Is In-House In The Outhouse?
Welcome to another episode of Fratello On Air! This week, we discuss the increasing number of claims about movement production and wonder whether it all truly matters. “In-house,” “in-house-designed,” and “third-party” are only some explanations we hear about movements and their origin. It’s gotten a bit nutty! For our listeners, there’s horology content interspersed initially, but fast-forward to 23 minutes for uninterrupted watch talk....
New: The Ice-Blue Seiko Presage Style60's SRPL19
Here in the Netherlands, it seems the cusp of winter is upon us. Last week, we were still enjoying the summer weather in T-shirts and shorts. Right now, though, I’m wearing jeans, a shirt, and a merino wool vest, and I’m still cold. We simply skipped the fall season completely and went from 25 degrees Celsius to 10 within a week. The light blue dial of the new Seiko Presage Style60’s European Limited Edition SRPL19 suits this new climate very well. In summer, it’ll look nice and fresh, like a clear blue sky, while in winter, it’ll remind you of ice-blue glaciers.Seiko’s Presage Style60’s lineup takes inspiration from the legendary ref. 5719A chronogr...
Watchshopping Maastricht
Maastricht is (just like The Hague) one of the nicer cities in The Netherlands ?? My girlfriend and I went there this weekend to relax a bit and do some shopping. I took the opportunity to check out some watchshops in Maastricht!The first shop I paid a visit was Scorpione. The shop is located near the central station of Maastricht and besides watches, they also sell jewellery in gold and silver. The watches they sell are all vintage and displayed in the shop and on their website. The owner of the shop showed me two Movados, a gold chronograph and a steel chronograph. Both with inhouse Movado calibers. The stainless steel model featured an hour totalizer and the gold model didn’t. The o...
Big Bang Luna Rossa
At TimeZone, Mike Margolis quotes an email from Jean-Claude Biver. JC Biver is the man behind Hublot. He??seems to follow some other smart CEO’s from watch manufacturers, by posting and scanning on watch forums. Below his email, as quoted by Mike Margolis:“This a new sponsoring agreement made with Luna Rossa (which belongs in majority to Prada) in order to make a special Big Bang, all in the materials used in the America???s Cup boat. Full ceramic, Kevlar, carbon, titanium and rubber. A total synergy between the boat and the watch plus a total synergy between the two brands. Which are both not only luxury brands, but work both with the ??fusion ??concept. In fact we could not h...
Top 3 Watches Of All Times By Readers Of Watch Report
Watch Report is a Dutch magazine about watches and their fourth edition has just appeared in the stores. Watch Report has nice cover stories and their coverage on novelties is quite actual for a magazine on paper. One of the subjects in the latest copy is a top 3 of all time favorite watches, given by Watch Report readers. The result is no surprise, but personally I would have thought that place 1 and 2 would be vice-versa.So, here it goes, the Top 3 of watches (of all time) by Watch Report:1. The Omega Speedmaster Professional. Watch Report pictured a ref.105.002-62, caliber 321 model. However, since I don’t have one, here is a picture of my own 145.022-67 caliber 321, on a ref.1039 b...
Speedy Tuesday OMEGA Speedmaster Racing
Like every Tuesday, it is Speedy Tuesday! If you own a Speedmaster, or a Speedmaster is part of your watch collection, at least wear it on Tuesdays! It is also a very good reason (or excuse) to purchase a Speedmaster – new, pre-owned or vintage – of you don’t have one yet.This week’s Speedmaster is the new Speedmaster Racing. We’ve seen it during the BaselWorld 2012 show, when OMEGA showed it to us in their press booth. Luckily, every year OMEGA takes the time to give us a private viewing of their new collection. One of the watches that caught our attention was this new Speedmaster Racing.We say ‘new’, because there have been Speedmaster ‘Racin...
Moonwatch Only Book Introduction A Photo report
Moonwatch Only Book introduction at the Tourbillon BoutiqueLast Tuesday, Speedy Tuesday, we organized an event for Speedmaster collectors and enthusiasts together with the Tourbillon Boutique in Amsterdam. The Tourbillon Boutique is owned by Swatch Group where you will find the high-end brands that belong to this group, including Omega. The perfect place to host an event for Speedy Tuesday and some of its followers.Theme of the event was the release of the Moonwatch Only book by authors Rossier and?Marquie. Gregoire Rossier was present during the Speedy event at the Tourbillon Boutique to speak about his book. It was by coincidence that Gregoire Rossier was present in Amsterdam and we took t...
Hands-on with the Fortis Tycoon Chronograph
One afternoon at Baselworld this past year, Blaise and I left the bright lights of the Messe and walked down side streets for roughly 10 minutes to a rather nondescript hotel. Our purpose was to go see the new Fortis. The brand was undergoing a rebirth in its marketing strategy and chose a large hotel conference room as its display setting. Apparently, the space was more conducive to private discussions and allowed the brand more flexibility in arranging its wares. It was during this discussion that Fortis rolled out its debut pieces from their Terrestis collection see more here on the meaning and we had the chance to handle all of them. Included within the collection are some nice 3-hand pi...
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15202ST 52Mondayz, Week #40
As you could read in last week’s installment of our 52Mondayz, Gerard is currently somewhere in South-America and he only brought one watch with him. So, I will take over this week and talk about a watch that I will wear.Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15202STI wrote about this watch often on Fratello Watches, from the beginning in 2004 till somewhere last year. It was my Holy Grail when I started collecting / buying watches in the late 1990s. I also gave it a mention in the podcast talk I had with Chris Mann of Time 4A Pint. You either love the Royal Oak or you hate it, there is little in between. It might also be the case that you slowly grow into liking these watches, as your taste in (fi...
Oris Movember Edition A special edition version of the iconic Divers Sixty-Five
Every November, the Movember Foundation (founded in 2003) encourages men to grow their moustaches to raise money in support of 1200 health projects world wide. The Movember Foundation’s mission is to help men live happier, healthier and longer, and raise awareness (and funds) for prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. Oris announces their partnership with the Movember Foundation and introduce to you the Oris Movember Edition. A special edition timepiece that is based on the iconic Divers Sixty-Five that we’ve praised here many times. Part of the sales will go to the Movember Foundation.Oris Movember EditionThe Oris Movember Edition has the origi...
Favre-Leuba: Conquering Frontiers for 280 Years
In 2017, Favre-Leuba celebrates its 280th anniversary. Founded as a small watchmaker's workshop in Le Locle in 1737 by Abraham Favre, Favre-Leuba can look back on a successful history marked by uncompromising courage, a bold pioneering spirit, the enduring refusal to accept boundaries, and the drive to grasp opportunities and strive to achieve the extraordinary. The anniversary is a remarkable milestone in the illustrious history of Switzerland's second-oldest watch brand, and something the company is celebrating with a truly unique watch that quite literally goes above and beyond what other watches are capable of and makes a very clear statement.The Dawn of a New EraIn terms of function and...
Sinn CH124 Sea King Limited Edition to 55 pieces
Based on Sinn’s 556 model, a special and very limited edition watch has been designed to commemorate the retirement of the Canadian CH124 Sea King helicopter. The CH124 Sea King was designed for shipboard use by the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force.For anyone ever involved with (or interested in) this Canadian combat aircraft, this watch might be very interesting. Limited to just 55 pieces and only available via Watchbuys, the North American official distributor for many German brands, including Sinn Spezialuhren.Sinn CH124 Sea KingThe 55 Sinn CH124 Sea King watches refer to the 55 years of service of this aircraft and via WatchBuys’ pre-order, you can make yo...
Speedy Tuesday Omega Speedmaster Professional Mark IV
The Omega Speedmaster Mark series is a very exciting one. Some fans say that no collection is complete without them, others frown upon the thought of owning any. Again, others look at them as novelty watches of a bygone era. Remainders of a time when Omega was experimenting with various technical improvements. Regardless of which group we belong to one thing is for certain; the Omega Mark watches mark an era (no pun intended) in the history of the Speedmaster. So much so that 2 (the Mark II and III) even made it to the 60th-anniversary poster by Omega from 2018. Surely that poster does not feature of all the iconic Speedmaster but it's a great indicator of what the brand considers ground-bre...
Wrist Game or Crying Shame: Seiko Marinemaster 300
Welcome to another installment of Wrist Game or Crying Shame.? This week, we take a look at a watch that some consider as one of the best values in watchdom, the Seiko Marinemaster 300.Last week on WG or CS, we took a look at a bit of a strange bird of a .? Up for your choosing was the GMT-Master 16700, a watch that was made concurrently with the far more popular GMT-Master II 16710.? The 16700 might have been offered as the Aldi-special econo GMT, but that didn't stop a full 76% of you from deciding that you'd like to take to the open skies or allow someone else to pilot you to another time zone with the neo-vintage GMT.? Yes, it was a proper Wrist Game walloping!But better than that, I re...
Scatola del Tempo Rotor-One Hands On Review
The Scatola del Tempo Rotor-One is a well-tried concept from the legendary Italian company that received a facelift.We reviewed the earlier version of the Scatola del Tempo Rotor-One almost four years ago. A lot has changed with the company since those days though. First and foremost, it has new ownership. Until 2018 the company was owned by the family of Sandro Colarieti, the founder of Scatola del Tempo and the inventor of the watch winder as we know it today. Last year Mr. Xavier Castelli the new owner of SwissKubik (another company known for watch winders) acquired Scatola del Tempo. With that, many of the new and improved features of SwissKubik products have become part of the reimagine...
Pre-Owned Picks 4 TAG Heuer Watches Linked To Motorsports
I love Formula One. I’d put it above all my other passions. Ahead of fast cars, guitars, movies, music, and, yes, even watches. I try to keep it quiet because whenever you mention an interest in F1, everyone feels the need to weigh in: “Oh, it is just going around in circles”, or “ it’s not a real sport”. F1 is where I feel no need to listen to anyone else’s opinion or justify my passion for it. Thankfully, wristwatches are intrinsically linked to Formula One enabling me to combine my interests.Sporty wristwatches and Formula One coalesce in a natural way that benefits both industries. TAG Heuer was the official timekeeper for Formula One for several...
Hot Take: More Seiko Divers 55th Anniversary Limited Editions
Just two days after we said on our podcast that Seiko will probably have some more releases planned for this year’s 55th anniversary, we’ve been treated to two more limited edition Prospex watches. Meet the Seiko Prospex SLA043J1 and the SPB183J1.The Seiko SLA043J1 is a re-interpretation of the Seiko 62MAS that dates back to 1965 (click here for the original 1965 model). The other one, the SPB183J1, reminds us of the Seiko 6105-8110 “Captain Willard” from 1970 (click here for an in-depth article on the 6105-8110). We are expecting the watches to arrive on our desks soon, enabling us to do a hands-on review and video.#gallery-1 {margin: auto;}#gallery-1 .gallery-item {...
Hands-On Video Review Of The New Longines Spirit 40mm Watch
The Longines Spirit in 40mm, otherwise known as the L3.810.4.53.0, is our favorite pick from this new collection. Time for us to do a hands-on video with this pilot’s watch.In our recently published hands-on review on the Longines Spirit, you can read about the background of this watch, the importance of the 5 stars on the dial, and the L888.4 movement. However, we also think it is a good idea to publish more videos of the watches we receive for review. So here’s the video review of the Longines Spirit L3.810.4.53.0. It is a five-minute breakdown on the Spirit collection and this matte black dial version in particular.We’ve said it before, but it is worth saying again: seei...
The New Mido Ocean Star 600 Chronometer Watch (2021)
Mido invited us to see the final of the 2021 Red Bull Cliff Jumping World Series. It was with the prospect of also trying out the new COSC specs Ocean Star 600 that we packed for a weekend trip to Italy.Everything was small in Polignano A Mare. Imagine a street and then divide it by two, imagine stairs so narrow that you need to step aside to pass by the person coming from the opposite direction. Imagine a door you have to bend your neck in order to avoid bumping your head. Everything was small except for one majestic cliff.The stairs on left leading to the private apartment with a cliff jumping platform built on its terrace. Image source: ctdots.euAdrenaline rushI truly hate heights, yet de...
How Watches Work: What Is Perlage? (2021)
I don't know about you, but I love to appreciate the watches I wear. Not just from the dial side but from the inside out. There's a reason that we're drawn to mechanical watches; they're mini works of art for the wrist. Art is beautiful, and so are watch movements. Most brands employ a wide variety of finishing techniques to ensure the movements look as good as they perform. The one I want to look at today is perlage.Like Geneva stripes, you can commonly find perlage in movements of varying price brackets. In my opinion, perlage is not the prettiest of finishes, despite looking rather attractive. By that, I mean it's not quite as visually appealing as Geneva stripes or hammered surface finis...