Almost four years ago, we announced that Omega was discontinuing the Speedmaster FOiS (First Omega in Space) model. The watch debuted in 2012 to commemorate the first Omega chronograph worn in space on the wrist of NASA astronaut Walter Wally Schirra during his Sigma 7 mission.Stafford and Schirra - Image: NASAThe Speedmaster on Schirra's wrist was a second-generation (CK2998) model with Alpha-sha

Believe it or not, it has already been 11 years since Ressence introduced its oil-filled Type 3. At the time, it was the first oil-filled mechanical watch, and it debuted in both white- and black-dial versions. Today, the Belgian brand led by designer Beno?t Mintiens reintroduces the black and white Type 3 with a few subtle but crucial changes. Along with this update to Ressence’s regular co

Until recently, I had heard of Beaufort but had never gotten the chance to check out the brand’s watches. Well, that changed with the introduction of the brand’s newest creation, the Fiordland GMT. This watch offers a good dose of vintage flair and combines it with a modern flyer-style GMT movement. Beaufort sent us two of the four variations to take out for a spin. It’s time to

Hey there, and welcome to this week’s episode of Fratello Talks. What are some of the most underrated watch brands out there? That’s the question that Nacho, RJ, and Daan have chosen for today’s discussion. And though there are indeed many brands that may not receive the praise and recognition they deserve, the guys have chosen to focus on just a handful. For the sake of brevity,

I recently enjoyed some lens time with this rather unique piece by Peter Speake-Marin. Out of the box, the aesthetic was a little…unusual, but I admit that towards the end of the session, the design grew on me.Enjoy! All images can be clicked on for larger versions. Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook?and gives us a Like!MTYes, it glows in the dark, too!MoonphaseDay of the week ha

Sigma 7Yesterday, it was exactly 54 years ago that astronaut Walter ‘Wally’ Schirra?orbited Earth 6 times in the Sigma 7 spacecraft. The name of the NASA mission was Mercury-Atlas 8, and Schirra picked ‘Sigma 7’ as the name for the spacecraft. Using the mathematical symbol for summation as appropriate for an “engineering evaluation”, and the “7” to r

Perhaps you noticed the massive Grand Seiko coverage on our Instagram (stories) already, but last week our Grand Seiko reader’s journey took place in Japan. With a some of our readers (from the United States, Belgium and Germany) who signed up for this trip, we visited the Grand Seiko manufactures in Morioka and Shiojiri.Grand Seiko Reader’s JourneyWhen I visited Seiko back in 2015, as

I admit that I don't spend a ton of time looking at IWC's latest offerings. No, I don't find IWC's unattractive, but they're often too large for me. Plus, they're expensive. But the real reason that my eye rarely finds itself glancing at the current collection is primarily due to the brand's activities during the late 90's that spanned until the early 2000's. This was when the brand was in the thr

When On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was first released in 1969, people were not sure whether this was a step in the right direction for the Bond franchise. Fifty years later, the film is still good for a heated discussion, but the film has cemented its place in the history of the Bond saga. So it seems only right that Omega celebrates the 50th anniversary of the movie with the release of th

He doesn't get mentioned as much on Fratello as Buzz Aldrin or Ed White. But it is astronaut Alan Barlett Shepard that inspired this new moon-related watch release. Made by Czech manufacturer Prim, let's take a look at the model Hole In One. Alan Shepard is quite the man. He was the second person to travel to space in 1961, making him forever the first American in space. Ten years later, Shepard w

Ever since the first G-Shock Square was introduced in 1983, we’ve seen various improvements to its movements, a.k.a. modules. Not only have there been enhancements in functionality but also in technical construction and features as well. The latest G-shock Square models now offer Bluetooth connectivity. But how useful is it really? Do these additional connected features really add value? And

I've made no secret of my love for the microbrand world. At times, it can be challenging to navigate, so the old adage goes buy the owner, not the brand. Usually, you can get a feel for a genuine microbrand pretty quickly. They'll be active on social media and in the microbrand Facebook groups. Chances are you'll have conversed with them at some point, as that's usually the way it goes from my exp

OK, be honest with me. When you hear the name “Bvlgari”, what are the first things that come to mind? Gold? Diamonds? Snakes? A “funny name” spelled with a V instead of a U that’s pronounced like a U anyway? Or, dare I suggest, high horology? If you’re reading Fratello, it’s probably safe to assume you’re at least somewhat familiar with Bvlgari watch

In Cathy E. Mann's children's book Color Me Purple the million-dollar question is: what would make the world a better place? The answer is, color, of course! And the color purple turns out to be particularly helpful in creating a happy vibe. The blueish gray and purple hue of the Casio G-Shock GMW-B5000PB-6 Twilight Tokyo is reminiscent of the cityscape of Tokyo at dusk. So why did I bring up the

In 2022, we are finally catching up with our Speedy Tuesday Events. After an unwanted two-year period of no events, we restarted earlier this year in Biel. We continued in Milan and then last week at the European Space Agency (ESA) in the Netherlands. This time, though, it wasn’t only a get-together of Speedmaster enthusiasts. It also included the introduction of a new Speedmaster X-33, expl

Kristin Harila is doing something no human has ever done before. She’s getting close to having climbed all of the fourteen peaks above 8,000 meters on our planet within six months. With this amazing feat, she is set to beat the previous record (six months and six days) set by Nirmal Nims Purja, which was chronicled in the Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible. Nothing is stoppi

One can only look at watches for so long before the obsession requires other inputs. Recommended by my father, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel ended up being exactly the watch-adjacent content I was looking for. It’s a book about ingenuity, dedication, betrayal, eventual triumph, and a great deal of hard-earned m

My well-publicized love affair with URWERK continues today as the brand launches a brand-new model to the collection. The URWERK UR-120 is an evolution of the discontinued UR-110 with a whole host of new tricks up its sleeve. Nicknamed the “Spock”, this may give you a slight hint as to the watch’s coolest new feature. Since when did a watch display the time using the Vulcan salut

Today Seiko announced the release of its latest limited release. The Seiko 5 Sports 55th Anniversary Ultraseven Limited Edition pays tribute to five and a half decades since the first broadcast of the popular spinoff in the Ultraman series. This late-1960s cult tokusatsu show reigned supreme for two decades and heavily influenced Japanese pop culture. With many characters and sequels to the origin

For the diehards, there’s probably only one Speedmaster - the Moonwatch. However, other Speedmaster variations are available, and this has always been the case since 1969. Whereas the first variations were indicated with Mark 2, 3, 4, or 5 (and even 4.5), later on, we saw Speedmaster Day-Dates, Speedmaster Moonphase watches, and even a (very limited) Speedmaster Perpetual Calendar for the Ja