As watch enthusiasts, we get excited about new watch releases. It's inevitable, and we can't help it. It's like telling sugar not to be sweet - it's just not going to happen. Some releases get us a little more hot under the collar than others, especially when we've been biting our tongue for months, knowing what was coming. It's even more difficult when you've been involved in the testing and deve

Announced with much fanfare, Fortis treated us to a revitalized series of pilot-focused tool watches in the middle of 2020. Although the brand has decades of airborne credentials to its name, the idea of a wholly rehauled Fortis Flieger line felt like an exciting and encouraging step for the Swiss proponent of purpose-led timekeepers. First was the Bicompax, followed by the Automatic, and finishin

What if you like a watch but you dislike the brand that made it? There’s a light-hearted question to ponder this Saturday morning. We all have watch brands that are close to our hearts as well as some that are really not. We know it doesn't matter in the big picture, but some brands tend to rub us the wrong way. That, however, does not keep them from releasing an awesome watch now and then.

While microbrands offer tremendous value for $500 or less, things become more interesting if we stretch the budget to $1,000. The microbrand sweet spot seems to be between $500 and $1,000 for most brands I know of. In this price range, we get better movements and finishing, more originality, and even a few surprises. I could honestly build this list around just one brand, but that would be too eas

This IWC bracelet has completely transformed the wearing experience of my “go anywhere, do anything” timepiece, the Mark XV. RJ often advises always getting the factory bracelet on a watch whenever possible. No truer words have been spoken, it seems, as my journey in trying to acquire a bracelet for my IWC Mark XV finally paid off. It was a search that lasted well over a year.A watch w

For decades, Fortis has enjoyed a well-earned reputation as a maker of space-ready watches. Until now, most of those watches have traveled to the International Space Station. Today’s Fortis AMADEE-24, however, was built for Mars. More specifically, it was made for a simulation mission that recently occurred in Armenia.Watch enough TV, and it’s easy to think that travel to Mars is right

Why have just one good thing if you can have two? The dial of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph shows the brand's famous Grande Tapisserie pattern?and a smoky effect. The 37mm Royal Oak Frosted Gold Selfwinding doesn't have a three-dimensional effect on the dial but, instead, pairs the graduated effect with a case of hammered gold. In Le Brassus, AP’s hometown in the Swis

Picking the best watches under $2,500 is tough. There are so many different options. Next to the world of microbrands, the world of bigger brands also opens up nicely with $2,500 to spend. This made the search for possible options quite extensive. You could even call it a mission because the goal of this list was to pick a small number of watches that I would genuinely love to own. In the end, I f

A bit cryptic perhaps, but that’s what Audemars Piguet does…???? The company has taken action against all the plastic ‘fashion’ copies of their watches. The plastic imitations (mostly , to be honest I haven’t seen an AP copy yet) are very populair here in Europe. Besides the violation of their copyright on design, I wouldn’t bother too much about these cheap 

I though that our previous articles (part 1 and part 2) about the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15202 (Jumbo) versus 15300 were quite explanatory, but it seems that I might be wrong about that. It also might have to do with the fact that AP recently introduced the new version of the 15202 (click here) with some minor changes in the design that revert to the original 5402 of the 1970s.Furthermore, a su

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I can be a real pest. Just this past March, during Baselworld 2015, Fratello team members Gerard, Blaise and I were sitting around in our rented accommodation, drinking canned German beer, and talking about the new watches we'd seen earlier in the day. When you get a few vintage watch geeks together, such as in this instance, the conversation ultimately takes a turn towards pieces from yesteryear.

The brand ToW Time of Watches was established in Mlaga, Spain at the beginning of 2015, selling their own designed watches and straps to the Spanish market. Now, they have decided to enter in the micro brand's watches market, oriented to mechanical watch enthusiasts.The ToW Gibralfaro has a racing vintage style inspired on rallying, receiving its name commemorating their local Gibralfaro rally, a

The Hublot Big Bang Rainbow King Gold is probably as bold of a watch as it gets.I mean let's be neutral as much as possible here and look at the facts. Hublot is a very divisive brand. On the one hand, their marketing strategy is something I'm pretty sure professors will teach at universities soon. They know how to make a product that their target audience literary lusts after. Not to mention that

Today on #TBT we’ll look at the Seiko Sportsmatic 427980. While it’s not a landmark piece in any way, it represents an interesting transition in the brand’s history.The Seiko Sportsmatic 427980 isn’t a particularly famous or collectible watch. It lacks a nickname or an association with someone or something famous. Instead, I’d classify it as a highly attractive vintag

Collectors and watchmakers dig deep on their benches to repair some of the harder-to-service watches.I try not to buy broken watches. If the option is there, I'd rather wait for a particular model in decent condition, preferably from a reliable source. As we all know, some watches are hard to find, so here and there we just have to take the risk. I usually do it with pieces that I've never seen po

Our friend Jeff Stein from OnTheDash shows his grails from Heuer. An amazing article with an overview of his Heuers with beautiful close-up pictures and descriptions.I confess I don’t know that much about Heuer. There are other Fratelli that have more knowledge about these. There are also websites like Jeff Stein’s OnTheDash. His website is considered to be the authority on the subject

I must confess, it has been a while since I last wore a Fortis watch. Not that I don’t want to, but we have quite a large team of editors these days, and others jumped on Fortis a bit faster. After having the Fortis Official Cosmonauts AMADEE-18 on my wrist for a few days, I’m going to make sure I’m at the front of the queue next time…I am positively surprised by the Fortis

We can never get enough MING around here on Fratello and we are pleased to announce another new piece from the scorching hot brand. This time, there’s a twist, though, with the first collaboration. Let’s check out the new 17.09 MING Massena LAB Limited Edition.Collaborations are all the rage days and people love to see how two forces come together to create something appreciably differ

This year, Zenith dropped a modern update to the legendary El Primero Chronograph: the Chronomaster Sport. With such an iconic watch receiving an update, there was naturally a lot of coverage, and it was quite a marmite design. On the one hand, people loved the classic A338 blueprint brought in the modern age with a ceramic bezel and up-to-date aesthetic. However, the other hand had people less th