Seiko 5 Sports Watch Celebrates 140th Anniversary Of Seiko (2021)
Do any of you remember the concept of a party? It's when a group of people comes together to celebrate something. A birthday for instance or a wedding anniversary. Corona put an end to parties. But anniversaries don't, so when Seiko wanted to celebrate its 140th anniversary the company came up with a clever idea; a watch to replace the cake. The SRPG47K1 is the birthday cake and to share it with a large group of worldwide friends, it is cut in no less than 11,000 slices. We put the Seiko 5 Sports 140th Anniversary Limited Edition watch on the wrist. Here's how it tasted.Let's dig into the cake that is the Seiko 5 Sports 140th Anniversary Limited Edition. First, we look at the size if you're ...
When And How Would I Engrave One Of My Own Watches?
When I told my father I was getting more and more into watches, he told me he had a gold IWC pocket watch from my great-grandfather. On the back, it says “Van Moe”, which means “From Mom” in Dutch, and “October 1919”. Apparently, my great-grandmother gifted him the watch 103 years ago this October. My father, who recently handed the watch down to me, doesn’t exactly know why she did that. Even without knowing the exact reason, to me, this is a very valuable piece because it’s a part of my family history. But it also made me think about when and how I would engrave one of my own watches.As most well-known watches with engraved case backs are vin...
Wrap-Up Highlights: Phillips Geneva Watch Auction XV 2022
Spring watch auctions were back with a vengeance in Geneva this past week. Phillips In Association With Bacs & Russo achieved yet another record-breaking sale at The Geneva Watch Auction: XV that took place on May 7th and 8th. The white glove sale (meaning a sell-out) yielded over CHF 38.9 million from 196 lots, broke six world records, and fetched CHF 3.3 million from the headliner, Patek Philippe's Pink on Pink Ref. 1518 in Pink Gold.After chalking up 2021 as the most successful year for any auction house in watch-auction history, Phillips staged its highly anticipated watch event at La Reserve Hotel. Over two days, the bumper sale generated far more than the pre-sale estimate of CHF 1...
The Frederique Constant Classic Tourbillon Manufacture
On the heels of Frederique Constant's recently released tourbillon in rose gold come two new limited editions featuring the same complication, this time in steel. Further democratizing what is normally a high-end complication is nothing new for Frederique Constant, and these two pieces may be more compelling than their predecessor.As enthusiasts, we tend to define watch styles largely by the complications or functions associated with them. Dive watches have rotating bezels, pilot's watches might have a slide rule or GMT complication, and chronographs provide elapsed time with definitive accuracy. When we think of these types of tool watches, we tend to look for robustness in the case materia...
Three Pre-Owned Speedmaster Watches We Think Are Worth It
With the Speedmaster having been around for over 65 years, there are a lot of them available on the pre-owned market. If you are willing to look past the iconic Moonwatch, there are still a great many gems to explore. For this week’s Speedy Tuesday installment, I have selected three pre-owned Speedmaster watches that are worth checking out.Speedmaster Reduced DA175.0033 - Image: TimeAnagram.comA two-tone Speedmaster ReducedWith the craving for smaller watches, the Omega Speedmaster Reduced or the current Speedmaster 38 series could be worth investigating. As I preferred to focus on the hand-wound Moonwatch iterations, I never got into buying the Speedmaster Reduced models. However, to ...
Hands-On: Sternglas Hamburg Edition Hafen & Chrono Regatta
As I become more familiar with the Sternglas brand, I realize I’m not as tuned in as I thought. On the face of it, this Hamburg-based watch brand embraces minimalism in its designs, albeit with considered bursts of color. The popular Hamburg line of watches, named after the brand’s home city, is a typical example. It is a series of time-only watches with pencil hands, thin-bezel cases, and petite dial markers but with various dials that bring warmth and personality to each. The bold use of color is not something I was anticipating.Continuing the progression of the Hamburg range, Sternglas is launching a chronograph with vibrant colors and notable links to the city’s nautica...
Great Recent Watches That Were Quickly Forgotten
We’re back with another episode of Fratello On Air, discussing several great recent watches that were quickly forgotten. Attention spans are short these days, which can be unfair to some excellent releases. We shed light on some of our favorite unheralded pieces. Enjoy the show!...
Hands-On: A Trio Of 2024 Panerai Luna Rossa Releases
Panerai's Watches and Wonders 2024 campaign was completely centered around the brand's involvement in the America's Cup. The brand is a sponsor of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team that competes in the prestigious sailing competition. Even the Panerai booth at the fair was one big Luna Rossa fest, with yachting graphics and even a prototype racing boat suspended from the ceiling.Naturally, all the new watches introduced at the event were Luna Rossa models. I wrote the introduction article before the fair and wore three of them in the meantime. Here's how we got along!Panerai Submersible Luna Rossa Tourbillon GMT PAM01405Let's kick things off with some unobtainium - the Panerai Submersible Lu...
Robert Lighton's great bargains!
Besides his work as interior and furniture designer, Robert Lighton also created a few wrist watches by the names of Hudson, Empire, San Remo, Algonquin and a few more. Mechanical watches with stainless steel, sterling silver or gold cases, most of them with an ETA (mechanical) movement. A few years back these babies sold for over 2600 USD, but you can get them now for as low as 695 USD! Robert Lighton New York is having a close out sale, and if I may say so, you really will have a bargain when buying one of these original beauties. Below, a stainless steel Empire model is pictured.My mother has been wearing her Hudson in sterling silver for over years now, and the cushion shaped case of the...
Montblanc Heritage Chronometrie Ultra Slim
I remember Minerva watches being for sale in local watch shop here in The Hague. It must have been around 1999 or so that I was looking at these Minerva Pythagore watches in that shop, brand new. They were available in 34mm and 38mm and the latter one struck me as big at the time. Something you can’t imagine nowadays looking at new watches. Available as a dress watch and a pilot looking watch if I remember correctly.I didn’t end-up buying one but my stepbrother did eventually, like the one above (photo taken from The Purists superb write-up, here). A 34mm Pythagore with the famous caliber 48 movement. A beautiful designed case, dial, hands and movement that stood out from many ot...
Gorilla Fastback 52Mondayz, week #20 , titanium, carbon and ceramic
Another week, another watch. This week I’ll be out on a motorbike trip, so I thought I needed a sporty automotive inspired watch. Let’s see if the Gorilla Fastback is a good choice.Gorilla Fastback 52Mondayz, week #20Robert-Jan did an extensive review of a pre-production model of this watch here ‘Gorilla Fastback – A First Look‘ and were already quite impressed at that time. Of course a watch from the hand of a man with a track record like Octavio Garcia pulls out some expectations.First 500The watch I’m wearing now is one of the first 500 production models. These 500 come numbered and, except for the nice black leather strap with red stitching, they come ...
Photo Report Aviation experience with Van der Gang Watches
We travel quite a bit to various events and usually, this involves flying to a different country. After arriving we drive to our destination. Yet this time things were a bit different.Dutch watch manufacturer Van der Gang invited us to their event at Lelystad Airport last week. The invite already gave away that it would be an aviation-inspired day, but we had no clue what to expect. Something that changed quickly after we arrived at the Aviodrome. Finding our way to the back of the exhibition terrain we entered the ‘Schiphol 1928' building. This building is constructed according to the?plans of the first civilian aviation building at Schiphol Airport. It was first used in 1928 and demo...
Review: Oris Divers Sixty-Five Chronograph Bucherer Blue Editions
Oris, for me, is definitely on the right track. They were one of our Baselworld 2019 favorites, and we’ve seen many attractive products coming from Holstein lately. The novelties we saw in most of their model lines, like the Aquis, Big Crown, and Sixty-Five were all spot-on.Only last week, on May 6th, 2019, a very attractive two-tone Sixty-Five Divers Chronograph in steel and bronze was introduced. This was the follow up to the full-bronze Carl Brashear variation presented last year. We covered those in our articles?Oris Divers Sixty-Five Chronograph and?Brashear Chronograph Limited Edition. What we didn’t cover yet is a special Bucherer Blue Editions Chronograph which was introd...
The Baltic Aquascaphe Is A CuAl8 Bronze Beauty
There’s no telling how long bronze is going to stick around. When it first emerged as a luxury case material, naysayers came out in force. It was seen as a fad, as no more than a passing fancy. And yet, several years after the fact, it’s still here. Models like the Baltic Aquascaphe continue to prove its viability and relevance when turned towards certain styles of watch.Bronze works particularly well for dive watches because it is so inextricably associated with maritime history. Used frequently in marine-machinery, bronze and the idea of seafaring go hand in hand. But if you do find yourself tempted to take the new Baltic Aquascaphe out for a spin on the high seas, be prepared ...
Pre-Owned Picks 4 "Affordable" Tourbillons
Say “tourbillon” and I will reply with “Breguet”. But the truth is, that there are many other brands out there that mastered the tourbillon complication. This week, I have four pre-owned tourbillons for you, from known and lesser-known brands. What they have all in common, is that they are far below the price of a Breguet tourbillon.The selection I have for you this week is a bit more expensive than our normal fare. But for a tourbillon, everything below $25,000 is almost for free. The cheapest pre-owned tourbillon in our list is the TAG Heuer Carrera 02-T and the most expensive one is from Ulysse Nardin.All watches are pre-owned and picked from Chrono24. Every week w...
You Asked Us: Which Watches Glow In The Dark Best?
There are many different ways to illuminate a watch face at night. Different materials, different styles of application, different methods entirely. And within those different methods, there are vastly different qualities of execution. Let’s take a look at some of the lume styles available.You may rarely use your watch at night. That’s fine. I’m not sure I do either, to be honest. Regardless, there are few things I scrutinize more thoroughly prior to purchase than lume performance, and even more importantly for me, lume homogeny. I like to see a clean, crisp glow from the hour markers. And almost as important, I want that glow to be on the same level of intensity as the han...
Rockstars And Watches (2021) Misha Mansoor Talks To Fratello
Recently, I chatted with one of my favorite artists, Misha Mansoor, about his newfound interest in watches and how it all started. Misha is the founder and one of three guitarists in the American metal band, Periphery. His collection starts with an interest in watch mechanisms and grows to the appreciation of design and history. Whether you're into this type of music or not, Misha is a highly knowledgeable and passionate collector of watches and one of the nicest guys in the music business.Periphery is one of my favorite rock bands in existence. As soon as I heard the opening riff to Icarus Lives from Periphery's eponymous first album, I was hooked. The music is heavy for many tastes but is ...
Dear Seiko, Bring Back The Seiko Spacewalk
The Seiko Spacewalk… This is a Seiko many remember solely for costing $28,000 - if one could even find it at all. It was Seiko’s first foray into a purpose-built space watch, and what a watch it was… Spring Drive movement, 12-hour chronograph, 24-hour indicator, power reserve, and date, all present on a black, no-nonsense dial and wrapped up in a radical titanium bullhead case. And - true to the name - the Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk did perform a spacewalk in, well, space. But that was 14 years ago. In both space travel and watches, that’s a veritable lifetime. Now with commercial space travel taking the stage, it’s time to ask: where is our new Seiko Spacewal...
Swatch Omega MoonSwatch Vs. G-Shock CasiOak
In the battle of the plastics (yeah, Bioceramic) for this Sunday Morning Showdown, two popular, fun, and affordable watches go head to head. It’s the Swatch collaboration with Omega versus one of Casio’s G-Shock models. Today, RJ brings the MoonSwatch and Daan brings the G-Shock CasiOak to the table.For this MoonSwatch versus CasiOak battle, let me (RJ) kick it off by saying that I have tremendous respect for both brands. My first watch - that I can remember, at least - was a Casio (W-14). I remember buying it (or, more likely, having my parents buy it for me) at Dixons in Canterbury, England in the summer of 1986. I also had a look at some of the very early square G-Shock models...
The New Forstner 9-Row Beads of Rice Bracelet
Over the past few years, Forstner has rapidly become the go-to name for aftermarket watch bracelets. The brand has become so well established that it’s now rolling out third generations of some of its classic offerings. An update to its two former 7-Row predecessors, the new Forstner 9-Row Beads of Rice (BoR) stainless steel bracelet shows us how small changes can go a long way.The minute I got my hands on the bracelet, I knew exactly the watch I would use to test it. You see, these bracelets are fitted with straight end links. This means they should fit on just about any watch with enough space between the lugs and where the spring bar has enough clearance from the case. On a traditio...