Buying Guide: The Best Breitling Watches From The 1990s (2021)
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 come up with a series of articles focusing on the best watches per decade from a select group of brands. Some of them are priceless, some of them still affordable. In this installment, we will take a look at the best Breitling watches from the 1990s.This week we will continue our journey through wa...
Dear Jaeger-LeCoultre, Bring Back The Reverso
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 get provoke those knowing snickers. These moments come up irregularly and spontaneously. Usually, they occur when someone is picking on another or in situations that recall an impactful moment from the past. Whatever that was, a few “trigger” words bring up that special moment of understa...
Hands-On: The Praesidus A-11 Type 44
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 sizes, allowing the vintage feel to be as original as the wearer decides.Timekeeping is of the utmost importance for military precision. Upon entry into WWII, the U.S. Military recognized the need to equip troops with a reliable timepiece that would serve them well on the front lines. The A-11 spec...
Grand Seiko White Birch SLGA009 Vs. SLGH005
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 glance. The ultra-smooth sweep of the seconds hand might give away that one is a Spring Drive powered watch, while the other is not. But the now-famous White Birch dials also show subtle but important differences. One thing that is exactly the same, though, is the retail price of $9,500 ($9,100).Does ...
New: Union 1893 Johannes Durrstein Edition Chronograph
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 Glashutte timepieces. Produced in a run of 300 units, the Johannes Durrstein Edition Chronograph is a tribute to the classic chronograph pocket watches of decades gone by. It comes with a special manually wound movement that takes a step back in history and a fantastic-looking vertically brushed dial.Befo...
TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Team Ikuzawa
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 Heuer Carrera Chronograph Team Ikuzawa by Bamford. The most exotic one of the lot, though, is the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch 43 Tourbillion Markus Buhler with its spinning turbine on the dial.Why are the best things (watches) in life so very often out of reach? Take this Panerai Radiomir Guido Panerai ...
The Best Watches Under $5,000: Daan Picks
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 many of the other obvious choices. So that’s why I’ll try to come up with a few more out-of-the-box options today.Sure, brands like Tudor, Longines, and Breitling offer some very solid watches for under $5,000. But those watches are on the wrists of many people. Therefore, they are certain...
IFL Watches Drops Its Seiko 5 Sports Halloween Collection
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 paint this picture for you - three custom hand-painted Seiko 5 Sports watches, each one limited to 100 pieces. Excited much? As a quick disclaimer, these are not official Seiko watch launches. IFL Watches creates custom hand-painted dials and releases them in very limited quantities. Still, these Hall...
Introducing: The Hamilton Khaki Field Expedition
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 addition to its signature collection - the Hamilton Khaki Field Expedition. Available in both 37mm and 41mm sizes and three different dial colors, the Expedition brings added functionality never previously available in the Khaki Field line. Additionally, a few aesthetic changes have been implemented to bot...
The New Nomos Tangente 2date Heats Up The Date Debate
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 debate. And just when you thought the heated date debate couldn't get any hotter, the Nomos Tangente 2date shows up.Even Nomos itself has more questions than answers regarding the new Tangente 2date. This is from the press release: Why have only a single date display when you can keep track of the days i...
The Decline In Desirability Is Good For Watch Enthusiasts
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 conversation between a well-connected gray-market dealer and a desperate customer looking for something challenging - no, nearly impossible - to get. This particular kind of customer is probably not a lifelong watch enthusiast but, instead, a FOMO-driven fan of everything clearly and prominently luxurious. ...
Over The Moon Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Calendar
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 positive sense of the word.I will do a report on the manufacture visit very soon, but first let me show you one of the watches that Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced earlier this year: The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Calendar.Available in pink gold (reference 1552520) as well as in stainless steel (reference 1558...
Longines Master Collection Moon Phase Hands-On Review
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 to me. It became even more magical when I learned about mechanical timepieces in the mid/late 1990s. It is one of the complications on a watch, not being a very useful one, that I really love.It is a real challenge though, to find a mechanical timepiece with a moon phase complication that comes at an...
Patek Philippe Nautilus 40th Anniversary
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, nothing comes close to how?I feel about the Nautilus and Royal Oak. Today, I was somewhat surprised to see the new Nautilus 40th Anniversary models popping up out of nowhere.NautilusThat I picked the Royal Oak for my private collection had also to do with the money to spend, at that time, it was far be...
The Sinn T2 Diver Reviewed Three Years Later
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 strong regard for the brand from Frankfurt am Main. Plucky, full of innovation and generally quite cost aware; Sinn is a popular brand amongst enthusiasts who are looking for something unique and extremely functional. Today, if for no other reason than to shed some light on a rarely discussed model fro...
DRIVE de CARTIER THE LAUNCH PARTY by CARTIER HONG KONG
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 the Drive de Cartier flying tourbillon, to make the trilogy?complete.Nine BoutiquesSince the opening of the Cartier Prince's Building Boutique' in 1970, the first Cartier Boutique in Asia,??Cartier has realized nine boutiques in Hong Kong. Not those small shops like we have in Europe, but really lar...
Puredial The Square Legacy
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 designs to the manufacture. Moreover, right now is a great time for me to be a watch designer because I have designed many watches that are now a part of the market. Also, right now would be the time for me to dive into the industry due to all the original ideas I have to bring to the market, but at...
Speedy Tuesday A Collector Talks About His Omega Speedmaster 50th Anniversary 'Patch' 311.30.42.30.01.001
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 Seiko reader’s journey was a Speedmaster fan himself as well, and we had interesting discussions on the importance of details on these vintage watches. For this week’s Speedy Tuesday however, we have collector Mark Sinclair talking about his Omega Speedmaster 50th Anniversary ‘Patch...
The Snowflake Why I Didn't Buy Grand Seiko's Most Wanted
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 sized car or an entire house. I think it has to do with the fact that we see so many watches every day and week, that the ones that truly stick, are just a few.Grand Seiko SBGA211 SnowflakeIt was in October 2015, when I visited the Grand Seiko manufactures in Japan (I reported about that trip here, wit...
#TBT: Addictive Buler GMT With Four Time Zones
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, showing off your startup portfolio is the new ball game. And what does a fresh startup do? It scales up quickly by opening new offices in Paris, New York, Tokio, and Sydney. Wait a second. Aren't those cities the exact ones portrayed on the dial of this Buler GMT?! We just discovered a perfect tool w...