Last week’s article on the most iconic chronographs definitely sparked a lively discussion among our readers. Thus, we decided to continue in the same vein this week with a list of the most iconic dive watches. Lists are always good fun to create because they’re a great way to get an overview of what’s out there. So what are the most iconic dive watches that should be part of you

Having met the Apollo astronauts several times in the flesh, I noticed many wore their Speedmaster Apollo-Soyuz watches from 2010. That Speedmaster was famously equipped with meteorite sub-dials. The prices of that particular limited-edition Speedmaster have increased so much that it has become an out-of-reach grail watch for many. It’s the same case with many other meteorite-dialed watches

The moment I put the olive-green Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic on my wrist, I was still in awe of the otherworldly plasma oven I saw earlier that day at ComaDur, the specialized Swatch Group company that's responsible for creating all the ceramic watch components for Rado. Can you blame me, though? I mean, the inside of that plasma oven reaches a mind-blasting temperature of 20,000C - for p

About 10 years ago, a very good friend of mine showed me around the submarine that he was working on at the time. He would go on missions without getting any fresh air for weeks, maybe even months. I remember that the whole experience was quite impressive to me. All those tiny and narrow spaces. No daylight coming through anywhere. And now Yema launches two new Navygrafs. One took its design inspi

We're here with the second Collector's Week on Fratello, and I'm pleased to contribute with an article related to vintage watches. This time, we decided to allow freedom in terms of topics, and that started me thinking about what to write. It didn't take long for me to decide on a theme. Without further ado, let's discuss why collecting vintage Japanese watches has, above all, kept me in this hobb

In a world where luxury watches abound, standing out is no small feat. Yet every two years, brands assemble for the Only Watch auction, flex their creative muscles, and allow themselves to go wild. The result is a collection of fantastic, unique pieces that never cease to amaze me as I scroll through the catalog, making my best Owen Wilson impression (“Wooow!”). The remarkable thing ab

During a trip to Switzerland, I witnessed Swiss golf pro Kim Metraux playing on the Crans-Montana golf course and noticed she was wearing her watch. When I had the opportunity to speak to her, I asked if she is wearing her watch during the tours.Kim Metraux wearing her watch during the game. Image: Kim Metraux.Metraux wears her watch during practice and competitions. She said it doesn’t affe

During a trip to Switzerland, I witnessed Swiss golf pro Kim Metraux playing on the Crans-Montana golf course and noticed she was wearing her watch. When I had the opportunity to speak to her, I asked if she is wearing her watch during the tours.Kim Metraux wearing her watch during the game. Image: Kim Metraux.Metraux wears her watch during practice and competitions. She said it doesn’t affe

At the beginning of the year, Baltic introduced its very surprising and different Prismic collection. While the brand had always had heavily vintage-inspired designs, it took a more contemporary approach with the new Prismic. The watches had clean, angular lines, a case construction containing stainless steel and titanium, and very boldly textured dials. They were just as well designed as Baltic&#

There might be debate about which brand released the first modern dive watch, but it's safe to say that Zodiac was one of the first three. The Sea Wolf debuted in the 1950s - 1957 seems to be the year of the watch's release, but this is still up for debate - and its original design is still going strong. So is Zodiac. The brand, founded in 1882, went belly up in the 1990s, but it has been part of

We visited Geneva Watch Days a few weeks ago, and Breguet was one of the brands exhibiting that week. In its beautiful boutique on the famous Rue du Rh?ne, Breguet showed us not only the new Type XX with steel bracelets but also (under strict embargo) this new gold Type XX Chronographe 2067. And now have one at Fratello HQ for a hands-on review.The fourth-generation Type XX in rose goldA little ov

Seiko has long been the default choice for affordable and bulletproof mechanical timekeepers. But is Citizen now starting to take over that role? There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that it is, so let’s examine this topic today.My first article for Fratello asked: “Is the Seiko magic slipping away?” You see, like so many fellow enthusiasts, my watch-collecting journey sta

Over the past 5C10 years, we have seen a huge rise in the popularity of American microbrands. It has been interesting to see the success of Monta, Traska, Nodus, Autodromo, and Lorier, to name just a few. Another brand that has been making waves lately is Jack Mason. It began as a fashion brand but repositioned during the COVID pandemic, and with a strong focus on creating higher-quality watches,

Last week I received the Swatch-Clopedia,????a comprehensive source for all Swatch collectors. You can order it from Squiggly, a great online Swatch seller. I am no Swatch collector, but as every watch addict, I have my share of Swatches. From??my first??1991 Test model to the Olympic Pheidippides 2004 model, with various models in between ?? Never wear them, but nice to display.Anyway, buy this g

It’s Speedy Tuesday!?A few weeks ago, our watch photographer did a photoshoot with a number of Omega Speedmaster watches. Ranging from vintage to new and including a few (rare) limited edition Speedies as well.Speedmaster Printing and TypographyIn this photo essay we selected the coolest Omega Speedmaster pictures and present them to you. With this photo essay we try to show you the details

I believe it was somewhere in the mid-1990s till the late 1990s: I told friends and fellow students I was interested in mechanical watches, they almost all replied with “…those Kinetic watches?”. Ever since the introduction of the Kinetic movement in 1987, it became a well-known concept world wide.However, with the revival of the mechanical movements in the 1990s and the booming

Here is?something interesting for the?weekly dose of vintage awesomeness also known as Throw Back Thursday or #TBT. This week we drift away from the vintage chronographs that ruled #TBT and jump into the world of dive watches (sorry about the pun). Our subject for this episode managed to fly under the radar for a long time but we feel it's time to shed some light on the piece and explain just how

Two former designers of Audemars Piguet started their own brand Gorilla in 2016. Affordable watches with a unique design and an interesting choice for materials. We covered them before a few times, so I don't want to get into detail too much regarding the story about the brand Gorilla. At some point you have to stop doing this I guess. This time it is solely about two of their new watches, the Ban

This coming Thursday, September 19th, the Space for Art Foundation will host an extraordinary event.In the presence of astronaut Nicole Stott, which joined our Speedy Tuesday event earlier this year in Milan (full report here), the Space for Art Foundation will host a fundraiser event and impressive exhibition of space art (by children). Most famous is perhaps the spacesuit that is crafted and des

On the inside of Lodger, David Bowie’s concept album from 1979, there are images of an Omega Speedmaster Professional and a Flightmaster. We did some research on how these watches ended up inside the Lodger album.David Bowie's Lodger, the last of the three Berlin period albums', is a concept album about a homeless traveler, released in May 1979. It received much less press enthusiasm than pr