Admit it: you're also glad you don't have to wear that rubber strap or that clunky bracelet anymore. Now that temperatures are dropping in the Northern Hemisphere, the classic leather strap is ready to take center stage again. It's time for a classy dress watch. Should it have a precious metal case? Yes, let's limit this search by two things: the case should be in either gold or platinum, and the

What do you see when you look up at the sky at night? Stars? The Moon? I see possible watch dials. Okay, not always, but I have to admit I have a soft spot for meteorite dials. The idea of having a wafer-thin slice of a rock that fell from the heavens on your wrist fascinates me, and its look is something else. Meteorite dials come in all shapes and sizes. This Meteorite Monday, I invite you on a

Last week, I met with the Grand Seiko UK team at Japan House in South Kensington, London. The brand occupied a space at the cultural center and brought the latest European Limited Editions. The lights were bright, and the antireflective crystals worked overtime, but we managed a few decent shots.Earlier this month, we previewed the latest Grand Seiko European Limited Editions. The rose gold SBGY04

Today, we’ll examine the Breitling Navitimer Perpetual Calendar 140th Anniversary limited edition. This is the third hands-on review of these special celebration models. The Navitimer is arguably the most famous Breitling chronograph, meaning this piece had better be good!Thus far, we’ve gone hands-on with the Super Chronomat and Premier Datora Perpetual Calendar 140th Anniversary edit

We love our watches, there's no doubt about that. That's why you're here, right? There are all those other things surrounding them though; watch winders, watch rolls, tools perhaps but most importantly straps. No decent watch site can function without a strap review. That was in my head when I came up with this idea and presented it to the team.Nevertheless we gave it a twist. We would like to int

I'm back with another episode of our favorite accessories series: Watch Strap Review. Last month I took some time off but I've returned and have so much to share with you. First and foremost I'm happy to announce that Watch Strap Review is back on the imaginary road again. We continue our travels across the globe to find you the best strap makers out here. Also, for the last two months of the year

Gold. It's a metal, especially in its yellow tone that, in my lifetime, has never really been attractive to me. The fact that I've been on this Earth for less than 40 years likely speaks volumes about that, though. It's odd because I remember gold being the, well, gold standard when I was at a very young age, but I actually equated the metal with those of a much older age. My Grandfather generally

A while ago, we did a hands-on review of the hand-wound Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical and compared it to the original military GG-W-113 (Hamilton) watch (you can find that review here). With a retail price of just $420, that was very hard to beat. But what if you want a self-winding watch, or feel a diameter of 38mm is too small for you? Or, very important to some, need a date feature? Exit Khak

Exactly this month, it is 20 years ago that I bought my first Speedmaster. The perfect moment to share a story on my own Speedmaster and about collecting them.I've told the story about when, where, and why I bought my first Speedmaster many times during our Speedy Tuesday events, but I don't think I wrote it in an article. Twenty years ago, on October 1st, 1999, I purchased my first Speedmaster. I

Get ready for this white dial anOrdain Model 2 to redefine your understanding of the words WHITE and SHINY. Yesterday, I received a text from my wife saying: “Did you take the anOrdain with you?”. This is serious. To explain: never before had I received that question from my wife about a watch I had on the wrist for a review. Never before, I got that question about any watch. But this

What makes a watch fan fall for a particular timepiece? Is it the dial? Or perhaps the case shape? Maybe the complication of the watch in question? When it comes to vintage watches, and especially chronographs, the answer is often, “the movement.”In this article, I collected 5 vintage chronograph movements that I find the most iconic. Clearly, I could have done a Top 10 or Top 20 artic

Sometime during the late 1990s, when I got into watches, Breguet was a brand that I positioned next to Patek Philippe, A. Lange & Sohne, Vacheron Constantin, and Audemars Piguet. To me, it was clear this was a high-end brand. It seemed the pinnacle of watchmaking, with an amazing history. Today I share my experiences and thoughts on the Breguet Classique 5157.Now, more than 20 years later, I s

If you remember my saga last year about the Tourist Everlight, the world's first electrically lit watch, you will also remember the Ernest Borel Flash. It took me a few years to hunt it down, but here it is in all its glory. My admiration for the Everlight is endless. But I have to admit that the Borel Flash amazes me even more.Well, there is usually only one winner. To end up second, no matter th

The town of Delft plays an important role in the history of The Netherlands. Nothing watch-related, but it was in Delft where William of Orange, the forefather of the present king, was killed back in 1584. You can still visit the “scene of the crime” and see the bullet holes in the wall of the Prinsenhof. So, we know that Delft played a crucial role in Dutch history, and now it seems t

We’ve mentioned the importance of a proper way to transport your watches when traveling before. And there is no better way to transport your watches than using the Bennett Winch watch rolls. Available in one, two, or three-watch variants, these are the best watch rolls we’ve had the pleasure of using so far.Bennett Winch’s backgroundBennett Winch produces a variety of products ai

Does a Dufour comparison seem far-fetched, or perhaps too easy to reach for? This name hangs on a high branch of the horological tree, and I don’t reach for it on a whim. As with Naoya Hida & Co in my story here, the duo (that would be Dufours plural) of Kikuchi Nakagawa is yet another example of the quiet classicism we have come to expect from the more well-known purveyors of Japanese i

Have you ever owned the same watch three times? I guess that for most (sane) individuals the answer to that question is no. However, in my case it's not only yes, but the watch in question is one that you might not expect someone to have owned on three separate occasions. Sure, a Speedmaster collector might have owned a number of Moonwatches from different years, or a collector might have several

It is only about five or six years ago that I was grabbed by the unique style of the Ressence brand. I fancy Ressence’s style and approach so much that I have, in the meantime, not only been able to build up a lot of experience with my own Type 1 Squared but also with the high-end Type 2 and the Type 5 Diver. So it’s a great opportunity that I got the chance to try and compare the new

It's rare that I get one specific type of strap from an atelier. Brands usually strive for versatility and, as such, have a wide variety of goods to offer. You have the occasional company like Erika's Originals, which is known for one specific product. For the most part, however, I get a bunch of different straps in the parcels. This time, though, I received two similar straps, but not just in any

Today, we take a look at two long-existing references from Sinn's impressive catalog. We have not covered these specific models on Fratello before, and I think we should. Here we have a tough-as-nails diver in the UX and a capable pilot's watch in the 240. Both aim to perform a task with reliability and perfect legibility under any circumstance. But does that come at the expense of some refinement