In 1983, Casio introduced the G-Shock. As the name suggests, this watch is able to take a few serious blows. This ref.DW5000 watch was in those days (for me) the coolest of the coolest. Ofcourse, being a little guy (only 7 years old), it was way too big for my wrists, so I (or my parents) settled for a much smaller digital Casio watch, that I still have somewhere.Anyway, 20 years later, in 2003, t

After shipping the last few items from our previous Give-Away, we already come up with some new interesting give-away items. This time, in close cooperation with Sinn Spezialuhren from Germany.We love Sinn, functional timepieces with a highly innovative focus. This company from Frankfurt am Main in Germany can count on the horological heart of many (on-line) watch enthusiasts out there. Also outsi

If you're weak for the pillow shaped oyster cases of the past, but having trouble fitting them on your wrist, than E.C.Andersson North Sea might be something for you. It measures 40mm in diameter, 10mm thin and sits just right – No matter wrist size.But let us start from the beginning, what is E.C.Andersson and why did it suddenly appear on the highly competitive watch scene? The answer is q

Let’s say you’ve always fancied a tourbillon watch but never had the hefty funds required to own one. In today’s market there are several ‘affordable’ watches that feauture a tourbillon. Although affordable is a personal thing of course but with an average price tag of around 100K for a tourbillon, buying one for roughly 15K classifies it as affordable instantly. Let&

We already talked about a DS-1 briefly when we reported on their event just this past month.Bert wrote that piece focusing on the occasion, the new DS-1 Big Date and its technical improvement, the Nivachron hairspring. That watch came out to mark the 60th anniversary of the introduction of the DS (Double Security) system and the first Certina DS that came to the market in 1959. However, Certina's

One of the watches that left quite an impression since its introduction in Basel earlier this year, is the Sinn 206 Arktis II. Based on the no-nonsense 206 (and its predecessor the Sinn 203) diving chronograph, but with a touch of ice blue.In our ‘Hot Take‘ of this watch, we already gave some background information on this new Sinn 206 Arktis II and its specifications. Admitted, with S

In this article, I share with you my top 5 Seiko watches from the current collection that put a smile on my face.Sometimes, you’d almost forget about Seiko watches with all this ongoing Grand Seiko news. Its popularity is immense and ever-growing, but what about talking about some cool Seiko watches? One of my all-time favorites would be of course the Seiko Space Walk SPS005 (click here for

I like big clocks and I cannot lie. The French antique comtoise clock hanging in my parent's house, for instance. But also the highly decorated table clock my grandmother left me and that has found a place in the bookshelf. And if I had the budget for it and the matching design house on the coast but that is a different matter I would give the Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos in Marc Newson design a promine

I’ll just come out and say it. There is no chronograph in the world that I love more than the tri-color Zenith El Primero! An irreverent statement coming from a writer at Fratello, I know. After all, it’s no secret that we love our Speedies around here. However, an absolute, exclusive enthusiasm for the Omega icon is actually not a necessity. And personally, there is just no other chro

Our December 2019 Watch Strap Review featured a small brand from icy Minnesota, Velle Alexander. At the time, the name represented nothing more than a passionate young man doing what he does best in the corner of his small Minneapolis apartment. A lot has changed since 2019, and Velle Alexander is now an established watch strap brand. It would only make sense to revisit Alex, look at his new goods

Of course, the number of G-Shock Square variations is almost endless. But in my opinion, the ones closest to the original DW-5000C from 1983 are the most significant. Their modest appearance never gets old. In the current line-up, the closest aesthetic corollary would be reference GW-M5610 and, when it comes to the technical side of things, the GW-5000 could be seen as the closest successor. A com

In watchmaking, branding matters. Having a clear message and an easily communicable public persona is essential for success. But founding a brand without any heritage to point to is tough sledding. That is why it is more common today than would have been comprehensible 30 years ago, to find old names being bought by or transferred to new owners with a vision of reshaping that brand into something

It's been almost three weeks since Geneva Watch days, but that does not mean that there isn't anything left to cover from the event's releases. Amongst the novelties revealed, the Frederique Constant Highlife Automatic Skeleton was one that certainly caused quite an impression. Skeleton dials and movements have been around for many a moon, and can sometimes come across as gimmicky. Especially when

Omega just introduced the new Speedmaster X-33 iteration, the Marstimer. But in case you are not familiar with the X-33 story, let me introduce you to this Speedmaster instrument and explain why it is such a space-relevant watch.On March 25th, 1998, Omega released the Speedmaster Professional X-33 reference 3290.50. Indeed, this digital Speedmaster Professional (mind the Professional) was qualifie

During today’s Speedy Tuesday event at the European Space Agency Visitor Center in The Netherlands, Omega introduced the new Speedmaster X-33. Meet the Marstimer ref. 318.90.45.79.01.003.It’s the fourth generation of the Speedmaster X-33, largely based on the X-33 Skywalker. It has the same 45mm 14.7mm titanium case and the same bracelet. So what’s new about the Omega Speedmaster

This is something a little different. It’s the Space Ludens watch by Anicorn Watches in cooperation with Kojima Productions and approved by NASA. Now that is a mouth full, is it not? Hey what is that on your wrist? Oh, this? This is a Kojima Productions NASA Anicorn Space Ludens. What are you wearing? And you can rest assured that people will inquire about your watch because this is an eye-c

At some point, don’t we all dream of being a watchmaker? I mean, how cool would it be to service your own watches or check a secondhand watch’s movement before you decide to buy it? I guess I’ve missed the opportunity to take that career path, but sometimes I still think about taking an evening course to at least get an idea of what’s actually going on inside my watches. Th

Following last year's sell-out collaboration, the hotly anticipated NOMOS Glashutte Weltzeit sequel is out now! The new Blue Panda limited-edition model features an exclusive windmill icon for the home time and comes in a series of only 100 pieces.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEkLTlirVWQIf you did not manage to get into the Fratello Shop last year within the first minute of the sale and missed

It’s hard not to get a little carried away when talking about Japanese watchmaking. There’s something enchanting about Japanese culture that gets the creative juices flowing. You suddenly find yourself filled with inspiration, and words begin to fill the page in front of you. The narrative unfolds, and suddenly, there we have the new Fratello Minase M-3 “Nori” sat before yo

This month's edition of Watch Strap Review might be interesting for the vintage community but not so much for fans of modern timepieces. However, as I'm a vintage guy at heart and this is my column, I decided to write it anyway. Today, I'll review a few leather goodies that GLC Straps created for watches with “fixed lugs” - in other words, lugs that do not accommodate standard spring b