New Bosphorus Leather Watch Briefcase Just In Time For Black Friday
If you go back to my posts on Bosphorus leather from last year, you won’t have to look very hard to find the enthusiasm riddled throughout my words. I simply loved, loved, loved the Birmingham leather watch collectors’ case and the watch trunk, and my passion for these products hasn’t diminished at all in the twelve months since. Now, I am pleased to present the first of two new products I got my hands on this week. Today, I’ll be talking about the new Bosphorus Leather Briefcase, which has arrived just in time for the Black Friday madness.Why am I mentioning Black Friday right at the top of this article? Because Bosphorus leather is taking part, that’s why. The...
Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Chrono in Sedna Gold: Video
Omega shipped us this gold Seamaster Diver 300M Chronograph after my colleague Jorg decided he wanted to write a hands-on article on this beast.Upon receiving it, he quickly called me and said, “You need to see and try this”. Not entirely sure what my feelings would be on a 44mm diver chronograph in gold, I went to our office and for the first time put the Seamaster Diver 300M Chronograph on my wrist. The end of the story is, that I didn’t give it back to him for at least a week. What an incredible piece! I find it quite interesting to think that this watch has remained under the radar for me all that time. It isn’t exactly a new watch, as Omega introduced its chronog...
Interview With Sternglas Founder Dustin Fontaine
Today, Rob talks with the founder of Sternglas, Dustin Fontaine, about his background and future vision for his brand.Rob Nudds: Tell our readers how you first got started in the watchmaking industry?Dustin Fontaine: That was back in 2007 when I was working at MeisterSinger for a school job. Packing watches, doing paperwork, and other stuff. I was absolutely fascinated by the watches and still, the MeisterSinger No 1 is one of the most beautiful watches I know so far.RN: What did it feel like seeing your first product come to market? Did you take time to reflect and celebrate, or were you straight on to the next project?DF: Honestly, that was one of the best feelings ever. The idea of foundi...
The Aquastar Deepstar II: The Most Refreshing Release This Year?
Last year, Aquastar returned with a modern reissue of its most famous watch, the Deepstar chronograph. The response was overwhelmingly positive and the result was a “sold out” sign for all four colors. Not bad for the return of a watch brand after nearly 60 years! As fans, we wondered about a follow-up model and now we have the answer. The new Aquastar Deepstar II is here and it ranks as one of my favorite releases this year.A year ago, Aquastar returned to the fray with its Deepstar chronograph. The watch was well-received and we enjoyed covering it in both article and video form. When I think of that watch, with its La Joux-Perret automatic, I come away with a few distinctly di...
New Release: The Brellum Pilot Power Reserve LE.2 Chronometer
Not all pilot's watches are created equal. What I mean by that is that it's a diverse genre of watches. First, you have the giant monochromatic heritage models, faithful to the true aviation timekeepers of yore. They are stark timepieces that keep legibility and functionality at the forefront of their designs. And then you have their fresh-faced contemporary counterparts. The Brellum Pilot Power Reserve LE.2 Chronometer comes in somewhere in between, but much closer to the latter. With a healthy dose of classic Flieger looks, the appeal of more modern dimensions, and a high-quality COSC-certified movement, this latest release comes in hot with a stunning green dial.Having recently covered th...
The Fast And The Fratelli: Zenith Revival A385 Vs. Omega Speedmaster Ultraman
Contrary to what you may think, I did not pick the watches I’m going to talk about. That was the Kraken’s doing. That said, I could not be happier with this pair of great chronographs. The Zenith Chronomaster El Primero A385 is easily my favorite watch from the Revival lineup. The quirky case shape, the light brown dial, and the El Primero movement are simply my favorite features. And I like the watch equally on a bracelet or a strap. The red chronograph hand, with its dash of color, spiced up the watch for me and matched the other contender perfectly. Speaking of contenders, we have a Speedy to race our Zenith. Not just any Speedy, though. It’s the one that has the most ic...
Hands-On: The Tudor Pelagos FXD It's Not The One I Want
Last week, Tudor invited us to check out the new Pelagos FXD MN watch. Do I like it? Do I want it? We've had about a week now to let it sink in (no pun intended), but I've come to the conclusion this watch is not for me. It could have been, but it isn't. Let me explain to you why.Sinara (our social media manager) and I at the introduction event for the Tudor Pelagos FXDThe Tudor Pelagos FXD in a nutshellWe explained what the new Tudor Pelagos FXD is all about in this introduction article on the day it was introduced. On the wrist, the Pelagos FXD wears fantastically. The case measures 42mm in diameter, 52mm lug-to-lug, and just 12.75mm thick. That's a very acceptable thickness for a watch wi...
Hands-On With The Sinn U50 S Mother-of-pearl S Limited Edition
The Sinn U50 S Mother-of-pearl S Limited Edition surfaced in Geneva. Not in the lake, but in a basement nearby that housed the Baselworld pop-up during the Geneva Watch Days. The highlight of my late afternoon visit to the basement was seeing and holding the black diver's watch with a shimmering light blue mother-of-pearl dial.It all started with a stiff in the Baselworld basement bar. It was an Old Fashioned, if you must know, and it landed on an empty stomach. After going to watch fairs for quite some years, I still can't seem to manage to eat on time, but anyway… With an ever-so-slight but pleasant buzz, my eyes fell on the Sinn U50 S Mother-of-pearl S Limited Edition in the brand's...
Hands-On: The Revamped Squale 1545
Recently, I spent some time with the redesigned Squale 1545 on my wrist. I am a long-time admirer of Squale, and I even own two of the brand’s watches. The 1545 collection, however, was never really in my sights. It was a bit too deep in homage territory for my liking. I am happy to report that Squale has changed that. The obvious question is: would I recommend it now?The 1545 is Squale's most affordable collection. But does that result in compromises or great value? Let's find out!The Squale 1545 redesignThe new 1545 diver has been thoroughly dipped in Squale sauce. And that is a good thing. It used to be a bit generic and quite reminiscent of dive watches from other brands. Now, it l...
?Breitling Steps Up Its Game With Premier Tourbillon Models
To me, it seems that Breitling has managed a difficult balancing act through the strong leadership of Georges Kern. The winged B still appeals to lovers of big watches, that's for sure. With 43 and 46mm examples of the new Navitimer and SuperOcean together with the light Endurance Pro, big wrist presence is assured. But Breitling is also stepping up its game with an Haute Horlogerie take on the Premier line.Yes, you did spot that unusual shape at 12 o'clock didn't you? Flipped from the traditional placement at 6 o’clock, there is a tourbillon up top, which changes everything. I'll admit to a guilty-pleasure desire for the too-big Endurance, but the Premier line is my favorite taste of ...
Pre-Owned James Bond Watches Vintage And Modern
It’s the 60th anniversary of the James Bond movies this year. Last September, the Omega Seamaster 300M No Time To Die that Daniel Craig wore in the movie fetched a whopping 226,800 at Christie’s.Thankfully, though, you don’t need to bring 226,800 to call yourself the owner of a watch identical to the one worn in a Bond movie. For this special installment of Pre-Owned Spotlight, I selected several watches featured in James Bond films. In a previous Pre-Owned Spotlight article, Nacho already included a Seamaster 2531.80, so I will refrain from using that specific watch that Pierce Brosnan wore in some of the 1990s James Bond movies.Live and Let Die - Tissot PR 516In the fil...
Introducing: The New Kurono Tokyo Chronograph 3 Hisui
Kurono has released various watches this year, with the signature mid-century style seeping through in the details. This included Hajime Asaoka's first GMT for his fledgling brand, a watch nominated for last week's GPHG. That's still a big thing for a small Japanese brand, and it's not the first time. Now, with the annual stopwatch-featuring release, the new Kurono Tokyo Chronograph 3 Hisui brings a fresh new look.This year, two Kurono Tokyo releases are stuck in my memory. The first is the dark burgundy flavor of the Calendrier 1 “Azuki,” a watch of which I own the khaki-green version. The second was the brand’s special quartet of 34mm watches with a distinct ’50s fl...
Baltic Hermetique Tourer Vs. Christopher Ward C65 Dune
Welcome to another edition of Sunday Morning Showdown. In this week’s battle, two affordable adventurer’s watches go head to head for the win. One is the recently introduced Baltic Hermetique Tourer. It’s another attractive addition to the French brand’s successful collection. It’s going up against the Christopher Ward C65 Dune Automatic, a member of the English brand’s much-praised Dune line. Which of these two will come out on top? We will learn that in a classic France vs. England battle in this week’s Sunday Morning Showdown.Baltic and Christopher Ward have made great names for themselves when it comes to offering attractive, affordable watches. ...
New: The Monochromatic Zenith Defy Skyline C.X Edition
Since Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly founded Collective Horology in 2018, the company has become known as one of the leading US-based retailers of watches from independent brands. But Collective has also collaborated with several brands on an impressive number of limited editions. For its tenth collaborative effort, Collective teamed up with Zenith again for the new Defy Skyline C.X Edition. Together, they also created the first-ever Collective Horology limited edition. This time around, these two parties collaborated on a special monochromatic version of the Zenith Defy Skyline. But it’s not just about the aesthetics. There is a bit more going on than a mere glance might suggest. Let...
How We Research Watches Before Buying
After a two-week hiatus, Fratello On Air returns with an episode about how we research watches before buying. This is a listener suggestion that likely comes from the southern USA. We know this because the message contained the word “y’all.” Well, giddyup because it’s time to discuss our top tips. For our listeners, the watch content starts after 20 minutes....
Photo Report: The 2024 Dutch Speedmaster GTG
At the end of 2023, Speedmaster enthusiast @watchstick_81 organized a GTG for approximately 20 enthusiasts (you can find the photo report here). At this year’s edition, no fewer than 51 Speedmaster collectors showed up, many with their collections in tow. It was the first year that we at Fratello didn’t host a Speedy Tuesday event due to busy schedules on Omega’s and our side, so it was nice to join a similar event simply as a guest! It was well organized, and I enjoyed it very much. I took some pictures during the afternoon and received some more from the other attendees. Please have a look at some of the fabulous Speedmasters that some of the guests brought with them.Spee...
Report: WATCH 2009
Note: Pictures might not display well in some versions of Internet Explorer. Get FireFox instead.The successor of the first WATCH event (in 2008) has been held in the weekend of the 14th and 15th of December 2009. Ernie Romers of WatchUseek and Marcel Mathijssen of WATCH Experience organized the second edition of this great event at the same location as in 2008, castle De Hoogenweerth in Maastricht. The line up of exhibitors was at least as impressive as in 2008, including:Anonimo, Archimede, Arctos, Aristo, Azimuth, Benzinger, Blancier, Christiaan van der Klaauw, Defakto, D. Dornbl?e?oth & Sohn, Favre-Leuba, Genesis, Glycine, Limes, Linde Werdelin, LIP, Meistersinger, Montres de Luxe Mi...
That Day My Holy Grail Arrived The Cartier Tortue
These may be strong words, but we're talking about a watch, that I have been searching for years. There are other models in the current collection that should be higher on my wish list, but these are far out of my reach. So for the next few minutes I will bore you about the Tortue, a watch that was designed by Louis Cartier in 1912 and has been in the collection,?for over a century, in fairly small production runs.Cartier Tortue in platinum – my holy GrailThe Cartier Tortue is quite exclusive and has been produced in precious metals only. The version I was hunting for was the XL, a Cartier Tortue model that was released in 2006, in platinum and in pink gold, with the mechanical 9601MC ...
Letter From The Editors Why we've left Watchville
Dear Readers:If you're a user of the Watchville app, you may have noticed that content from Fratello Watches is no longer available. We feel compelled to offer you an explanation on this development and while we're at it, let's talk a little about the watch blog industry as well.When Watchville was introduced earlier this year, it seemed to be a real boon to watch blogs that, up until that point, lacked a convenient method of publishing their content on a simple, easy to use app. Like in most industries, when one company, or blog in this case, joins a trend, most others jump in as well.? We've been no different. If you've used Watchville, it's convenient and aside from small start-up bugs (w...
Seiko Spirit Smart x Nano Universe 52Mondayz week #47
Recently I came across an article on the second collaboration between Seiko and Tokyo based clothing company Nano Universe. This made me realize that I bought the first Seiko Spirit Smart x Nano Universe watch of this collaboration about two years ago, and never wore it. Time to do so.Seiko Spirit Smart x Nano Universe – 52Mondayz week #47Except with Nano Universe, Seiko introduced more collaboration watches in their Spirit Smart series. I remember a Giugiaro Design and a re-edition of the Steve Jobs Seiko Chariot. Unfortunately for most of us, these watches are so-called JDM models. (Officially) sold only to the Japan Domestic Market.Fortunately, there’s the Internet and a few s...