Everyone Needs One Of These Iconic Dive Watches
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 your collection one day? We’ve compiled a list of eight pieces that we think fit the bill.Just like with iconic chronographs, there is a number of essential dive watches that immediately come to mind. But, to be honest, it’s not a large number. In other words, after listing a couple of watc...
The Watches.com Zodiac Super Sea Wolf Meteorite
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 out there. Another example that comes to mind is the white gold GMT-Master II, also pricey and equally equipped with a meteorite dial. However, just because a watch has a meteorite dial, it shouldn’t mean it’s unaffordable.Though it’s not necessarily everybody’s cup of tea, ...
Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver Hands-On
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 perspective, the temperature of the sun's surface is estimated to be around 5,600C. The purple light that the plasma reactor generates is strangely eerie and hypnotizing, and so is the idea that something is being made inside at a staggering temperature of 20,000C. I thought I was witnessing the bi...
Yema Launches The Navygraf FSM With Marine Nationale
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 inspiration from the bronze elements on a submarine. The other was co-designed with the French Navy troops that are actually supposed to use it while working on a submarine. Let’s take a closer look at the Yema Navygraf FSM.Last year, Yema marked the start of its official partnership with the Frenc...
Collecting Japanese Watches: A Never-Ending Journey
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 hobby.Within Fratello, we're all collectors in some way or form (though some of us would disagree with that terminology). We have folks specializing in brands, genres, age periods, and even oddities (Ahoj, Tomas!). I'm a dabbler in many things, but the absolute foundation of my collection lies within vi...
A New Horizon For Reservoir: The Tiefenmesser Tourbillon
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 about 2023’s edition is the collaborative efforts where brands engaged with third parties to create something extra exclusive, even by Only Watch standards. I’ve written about a few such pieces that seriously piqued my interest, but here’s one more for you. This, my Fratelli, is the ...
Will Playing Golf Damage Your Mechanical Watch?
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 affect her game, and she likes to always be wearing a watch. But, this doesn’t answer the question whether it will damage your watch!When I play golf, I wear a mechanical watch. Every time I do, though, other watch enthusiasts comment on it. Either they say that I should take my watch off, or they...
Will Playing Golf Damage Your Mechanical Watch?
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 affect her game, and she likes to always be wearing a watch. But, this doesn’t answer the question whether it will damage your watch!When I play golf, I wear a mechanical watch. Every time I do, though, other watch enthusiasts comment on it. Either they say that I should take my watch off, or they...
New: Baltic Prismic Limited Editions With Stone Dials
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’s other watches, but they were certainly a breath of fresh air for the Parisian brand’s portfolio. Now Etienne Malec, founder of Baltic, introduces new Prismic limited editions. Each of the three watches has a colorful stone dial inspired by Paris, London, or New York City.Those are the m...
The Gold-Plated Zodiac Super Sea Wolf Compression Diver
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 Fossil Group since 2001. While the “Sea Wolf” name didn't survive the bankruptcy and the vision of the new owner, “Super Sea Wolf” did, and the descendants of those watches are doing well. The new 18K-gold-plated Zodiac Super Sea Wolf Compression Diver is a good example. It&#...
Hands-On: The Rose Gold Breguet Type XX Chronographe 2067
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 over a year ago, at an event in Paris, Breguet introduced the new Type XX and Type 20 models. Combined with a visit to the National Air and Space Museum of France at the Bourget airport, we saw Breguet’s new direction for this iconic chronograph. It's the fourth generation of the Breguet Type XX...
Is Citizen The New King Of Affordable Japanese Watches?
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 started with a Seiko. In my case, it was a Seiko 5 SNZG11J1 in the jungles of Thailand and Myanmar. My father had gifted it to me as a reliable mechanical timekeeper for my first big assignment overseas. Then, when I was back in my home country of Australia, the first vintage watch that I bought that h...
Hands-On With The Redesigned Jack Mason Canton
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, the Texan brand quickly found success. The Jack Mason Strat-o-timer GMT from 2022 became a fan favorite, followed by the Hydrotimer dive watch and the Ellum dress watch. In the next step, Jack Mason releases its first timepiece to bear the “Swiss Made” label. It’s time to check out...
Swatch-clopedia
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 guide! And be quick, because it is limited printing (6000 pieces and that’s it). The authors worked for 2 years on this book, which covers practically every Swatch between 1983 and now, including the limited models. The book has 900 pages in full color. What really amazed me, was the weight of ...
Omega Speedmaster In Detail Photo Essay
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 of the Speedmaster designs and wonderful different dials and styles they had over the decades.The Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch wording and logo is printed in white since 1968 and its typography changed a tiny bit since then. Long ‘r’, a wide ‘S’, large ‘OMEG...
Seiko Prospex Kinetic GMT Fratello Watches
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 interest in them since the 2000s, the popularity of the Kinetic disappeared a bit to the background for the masses. To some extent because the target audience of sub $ 500 Euro watches stopped wearing watches at all since their iPhone or other smart phone tells the time. The other group of people mo...
#TBT Aquastar Seatime Ref. 1007
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 remarkable it is in the flesh with its rare technical details. So without any further ado please meet our subject:?#TBT Aquastar Seatime Ref. 1007.Aquastar SeatimeAquastar S.A. is one of those brands that you definitely come across if you read more about vintage divers. The Benthos 500 with its outs...
Gorilla Bandit and Gorilla Mirage A hands-on review
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 Bandit and the Mirage.Fastback GT Bandit and MiragePart of Gorilla's Fastback GT collection are this new Bandit and Mirage watches. Inspired by cars and watches, Gorilla took their inspiration from the 1977 Firebird Bandit for the Bandit watch and the Ford GT 40 for the Mirage watch. The Ford GT 40 is ...
Space For Art Foundation (and a Speedmaster FOiS to auction)
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 designed by children and actually used in space (and on Earth).According to the official website, The Space for Art Foundation “unites heroic children around the world to help them overcome the challenges they’re facing through the wonder and awe of space exploration, an appreciation of the...
How a Speedmaster ended up in David Bowie's album art
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 predecessors Low and Heroes, even though record label RCA compared it to Sgt. Peppers and despite hit songs, DJ and Boys Keep Swinging. Lodger did not meet the high expectations Bowie had set with his previous work. Nonetheless, the album became gold in The Netherlands and The United Kingdom.David Bow...