VIDEO: Artem's Loop-Less HydroFlex Strap
If you've been keeping up with Fratello, you might remember Mike's recent article introducing the Artem Loop-less?? HydroFlex?? straps. Well, they're back in the spotlight, and for good reason. We just dropped a video showing you these awesome straps in more detail. After all, if a picture says a thousand words, how about a video? Artem's Loop-less?? HydroFlex?? straps are a rare case in which style and substance come together seamlessly - literally.For those unfamiliar, the straps offer the refined aesthetic of sailcloth with the robust performance of FKM rubber. And no, that's not just marketing fluff. Unlike traditional sailcloth straps that require waterproofing treatments or feature hyb...
Omega Speedmaster 3594.50 Replica
It’s Speedy Tuesday! Admitted, I rarely discuss my own watches here. Once in a while I mention a purchase briefly, but I am not keen on addressing my personal collection of watches. For this Speedy Tuesday, I am making an exception as I was blown away by the many enthusiasts reading and responding to the write-up of our friend Christopher Beccan just a few weeks ago. This week I will talk about my Speedmaster 3594.50 – also known as Replica or Re-edition – that I got from my wife (and daughter) in 2013.Omega Speedmaster 3594.50As some of you know I became the proud father of a little daughter (Charlotte). To celebrate my first Father’s Day, which was not long after th...
G.L.C. Straps Watch Strap Review
As promised, this month will be straps galore at Fratello Watches! We are thrilled about how successful the series has become and more and more companies get in touch with us to review their amazing products. In the 5th edition of Strap Review we have a very cool brand for your reading pleasure. These guys are not ordinary strap makers; the stuff they produce varies from regular 18mm leather to 24mm bespoke Panerai straps, Natos and so on. But let's not rush into details so fast. Please meet G.L.C. Straps from Rome, Italy.?In the beginning of the series when I was still collecting information about various makers I had already come across GLC but for some reason we did not get in touch. A co...
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual Stainless Steel
It was introduced in 2013 already, this Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual in stainless steel. This year, Jaeger-LeCoultre showed us the Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual with a beautiful black Sunray-brushed dial. The price remains to be under $20.000 Euro, including VAT.A perpetual calendar under $20.000 Euro in ?time where some brands dare to ask that same amount for 2 or 3 hands watch in stainless steel. Apples to apples of course, but finding a perpetual calendar in stainless steel from a respectable manufacture brand like Jaeger-LeCoultre in the same price category is quite a challenge. In the pre-owned market, you will find a couple for sure, but in the market for new watches, it ...
Omega Reference 2505 Aka Jumbo
According to my dictionary the meaning of Jumbo is; noun a very large person or thing, adjective very large. There are a number of jumbos out there.To start with the Boeing 747, a wide-body passenger aircraft bears this nickname. If you ever flew over the Atlantic with Lufthansa, KLM or British Airways you probably had the pleasure of travelling in one. It is an intimidatingly large plane that often makes me wonder why have I not paid more attention to physics in high school. I probably would have a glimpse of understanding how can that monstrosity actually go up and stay there. Then you have the jumbotron. A large screen you can usually find in sports arenasor in Las Vegas. You know, the on...
New Book Release Time For a Change: Discovering Vintage Enicar
Despite the fact that I've gone digital for the bulk of my reading materials (primarily to reduce the amount of bulk in my life), a good watch book is something that will always have a place on my shelf.? Time For a Change: Discovering Vintage Enicar, looks like it will be the kind of tome that will easily earn its place next to some of all-time watch-related favorites.? I had the chance to chat with the author and creator of this project, Martijn van der Ven (@vandervenus on Instagram), and his dedication to documenting his favorite brand goes well beyond the norm.? In fact, after just a short few sentences, I decided to whip out my credit card and back his project, which debuted yesterday ...
Hands-On With Farer Aldrich World Timer
This is what Louboutin’s?watch should look like. At least the case back. Introducing the 39mm Farer Aldrich World Timer with a pearly dial and daring red rotor. When I first saw Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso designed by Christian Louboutin a few years ago, I was a bit meh. With all due respect to one of the world's most revered luxury footwear designers, I?expected more. You can only imagine how amused I?was when I?turned around the new World Timer Aldrich from Farer. Not designed for women specifically, but here it is. An interesting, line-cut rotor coated in a matt racing red. A?bit off? Maybe. Do I?mind? Why would I?Farer sizeSpeaking of women and Louboutin's red-bottomed shoes, this is ...
Hands-On: The New Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra in Green
Omega recently added two new dials for its successful Seamaster Aqua Terra collection. One in blue, and one in green. While blue could already be found on previous Aqua Terra models, green was only used for details, like on the PGA edition of the watch.An entirely green dial is new for the Seamaster Aqua Terra collection. And, quite to my surprise, I must say it looks damn good. I was already quite impressed by the green accents on the Aqua Terra PGA edition (which we reviewed here). To me, those accents made it one of the most attractive watches in this collection. And now, a few weeks ago, Omega started to deliver these green (and new blue) dial Aqua Terra watches to its boutiques.The bran...
Hands-On IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Watch Review
Besides a chronograph or GMT, there are only a very few mechanical complications one would “need”. Purists can debate whether a tourbillon is a complication, but it’s one of those examples of a complication that has little use today. It’s just there to admire and enjoy.A perpetual calendar is somewhere in the middle. Having a calendar on your wrist that shows the day, date, month, leap-year, and moon phase, is simply pretty cool. It might come in handy, but it’s mainly there to show the craftsmanship of Swiss watchmakers who are able to program a calendar for the coming centuries.Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42The first word that comes to mind when putting thi...
#TBT The Gallet Commander Won In A?Bar Gamble By A Grandpa
The only shortcoming of this otherwise perfect watch story is the fact that it was not my grandpa. The injured Gallet Commander was posted on Facebook by the grandson of a Mexican man that won the watch from an American soldier in a saloon-based poker game. That's what I call a bad-ass cool granddad!It's not entirely impossible to find a Gallet Commander, but many online listings look very inconsistent and, frankly, too suspicious. Over-polished, relumed, even redialed, the OG crown long lost, you name it. Patience is, to a watch collectors life, as important as following the “condition, condition, condition” rule. As Gallet was very popular in the US (thanks to distributor Jules...
Hands-On Watch Review: Sinn R500 Titanium Chronograph
A few weeks ago, Sinn announced the new R500 Titanium Chronograph. The announcement came via an online presentation, which I attended. Oftentimes, I find it quite difficult to stay laser-focused on virtual show-and-tells, but Sinn did a good job of keeping me glued to the screen. Why? The unusual and wholly unexpected form of the R500 Titanium Chronograph had me hopping from forum to forum and chat group to chat group, discussing with my colleagues exactly how and when we could get one of these on the wrist to test it out. As it happens, the answers to those questions were: “by asking,” and, “right now.”I am a Sinn fan and a long-time Sinn owner. My favorite Sinn prod...
Independent Insights: RZE, Nodus, Marin Instruments, Havid Nagan
Hey there, indie fans. Long time no see. It’s been a little while since I’ve had the chance to put together an edition of Independent Insights. That’s not to say that there hasn’t been any noteworthy news, more that things at Fratello Watches have been super busy in a good way. The good news is that I have made a bit of time, as I have five independent or microbrand projects I have been following that I wanted to share with you all. Alright then, shall we take a look?RZE Resolute 2022 and Resolute SupercompressorI’ve written about RZE a few times on the pages of Fratello. It ranks high as one of my favorite small, independent brands, and I have two pieces in my ...
Casio G-Shock Mudmaster 3-Way Video Review
I've heard them called unwieldy. I've heard them called unattractive. Believe it or not, I've heard them called unwearable. But no matter what anyone on the outside of the Casio G-Shock Mudmaster bubble says to me, it won't change my mind about these watches. They are indestructible, inimitably cool, and, quite simply incredible.Recently, I had the chance to go hands-on with the new Mudmaster GWG-2000, and today, I've brought along the two previous generations from my own collection to explain some of the key differences.We frequently mention on Fratello how important it is to try a watch on before judging it on the black-and-white specs alone. Dimensions on paper are quite often misleading....
The Best Vintage-Inspired Dive Watches Under $5000
Here at the Fratello offices, we get a lot of questions from you, our readers. Probably the most-asked questions are centered around the topic of what to buy for different budgets. The most popular budget question is what watch to buy for under $5,000 in different watch categories. That's why we decided to set up a small series of articles focusing on the best watches that you can buy within that budget. In this installment of the series, we will look at the best vintage-inspired dive watches available for under $5K. Let's see what stylish, historically inspired options the industry has to offer.As I mentioned in last week’s list, dive watches are by far the most popular watch genre no...
NEW: Longines Spirit 37 Hitting The Sweet Spot (2022)
The question in that subtitle is directed at Longines. It’s not that I don’t think 40mm is a good size, but this is just so much better. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of folks out there who are still uncertain about wearing any sub-40mm wristwear. But just don’t use the term “unisex” or even mention the fact that it works on both men and women. In the face of #watchfemme and the new wave of 36-38mm sweetness, does that make the new Longines Spirit 37 perfectly pitched at everyone?Just the other day, I had a client meeting in which a woman was wearing a 42mm Explorer II while I was wearing my 37.7mm Serica 4512. Did I feel emasculated? Nope. This is realit...
Watch Dating Profiles: USA Timex, RGM, And Vortic
“Made in USA” is a phrase that gets proudly and quite obviously stamped on the products that earn it. It may be a bit over-zealous in its marketing at times, but please excuse our enthusiasm; it gets harder and harder to find American-made products every day. When we do, we Americans are thrilled to see that they live up to the standards that the Made in USA designation rides on. I can’t put my finger on exactly what those qualities are, but I know they have something to do with steel, leather, innovation, underdog determination, and excellent customer service. Coincidentally, one can find these qualities in the selections for this Made in USA edition of Watch Dating Profil...
How The Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Knocked Out The 36
There are many people who have similar watches in their collections. Heck, there are even collectors who specialize in one specific model and all of its different iterations. So why can't a Tudor Black Bay 36 and Fifty-Eight sit next to each other in the same collection? That was exactly my thought when I went out and bought the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight while I already owned the Black Bay 36. But somehow, the Fifty-Eight won the battle for wrist time and the Black Bay 36 left the ring crying. What happened!?As a new collector, I wasn't even really aware of Tudor as a brand. Omega, , IWC, Cartier, Oris, and NOMOS were names that sounded familiar. I could even name or recognize some of thei...
Hot Take: Breitling Navitimer 43 Boeing 747
The Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 Boeing 747 is the latest aerospace collaboration, and it celebrates the end of an era. We take a closer look at this limited-edition chronograph and all of its details.For several years, Breitling has been releasing so-called “capsule collections” of watches. Many of them are inspired by historic military aircraft or even long-gone airlines. On the airline front, names like TWA and Pan-Am have graced the Navitimer. For 2023, though, we get the limited-edition Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 Boeing 747. What’s notable about this is that the watch celebrates a legendary commercial plane, and that should resonate with more than...
Introducing: The Lorca Watches Model No.1 GMT
First impressions matter in the world of watches. And in late November 2022, Lorca Watches and the brand's founder Jesse Marchant made their first impression on me. With just three sentences, Jesse piqued my interest. In short, I am an NYC-based recording artist who has created the watch I felt was missing on my tours. It is a compact (36mm case/37mm bezel) and thin mechanical Swiss Made sports watch that leans a little dressy while boasting a solid construction and 200m WR. The finishing is very crisp, and the watch features a discreetly integrated GMT function. This was a professional musician turned watch designer endeavoring to create what sounds (to me) like a damn near perfect watch. A...
Radium On Watch Dials: How Dangerous Is It, Really?
If you have ever looked closely at vintage watches, you will have surely come across radium lume. You probably know it was the prevalent luminescent material until it was abandoned in favor of tritium around 1963. Most likely, you have heard about the dangers of this highly radioactive material. That raises a crucial question: is it safe to wear a watch with a radium dial?Today, I would like to shed some light on the nuances of the topic. It is good to mention that, although I have done my research, I am no expert on radiation or health. So, if you are and you find inaccuracies, please do share them in the comments below. This is a precarious subject, and I wish to treat it as such. Now, wit...