No, this is not Part Two of Tomas’s #TBT article about the Nivada Dato Ref. 4368. What we have here is a hybrid watch. First and foremost, inside the new Nivada Datomaster is the Seiko VK64A meca-quartz movement. That may be a bit of a turn-off for a lot of you, but please, bear with me. Also, the Datomaster is not really a Datomaster. It's basically a Nivada Dato in looks, but a Datomaster

We all have an origin story when it comes to our watch collection. Mine began nearly five years ago with a watch and a brand that were never on my radar. A pending milestone in my life brought me on this journey, and like many, I went down the research rabbit hole. That is how I discovered Fratello, watch collectors, and the Tudor Black Bay Steel. This was the first watch in my collection. With th

It was only a few months ago that Robert-Jan asked me to come up with an update on the article Shut Up And Read The Truth About Cartier. And that was actually not such a bad plan. Apart from the fact that it is still my best-read Cartier story, a lot has changed at Cartier since that article was first published on April 29th, 2015, especially in the way La Maison manages its collections.Let’

Good morning. How was your weekend? Good. Ready for another watch week? Let me kick off Coffee Corner Watch Talk with a question: where do you stand on collaborations between watch and car brands? I ask you this because Girard-Perregaux announced an Aston Martin F1 watch in high-tech materials. And IWC just released the Pilot's Watch Chronograph 41 Edition Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. T

We all know Hamilton well. Initially formed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1892, the brand now proudly resides under the Swatch Group umbrella. Beloved for its well-constructed and excellent-value-for-money watches, I know several fellow collectors whose first foray into serious watch collecting began with the acquisition of a Hamilton timepiece. In each case, those collectors chose a mighty Khaki

When the Seiko Astron GPS Solar debuted in 2012, the light-powered, GPS-satellite-connected watch came in a hefty 47 16.5mm case. All that tech needed space, you see. But as you would expect, over time, Seiko managed to slim things - the high-tech quartz caliber, that is - down quite a bit. The latest four Astron iterations boast atomic-clock precision and recognize 39 time zones. They are slimmer

Are you about to get sucked into one of those shows about a lost artifact? Will it be an episode that plods on until the last minute to inform you that the lost city of “X” still hasn’t been found? Of course not! This is Speedy Tuesday, after all, and we’re here for you. Today, though, we thought we’d recap some of the Speedmaster mysteries that have been solved since

Meet the new Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Worldtimer models. Today, the brand from Biel releases three new watches, two in steel and one in titanium, with ceramic bezels and dials made through laser ablation. Yes, there was an Aqua Terra Worldtimer with such a dial before, but these three new models add a distinct new aesthetic to the collection.Let's have a closer look at the new Aqua Terra Worldti

During our last day in Geneva for Watches and Wonders, a few members of the Fratello crew and I went to the Beau-Rivage. That’s where a group of young watch brands had set up camp to show what they had to offer. Brands like Furlan Marri, Baltic, Vulcain, and Nivada Grenchen were there. You might know that those last two brands were brought back to life by Guillaume Laidet. Well, he was also

Fratello On Air returns with a rip-roaring episode where we ask you, dear listeners, to step away from the hype. There’s a lot of it around these days, and it can be overwhelming. We’re here to talk about it and have a little fun along the way.

I’d happily admit to finding it difficult to choose my favorite watches under $1,000 from this year’s bounty. I'll try not to be too personal this time, but that's precisely what is so good about this intensely satisfying pastime. I still get a kick out of lesser-known, budget-priced watches because this game is about personality. Find your style and stick with it; heck, it doesn't eve

It has wide, massive lugs, a Grand Seiko vibe, a mechanical hand-wound movement, a date with magnifier, and no lume, just the contrasting beauty of the sunburst dial and polished hands and indexes. Oh, and let’s not forget an attractive price tag. You might say these things make this Seiko Cronos Self Dater a perfect entry-level vintage timepiece.The first Seiko Cronos watch, manufactured by

Most of us know the young brand Awake from its NASA-approved “Mission To Earth” timepieces from 2022. In particular, the white and red model with its characteristic NASA branding stood out immediately. However, after that, Awake created several collections based on the brand’s modern design signature. The latest addition to the lineup is a bit of a break from the norm. The new Aw

Many of us have developed a deep affinity for Hajime Asaoka’s Art Deco lines and Kurono Tokyo sub-brand. The story of Asaoka-san creating Kurono Tokyo so that he could actually wear one of his designs never gets old. In fact, it only deepens my respect for him. Now the Japanese watchmaker closes a circle by introducing the Kurono Tokyo 2024 Anniversary Reiwa model with a two-tone dial.This w

Today’s Venezianico Bucintoro 1969 is an example of a watch that has already come and gone. However, as space fans, we wanted to share it with you because it may have rocketed past your orbit. This was a surprising one when it hit my mailbox for many reasons that we will soon see. Let’s take a closer look.When it comes to celebrating historic space feats through watches, one brand has

Hello, and welcome! Thanks for tuning in to this week’s episode of Fratello Talks. Today, Nacho, Morgan, and Daan pick their desert island watches. Say one day you were unfortunate enough to become stranded on a desert island; which watch from your collection would you want there with you? Now, let’s say it’s not a life-or-death situation but more of a leisurely, perhaps even orc

I was browsing some watch sites and came across a picture of this JeanRichard Bressel 1665 with power reserve. It seems to have its own in-house JR1000 movement by JeanRichard, case size of 42mm and a saphire display back.Prices are just below 6000 Euro according to the Girard-Perregaux forum at The Purists.com (JeanRichard and GP are connected in some way…).The Bressel handwound version (no

Liu Bolin (1973) is an artist from China who’s famous for his camouflage work. On himself. You probably have seen some of his work on Facebook updates or other blogs, where he totally disappears or embeds in the background. Liu Bolin is also known as “The Invisible Man” and?most popular works are from his “Hiding in the City” series.During the last few days Liu Bolin

It's weekend! We decided to come up with some easy-to-digest content for the weekend, as you've probably been doing enough reading all week. From now on, we will publish our Weekend Watch Lists feature every weekend, to show you overviews with information about the consumer watch market. Our overviews are based on data from on-line watch consumers. Per list we will indicate the countries from whic

A vintage Speedmaster on its own is hard to find already these days, if you want an all original and authentic watch that is. Aside from the current prices; when I started out with buying and collecting Speedmasters over a decade ago, it wasn’t much of a problem to find a nice vintage piece with all original details. At the time, these details weren’t even as important as they are now