We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. Though most of what we write about is primarily focused on the most recent releases and developments, for many of us, a lot of the fun can be found in the sometimes weird and often wonderful world of vintage watches. It’s a world full of history, remarkable watches, incredible stories, and quirky details. It inspired us to

As a vintage-watch nerd, I don’t need any new modern watches. Well, actually, I do need one. You see, my wife would like to have a new Reverso. The problem is that there is nothing in the current JLC portfolio that would bring us into a boutique.Every couple or work team has inside jokes that don’t make sense to anyone but a few people involved. One or two words are usually enough to g

Vintage-inspired field watches are having a moment. We have seen many brands offer a take on the famed mil-spec A-11. The original A-11 performed admirably in WWII, and Praesidus has improved upon the specifications, bringing the design to modern spec. But Praesidus has also gone a step further, producing a watch that is a near carbon copy of a Waltham A-11. The brand has made two versions and two

Every Sunday, we let two watches (and authors) compete against each other. Often, we choose two watches from different brands in the same style, complication, or price category. This week, however, we have two incredibly similar watches in our Sunday Morning Showdown. The Grand Seiko White Birch SLGA009 versus the SLGH005. These pieces have subtle differences that are hardly noticeable at first gl

Union Glashutte is a brand that I somehow often forget about, but it’s not because I don’t like its horological creations. Au contraire, I really like some of Union Glashutte’s watches, so the announcement of the new 1893 Johannes Durrstein Edition Chronograph was once again a reason to check in with the brand. This limited-edition chronograph celebrates 130 years of Union Glashu

You can start your Monday morning with all kinds of coffee - and all kinds of watches, for that matter. Do you prefer a powerful espresso, a strong but creamy flat white, or a chilled Frappuccino? Luckily, there’s a watch out there to match each drink. First is a unique Panerai Radiomir Guido Panerai & Figlio PAM01346 that comes up for auction soon. Then there's the bright white TAG Heue

Today, I have the honor of picking my favorite watches under $5,000. The rules are clear: pick three watches under $5,000 from current brand catalogs and one pre-owned timepiece, be it vintage, neo-vintage, or relatively new but pre-owned. Jorg, Thomas, and Gerard already picked their favorites. Their lists show that Tudor is the absolute king of this price range, and they also already featured ma

What happens when the tales of old, filled with mythical creatures and spine-tingling legends, dance upon the wrist in a display of ticking artistry? This Halloween, the age-old craft of watchmaking takes a spellbinding twist. IFL Watches, the mastermind behind these playful, evocative designs, brings forth a trio of custom, hand-painted timepieces in the form of the Halloween Collection.Let me pa

Long has the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical reigned supreme as the go-to understated, affordable, and classically styled field watch. The line has seen iterations in many different forms, from automatic to quartz models, titanium cases, chronographs, day-dates, and many other options. There are a total of around 64 references in the Khaki Field lineup. Now, the brand introduces the latest additio

Every once in a while, you see a watch that raises more questions than it can answer. The Nomos Tangente 2date is such a watch. The biggest question is, Why? Since an answer isn't immediately at hand, more and more questions arise. Is this a watch that can keep track of two different dates? Is this watch meant to be worn on a second date? What do you do on a second date? Everything is up for debat

While enjoying a coffee at a family restaurant, Walter Sobchak told Jeffrey The Dude Lebowski, You want a toe? I can get you a toe. Believe me. There are ways, Dude. You don’t wanna know about it; believe me. Hell, I can get you a toe by 3:00 this afternoon - with nail polish. Now change toe into GMT-Master II and with nail polish into a Pepsi, and you get an imaginary yet plausible conversa

During the Summer, I had the honour to visit the Jaeger-LeCoultre manufacture in Le Sentier, Switzerland. I already knew – of course – that I was dealing with a true manufacture here, but during my visit I realized that I haven’t seen anything like it before. I’ve been to a high number of watch manufacturers past few years, but Jaeger-LeCoultre surprised me in the most posi

I remember when being a kid, our neighbor showed me his new timepiece. A Seiko with a moon phase. I was very intrigued by it, not even knowing it was ‘just’ a quartz watch and that a mechanical moon phase watch would be much more complicated. It must have been mid-1980s somewhere, so what did I know?In any case, a moon phase disc on the dial of a watch is ever since something magical t

40 Years AgoJust last week, we published an updated version of our Patek Philippe Nautilus versus Audemars Piguet Royal Oak comparison article. When talking haute horlogerie, I have to admit that these two watches are definitely my favorite pieces. How much I like other high-end watches like a Patek Philippe 3940 or 5140, A. Lange & Sohne Lange 1 or Vacheron Constantin Overseas Ultra-Thin, not

Today is German Unification Day, so let’s take a look at something from the Fatherland – the Sinn T2!? Enjoy!In 2013, I attended my first Baselworld with my wife-to-be as a public spectator and the watch that stole my heart that year was, surprisingly, the newly introduced Sinn T2. As one who had been living in Germany on and off for a little over a year at that time, I developed a str

Drive de CartierCartier Hong Kong celebrated the official launch of the three Drive de Cartier' models and for this important release, an amazing party was organized, that lasted night after night, during the last 9 days of September. The Drive de Cartier time only' model was already available since January, but the wait was still for the more complicated ?Drive de Cartier' with complications and

I am Ziv Nissimov, a 17 year old entrepreneur. My history with wristwatches started when my dad offered to take me to his watch manufacture when I was a young child, where I would spend my time with watch designers who mentored me into becoming a qualified designer myself.For the past year and half, I have joined the group of designers that I had once been mentored by, and helped bring more watch

One of the benefits of having the Speedy Tuesday feature is that you often run into interesting people with interesting stories. Last week I was in Tokyo and met a guy who picked up his Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday in the Omega Boutique in Ginza (and I joined him) and had a wonderful time with him discussing watches and Tokyo related things. One of the guys that joined us in Tokyo for our Grand Seik

The GS Snowflake, or reference SBGA211, is one of those watches that really got to me. It does not happen that often (in recent years), but once in a while I am still swept off my feet when I see a beautiful watch. I've been writing for Fratello since 2004 and the times that this happens is simply very rare. Especially when it concerns a watch that doesn't have the same price tag as a decently siz

What's better than a second-time zone on a dial? Four time zones. Meet the Buler GMT from the 1970s. My new wonder watch that I christened the Poor, but busy man's GMT Master. A perfect watch for today's business world, where four friends meet and rally who has invested in the better startup. Because every proper entrepreneur today has to have a startup, right? Forget comparing villas or yachts, s