Independent Insights: Minase, URWERK, Romain Gauthier
Hey there, indie fans. It’s been a while, but we are back with another installment of Independent Insights. Japan drops a Halloween-appropriate limited edition, URWERK raises a big wad of cash for charity and plenty more! Read on, folks!Minase 10tenLabs Divido “Blood Orange”It’s been a while since I’ve written about Minase here on the pages of Fratello Watches. One of our favorite Japanese brands has been quietly working away and doing its thing, and 2021 has been fruitful for Minase. It has upgraded several of its core collections in the Divido, 7 Windows, and the Horizon. These watches are now fitted with an upgraded movement in the KT7002, based on an ETA 289...
Why You Need A Casio G-Shock MTG-B2000XMG
I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of dark autumn and winter days. The darkness darkens my mood. I need light and lightness, and also a bit of color would help lift my spirit when way over fifty shades of gray surround me. It’s Casio to the rescue with a new G-Shock that cuts through darkness like a samurai sword through a nashi (a type of Japanese pear) with a watch that boasts a multilayer, multicolor carbon bezel that will light(en) up your life for sure. The dark days of winter are coming and that's precisely why you need a Casio G-Shock MTG-B2000XMG.Doing things randomly is usually not a proven way towards success. But it does work in the case of the Casio G-Shock MTG-B2000...
Hamilton Watches For The Festive Season Ahead
Yes, believe it or not, we’re barreling into the festive season once more. With Halloween in the books, attention shifts towards the gift-giving portion of the calendar. Hamilton has kindly provided us with some decidedly joyous images of the brand’s big hitters for your consideration. In this holiday run-down we have some of our favorite pieces released in recent times. Including the Hamilton American Classic Intra-Matic Chronograph H, the American Classic PSR Digital Quartz, and the Khaki Field Mechanical Bronze among others.While it’s rare that yours truly receives a watch from my friends or family, I am a fanatical giver of the ticking marvels that occupy my life and mi...
Fratello On Air: Antoine Pin, Managing Director Of Bvlgari Talks To Rob
The ever-charming Antoine Pin of Bvlgari fame sits down with Rob to chat about his life in the industry, how his experience has shaped his approach to watch design and story-telling, and what possibilities might lie in store for Bvlgari in the future.In an energetic chat, Pin explains how he became bewitched by the industry and never managed to stay away from it for long. The fusion of passion, talent, and manual skill enthralls him on a daily basis at Bvlgari, and his guiding “why not” principle has led him to many happy design discoveries....
Collector's Review: A. Lange & Sohne Saxonia Thin Blue Gold Flux
In this article, one of our readers writes about the A. Lange & Sohne Saxonia Thin Blue Gold Flux. Joey Spreeuwenberg is a watch enthusiast who attends watch get-togethers, and he decided he wanted to share his experience with his latest purchase. Take it away, Joey!What if you could wear the night sky on your wrist, dreaming away as you gaze into the infinite universe while not losing track of time? This beautiful watch from A. Lange & Sohne makes it possible. First, a short disclaimer: I've been wearing the watch for several weeks, and I bought it myself. On one hand, you could say that this makes the review more independent. On the other, you could say that it is even more biased....
Patek Philippe Tiffany Nautilus Vs. Ingenieux Liaison HodieNFT
The auction house Christie's was very pleased to announce that it beat the competition last weekend. It was, of course, a weekend of big watch auctions organized by all the major auction houses. Christie's organized two of them. The house’s Legendary and Unique Watches auction realized CHF 31,877,418, and the Rare Watches auction realized CHF 23,669,670. The over CHF 55 million that these two auctions brought in came thanks, in part, to selling 17 lots above CHF 1 million and the help of 40% new bidders. What also helped was the Patek Philippe Nautilus Tiffany & Co. that reached CHF 3,174,000 - quite a bit for a steel 5711 with a light blue dial, right? Collectors were all over it....
Armin Strom Collective Horology Gravity Equal Force P.03
Armin Strom and Collective Horology are two strong names with a predilection for non-mainstream cool. In the world of high horology, Armin Strom is famous for its work on the intriguing concepts of Resonance and Equal Force within a movement. For the tech heads in the watch community, the brand’s wristwear offers glimpses into a world of traditional techniques with a different mission. Rather than catering to our love of tradition and retro looks, Armin Strom’s intricate micro-technology gets priority while the three traditional hands get second billing.For me, this brings double joy. I seem to be moving away from vintage-inspired pieces more than I was expecting, and Armin Strom...
The Ultimate Pilgrimage For The Cartier Enthusiast
Lovers of the chic French brand are actually pretty spoiled. They quite often have the opportunity to enjoy the great exhibitions that Cartier holds regularly around the world. Cartier and Islamic Art in Paris and later in Dallas was one of the most recent. Currently, there are two great “must-visits” in Geneva and Paris, which one could nicely combine into one trip for an exciting weekend. One is the Rare Watches Exhibition in Geneva. The other is the renovated Cartier flagship store at 13 Rue de la Paix in Paris that just reopened after a closure of about two years.This is the exact same location - 13 Paix, as it is often - is where Alfred Cartier and his son Louis decided to m...
Hands-On With The NOMOS Club Sport Neomatik in 37mm
When the press release for the 37mm NOMOS Club Sport Neomatik arrived in our mailboxes, I was actually quite excited. However, when I looked at the other Fratelli in the office, they didn’t look all that convinced. They said it wasn’t NOMOS anymore. To them, it looked as though the combination of the steel bracelet and the sunburst dial had turned the Club into something else. And that was exactly what I had been waiting for!I mentioned it before in my hands-on of the brand’s Tetra Neomatik, but for some reason, I always feel that there’s something missing in NOMOS designs. Don’t get me wrong; I really like their clean design language, but often, it’s just...
Introducing: Squale A Champion Of Evolution
I consume a lot of YouTube videos about watches. However, they are mainly reviews of particular watches that I’m interested in. It’s not often that I watch an actual documentary on watches. I remember I watched one on the history of Blancpain dive watches before I bought my Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe. It was so cool to see how, at that time, the dive watch was developed for an actual purpose. Now Squale has released its own documentary on the role that the brand played during those times.Nowadays, mechanical dive watches have taken a backseat to more advanced digital dive computers. Nevertheless, many of us still wear these watches because we like the looks and appreciate what the...
Introducing: The Boldr Worn & Wound 3xT GMT
Not too long ago, I wrote about Miyota and its effort to become the go-to movement supplier in the microbrand space. Today's release is proof of the merit of that strategy. This is the Boldr Worn & Wound 3xT GMT, a limited edition of 100 pieces of each of two colorways, made for adventurers. It features a clever internal rotating bezel and, crucially, a flyer GMT complication. Oh, and it is colorful. Very colorful!Interestingly, Boldr and Worn & Wound specifically point out the automatic Miyota caliber 9075 as a source of inspiration for these watches. This is why I feel Miyota's strategy is working. The company’s release of an affordable flyer GMT caliber triggers brands to de...
Seiko World Cup: Round 1 6215-7000 Vs. SPB317
Are you ready for the first head-to-head battle in the Fratello Seiko World Cup? This year’s competition is all about Seiko dive watches. We’ll start with an epic face-off between one of Seiko’s first professional dive watches and a recent re-edition that’s also based on one of those earlier Seiko divers. Mike will defend his beloved 6215-7000, and Daan will be rooting for his very own SPB317 “Turtle Origin.”You can check out the other contestants in Nacho’s Seiko World Cup introduction article. Underneath the article, some of you already started predicting which watch will go home with the big cup at the end of the competition. But why don’t y...
New: Grand Seiko SBGW305
Just when you thought the year was over, we have a new release coming right in time for the holidays. The Grand Seiko SBGW305 will be available globally beginning on December 1st. Yes, it’s another debut, but this, folks, is the watch I’ve wanted to see for quite some time.Before we get to the new Grand Seiko SBGW305, allow me to spend some words on why I am so excited about this watch. It was during some of my earliest trips to Japan that I began scouring the camera shops for, oddly enough, watches. Brightly colored G-Shocks, oddball Orients, and loads of Seiko watches were all that my eyes could see. It was overwhelming, but it was during this time, around 2010, that I first ca...
Hands-On: The New Yema Superman Bronze CMM.10
I have said it before, and I’ll say it again: Yema is on a roll with one new release after another. It’s been barely a month since Mike wrote about the unexpected Yachtingraf Tourbillon Mareographe. Not long before that, we saw the introduction of the Sous Marine collection and three new Urban Traveller models. Today, the brand from Morteau releases two Superman Bronze CMM.10 models powered by a new in-house-developed movement. This marks a big step for Yema as this caliber will undoubtedly power more watches in the not-so-distant future.The new CMM.10 caliberLet’s start with the biggest news of today’s Yema Superman Bronze CMM.10 releases - the new Calibre Manufactur...
Hands-On: TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph In Gold
If you follow our Fratello Talks podcast, you may know that I included the new 18K yellow gold TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph in a recent episode on our favorite releases of 2023. And that was even before it ended up in our office for this hands-on review. Now that I have been wearing it for a while, I can even be more precise: I love it.Sixty years of the CarreraThe TAG Heuer Carrera traces its roots to 1963 and the reference 2447, which was designed by Jack Heuer and powered by the famous Valjoux 72 chronograph movement. In the following decades, Heuer (and later TAG Heuer) introduced many different variations. Gold models are on the rarer side, although Heuer made them early on (1964). My ...
New: Seiko 5 Sports Yuto Horigome Limited Edition SSK027
Yuto Horigome didn't just win a Tokyo Olympic gold medal riding his skateboard. He also won the Men’s Skateboard Street Best Trick at the X Games in California in July 2023. ?The Japanese athlete nailed a nollie backside 270 nose slide - that's a rotating jump onto an obstacle before sliding along it on the nose of the board - and that made him win the event. It’s another success that helps this Seiko 5 Sports Yuto Horigome Limited Edition shine.Do you want to know more about Yuto Horigome or learn about the new Seiko limited edition first? Okay, watches before tricks; I hear you. The Seiko 5 Sports Yuto Horigome Limited Edition SSK027 costs $570, and 2,700 pieces will be availab...
Introducing The Timex Worn & Wound WW75 V3
Collaborations between watch brands and online media titles are nothing new. However, many are expensive premium products. Worn & Wound, which often focuses on affordable watches and independent brands, works with watch companies to create fun, credible limited editions. The latest results of these efforts are the new Timex Worn & Wound WW75 V3 models.In late September, we covered the last Worn & Wound collaboration piece with Lorier, the Astra Stargazer. This uniquely designed watch sold out quickly, a normal phenomenon for Worn & Wound’s projects. Now, for the third time, the Timex WW75 is the chosen platform for a new set of collaboration pieces. The WW75 V3 comprise...
Our Favorite Nominated Watches From The GPHG 2024
Every year at the Theatre du Leman in Geneva,?the watch world comes together?to celebrate the best horological creations it has to offer. This year marks the 24th GPHG awards ceremony, and many impressive timepieces are in the running. We looked at the nominated watches in the different categories and picked our favorites. Whether they will win the actual awards remains to be seen, but it’s always fun to find the ones that speak to us the most. While we agreed on many of our top picks, there was also a bit of friendly friction at times. Ultimately, we settled on a list of great watches that we feel could be worthy winners.Every category during the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie De Genv...
Fratello Watch List: Daan's Pre-Owned And Vintage Favorites
Welcome to the second installment of our new series, Fratello Watch List! Thomas kicked off this short series of articles exposing some of our writers' watch hit lists. We all have a (not-so-)little list of references we plan on owning or maybe just dream of acquiring someday, don't we? Today, it’s my turn to expose some of my (neo-)vintage wishes, guilty pleasures, and other random references on my Chrono24 Notepad.Similar to Thomas, I’m not actively hunting for a new watch at the moment. But that’s not because, like him, I’m starting a watch brand. I guess it has to do with a combination of things. My wife and I bought a house exactly one year ago, and we just went ...
Hands-On: JLC Reverso Tribute Duoface Small Seconds Pink Gold
The new Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Duoface Small Seconds defines watch charisma. The proportions, material, and colors work wonders - and not just for me. Everyone in the Fratello office wanted to get their hands on this particular Reverso. In the introduction article, I expressed how I couldn’t wait to try on this watch. It didn't take long for it to arrive, and it didn't disappoint. In fact, it made my head spin.When I wrote about a quartet of new Reverso Tribute references, the pink gold Q3982590 had the most visual impact. You might know about the pink gold Reverso Classic Duoface Small Seconds (Q3842520); basically, this is the same watch but with different dial designs. The...