In this edition of Fratelli Stories, reader Antonio shares how his father’s passion for vintage Seiko and Omega sparked his very own love of watches. But it was old ads that truly sucked him into the hobby.Imagine flicking through an old magazine or publication one day at a secondhand store and coming across one of those old ads. You know the ones that start with “If you were . . . yo

Last week, Tudor released a 1,908-piece limited run of Black Bay 58 watches with a special dial to celebrate Inter Milan winning the Italian Serie A football league. Other recent Tudor specials were two Pelagos FXD Alinghi Red Bull Racing Edition timepieces. And there’s also the Pelagos FXD Chrono Cycling Edition made for the Tudor Pro Cycling Team. Oh, let’s not forget the pink-dial B

Dive watches are the go-to for many watch collectors. They outstrip the standard “tool watch” moniker with, usually, enhanced specs, such as better water resistance. As a result, dive watches are usually aimed at those professionals for whom they are designed. You know, divers. These days, this results in an instantly recognizable aesthetic that is often “function over form.̶

Alex at WatchRap.com asks the following:“Omega seems to have a good history and nice design. But my perception is that the Purists do not really rate Omegas? Or am I mistaken?”I don’t consider myself to be a Purist or member of the Purists, because I rarely post there. However, for a ‘generic’ or ‘public’ forum, it is one of the best around so I like to lu

Perhaps I changed a bit during the last few years or at least my taste did, but I am warming up to gold watches. Not only did I think they were often too gaudy, tacky or whatever label you want to use, I also was of the opinion that certain watches should be in stainless steel only. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus are perfect examples of that thought.However, like I wrote

Remember our trip to Richard Mille in the Swiss Jura? We reported about it here, being amazed by the high-level of craftsmanship and dedication, a trip to remember and definitely increased our appreciation for this high-end watchmaking manufacture. We were told during the SIHH in Geneva that they would bring some novelties during 2015 instead of unleashing them all at once on us (we were already h

Let me start by telling you this is a crazy watch, in a very positive way. Maximilian Busser and friends (in this case Alain Silberstein, Kari Voutilainen and Eric Giroud amongst others) introduced this Legacy Machine version ‘LM1 Silberstein’ today.Knowing MB&F a bit, the internet will be flooded with this novelty today. And that is justified, as the combination of MB&F and?Al

The job of a watchmaker is a dream of many of us watch enthusiasts and collectors. Sitting behind the light green desk, observing the movement through a loupe and making like minded people happy again by returning their watch repaired or completely overhauled. If possible, a nice view in the background, like the Swiss Alps for example.Not for Jacob Thompson, he is in Australia and therefore the Sw

Fratello Watches has a strong focus on vintage watches. Ever since 2004 we’ve been covering vintage watches once in a while, but since 2015 we have a steady feature on them with our #TBT articles. We think it is about time to list the best read #TBT articles so far.Top 10 Best Read #TBT ArticlesYou will find Seiko to dominate this list, but you’re probably not surprised about that. Sei

Brands emerge from all kinds of places. A dream, an opportunity, or a legend that deserves to be known, are all possibilities. Roll those three together and you have the story of the William Wood Valiant, created to honor the life and work of a storied firefighter.William “Willie” Wood served in the British fire service for more than a quarter of a century. By the end of his career, he

Vintage watch collecting is a fantastic hobby for many reasons. Firstly, you have an endless number of timepieces from the past. And there’s always more to discover. It’s fun to explore “new” models from time-to-time. Then, there are those neat stories about them. This one was worn by a pilot in World War II. That one was the president’s favorite piece. Perhaps you

The watch industry is certainly no stranger to dichotomy. A solid gold dive watch. A million-dollar, mud-resistant survival watch. And new from Roger Dubuis, a minute repeater in a case that can only be described as the Knights of the Round Table…in space.None can best Roger Dubuis's commitment to traditional craft within complex constructions, but it wasn't always this way.Roger Dubuis Hist

Collecting watches is also about sharing this passion with others. There’s little or no fun in just collecting without talking about (your) watches with other like-minded people, right? Last year we brought you a number of collectors’ stories from Speedmaster enthusiasts. Today we have Kelvin who wants to share his story on the new Speedmaster Professional.Kelvin started collecting wat

The whispers have been doing the rounds recently. We knew it was coming. The first major post-WAW release has just dropped and it’s come from Tudor. The hotly anticipated release promised big things. History hyped our hopes. The present day has not necessarily disappointed me, but it has left me shocked. The new Tudor Black Bay Ceramic dive watch seems to me like the industry equivalent of t

Are you ready? I can't hear you! I said, are you ready?!? The temperatures are climbing, doors are opening, and planes are starting to fly. Summer is on the way and there's nothing better than an inexpensive watch match-up to set the scene! This time, we step away from dive watches and focus on military inspired watches. It's the Timex MK1 Mechanical versus a longstanding favorite in the Seiko 5 S

Global warming. Whether it's from us humans heating things up by what we do and/or mother nature having hot flashes, it's a thing. A big thing. Just ask the exhausted polar bears who have to swim for many more miles to reach the ice they need to hunt for seals. And when polar bears are struggling on the North Pole, life on the South Pole must also be in dire straits. The Seiko Prospex Save The Oce

Louis Erard is an exciting brand that strives to offer accessible luxury watchmaking with traditional styling. Over the past few years, the brand has also worked with some heavy-hitting names to produce collaborations that have caught the eyes and the hearts of the community. You may recall Le Regulateur Louis Erard x Vianney Halter or the two collaborative series in conjunction with Alain Silbers

In March 1962, Mercury Seven astronaut Scott Carpenter requested revered pilot-watch maker Breitling to develop a watch capable of space flight. The requirements were a 24-hour dial display and a more pronounced bezel for operation with gloves. A few days before the triple-orbit Mercury-Atlas 7 flight, Breitling delivered the watch to Carpenter for use onboard Aurora 7. Despite the success of the

As I’ve explained in the past, one of the ideas behind Watch Strap Review was to feature ateliers from all over the world. We have presented many different brands from all corners of the globe through the years, but we have never had anyone from Korea. Until today, that is. Godana, today’s feature, comes from South Korea. I have received two straps from the founder in a classy and eleg

There’s no question that the Omega Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch has become an international phenomenon. Some of us (this guy included) naively thought that these 11 watches just might fly under the radar. OK, well, maybe not everywhere. But at least you’d be able to buy them in SOME cities… right? Wrong! The hype certainly exceeded at least MY expectations. It seemed like everyo