Why wait until Tuesday if you can wear an Omega Speedmaster Alaska Project on Monday? I took a peek inside RJ's Speedy Vault and stared into the frosty face of what I think is the coolest Speedy of all time, the 2008 limited-edition Alaska Project. Okay, the original, 1970 Alaska Project II prototypes are even frostier, but those live in the unreachable realm of mythical watches. The 1,970 Alaska

During the Watches and Wonders event earlier this year, Vacheron Constantin unveiled new 34.5mm and 35mm case diameters for its famed Overseas Self-Winding collection. The lineup features steel and pink gold models for the 34.5mm size and gem-set pink gold models for the 35mm size. In welcoming American artist Zaria Forman into its circle of One of Not Many talents, the brand is extending the Over

Watch brands’ most expensive offerings are often awe-inspiring pieces, whether visually stunning, technically mesmerizing, or both. But at Fratello, we have found that they are usually more of a cognitive tour de force than actually desirable. I admire a ceramic open-worked Royal Oak with a flying tourbillon, sure. But if I had AP money, I would get 37mm Royal Oak in steel with a blue dial.

Do you want to hunt with the hounds and run with the hare? In that case, Seiko has got you covered. What? Is that too cryptic for you? If you want an ultra-precise quartz watch that connects to GPS satellites circling the globe and takes its energy from light but looks like a traditional, mechanical chronograph, Seiko has something for you. The Japanese mega-brand presents three Prospex Speedtimer

Tudor’s release of the Black Bay 54 in 2023 underlined the ongoing trend of smaller watches. In this feature, I consider what it’s like to live with Tudor’s Black Bay 54. This is less about specs and more about the vibe. Read on.While I appreciate a chunky tool watch as much as the next person, smaller watches just feel better on my wrist. You see, I have quite small wrists, each

Seiko’s Prospex range is rapidly growing and not just with dive watches. After last week’s introduction of the new Marinemasters, we are now treated to two Speedtimer chronographs. The new SRQ051 and SRQ053 might look familiar. That’s because, last November, we saw two Speedtimer models inspired by the same 1972 Seiko chronograph as these watches. The first (SRQ047) came with an

Watch HandsMost of the evergreen watches evolve through time. Development of colors, watch hands, fonts, proportions and sizes. Often small changes, making the watch to morph from one to another reference(number). We could even say that multi-generation watches evolve?through time like we do. They try to adapt to our taste and needs and improve themselves. For example, optimize their legibility or

Knives have always been present in manned space flight, mainly as a survival tool. Although this subject is not very well documented, it is interesting to understand why knives were taken into space and to see what these knives look like.??Astronaut-gear is interesting. It has strong appeal, especially to men. It looks cool, must be built to exceptional expectations and it is used in high-risk or

Last weekend we joined Longines to the capital of Italy for the launch of their latest watch. After the launch of the Longines Conquest VHP last year they have been working on a cool GMT version which has some nifty features. So without further ado let’s have a look at the presentation in Rome of the Longines Conquest VHP GMT Flash Setting.Conquest VHP GMT LaunchAfter all guests had gathered

Today we have a trio of watches: an Alien watch with a crazy faceted crystal, an unreal spider web watch from a brand you've never heard of before and a marine miracle and fascinating colorful dial.Question of the week. Ehm, life.One of the biggest riddles in a watch collector's life is to figure out the right number of vintage watches to have in one's collection. I can assure you there are a lot

This report is about the kick-off of Panerai’s new approach to Limited Editions, the Panerai Comsubin Experience. Panerai now offers buyers a unique experience when they purchase one of their special and highly limited models. This year, at SIHH 2019, we saw three different models offered, each including an exceptional package.We explained this already briefly in our article on an interview

Welcome to This Week in Watches for September 12, 2020 the olio edition. Olio is one of those crossword answers that refers to a collection of things. Boy, do we have a mix today!Before we dive into the olio, I thought I’d take a brief moment. Yesterday was the 19th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. In some ways, that awful day feels like yesterday. Many of us recall where we were w

The new Submariner lineup hobbled the internet the other week. Now that the dust has settled to some degree, I thought I’d weigh in with my thoughts.Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that news is big news. And there’s probably no bigger topic in the watch world than a new Submariner. If we were talking cars, this is akin to a new Porsche 911, a new Corvette, or perhaps a 4-seri

Here we have the second of three Summer Splash Wild Card rounds for your voting pleasure. It’s been a blast combing through your selections. You will notice that I lifted every single suggestion I could find (apologies if I missed any - given my track record throughout this contest, it is highly likely I’ve screwed up somewhere). You may be surprised to see your name or selection on th

Today on the Fratello on Air, Rob is joined by the boys from Straum watch company, way up in Norway. This emerging brand is the result of five years’ hard work, a huge personal investment of time and money, and the inspiration offered by Norway’s myths, legends, and landscape. The brand’s Oppav model ranks near the top of several Fratello team members’ wish lists so we thou

Put yourself in my shoes. You're a young guy, who until not long ago didn't even have a salary. One foot is still firmly planted in the student life, and the other is about to touch down into responsible adulthood. At some point or another, we have all found ourselves in this limbo stage in life. One thing is clear though, you can love watches as much as you want, but those three to four-figure pr

Time has passed, the seasons have changed, and though it has not yet been a full year, Fratello Collector’s Week is back! You might remember that in the early days of February this year, we celebrated our very first Fratello Collector’s Week (FCW). The response from the Fratelli was overwhelming. The vast majority of you wholeheartedly enjoyed following along with our editors’ co

Any vintage-watch nerd remembers the Orator Sportsman. I guess it’s partially because of the vigorous “diamonds” bezel that would make it a perfect watch not only for divers but poker players too.When I shortlisted it among the top 7 vintage watch bezels that would never be made today, I had no idea it was in the making already. Technically, it’s done today, but it is ̶

Face it, summer's over, and it’s time to get back to business. And what better way to restart your work rhythm than with Fratello’s Coffee Corner Watch Talk: Business Edition? It’s Monday morning, and we're ready to crunch some numbers and have a look at the world's watch market. On top of that, there are two different Air-King references to talk about - one to wear and one to h

Fresh off the boat is the Citizen Promaster Mechanical Diver 200M in two variants. This debut series of NB6021 models is the revival of a 45-year-old mechanical dive watch in the Japanese giant's archives. The modern interpretation focuses on technical updates while preserving the look of the original design. The retro-inspired Promaster Mechanical Diver is crafted in Citizen's proprietary Super T