?The Biggest, Baddest Dive Watches Around In 2022
Most of us are caught up in the vintage-feeling small-watch craze of the times, myself included. But there is one dive watch that will never leave my collection, and it’s 44mm, not a Goldilocks 38. I might never actually dive with it, but I could. It’s about that bulletproof-tank vibe, so even if I can get a 300m-depth-rated watch at 38mm, it won’t give me the same feeling of mental comfort. The firm embrace of 200+ grams of metal makes me think that I can do anything and go anywhere. So in the case of dive watches, yes, size matters.For many of us, watches are virtual comfort blankets as much as they are symbols of success. Obviously, they are meant to give us the time of ...
The Fratello Holiday Gift Guide 2022
It’s that time of the year again! The holidays are just around the corner, and the gift-giving season is here. Are you looking to buy a gift for your watch-enthusiast friend or loved one and need some inspiration? Have you already been asked what you want this year and didn’t know how to answer? Or maybe you’re just looking for something for yourself? Whatever the case may be, we’ve got you covered! We set our editors to it and came up with a handful of gift ideas.From big-budget splurges to more affordable stocking stuffers (including a selection from the Fratello Shop), we have it all. So don’t worry about struggling to find the perfect gift; check out our sug...
Hands-On With Squale's New Super-Squale Skin Diver
Squale, the Swiss-Italian specialist in dive watches, has a reputation for keeping its historic heroes alive. Now the brand brings back another chapter from its illustrious past - the skin diver. It is styled after the Squale skin divers from the 1960s and named after a 1959 trademark name, Super-Squale. Recently, I spent some time with this new model on the wrist to see if it is indeed a super Squale.I am quite familiar with Squale, with a limited-edition 1521 and a Subino in my collection. The latter is a special Squale - of which only 60 were made - housed in a NOS Blancpain case from the 1950s. I was involved in the development and marketing of that watch back in my days working for Amst...
#TBT The 1955 Ford LeCoultre & Longines His And Hers Set
Vintage watches, alarm complications, classic cars, business success, recognition, and love… The LeCoultre & Longines watch set for the best Ford sales representatives from 1955 has so many extraordinary aspects.Today’s story will be a bit personal and emotional. It won’t be only about the watches. Actually, it will be much more about thoughts, things, people, and our lives. Today’s story is also unique simply because it doesn’t feature a single watch but a set of two watches made by two different manufacturers. How many sets of vintage watches do you know of? There aren’t any others that spring to my mind too quickly…My little Ford worldThe pict...
New: Panerai Luminor Marina Luna Rossa Carbotech PAM01529
For some people, their first exposure to Panerai was the 1996 film Daylight starring Sylvester Stallone. For me, it was mooring up in the Isle of Wight during the Cowes Yacht Week. There, I saw multiple pale blue flags with the Panerai logo. Before long, I came across the yacht Eilean that Panerai lovingly restored on commission. Interestingly, this was the same yacht featured in the Duran Duran video for “Rio.” Since my intro to Panerai, sailing has been a key identifier for the brand, even more so than the Marina Militare for me. That is why this new Panerai Luminor Marina Carbotech Luna Rossa is an exciting release.This new model extends Panerai’s partnership with Luna R...
Introducing: The Ressence Type 1 Round Multicolour
A refreshing novelty recently landed in my inbox, instantly lifting my spirits. I am talking about the Ressence Type 1 Round Multicolour, which hits the market today. This is a vibrant addition to the Type 1 Round collection that made its first appearance ahead of Watches and Wonders earlier this year. This model introduces a burst of color(s) to the dial, marking a modish departure from the muted palette of many Ressence models.The Type 1 collection emerged in 2014, four years after Ressence's inaugural Zero series. The Belgian brand quickly became the talk of the watch world, and it has since been synonymous with its crown-less watches. While the difference between the Type 1 and Type 1...
How To Tell When A Vintage Watch Was Made At A Glance
Today, we are doing Watch Dating 101, going over some basic techniques to help determine when a vintage watch was made. Of course, many watches can be dated through their serial numbers. But what if you just want to quickly guestimate a watch's age? There are specific features and design cues that you can look for. I will try to cover the most reliable tells here.For this article, I will assume that you do not know the specific timeline of the model you are looking at. Tons of model-specific developments are clearly linked to production periods. For instance, finding a quickset date on a 36mm Datejust means it is from the late ’70s or after. However, this requires model-specific knowl...
Watches That Changed The Way We Look At Watches
Another week, another episode of Fratello Talks! This is our 47th episode so far, and it’s one in which we’re feeling a bit philosophical. You join Lex, Daan, and Nacho, who get into some eye-opening moments in their watch-enthusiast experience and the watches responsible. That’s right; today’s discussion is all about watches that changed the way we look at watches. They could be timepieces that taught us a lesson, firsts when it comes to ownership, or those that opened our eyes to a different horological taste. Each of the guys is bound to have a story (or two) to share. But before we get to it, let’s see what’s on their wrists....
The Breitling Pop-Up Museum In Zurich Chapter 1: Sea
To celebrate 140 years since its founding in 1884, Breitling has opened a pop-up museum in the heart of Zurich, Switzerland. It stands proudly inside a historically significant building on Zurich's Rennweg, just 200 meters from Breitling's flagship boutique. Remarkably, this newly opened museum is the only brand-specific museum in Switzerland's largest city. The museum spans three floors and comes equipped with a full-blown bistro and cafe/bar, multiple interactive activities, a time tunnel, and, of course, plenty of important watches spanning 140 years of heritage.Then and now: returning to Willy Breitling's three themesIn today's article, we will be focusing on three of this museum's gems ...
Hands-On: The New Circula Facet
Circula was founded in 1955 by the grandfather of Cornelius Huber, the current owner. As a family business, the brand established itself in the German town of Pforzheim, a watchmaking hotspot that’s home to brands such as Junghans, Laco, and Stowa. Today, the brand releases a new model with a new level of quality and finishing. This is the Circula Facet. Let's have a closer look!The new Circula Facet comes in silver, petrol, and brown. Note that we received a silver prototype with two-tone lume. The final production model in silver will feature green lume on the hands and indices, doing away with the blue you see on the hands here. Below, you will find a picture from the press pack to ...
IWC's versatility?
Sometimes, a watch has more than one face or ‘look’. It is all in the eye of the beholder ofcourse, but the photos below support this comment really well ??If you look at your watch from different angles or when being in different locations, it can become a watch with a totally different look. The first photo below show the Ingenieur being this raw, rugged tool watch and the second photo shows this fine shiny sophisticated timepiece that refers to the first GG designs from the mid-1970s. To me, these photos demonstrate that this watch is suited for casual as well as more formal occasions. A Sea-Dweller (or Milgauss? :)) and Yacht-Master in one so to speak. The photos have been t...
Easy way to win a RED8 watch by Christian Bedat !
Tom Mulraney, of The Watch Lounge website, makes it very easy for you to win this RED8 wrist watch by Christian Bedat. With the RED8, Bedat & Co created something entirely different from their normal collection of watches. I actually like the RED8, because it is a fresh looking design with a self-winding eco-quartz movement, as we know it from the Omega Seamaster QMatic (the watch is powered by a capacitor that is charged by a spinning rotor). This would make a nice watch suitable for sports, big crown, large dial and hands.Anyway, the only thing you need to do is go to Tom’s website and follow the instructions. You either have to sign-up for his Twitter feed or sign-up for his new...
Tissot Visodate An Absolute Dress Watch Bargain!
We said it many times already, being a watch enthusiast is not about money or having lots of it, it is about watches. Tissot is positioned as the entry level [luxury] watch brand of the Swatch Group and we thought it would be nice to pick one and have a closer look.In cooperation with The Watch Hut – UK’s largest watch website – we picked this Tissot Heritage Visodate Automatic timepiece from their stock to review it here on Fratellowatches. This watch, a classic round shaped timepiece with a leather strap and an automatic winding movement has a price tag of 385 GBP (approx. 480 Euro / 620 USD).The Watch Hut was kind enough to send us a model to try & wear and it didn&#...
Speedy Tuesday Omega Speedmaster 125 Worn By BMW's Head of Design Adrian van Hooydonk
It’s Speedy Tuesday! We are all familiar with the official ambassadors of the Omega brand. ?Big names like George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Rory McIlroy, Buzz Aldrin, Eugene Cernan, Michael Phelps and a few more are wearing Omega watches as part of their image or job.Nothing strange here, as many watch brands work with official ambassadors to create awareness for both their profession or branch as well as their watches of choice.If you are like the Fratellowatches-team, you will probably like the non-official ambassadors a bit better. (Famous) People that have picked a certain watch for a reason other than sponsorship or ambassadorship. We really can enjoy seeing some actors, singers, ca...
Speedmaster 3513.53.00 For The Japanese Market In 1996
It’s Speedy Tuesday! A few months ago, I wrote about the differences between the Speedmaster Professional (regarded as the Moonwatch) and the Speedmaster Reduced. We now have a similar watch to the Reduced, a 39mm automatic Speedmaster watch, especially for the Japanese market. However, where the original Speedmaster Reduced was equipped with a piggy back movement Omega caliber 3320, this Japanese Speedmaster reference 3513.53.00 has an Omega caliber 1152 movement, based on the ETA/Valjoux 7750.Where the Omega caliber 3220 movement is a piggy back movement (Dubois-Depraz 2020 chronograph add-on module on top of the ETA base movement), the caliber 1152 or ETA/Valjoux 7750 in this Japane...
#TBT Seiko Sportsmatic 6619-8230
Value, amongst its several meanings from Meriam-Webster, is defined as relative worth, utility or importance. Taking it a step further, value is often assigned when price is taken into consideration. If we digest all of this, we, as vintage watch collectors often search for watches possessing great value. Some, such as Omega Speedmasters, are well known, but, thankfully, there still exist pockets they are fewer and fewer sadly of low cost, high value in the marketplace. Today's #TBT covers a piece that, every time I don it, I smile because it's so damn good looking. It's awfully wearable and it provides a bona fide alternative to a lot of NATO-clad, faux USA-made, silly quartz hipster pieces...
The Doxa SUB 300 Black Lung A Cult Legend Returns
Balazs and I arrived to the Doxa booth one afternoon at Baselworld 2017 for a meeting with Rick Marei, the General Manager and spirit of the lauded brand. If you've never met Rick, he's unlike anyone in the established watch business. As someone who runs a business that sells entirely without distribution, you could liken him to the owners of most micro or start-up watch businesses. But he runs Doxa and Doxa is no startup.?? Sure, they're not or Omega, but they're a brand well known to those who dive or most who care anything at all about the history of watches. So, it's interesting to hear Rick speak and how open and honest he is about what he's doing, why he does things his way and to pic...
Watches & Pencils #42 Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should
Technique and functionality can be wonderful. They can make life easier, provide better user experience and are an ideal hook to show off to your friends. This also applies to watches. But, is focus on technique always the best way to go?Thin, Thinner, ThinnestA good example is a race for the world’s thinnest watch. While the current records are quite an accomplishment I wonder if we (the customer)?still care about that 0,005mm less thickness. Is it not just a battle between the brands? Although it might sound like a waste of money I’m sure a lot of us prefer this ‘marketing method’ above another method: pay a higher premium on every watch from the brand to pay first ...
Junghans Terrace Building And More Photo Essay
One of the perks of living in Baden-Wurttemberg is that German watchmaking surrounds me. Whatever direction I go apart from the west, that being FranceC I will soon arrive at a watchmaking city. In the north, you can find Frankfurt with Sinn being the largest company in that area. Drive east and you'll soon reach Pforzheim, the jewellery and watch centre of (West-) Germany with brands like Laco, Stowa or Benzinger. Lastly, you have the south with the Black Forrest. Many brands come from this area like Hanhart and Junghans (in Schramberg). I visited them about 3 years ago during the presentation of their then-new Junghans Meister Pilot collection. They did not only show us their latest creati...
Top 5 Watch Books You Need To Have In Your Library
Every WIS needs to have a watch book library at home.Whether you are a guy who's into history or intrigued by the technical side of things, having the right books in your collection is necessary. To start with, they look good. No, I don't mean that fill up a shelf nicely to show off. They are often large with amazingly detailed photos of watches, movements, and everything else surrounding them like a box, papers, documents, and so on. A great watch is also a good source for research. You might want to look something up or perhaps need information for a forum/blog post. This is where the right book comes into place. Lastly, books bring back something we are losing these days. Technology makes...