Michael Collins, born on October 31st, 1930 in Rome, was one of the three men that were on Apollo 11 in 1969. Together with Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins left Earth on July 16th, 1969, destination Moon. It became the most famous space mission of all time and remains so to this day.Last week, on April 28th, 2021, Michael Collins passed away aged 90, in Naples,

Quite rare and hard to find: stumbling upon an Omega Seamaster Ref. 145.023 in such a good condition as the one we found on Zeitauktion is like discovering a NOS lightsaber on the planet Mustafar in the Outer Rim. The Omega Seamaster Anakin Skywalker watch is a multipurpose piece of kit because it's both a style statement AND a very interesting chronograph from a historical perspective. The extrav

Today on Fratello on Air, I welcome my old friend Giles Ellis of Schofield Watch Company to the smooth booth to discuss some of his finest creations in exacting detail.Giles has been busy. Despite the world shutting down for many businesses, Schofield is busier than ever. The recent Strange Lights collection has been a great success thus far with very few units still remaining. Its release last ye

Time for something a little bit different! We obviously dedicate the majority of our time and articles to the latest timepieces to see the light of day. But as many of you will know, MB&F is about more than just timepieces for the wrist. In 2013, MB&F started its line of successful MB&F Co-Creations, working together with creators of spectacular conceptual art pieces. These pieces are

Not all NFTs are created equal. If you want to finally read about one that is relevant to your watch-collecting hobby, I have news for you. There is a class of NFT (non-fungible tokens) that offers real-world usage and facilitates physical experiences. It is known as a Utility NFT. How does that translate in your watch world? Let’s hear it from Ace Jewelers, the 47-year-old family-owned reta

In this series, we’ll be sharing the EDC (Everyday Carry) items of our editorial team. First up is Robert-Jan, founder and editor-in-chief of Fratello. What “essentials” does he carry with him on a daily basis?In all honesty, I had to google what “EDC” meant. I definitely do have some things that I consider essentials, though, that I carry with me on a daily basis. Mo

What is this now? The seventh or eighth Nezumi I’ve reviewed? I’m losing count but not interest. There’s something still so satisfying about Nezumi’s design language that now seems all the more imperative given the presence of a mechanical Nezumi Voiture on the market as of March 2022. What could the future hold for this Swedish design studio as it transitions into a more s

Let me start by saying that I’m not someone who cleans his watches very often. This is in contrast to our photographer Morgan, who regularly rinses his watches with water every other day. With my Seiko Kinetic that I wore day in and day out for over 15 years, though, I used to have sort of a cleaning routine. Every three months or so, I would boil some water, put it in a glass bowl, add some

I immediately recognized the looks of the Certina DS Action Diver when the watch box opened, but I also noticed something different, very different indeed. In February 2022, I had done a video review of the 43mm version of the watch in steel, a heavy hitter of a dive watch. In the video, I also mentioned the existence of a 38mm version and rumors of a DS Action Diver in titanium. What I saw in the

Welcome to this week’s episode of Fratello Talks. Today, we are rolling with the punches and discussing buying watches on impulse. Sinara, Lex, and Nacho gather around the Fratello podcast table to share their stories, have a laugh, and misquote Mike Tyson. Because there’s nothing quite like having a plan for purchasing a specific watch to just getting caught off guard by an impulse bu

For many of the Fratello team members, G-Shock is a favorite due to the style and functionality that the watches offer. However, I must admit that we do not actually use many of the functions. They are nice-to-haves instead of must-haves, making a G-Shock mostly a style statement. But G-Shock has its G-Squad collection of sports watches that embody the ultimate in functionality. This makes total s

Japanese independent watchmaking has a particular charm, often showing a spare yet intricate way with dials and small-cased sensibility. With a few quietly released collaborative efforts, Hida-san’s main focus is on a small output of orders. Nevertheless, the 2024 releases from Naoya Hida & Co. show a more extroverted side to the brand coming through.Naoya Hida is the thinking man’

Tudor has announced the release of a special FXD chronograph. The Pelagos FXD Chrono Tudor Pro Cycling Team Edition commemorates the brand’s relationship with the Tudor Pro Cycling Team (a Swiss professional development road bicycle racing team that participates in the UCI Europe Tour). It should come as no surprise if this latest release from Tudor is giving you dej vu. My mind first went

Vintage King Seiko presents a fantastic opportunity for affordable options that reflect excellent watchmaking. The King Seiko 44-9990, also known as the 44KS, is one such example.Recently, I had the opportunity to acquire a King Seiko 44-9990. For many newer enthusiasts, King Seiko is a name that is more familiar in the context of the modern Seiko brand. That modern context has King Seiko as a pro

A tourbillon is less relevant now than ever. What was once advantageous in a pocket watch became less so in a wristwatch, which is naturally subject to a broader range of motion. With cheaper quartz modules outperforming all but the most accurate mechanical movements, a tourbillon remains a display of watchmaking ability and intricacy. A rotating carriage mounted in the heart of the dial draws the

Cabestan proudly announces a partnership with Ferrari to celebrate the oldest and still existing Formula 1 racing team in the world, Scuderia Ferrari. With their debut in Formula 1 in 1950 (Grandprix of Italy), the Scuderia Ferrari team is active in Formula 1 for 60 years now. The Scuderia Ferrari One time piece by Cabestan has been created by Jean-Francois Ruchonnet, who is deeply passionate by h

The Bulova Stars and Stripes chronograph is the perfect thematic embodiment of what I like so much about vintage watches. Namely, it's a watch unlike anything produced by the brand prior to its 1970 debut and when production ceased only a year later, Bulova never produced anything like it again. Call it a case of cold feet, a reflexive reaction to the automatic chronograph onslaught, or whatever,

In the past couple of years FIDES, the investment group that owns the Geneva & Hong Kong branches, has been carefully getting this group back on its feet. An interesting development since Antiquorum NY has been completely separated from Antiquorum Geneva & Hong Kong, is the newest divide line has been drawn: the websites have been totally separated. The NY company is keeping the www.antiqu

Zsolt Csorg? says that vintage watches are almost the only practical vintage objects. I will repeat that to myself in the morning, when my 1979 daily beater Honda decides, once again, not to start up.I travel to Budapest for business a few times a year. Well, I used to until a few months ago, you know… When I had some spare time, I always rushed through the city center streets to visit the c

1810 was a remarkable milestone for watchmaking history. Caroline Murat, the younger sister of Napoleon Bonaparte and a huge art collector with her singular vision of beauty acquired over 30 Breguet watches and clocks. It may not come as a surprise, but one of them was special as it was designed to be worn on the wrist by Breguet's artisans at Quai de l'Horloge in Paris.Men still preferred to poss