The first watch review of this year by yours truly has to be something extraordinary.That's a nice word; extraordinary. It is the best word to explain the watch we are about to take a closer look at. Let me share with you how we came across this amazing timepiece not too long ago. As our frequent readers might remember, last November, we?visited Salon QP in London. It's one of those rare occasion

KlyntI'm a fan of pages like Kickstarter. It's a great podium for a lot of watch related?projects which otherwise would not have a worldwide platform. Sure, the things you see there sometimes are a bit immature however often you can find surprisingly well-made and designed products for an attractive?price. The watches coming out of these go-fund-me pages are usually aesthetically driven with the m

The Speedmaster Professional Gemini IV? is an example of a sleeper limited edition. Not anymore of course, but this watch wasn’t very much sought after in the first few years following?its introduction in 2005. Since then, its popularity has trended upward. As such, it can be viewed in a similar fashion to the original Snoopy Award from 2003.Nowadays, the Omega Speedmaster Professional Gemin

NOMOS Glashutte has done it again. The Tetra series has a history of striking visuals, with well-received micro-ranges such as “Petit four” and the “Berlin set”. Unsurprisingly, the brand is following the same formula again with the Tetra symphony collection.The symphony line-up has been released to honor a very famous German: Ludwig van Beethoven. Also obsessed with qualit

Grand Seiko thrives on its legacy as an artisan. Its Spring Drive 8 Days Jewelry Watch (reference SBGD205) from the Masterpiece Collection captures the elegance of timeless design and the magic of the artistic crafts.This year marks a monumental moment in time for the house of Grand Seiko. 2020 heralds the Japanese watchmaker's 60th anniversary and debuts a new, cutting edge Masterpiece Collection

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s been a bit of a tug of war going on in the watch industry for some time. There is a constant struggle between the traditionalists and the revolutionaries. This struggle can take many forms. It is a war fought on many battlefields. No part of the watch world or the watch itself is safe. One week it will be a fight over brand transparency

Welcome, one and all, to the first round proper 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 commenceIn this first roun

Despite its announcement and release, the final 99 pieces of this limited edition watch from Louis Erard, are not expected to reach their forever homes until November. Why will it take so long? Well, quality takes time. To be precise, it takes a month to produce 15 dials for the Louis Erard Excellence email Grand Feu.Usually, we conclude that a watch looks much bigger than its real specs. Honestly

A watch with a 42+mm case size is considered large even by today’s standards. This year Montblanc is reviving one of Minerva’s vintage models, an astonishing 46mm timepiece. The 1858 Monopusher Chronograph Origins Limited Edition comes in a bronze case. However, this is not what’s so spectacular about this watch.The Montblanc 1858 Monopusher Chronograph Origins Limited Edition pa

Again, no physical presentations this year so far. So, G-Shock presented its novelties to us - quite successfully, I should add - by mimicking a booth in a virtual online environment. Today, as an addition to the full metal premium Square series, G-Shock announced the release of the GMW-B5000TR-9. Its external components are made in an all-new?titanium alloy, named TranTiXXII?.TranTiXXII? is a bra

Just when you thought winter was over, Seiko is here to pull you back into the icy polar waters with three new additions to the Prospex Save The Ocean lineup of dive watches! But it’s not just any watches that receive this frosty makeover. No sir! The three watches chosen, are the new heritage-inspired models, which look to the 62 MAS, the 1968 6159-7001 (Seiko’s first 300m dive watch)

You may have wondered why there are so few countries that produce watch movements on a mass scale. If you have, the foundation of the A?on Group might shine a light on why it is so rare. The goal of A?on Group is to position France as an industry leader in the field of movement production. Simply put, starting this kind of initiative is a massive job. This is the kind of undertaking many might con

We have an Emperor’s-new-clothes kind of situation here. It’s about time to figure out the truth after 15 long years. The “evidence” offered is not very substantial, and for me and some other real Gallet enthusiasts, there is no Jim Clark Gallet Multichron 12. Not yet… No matter how badly we want it to be true, no matter how much it hurts… Conclusive evidence is

After its debut in 2018, the original BOLDR Expedition sold out in a matter of months. It quickly became the brand's most popular and requested model. BOLDR followed it up with the Expedition II in 2019. But that watch featured a totally different case design and reinvented hands. Now, making a return for the first time since 2018 is the BOLDR Expedition I. It brings back the classic case design w

If you’ve never heard of Meccaniche Veneziane, don’t worry about it. Those days are gone. They’re in the past. There’s a new kid in town, and he’s here to stake his claim to the narrow streets, historic bridges, and ubiquitous canals of MV’s hometown of Venice. From the ashes of the brand’s original name rises Venezianico, an ear-catching neologism that sk

Have you ever bought a strap or bracelet thinking it will be perfect for one watch, but it ends up working so well on another that you can't seem to swap it out? Well, that's essentially what happened here. I picked up this vintage new-old-stock (NOS) bracelet thinking it would go on my Speedmaster. Oh boy, was I wrong! In fact, I didn't even get a chance to put it on that watch. The day the bubbl

As a vintage guy, it’s always exciting for me to see brands being relaunched. Often, though, my feelings are somewhat ambivalent. It is rare that a watch company comes back to the market with a strategy and lineup that I’m entirely on board with. Nivada Grenchen, however, is an example of a rebirthed brand done right. I’m lucky to be friends with Guillaume Laidet, the man behind

On a couple of occasions recently, in the comments, other Fratelli (perhaps who are waiting patiently for theirs or are considering taking the plunge when the list opens again at the end of March) have mentioned that they would appreciate my writing an article on the Czapek Antarctique to give some insight as to what it is like to own. There had been mention of a week on the wrist sort of article,

If it were possible to invite all the watch fans in the world to the Jaeger-LeCoultre manufacture in Le Sentier in the remote Vallee de Joux, the Swiss brand would possibly be the most prestigious in the world of watches. That's quite the statement, but what JLC does and has been doing for ages in the one-of-a-kind valley where creating complications is second nature to local watchmakers is extrao

Doxa’s Sub 300 Whitepearl has perhaps one of the most intriguing “colorways” available to fans of the dive-watch brand. I took this monochromatic iteration of the iconic Doxa model for a dive in the Pacific Ocean to test its underwater legibility. If this experience has proven one thing, it’s that Doxa’s monochrome watch is far from dull.This is not the first Doxa mod