The Baltic Aquascaphe Can Now Be (Pre-)Ordered
After the very successful introduction of the Baltic Chronograph Bicompax 001 and their thee-hander (HMS 001), they are now ready to introduce to you their Aquascaphe.We wrote about the Bicompax 001 and HMS001 here, and Michael did a hands-on review of his Bicompax 001 after he received it (here). If you want to have more background information on Baltic and the guys behind it, I suggest you click those links.Today it is about their new release. A toolwatch?that bears the name Aquascaphe. Starting now, the watch will be on pre-order for exactly 30 days for a special price and come with a tropic strap.Baltic AquascapheAlso, the first 300 Baltic Aquascaphe watches will be numbered. After that,...
You Asked Us: Which watch, Tudor Black Bay Fifty Eight or Sinn EZM 13?
This week we’re handling another question aiming at our advise to choose?a watch. Which, as always, is a pretty personal thing and thus difficult to answer. We’ll try to read the question carefully, between the lines as well, and answer according to facts as much as possible. Which watch to choose, the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight or the Sinn EZM 13?You Asked Us: Which Watch to Buy, the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight or Sinn EZM13?Let’s start with the complete text of our reader’s question:Dear Fratellowatches,I am looking for a watch in the 2500-3500$ range. I need something with a relatively small case size, leaving a lot of cool options out of the mix. 38-41mm case siz...
#TBT Vintage watch (wish)list for November
Only three watches, but a lot of style, individualism, and charisma. Today more about the sharp-edged rotating UG Cabriolet watch, the timeless Futurematic with a surprisingly high price tag, and the first European electric watch LIP R 27. Let's go!Want to know why we didn't feature a vintage watch (wish)list for October? Because I continuously fail at one of the rules of sane collecting one in, one out. I believe this rule is a good principle, and honestly, I plan on sticking to it. My only problem is that I am not sure at what stage I will start to apply this rule. So if you've read the #TBT articles over the last two months, you know I haven't stopped growing my vintage watch collection. ...
This Week In Watches: 21st November 2020 Fratello, Oris, Ming, Plus Bamford Goes Ghostly Fratello Watches and Oris announce their first collaboration at the Fratello Shop, Ming says farewell to the 19 series with the 19.05, ArtyA comes out with a new model in the Son Of A Gun Family, Girard-Perregaux & Bamford Watch Department release the dual design 45th annivery Laureato Ghost
I always enjoy putting together these weekly roundups. Some releases and other news floats under the radar, and I miss them during the week as I am busy working on other things. So, having a reason to go back over the week's news and launches is always quite refreshing.Out of everything that has gone down this week, these are things I found the most interesting! We’ve got some hot news straight from the Fratello press (see below), some festive news from the Horological Society of New York, a straight gut-shot from the ever-creative Artya, a ghostly Girard-Perregaux, a birthday special for Mr. Heuer, and…well…the Ming that Mike covered yesterday? Why? Because it’s SO g...
Omega Speedmaster World Cup Quarter Final 1: Snoopy 2015 Vs. FOIS
The Group Stage is in the books. It’s time for the head-to-head contests to begin. Over the next two weeks, we will run two quarter-final match-ups each weekend. One on Saturday; one on Sunday. Our intrepid warriors made it through blood baths of their own making, but now they need your help to fight another day. Only one man can progress from each quarter-final to the next stage. The choice of who receives that honor rests with you. Let battle commence…No manual recounts needed here as the victorious Speedys for Group A and B have an unassailable lead. In the right-hand corner, representing Group A is the 45th anniversary of the Silver Snoopy Award. The original Silver Snoopy la...
Bosphorus Leather Petra The Perfect Box For Budding Collectors
What’s better than fun for you and you alone? Fun for the whole family, of course! After treating myself to a new Bosphorus Briefcase in dark blue Togo leather, I found myself feeling a bit guilty. Why? Because my darling girlfriend, who has herself amassed a pretty decent watch collection, was moaning about how she had nowhere as luxurious to store it. And so I picked up the phone and ordered the latest Petra case from Bosphorus Leather in cream. She was, to say the least, thrilled.Now, while she was happy enough with the case, I cast my famously critical eye over it. What I found was excellent build quality and a colorway that’s feminine, but not overbearingly so. I was so chuf...
NEW: Greubel Forsey Balancier S2 A Curvaceous Double Knock-Out
I seem to be on a roll this week with a renaissance for large watches. Personally, I’d been taking a break from the small and the svelte, wearing the only two 44mm+ watches I have left (a quirky Schofield and the Seiko Marinemaster 300). Then, as if a sign from the heavens, the press images of the new Greubel Forsey Balancier S2 hit my inbox. The timing couldn’t have been more appropriate.When I first set eyes upon the Balancier S2, I immediately recognized the case and bracelet from the Greubel Forsey GMT Sport. When I found the case had been up-sized by 4.5mm, the words “too big” didn’t even cross my mind. To me, it was clear that even with a larger diameter, ...
The Fast And The Fratelli: Massena LAB Uni-Racer Vs. Farer Bernina
Welcome to The Fast And The Fratelli. With your help, we will find the best racing chronograph of the past ten years. According to our very fair rules, each editor will select two watches that must be able to track elapsed time for at least one minute. The watches need to feature both a tachymeter scale and a mechanical movement. And let’s not forget the “fresh and awesome” factor. But we'll leave that up to the Fratelli to decide. Unfortunately, you can only vote for one of mine, but they both “kick gas.” They are the Massena LAB Uni-Racer and the Farer Bernina.Gentlemen, start your engines! Today we bring you two vintage-inspired chronographs powered by the sm...
Zodiac Watches.com Super Sea Wolf Space Gray Meteorite
To date, I have only seen one meteorite dial in the metal. I instantly fell in love with the uneven and otherworldly texture of this foreign organic material. And although the meteorite traveled the universe for billions of years, it felt familiar. Perhaps it's due to the fact that I've seen dozens of photos of meteorite dials on the internet before. Or perhaps it's because we humans come from the same intergalactic depths as the material itself. Nevertheless, when you combine meteorite with fine Swiss watchmaking and encase it in a 200m water-resistant stainless case, you get something special.Two months ago, RJ wrote about the first Zodiac? Watches.com collaboration. He introduced the fir...
Pre-Owned Spotlight: Gold Watches For The Holidays
I know it seems early, but it will be December before you know it. If you wait too long, you might be too late to get something in time for the holidays. In this installment of Pre-Owned Spotlight, I’ve made a selection of pre-owned vintage and modern gold watches with a nod to the holidays. And why is that, you might ask? Well, I believe - but feel free to disagree - that the holidays are an excellent reason (or excuse) to wear a gold watch. It brings some shine to the days when it gets dark early, and gold goes hand in hand with the Christmas festivities.My colleague Ignacio triggered my search for gold watches this weekend. He was wearing a beautiful Tissot in 14K gold, featuring th...
Introducing: Citizen Promaster "Symbol Of The Seas"
When Citizen introduced its first light-powered analog quartz watch in 1976, it's doubtful that anyone foresaw just how vital the Eco-Drive line would still be for the brand today. Last year, Citizen resurrected its 1982 Promaster quartz dive watch and equipped it with a modern Eco-Drive caliber. Now, the brand has updated it with a new livery to highlight the significance of the whale shark and man's impact on its marine habitat.Each year, Citizen uses the Promaster series to highlight and support critical aspects of nature on Earth. This year, the aim is to help preserve the whale shark. My five-year-old son tells me this is the largest of all the fish, but Citizen also explains how the en...
Andersen Genve Asprey "Heures Du Monde" Worldtimer
Andersen Genve is one of those brands for those in the know. Its wrist-worn wares are classical takes on watchmaking seen through the eyes of Svend Andersen. The Danish emigre turns 80 this year, and it doesn't seem to have put any dampers on his creativity. I have a feeling the Andersen Genve Asprey “Heures du Monde” Worldtimer will only cement my impression of quiet, hand-crafted elegance.In between training watchmakers like Franck Muller and Felix Baumgartner, Andersen’s output has been studied and limited, eschewing the tides of fashion to my delight. And despite being so entrenched in this love of watchmaking, the brand slips under even my journalist radar. I have a ...
Will We Finally See A New White-Dial Speedmaster Soon?
Last week, Omega hosted its Planet Omega event in New York and invited an impressive lineup of ambassadors, consisting of actors, athletes, models, and so on. Interestingly enough, actor Daniel Craig showed up wearing an Omega Speedmaster that misled numerous people. At first, it looked like the Canopus Gold Moonwatch, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t.Actor Daniel Craig - Image: OmegaA new white-dial Speedmaster ProfessionalFirst of all, the Canopus Gold Speedmaster Professional has a fully brushed bracelet. It also doesn’t have red printing on the dial like Craig’s watch did. The hands of Craig’s Speedmaster also appeared to be black, but that could be due to a ...
Introducing: The Horage Autark Tourbillon
The new Horage Autark Tourbillon is an audacious offering from a company that seeks to provide an incredible level of accessibility to watch collectors. Specifically, today, we’re talking about a Swiss-made micro-rotor tourbillon for under CHF 10,000. In a world where watch prices have gone mad, this sounds incredible. Let’s take a closer look.For a relatively young company (with watches on the market since 2015), Horage already has an impressive track record. Its catalog consists of accessible watches with in-house movements that are far from run-of-the-mill. As an example, the brand has a self-produced micro-rotor caliber called the K2 as well as a tourbillon, the K-TOU. Prices...
Building A Watch Collection With $25,000: Lex's One Reverso Pick
How do you start building? Well, one brick at a time. Therefore, I have limited myself to just one watch. A watch with a staggering $25,000 price tag, that is. You might think that picking just one watch is the easy way out of a complex conundrum, but you'd be wrong. Finding the perfect, solid foundation for a future watch collection is not a simple task. I had to go over a long list of brands and models, answering questions regarding timelessness, historical significance, et cetra, et cetera. It all boiled down to the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso collection and three watches in particular - the Tribute models with a chronograph, a calendar, and the Monoface Small Seconds in gold.I ended up choo...
New Seiko Speedtimer SRQ047 And SRQ049 Chronographs
Today is a great day for fans of Seiko chronographs. Here, we have the brand-new Seiko Speedtimer SRQ047 and SRQ049, which are based on early 1970s models from the Japanese brand. These two new watches ooze ’70s charm and have the capable 8R48 caliber running the show.We get a standard-production panda dial (SRQ047) and a limited-edition reverse panda dial (SRQ049). The latter is a limited edition of 1,000 pieces and comes with a secondary leather strap included. Let's see what these two new Seiko watches are all about.A golden age for Seiko chronographsThese two new releases take inspiration from a 1972 Seiko chronograph. You can consider this a bit of a golden era for Seiko chronogra...
New: Omega Seamaster Diver 300M "Daniel Craig" & Another One!
It's finally here! The Seamaster Diver 300M watch spotted on the wrist of Bond actor Daniel Craig during the Olympic Games in Paris now makes its official debut. Showing the Moonwatch with a white dial on Craig’s wrist in 2023 worked miracles for its preview exposure, and that strategy worked again this year with the Seamaster Diver 300M.The Seamaster Diver 300M dates back to 1993. At that time, Omega designed the watch from scratch rather than basing it on anything the company had made before. Alongside the Constellation '95, the Seamaster 300M did very well for Omega in those days.In 1995, the Seamaster Diver 300M appeared for the first time in a James Bond movie (GoldenEye). From th...
New: Hublot Big Bang Unico Novak Djokovic
The Hublot Big Bang Unico Novak Djokovic is made of sponsors. They’re not unexpected sponsors since the world's number-one tennis player gets his rackets from Head and his sporting attire from Lacoste. However, what is unusual and surprising is that Hublot has used the equipment and clothes provided in the 2023 season to create a watch case. The blue composite material used to make the lightweight, open-worked case of the Big Bang Unico Novak Djokovic is a mix of (potentially sweaty) shirts, and redundant rackets play an important part, at least for telling the story.Novak Djokovic is a 24-time Grand Slam singles champion and the world's undisputed number-one tennis player. He might no...
Fratello Talks: A. Lange & Sohne
Hello, and welcome, folks, to Fratello Talks. Germany’s most prestigious watch brand has turned 30 (again) this year! So today, in honor of three decades of watchmaking from its seat in Glashutte, we’re talking all about A. Lange & Sohne. Now, some of you may be thinking: “Wait, Lange has only been around since the ’90s?” And you’d be right to question that because the brand was originally founded in 1845 but closed its doors in 1948. After several decades of dormancy, Walter Lange, the great-grandson of Ferdinand Adolph Lange, brought the brand back to life. Since then, it has quickly risen to the top of the heap alongside prestigious watchmaking hous...
Jaeger-LeCoultre Presents The Master Memovox International Limited Edition @ Colette Concept Store In Paris
The Memovox is probably the most sought-after Jaeger-LeCoultre watch amongst collectors. JLC is about to present a limited series of three new Master Memovox International watches at the Parisian concept store Colette. Why? Well, from the 29th of November till the 31st of December, 25 participants are showing off their best pieces of art (and timepieces are included in that definition) during a project called ‘The Cabinet of Curiosities by Thomas Erber’.For this event at Colette, Jaeger-LeCoultre has created a special edition of the Master Memovox International watch in a black PVD-coated steel case. This model is issued in a three-piece limited edition.The Memovox was introduced...