Introducing: Fratello NOMOS Glashutte Weltzeit "Blue Panda"
Well, now, this really is a treat, and possibly an unexpected one at that! One year after NOMOS Glashutte agreed to the unthinkable and produced a panda-dial Weltzeit especially for Fratello, we have the opportunity to bring you a second edition, but with four key changes. While it’s still the NOMOS Weltzeit we all know and love, the second Fratello Edition brings something new and unexpected to the noble Saxon brand’s Worldtime collection.Firstly, this piece uses a midnight blue hue instead of black for the “panda” elements on the dial. Secondly, the “Blue Panda” Limited Edition employs a fluorescent orange seconds hand, which ties in with the home-time a...
Fratello On Air: Balazs And Nacho Talk Watch Collecting
Today, we have a treat for you on the Fratello On Air podcast. Balazs sits down for a chat with special guest Nacho (Fratello’s managing editor), who replaces Mike during his brief hiatus. After an introduction and touching upon the origins of Nacho’s watch enthusiasm, they tackle the topic of watch collecting and end up taking a look at several exciting new releases both current and forthcoming....
Hands-On: The New Vulcain Cricket Classique
Alarm watches are among the most incredible pieces the vintage world can offer. Almost every major brand had an alarm in its collection, from Angelus, Tudor, and Omega to Citizen, Enicar, and Vulcain. That last brand stands out from this crowd for a simple reason. In 1947, Vulcain released the Cricket, the world’s very first alarm wristwatch.Now, 75 years after this legendary achievement, Vulcain is reviving the Cricket in two new models. With the help of watch-industry veteran, Nivada Grenchen and Excelsior Park co-owner, and all-around nice guy Guillaume Laidet, the brand presents the Cricket Classique and the Cricket Tradition.The Vulcain CricketIt would be useless for me to dwell o...
Hands-On: Circula DiveSport Titanium Madame Jeanette
Don’t we have enough dive watches? No, we don’t. We never have enough of them. Diving is a popular theme for developing and designing watches, and the watch community loves models dedicated to diving. But can the newly introduced Circula DiveSport Titanium Madame Jeanette stand out from the crowd? I think it can, and here’s why.Let’s be honest: the ability to use a dive watch as a diving instrument isn’t its most important characteristic for most of us. However, the ingredients that go into the design of a dive watch often make it attractive - readability, robustness, ease of use, and, of course, water resistance. Let’s take the Circula DiveSport Titanium ...
Introducing: Fratello Minase M-3 "Nori" Exclusive Edition
Welcome to Fratello Minase. Have you been here before, or is this your first time with us? Last year, we brought you the Fratello Minase M-3 Very Peri, a very purple exclusive edition. This year, we changed the recipe and created a new watch. Not only did we change the color of the hand-painted dial, but we also took a different approach to finding the perfect strap. Please enjoy the Fratello Minase M-3 Nori Exclusive Edition, an incredibly versatile watch with the tastiest green dial you've ever seen.This marks our third project with Japanese watchmaker Minase. Our first was a Divido in 2021, and the second was, of course, the Fratello Minase M-3 Very Peri Exclusive Edition, a timepiece wit...
Hands-On: The New Vulcain Nautical
It's been almost half a year since our last Vulcain review. But we love the brand, both vintage and modern, and it has something new to offer. On the 21st of September at 4:00 PM CEST, Vulcain will launch the new Nautical. This article will take a closer look at this beautiful and rare diver.While one can argue that beauty is subjective, the Vulcain Nautical is undoubtedly a rare diver. How many dive watches have you seen with a mechanical alarm? I’m guessing not many. And why do you need a mechanical alarm diver in 2023? You don't, just like you don't need a dive watch in the age of dive computers. But that won't stop us from admiring the beauty of these timepieces.1961 to 2023The Vul...
Behind The Scenes In Geneva: Laurent Ferrier And F.P.Journe
I have written about watches for several years now, and like most of you, I am more enamored by the pure craftsmanship than time-telling itself. Sure, a watch has a base function as an instrument. But we have everything from phones to coffee machines telling us how time flies. What makes my heart sing is the mix of time-honored traditions and high technology, and going behind the scenes in Geneva made it all clearer to me.To me, what's inside the case is almost more important than the actual function of a watch, not to mention the time it takes to finish and assemble and finish a piece of Haute Horlogerie. Even mid-range mechanical watches require a human watchmaker's touch, and that is more...
Hands-On: Blancpain Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms
I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t immediately convinced when the Blancpain Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms Collection came out a week and a half ago. I noticed that my attention went more toward the hype around it than to the watches themselves. But then, last week at a press event in Barcelona, I sat next to Gregory Kissling, Vice President of Product at Omega, who was also heavily involved with the development of the Scuba Fifty Fathoms. What he told me during that dinner made me a fan of this new Swatch collaboration.So, while I was in Barcelona, I tried to get one at the city’s Swatch boutique. I stood in (a short) line a couple of times before the shop opened ...
The Best Watches Under $5,000: Jorg's Picks
We’re continuing our series of articles with our favorite watches under a certain budget. We’re slowly increasing the budget and have arrived at our favorite picks under $5,000. The rules are simple: pick three current watches under $5,000 and one old timepiece, be it vintage, neo-vintage, or relatively new but pre-owned. As always, the challenge is accepted. I have the honor of kicking things off for this new part of the series, one that will undoubtedly trigger plenty of debate. So here we go!Finding the best watches under $5,000 is a proper challenge. If you ask me, this is the most difficult budget. There are a lot of sensible choices but far fewer that make my heart sing. Ha...
Hands-On: The New Aquastar Airstar Chronograph
I confess that I look forward to anything Rick Marei and his team create. Recent offerings from Aquastar and Synchron have all been exciting, well made, and relatively affordable. Now the new Aquastar Airstar Chronograph further ups the approachability ante. This is certainly one of the cooler recent releases.There are a lot of ’60s skin-diver-like watches on the market at different price points. Aquastar, however, feels like the brand with the greatest right to use the style for modern renditions. After all, the brand was among the earliest adopters of the utilitarian, slab-sided case design in the late ’50s for the Model 60. Aquastar also produced chronographs using the same ca...
New: AP Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT
Today, we’ll look at the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date. This is a wild piece, and it debuts an innovative case material that took over five years of development. Get ready for some bright visual stimulation!The Audemars Piguet Concept offerings are typically filled with new technology from the brand. In a sense, they’re like futuristic concept cars, but these watches go into limited production. A quick look at the various Concept pieces for sale on Chrono24 reveals many prior Royal Oak offerings, and none are below the six-figure mark! That’s worth remembering when looking at the new Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph because ...
New: Zenith Defy Skyline Chronograph Boutique Edition
In January 2023, Zenith released the first Defy Skyline Boutique Edition. The release flew under the radar for most watch fans, but it was a stylish version of Zenith’s popular integrated-bracelet sports watch. Later that year, the brand unveiled a boutique-only version of the Defy Skyline Skeleton as well. Now it’s time for the third addition to that boutique-exclusive lineup with the Zenith Defy Skyline Chronograph Boutique Edition. Judging from first glance, this might be the best of the series yet.Zenith is no stranger to boutique exclusives, and this Defy Skyline Boutique Edition series is certainly not the only one. Earlier this year, the brand released two boutique edition...
Linde Werdelin 3-Timer
Linde Werdelin’s 3-Timer is almost ready for production. Since the introduction during BaselWorld last March, the 3-Timer probably has become – together with the SpidoLite – their most popular model of the collection.With only a limited run of 22 timepieces for the brown dial version, this is probably going to be an instant hit. I have ordered one after seeing it during BaselWorld 2009, and opted for the brown dial version right a way. About a week ago, I received Linde Werdelin’s prototype brown dial watch and will share some of my experiences and opinions with you.Since this is a prototype watch, I don’t want to write a full review yet. Anyhows, below you̵...
WorldTempus: A new Flieger
Today, WorldTempus put my latest Chronicle on-line. This article (or Chronicle, as WorldTempus calls them) is about Bremont watches. I wrote about Bremont before (here and here), but in this Chronicle I wonder whether people are going to choose for a Bremont over a watch of one of the established brands. So, is this Bremont ALT1-P for example the new Flieger Chronograph in town?Bear Grylls, wearing his Bremont chronograph!Click here to read ‘Bremont – a new Flieger’ over at WorldTempus.com...
U42 Does This Put U-Boat On The Map Of Serious Brands?
A few years ago, U-Boat jumped in the gap – at that time – of big watches. A Panerai wasn’t affordable for everyone, so U-Boat produced large quartz watches and had a wide network of resellers. You could even get them at most clothing stores for men. Clever marketing made U-Boat a big name and even people who didn’t care about watches, seem to know this brand. Heck, someone in a clothing store even asked me whether I was wearing a U-Boat, while it was a Panerai.Perhaps not fully justified, but I’ve never given U-Boat watches a proper look. Dimer send me a few of his pictures that he took of this U42 model and telling me that he was very impressed by the watch an...
Fratello Friday Rectangular Watches
Every Friday I write an article for the website of USA’s best read watch magazine, WatchTime. Yesterday’s article is about my personal Top 5 of rectangular watches.Rectangular watches do not seem to be my style. In all the years of watch collecting, I’ve only had a few in my modest collection of watches and most of the time sold them quickly again. I also was able to borrow a few pieces, such as the Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 1931 you can see above (and which we reviewed here) but perhaps too short to start a long lasting relationship with it.It is not that I dislike their looks, I actually love the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso collection for example. But somehow I canR...
Parmigiani Tonda 1950 A Classic Timepiece From a Young Brand
Looking at the classic shapes of the Parmigiani Tonda 1950 suddenly made me realize that this manufacture has only been there since 1996. A very young brand especially for watch industry standards – that is able to design a watch that could easily trick you into thinking you are dealing with a brand with a history of at least eight decades. The elegant lines of the Parmigiani Tonda 1950 watch case, the manufacture movement with micro-rotor and wonderful dial and hands are so balanced that it could appear to you as a watch that found its roots in the 1950s and was subject to subtle iterations through the decades to come.Parmigiani Tonda 1950Reality is, as you probably suspected by the r...
RGM Donates Watch to rebuild Playground
Roland Murphy from the RGM Watch Company contributes to rebuilding the Mount Joy playground that was set on fire in September 2012. The fire destroyed the playground and ever since there were plans to rebuild it for the kids from that area. There are several initiatives where the community tries to raise funds to cover all the rebuild expenses. RGM chipped in by donating a watch to fund some more money for the new playground.For rebuilding the playground (Kids Joy Land) there is a need for volunteers, tools and of course, money. Their goal is to raise $225,000.- USD and due to gifts and initiatives like RGM’s donation of a watch (for auction) the required amount is almost there. You ca...
Out Of The Blue Cartier's New Tank MC!
Last month Cartier presented the new ‘Ronde Cruise Collection’ in the US, the?new sporty watch for the man on the hunt, for a not too classic looking watch, with a more sporty look. The watch will be on the market?in the rest of the world, this Autumn.?But the ‘Ronde Cruise Collection’, that was presented in three different versions, was not the only thing ‘La Maison’?had in reserve.Surprise number two this Summer, is the new Tank MC, that arrived quite unexpectedly in the Boutiques last week, with a stunning dark blue guilloche dial!New Tank MCYes Cartier, famous for its off white or creamy guilloche dials, is back with ?another watch, with a coloured dia...
Hands On With The Pinion Pure Bronze Watch!
Bronze WatchThat bronze watch cases are getting more popular again, was proved this spring by some?remarkable moves in?the industry. While bronze watches were?usually found in the more affordable price categories, two high-end brands, MCT and Hautlence presented their over $100K Euro costing top models, in a bronze version. Quite a decision and a firm sign that bronze has become a serious material?for watches.? Let's go back where the trend started and that was actually not that long ago.Pilots and DiversGerald Genta was one of the first brands that launched a bronze watch in 1997, called Gefica. The watch was re-released in 2007 in a stunning 47mm case and was?very?popular. But it was the l...