The Evolution Of James Bond's Omega Seamaster Watches Then And Now
I can’t believe it is already two years ago that I was visiting Matera to see the set of No Time To Die. A beautiful village in Italy, where parts of the James Bond movie have been shot. It was there, where Omega showed us (I was there together with Hodinkee’s Ben Clymer and Revolution’s Wei Koh) the new Seamaster 300M No Time To Die edition.We were also invited to come to the set, where the crew (including Daniel Craig) were working on the scene with the Aston Martin being under fire. An incredible experience and I even ended up with some shells that were used during the opening scene (no worries, they were given to me, I didn’t pick them up from the ground).It was i...
ACE NOMOS Club 36 Blue Limited Edition Watch (2021)
Talk about coincidences… On the same day last week, both Fratello and our good friends at Ace Jewelers in Amsterdam announced NOMOS collaboration watches. For Fratello, it was the first attempt; for Ace, it was their sixth in five years. That’s no mean feat given the notoriously exacting standards of NOMOS Glashutte collectors, but Ace has managed to pivot and push ahead in new directions with every subsequent release. So how does the ACE NOMOS Club 36 Blue Limited Edition stack up next to its five older siblings?Time really does fly when you’re having fun. This five-year anniversary is actually quite special to me personally. Half a decade ago, at Baselworld 2016, I was si...
How Watches Work: What Are Geneva Stripes? (2021)
As watch enthusiasts, we love to appreciate the mechanical marvels with which we adorn our wrists. We love to appreciate their technical prowess and their visual beauty. We turn them over, and through a beautiful sapphire display caseback, we can see the movement that powers the horological contraption. It’s beautiful, it’s wonderful. You’re likely to find a range of finishes and textures on movements of all different prices. Some are meticulously done by hand, others by machine, but I want to look at one specific type of finishing today: Geneva stripes.Geneva stripes are also known as “C?tes de Genve” or even “Geneva waves”, and are perhaps among t...
#TBT Fascinatingly Innocent Juvenia Architect "Protractor"
How many different hand styles do you know? Well, listing them off could keep us here all night. Yet, if you’re anything like me, you can’t stop staring in wonder when you see Juvenia Architect “Protractor.” It is unprecedentedly innocent, simple, amusing, different, and powerful all at the same time.I promised myself that on #TBT, I would only feature watches I’ve worn or watches that come with a personal story from one of you, the Fratelli. The reason was simple: wearing a watch is a highly personal and emotional experience. When I do the writing, I try not to be factual but rather to convey the true sensation - how it is to wear a particular watch and why it ...
?The Best Cartoon Watches: Omega, Timex, Bvlgari, & More
No, I’m not being ironic here. Embrace your inner child and let a cartoon watch liven up your day. It doesn’t have to be a cheeky-colored kid’s watch, either. The best cartoon watches can be discreet, and truly legit horology at that.For many people, cartoons are a blissful memory of childhood lost. Others, however, carry the enthusiasm to our grave… literally. The Japanese Emperor Hirohito was buried with his favorite watch, and contrary to your preconceptions, it was no . Keep reading, and you’ll be surprised, perhaps even tempted. From Timex Peanuts watches for under $100 to an AP costing hundreds of thousands, there are cartoon watches for every budget.Bvlga...
Six Months On: Omega Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch
It has now been six months since the launch of one of the year's most talked about watches. The Omega Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch sent shockwaves through the watch community after its announcement on the 24th of March. We all witnessed the phenomenon of people queueing overnight for the launch, hoping to get their hands on one. I witnessed this with my own eyes at the Rotterdam boutique, where hundreds of hopeful punters claimed a spot in the line. The hype was real. And its grip on the watch community (as well as a fraction of streetwear enthusiasts) did not loosen for quite some time. But half a year later, we ask ourselves: has the hype truly died down? In a world of lightning-fast tren...
Horology Forum 8 "Moves New York" Afterthoughts
American watchmaking, watch culture, and watch market were in the spotlight during the Dubai Watch Week Horology Forum 8 Moves New York. The watch event, which took place last weekend in NYC's Meatpacking District, was comprised of panels, debates, and watchmaking and watch-photography masterclasses. And yes, while discussing the present state and future perspective of American watchmaking, the spirit was definitely along the lines of MAWGA. Hollywood actor and self-taught horologist Aldis Hodge proved to be the most ambitious. With his brand A. Hodge Atelier, he's aiming for Haute Horlogerie status. And to keep things firmly rooted in present-day relevance, there was an insightful talk abou...
Fratello's Top 5 Recent Field Watches
Another Friday, another Top 5! Last week saw us picking out our favorite blacked-out watches that have come out recently. There seems to be a lot of love for blacked-out watches, which is great. This week, we will focus on recently released field watches. We have seen several new releases with great variations and different styles, but they are still very recognizable as the functional field watches that many of us love.With their origin in military trench watches, field watches were developed to be highly functional military timepieces that should do one thing very well - tell time accurately in the many conditions that soldiers faced. To do this, they needed to be water- and dustproof. Add...
Fratello Talks: Japanese Watches
Welcome to this week’s episode of Fratello Talks. Today, we’re talking all about Japanese watches. What makes them special, brands we enjoy, and why they keep the Swiss on their toes. We cover a broad range of brands and price points available from Japan. From the humble Seiko to high-end brands like Credor and Minase. Whether you are just starting your journey with watches, or you are a seasoned enthusiast chances are you’ve already experienced the charm of Japanese watchmaking.We are also inspired by the timely launch of our second limited edition with Minase; the M-3 “Nori,” which is available for pre-order now on the Fratello shop. If you want to get your ha...
Marin Instruments Skin-Diver
A long time ago, my watch journey began with dive watches. I was lucky to grow feet in the water, and I loved everything related to the sea. Plus, I've always been obsessed with watches, so the decision to buy divers was a no-brainer. Many of my watch friends own dive watches. Three Fratello writers’ GADA watches are divers. And much of the outstanding watch photography that populates Instagram is of dive watches. Moreover, we adore vintage and neo-vintage examples and, more specifically, skin divers. Though there's a lot to love there, I find that the Marin Instruments Skin-Diver offers something a little different. It is a skin diver that doesn't look like a vintage one. In other wor...
Hip To Be Square: Six Great Examples Of Angular Cool
I have no stats on this, but I’d bet that round and roundish watches beat square and rectangular watches in sales by a ratio of 9:1. And I’m just as guilty as the next man of not buying one yet, even if it’s only due to laziness on my part. But I’ve had a change of heart, and in fact, it’s hip to be square in 2023.Square or rectangular watches wear larger than their diameter suggests, especially OGs like the Monaco and Nomos Tetra. This is wise to remember in our world of buying online and focusing on diameters and lug-to-lug measurements. But my point is that 90-degree angles can be sexy, and they will stand out in a horological crowd packed with retro diver...
Hands-On: Porsche Design Chronograph 1 And A 911 Carrera T
The 1972 Porsche Design Chronograph 1 is revered as one of the great racing chronographs. It may not enjoy the mainstream adulation of a Speedmaster or a Daytona, but it is certainly a niche icon. Any designer would be lucky to have a watch like this in his/her portfolio. But F.A. Porsche was no ordinary designer. Before he drew the Chronograph 1, he already had a certain little sports car to his name. One, in fact, that bears his family name - the Porsche 911.I have enjoyed the combination of a limited-edition Porsche Design Chronograph 1 and a 911 before?on the Grossglockner in Austria. This time, however, I would spend more time scrutinizing the regular-production model of the watch. So I...
The Tudor Prince Oysterdate "Jumbo" A Vintage Value Prop
I am a big fan of vintage Tudor, as many of you will probably already know. Tudor, to me, is a brand that represents the very best of Hans Wilsdorf’s vision of creating mechanical excellence but without the posh baggage of . The vintage Tudor Prince Oysterdate “Jumbo” will scratch the Datejust itch but with a wonderful and modern case size.Some out there will poo-poo vintage Tudor in the same way they discount modern Tudor - as the “poor man’s ”. Frankly, the fact that this continues even today doesn’t bother me one bit. It actually means we have sleeper vintage bargains like the watch we will look at today. That watch is the Tudor Prince Oysterdate ...
Raymond Weil Millesime Vs. Frederique Constant Moneta
Last week's Sunday Morning Showdown saw two very dressy watches pitted against each other. We continue the formal streak this week but in a much more wallet-friendly manner. These two dressy numbers were positively received here at Fratello, even if they don't represent the ultimate in horology. The big question today is: if you want to buy a reasonably priced formal watch, do you go with Frederique Constant or Raymond Weil?Don't grab the pitchforks and start lamenting that these aren't direct competitors just yet. We know, we knowdifferent sizes, different prices, different kinds of movements, different everything - apples and oranges, right? Well, not exactly. If you own a collection of he...
Van der Gang Watches
Besides watches made by fellow Dutch citizen Christiaan van der Klaauw, we now also have watches from another Dutch company called Van der Gang Watches. Their main model looks (to me) a lot like the IWC Portugieser Chronograph, I could be insulting them by writing this, but even the price is about the same. ?? If I had to design a watch for my brand new company, I wouldn’t design a watch that comes so close to a true classic by another brand and sell it within the same pricelevel. I would go IWC Portugieser for that kind of money within a blink of the eye.Anyway, pay them a visit by clicking here, maybe you’ll think otherwise. If so, let me know by leaving a comment here....
Congratulations to Only Watch 2013 $ 5,066,000 Raised For DMD
The much talked about Only Watch 2013 show raised a mind blowing 5mio Euro for research on?Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Over 300 people (including bidders) witnessed the auction in person and numerous bidders on-line and by telephone. A number of watches did not fetch their estimate, but some of them compensated for that, in full. What about the Patek Philippe 5004T that was estimated between $400.000,- and $600.000,- but changed ownership for no less than??$ 2.950.000,-.We’ve been running the Only Watch 2013 banner campagne for quite a while here (the pink one, remember?) and were quite keen on following the actual auction by the minute. Luckily, our friends of Watchonista and In2Watc...
Omega Speedmaster Grey Side of the Moon
We already showed you the Omega Speedmaster Grey Side of the Moon, or Lunar Dust as it was called at the time of introduction in BaselWorld. However, Omega is now officially introducing it to the public as ‘Grey Side of the Moon’, on Speedy Tuesday.The Speedmaster Grey Side of the Moon didn’t change since we’ve seen it in Basel actually. The platinum dial, the grey ceramic case and of course the awesome looking alligator strap all remained the same.As we’ve wrote in our initial article on the Speedmaster Grey Side of the Moon (or Lunar Dust), the ceramic case actually started out as a white block of ceramic. The white ceramic case was subject to 20,000 degrees o...
Photo Essay Junghans visit and Meister Pilot Introduction
Since Mike and I are both hail from Germany it was only logical that we hook up with the brands around. So what brands you have here? Obviously some of the most influential non-Swiss watchmaking powerhouses in the history of horology. Companies like A.Lange & Sohne, Nomos, Glashutte Original, Tutima, Hanhart, Sinn and Junghans among many others. Since Junghans isn't far from me the trip was planned long ago but we could not find the right time. Until now. Junghans very generously invited me to an event where they would be?revealing their newest addition to the model line; a pilot's chronograph. I accepted the invitation and on a sunny Friday afternoon drove 2 hours to Schramberg for an a...
Fratello Watches Q&A with Apollo 15 astronaut Dave Scott
NASA astronaut Dave Scott (1932) was the 7th person to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 15 mission in 1971. Before the Apollo 15 mission, Scott was also pilot of the Gemini 8 mission and Command Module Pilot aboard the Apollo 9. On the Apollo 15 mission, he became the first to drive on the Moon in the Lunar Rover.Just like every other Apollo astronaut, Dave Scott was given an Omega Speedmaster Professional with a caliber 321 movement as Omega delivered reference 105.012 and 145.012 watches to NASA shortly after Omega was officially announced as supplier of the timepieces used for Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA) by astronauts.David Scott and Alfred Worden prepare to pilot separate T-38 air...
Yema Rallye: the race continues
At Fratello Watches we show a lot of?love for?Omega’s Speedmaster watch. But there is a new watch that?is accelerating and heading for a position at the top: Yema Rallye. This year there were several articles about this extravagant watch with a true motorsports connection. Michael wrote about his Obrey branded Rallye and Balazs revealed the fact that Mario Andretti's Rallye is actually a one-of-a-kind piece (read about Andretti's Rallye).So what elements can we look at? In this article I would like to look at the variants and point out a few interesting design elements.Video credit: rene_jkRallye: many aliases and variationsYou've probably heard that Yema released watches under differe...