Hands-On: The New Certina DS-2 Turning Bezel
When it comes to creating affordable watches with a ton of vintage-inspired style, look no further than Certina. While the brand also produces some great contemporary pieces, the vintage charm makes the brand hard to beat. Just one of the many great examples is the stunning Certina DS PH200M. Its vintage style in combination with the modern execution makes it a great piece, and that’s what the brand excels at. And now Certina has added another great vintage-inspired model to its lineup. The new Certina DS-2 Turning Bezel is a fantastic addition to the DS-2 collection that will win many fans. We had a chance to check out two regular models and a new special edition.Coming back shortly t...
The New Sinn T50 Divers Star In An Unexpected Sequel
The Sinn T50 divers kick off 2023, and while these watches are very “on brand,” they weren’t necessarily expected. I’ll share my thoughts on that and get into the watches themselves. Bottom line: these are sweet additions to the lineup with great dimensions.As an adopted Frankfurter, I have a soft spot for Sinn. We both call “Mainhattan” home, and therefore, I keep a watchful eye on what the technically minded brand releases. In fact, I’ve been watching for a while, and if we travel back to 2013, Sinn debuted an interesting set of divers called the T1 and T2. I saw the smaller 41mm T2 at Basel and placed an order immediately. You can see my review of...
The Watches I'd Buy If Money Were No Object: Lex's Picks
No, I'm not going to pick a Nautilus. Neither the original 3700 nor the 5980 chronograph. Before I got to spend my unlimited budget, I cleansed my palate. I hit refresh and tried very hard to observe the immense universe of Haute Horlogerie in an open-minded way. But how do I pick three stars that shine brightest for me? I found out that when everything goes, the agony of choice kicks in, and common sense and madness go head to head. The only way to get to my final three was to go down memory lane and think of watches that I experienced live. That's how I determined my picks from Patek Philippe, A. Lange & Sohne, and Richard Mille.I’ve been a little too preoccupied with the Nautilu...
Parmigiani's Mind-Blowing Cultural Calendar Watches
From the day Michel Parmigiani presented his brand's first-ever wristwatch, the Toric QP Retrograde, in 1999, the Parmigiani name has been tied to calendar watches. QP stands for “Quantime Perpetuel” - it was an in-house-developed perpetual calendar watch. A de facto house specialty, the annual and perpetual calendars are always on offer from the Fleurier-based watchmaker's collections. From the Gregorian calendar complication and the GPHG-winning Hijri calendar innovation in 2020 to the launch of a Xiali calendar recently, the Swiss independent brand is perpetually (pun intended) upping its game to blow our minds!Parmigiani calendar watchesCalendars are a reflection of civiliza...
Fratello's Top 5 Pre-Owned Sleeper Watches: Part 2
Another Friday, another Top 5! This time, we will continue where we left off last week and present even more great pre-owned options. In this mini-series, we want to highlight some less obvious picks from different brands. Some of these are watches you may never have heard of, while others might be good reminders of forgotten greats. Seeing what is out there on the pre-owned market is super interesting, and all these picks offer something special for their going prices. In part two, we have five more great options for you.As I explained in last week’s list, we love searching the internet for great watch finds and spending our fictitious money on them. Part of the fun is surprising fell...
Roger W. Smith Is Auctioning Off A Unique Series 1
March 9th is a big day for the now-well-known resurgence of British watchmaking. This particular date is set aside for a new event, the British Watchmakers’ Day, in London. Thanks to Roger W. Smith, this year will be even more exciting thanks to a sealed auction, with the excitement starting at a 297,500 reserve price (equivalent to $348,000).Other British brands are also making limited editions for the day, and a percentage of Roger W. Smith's auction will go to the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers, a non-profit organization. His Series 1 is a near-mythical piece in watch circles as he only makes around 20 examples per year.Image: Oracle TimeThe British Watchmakers’ D...
Hands-On: Cartier Tank Must With SolarBeat Movement
Cartier introduced three sizes of new Tank Must models in 2021. The Tank Must debuted in the 1970s, but we hadn’t seen any new models for years. Now it’s available again in “extra-large,” “large,” and “small” versions. The extra-large model features a self-winding 1847 MC caliber with central seconds and date, while the large and small models house both regular and photovoltaic (light-powered) quartz movements. The self-winding and regular quartz movements are veterans, but the SolarBeat is something we hadn’t seen before in Cartier’s lineup.Cartier Tank Must SolarBeatRight from the introduction, the photovoltaic SolarBeat models en...
Hands-On: Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80
Unless you have lived under a rock for the past three years, you know that the watch market has seen a huge influx of affordable GMT watches from various brands. The newest addition to the long line of releases is this Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80. While it is not the first DS Action GMT, this new version is a model with great potential. The classic GMT is executed with modern materials and also utilizes a flyer-style GMT caliber. I had a chance to go hands-on with the black and green version of the new DS Action GMT Powermatic 80. Is this the affordable GMT that everyone has been waiting for? It’s time to find out!Certina is a Swatch Group brand offering great value for money. ...
Hands-On With The Mk II Fulcrum 39 Date
Mk II first released its Fulcrum dive watch in 2013. This is nothing spectacular in itself, although it is remarkable to realize that it was 12 years ago. The inaugural model was a 42mm dive watch inspired by the great military watches of the 1970s. The new Mk II Fulcrum 39 is an optimized version of that initial model. The most important update is a smaller case that’s more in line with its ’70s inspiration. It makes this Fulcrum a very tempting offering if you like the classic dive watches from that era. It’s time to find out more!Let’s first address the elephant in the room. As with all watches, our pre-programmed watch enthusiast brains will first go through the w...
Diving Into The New Audemars Piguet Caliber 7138
Marginal gains - the world of Haute Horlogerie moves forward in little steps. That is already a miracle since mechanical watchmaking is in its private universe where functionality is not an essential survival tool. Still, the leading traditional watchmaking houses continue to push the technical boundaries. You don’t get a sense of evolution when you look at the three new perpetual calendar watches - two Royal Oaks and one Code 11.59. However, closer inspection of the dials tells you something is going on. When diving into the new Audemars Piguet caliber 7138, you will discover that the 423-part QP movement holding five patents is not about marginal gains but giant leaps.When I tell you...
Fratello Visits ABP Paris
ABP Paris (Atelier du Bracelet Parisien) is a manufacturer of the world’s most exclusive leather watchstraps. Although you can order most straps via their web shop, the Fratellowatches team decided to visit their workshop in the center of Paris.ABP is currently lead by Yann Perrin and is a typical family business and have been around for 15 years. A few years ago, due to ever growing business, they had to move to a bigger workshop on the Place du Marche Saint-Honore where they are still located as of today. Let us tell you, that with approximately a staff of 10 persons, we foresee another move in a couple of years.Yann (right) and his staffAll straps that ABP sell are – of course...
Longines Legend Diver Date Hands-On | Fratellowatches
Longines was so kind to lend us their Legend Diver Date timepiece for a while. This means that I can wear it for a while and our photographer Bert can take his time to shoot some proper photos of the watch.I have a weak spot for vintage watches, but I am not so keen on having them serviced or repaired to often. When you buy a vintage watch, you absolutely need to take into account that it will need an overhaul at some point. Also the fact that not every part might be available anymore is not very attractive to me. When a watchmaker (or factory) is out of parts, it means you are left behind with a watch with ‘issues’. Trust me, I had my share of watches that needed parts that were...
Hands-On Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar Review
Being a kid in the 1980’s, I grew up with digital watches. In fact, my first watch was a Casio that I got in 1986?during a holiday in the UK. Still have it and it still works. Today, my focus is a bit more towards mechanical watches, but I see no reason to neglect a good digital watch. Including Apple’s smartwatch (that we reviewed here) and the Z-33 or X-33 from Omega. All interesting digital watches and today’s subject is no different; the Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar Review.Although I was familiar with T-Touch watches, introduced in 1999, but I never actually handled one before I got my hands on this Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar. To be honest I always thought that they wer...
SevenFriday M3/01 Spaceship Edition
News from SevenFriday, the brand that was among the first (perhaps it was the first) that made huge noise on social media to get the word out on their watches. Now, we are facing their M3/01 release, the Spaceship edition.SevenFriday is not a new comer, but still a very young company with 2012 as their year of birth. After their previous releases, which we covered here, here and here, it became a bit silent around the Zurich brand. Today, they caught us by surprise and introduce the M3/01 watch that is ‘Spaceship’ inspired.SevenFriday M3/01 Spaceship EditionAs you can see, the watch has a lot of layers (7 to be precise) and 11 applied parts to create that level of depth and gain ...
Hands-On Habring2 Doppel-Felix Review: Made in Austria
The only manufacture movement that is made in Austria comes from Habring2, the watchmaking company that is lead by Richard and Maria Habring. In 2015 I reviewed the Felix, with its in-house caliber A11B movement. Today I am reviewing the Habring2 Doppel-Felix watch, a rattrapante chronograph with in-house caliber A11RD movement.Where the Felix was a typical dress watch, beautifully but sober designed with a diameter of 38.5mm, the Habring2 Doppel-Felix is a watch with mechanical complications and much more wrist presence. Let’s have a closer look.Habring2 Doppel-Felix RattrapanteA rattrapante, or doppel chronograph (hence the model name), is a mechanism just like a regular chronograph,...
Omega Seamaster 300M Chronograph 52Mondayz, week #9-2020
Who’s not a fan of the Omega Seamaster 300M?I guess there are some of you out there. Especially hardcore Speedmaster fans. I get it; the Seamaster 300M collection is not as homogenous as the Speedmaster’s. But I guess this is part of its charm. It includes watches that still look great 25 years after they first appeared on James Bond’s wrist in Goldeneye (1995). Of course, over time, they changed quite a lot, yet the significant features remained the same. So, I thought it was time to take the new Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Co-Axial Master Chronometer Chronograph for a spin. In this case, the spin is, as you know, a week on the wrist. Is it going to wear heavy after a few d...
The Unimatic Massena LAB Modello Uno U1-ML6
When renowned wristwatch veteran William Massena partners up with Unimatic watches, you get hot news that doesn't need a leaflet to tell its story. Allow me to introduce the Unimatic Modello Uno U1-ML6.I didn't even manage to blink an eye before seeing the iconic 6538 in the new Modello Uno U1-ML6. It was a lightning-fast call from my heart. And the more I look at the new Unimatic?Massena LAB piece, the more I like it. You don't need to read much about the watch, you just need to look at it long enough to understand it.The busy low budget segmentI swear, if I was in the habit of buying every entry-level watch I liked, I'd be buying a new piece every two weeks. There’s just so much gre...
Zenith puts dazzling vibes on its Defy Midnight Watches For Women
Could there be a better place than Dubai to launch a new dazzling watch created especially for Women? Absolutely not! There was magic in the air that night… The presentation of this new diamond pave timepiece during LVMH Watch Week had an almost?One Thousand and One Nights feel. Seeing as the Defy family has become Zenith's signature design of recent years, the ladies’ version might be considered as a risk-free move these days, but that wouldn’t always have been the case. A less elegant silhouette that has an edginess not often seen in women’s watches of the last century, this is most definitely a piece for now. But let's see if the new model is what we (the wearers) ...
The Raketa Watch Factory Launches A Re-edition Of The Soviet Polar watch
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the Antarctic continent (in 1820) and the 50th anniversary of the first production of the Soviet Raketa Polar watch (in 1970), the Raketa Watch Factory is relaunching the production of this historic watch model. This re-edition will be limited to 200 watches. Technical drawings that were found in the archives of the Factory were used to recreate the original design.A watch for Soviet polar explorersThis watch model was specially produced in 1970 for the polar explorers of the 16th Soviet Antarctic expedition. They needed a robust watch on which they could rely. They were journeying to the harshest place on Earth where temperatures an go...
March Mania Preliminary Two: Balazs Moser, Omega, Hamilton, Doxa, And More...
Welcome, one and all, to the preliminary round of March Mania 2021, here on Fratello. Are you a watch maniac like we are? If so, you’re sure to love our month-long feature. 96 watches reviewed last year line up for a battle royale like nothing that’s gone before. We need your votes. We want your comments. Help us decide the champion and share in its glory! Let the games commence…In this round, your task is simple: vote for your favorite watch. Below you will find a selection of 12 timepieces that we covered here on Fratello throughout 2020. Why not refresh your memory by clicking the links and reading those eruditely penned odes to wrist-wear? Once you’ve made your se...