watches. The question of who might have a surprising answer! Watches and Wonders 2024 has come and gone, and, frankly, it was a bit of a stinker.

Mark Nagle is a passionate collector of vintage watches. His focus is vintage timepieces from World War One. We spoke to him about this particular fascination as part of our Fratelli Stories series. Read on.Like many of you, I am a fan of vintage watches. Sure, we cover a lot of new watch releases here at Fratello, as we should. New watches give us the technical benefits of modern manufacturing, r

By now, Bravur, the watch brand from B?stad, Sweden, has created enough cycling-themed watches to provide the complete pro peloton with them. This is not a complaint or a snappy remark but a neutral observation. And from that observation comes enthusiasm. As a cyclist, I applaud a nicely done cycling watch. Now you can be in the breakaway with the Bravur Heritage Team STR sporting a dial in the co

This year, many brands are celebrating different milestones. One of the most relevant anniversaries in 2025 is Zenith’s 160th, which you probably read about during Watches and Wonders. Although it is a significant milestone, Zenith treated us to a very select number of anniversary models during the fair. I can greatly appreciate that because it maintains a strong focus. The watch that drew t

So, a tank is pretty tough, right? How do you make it even tougher? Park it in a casemate! Stick the cannon through one of the tiny embrasures, and you have a fearsome defensive installation. Well, that's what Cartier did. The mighty Cartier Tank was parked in a bunker, and the result is called the Cartier Tank Guichets. I got a chance to go hands-on with one to see if it stands the heat of batt

When Omega introduced the Seamaster?Ploprof 1200M back in 2009, I was actually happily surprised to see that they did such an amazing job.The resemblance with the original Omega Ploprof 600M 166.077 was amazing. ?On first sight, the new Omega Seamaster PloProf 1200M looked identical to the PloProf 600M version of almost 40 years earlier. On Fratellowatches we wrote about the PloProf watches severa

Last year I ordered a couple of Seiko watches for myself. In fact, I only did so after seeing one of the JDM (Japan Domestic Models) in the Seiko boutique in Amsterdam. There I realized two things: 1. There is more to Seiko than I thought, 2. I need to learn all these nicknames and reference numbers. Not long after I decided to pull the trigger on a Seiko Baby Tuna SRP231. A super cool looking bla

The Casio G-Shock GPW-1000RAF is the watch I’ll wear this week. On Wednesday I’ve a post-Baselworld meeting with Bas Boersma a.k.a. Mr. B-Shock. Bas works for Casio, and he’s one of the major driving forces behind the G-Shock presence in The Netherlands.Casio G-Shock GPW-1000RAFAs mentioned in one of my earlier 52Mondayz columns, I’m a fan of (ana-)digital quartz watches. B

This year at BaselWorld it was hard to discover true?novelties. A lot of brands just expanded their collection by presenting new models with different colors and materials, a lot of retro designs as well. A?number of brands did surprise me. klokers was one of them.A Niche BrandThis is one of the brands you either hate or love. In my opinion they are quite interesting with their out-of-the-box visi

As ?a ?traditional ?watchmaking ?company, ?Longines ?has ?been ?producing ?exceptional timepieces ?since ?the ?very ?beginning. ?The ?Longines ?Master ?Collection ?is ?the ?perfect contemporary ?illustration ?of ?this ?concept, ?as ?demonstrated ?by ?the ?success ?of ?this collection ?since ?its ?launch ?in 2005. ?The ?Longines ?Master ?Collection ?blends ?classic elegance ?and ?excellence, ?for ?

Early January, we covered the Speedmaster Blue Side of the Moon here on Fratello. Today, I will show you the new 2018 version of that watch, with aventurine glass dial and Sedna gold hands and hour markers.I have to admit that I wasn’t uber-enthusiastic about the blue ceramic Speedmaster Moonphase we showed you last January, but couldn’t really make myself clear on what it was. Now tha

The new Hautlence HL Sphere is a work of art.I only found that out this past month when I saw Hautlence the first time in the metal. See, since a few years now I visit H. Moser & Cie during SIHH and Baselworld as well as other events. You could read about their latest creations they introduced during SIHH 2019 here and here. However, H. Moser & Cie is not the only brand the Meylan family i

At least for us in Europe, a spotting a Grand Seiko watch in the flesh is still as rare as spotting a Japanese supercar like the Nissan GT-R.Perhaps it mainly has to do with price, as the Nissan GT-R starts at $169.600 here in The Netherlands (cars are expensive here in general). Grand Seiko is winning turf though, as its popularity is ever increasing. Enough has been written about the quality of

I don’t know about you, but I am getting pretty fed up with working from home, not going outside, and not able to meet with people.That’s why I thought it would be nice to bring some gold to the table. A little shine in this darkness. A gold watch does not have to be crazily expensive, of course, but the fact is that this precious metal does have its price. Especially in times like thi