One of the big bummers of the BaselWorld 2009 show was that I was unable to take a closer look at TAG Heuer’s new watches. The gigantic booth had this display in front of it, with both the old Monaco (1133) (it was the actual watch that Steve McQueen wore in Le Mans) and the new 40th anniversary Monaco.The girl (a rented promo model with a cool leather TAG Heuer ‘Gulf’ jacket) co

Glycine (founded in 1914) introduced a multiple time zone watch in 1953, the Glycine Airman. These watches were meant to be for travellers and pilots that needed a watch that enabled them to read two different time zones. Through all these years, the Airman watch was never absent from the Glycine collection, but it changed a bit every once in a while. Purists will swear by the original vintage Air

Urwerk is one of those brands where reading time isn’t the primary concern, as there are other devices (e.g. iPhone or BlackBerry) that are much more accurate and cheaper to do so. Now, this rule goes for every mechanical timepiece, but one could try to justify a $7,000.- USD for reading time and it will be quite difficult to do so with a +/- $70,000.- USD Urwerk UR-110 (nicknamed ‘To

Goldene Unruh 2013Every year, readers of the German Uhren Magazine and Focus magazine (a Munich based news magazine) can select a winning watch from a number of brands, in different price categories. This year, the selection process was even easier for voters using the Focus internet platform.Anyway, in total 25.246 people participated and voted for their most favorite watches amongst the 426 cand

One of the big surprises this year in Basel was the Tri-Axial Tourbillon timepiece by Girard-Perregaux. This company from La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland has basically two pillars for their collections, watches and haute horlogerie. During our visit to Girard-Perregaux (you can find our report here), we noticed that these are really physically separated as well. Like Chinese Walls.The Girard-Perr

Fratellowatches starts with a new series of articles as of today, columns written by others as well as by ourselves. Columns about the watch industry, watch collecting, trends, design and so on. We start our first column with a publication by Professor of Turnaround Management Jan Adriaanse.ImagineImagine a world without . Imagine a world without Breitling. Imagine a world without Swatch. Can you?

Around 2003 or so I saw a watch in a magazine that was produced for the Hungarian Air Force in a very limited number. It was the 3rd edition commissioned by the Air Force. The first two editions were given to different squadrons based in Hungary (Ppa and Szolnok), after that the Air Force also ordered watches for themselves. This was the first time (and not the last) Fortis produced a custom made

Zenith: An exclusive visit to the manufacture, where Zenith's director of movement development shows important construction details. Zenith developed a special complicated watch to celebrate its 150th Anniversary, the Georges Favre Jacot timepiece which is equipped with a fusee and chain constant force system.Zenith traces the roots of this watch to its development of marine clocks.We will meet wi

A bit of Richemont attention is appropriate in these post-BaselWorld days in my opinion. So for this week, I pick?my late father’s Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Perpetual Calendar as 52Mondayz watch.Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Perpetual Calendar 52Mondayz, week # 14He bought this watch to commemorate the millennium year 2000. It was a variation to the regular Master Perpetual with a si

Delma enhances design and precision of signature Klondike Collection by introducing Klondike Moonphase with distinctive day-and-night indicator.For centuries, celestial guidance has been a fundamental skill of all great navigators and a delight of impassioned stargazers. Born out of a tradition of design excellence and precision craftsmanship spanning almost a century of Swiss watchmaking, Delma t

Last week we already showed you the Speedmaster CK2998 Pulsometer, and this week it is time for a little hands-on with the new Speedmaster Apollo 8.?Omega dedicates 2018 mainly to the Seamaster collection, celebrating its 70th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the Seamaster 300M. However, that did not refrain them from releasing a number of new Speedmaster watches as well. Some of you alread

Hamilton, part of the Swatch Group, is making waves in the industry for quite some time now.To start with, they appear on movies probably as often as Omega does. This might sound like a bold statement from me, and it is absolutely not backed by any data from the brand. Though if you think if some of the bigger box-office movies of the last 10 years or so Hamilton was part of many of them. Think of

We tend to tell romanticized stories of brave men and women in survival situations. As watch-lovers, we find ourselves drawn to the wrists of these heroes and heroines. A watch worn during an adventure can take on a character of its own. And for those of us that can’t get enough of these little tickers, they can make or break the story of survival itself.How many of you have pointed at your

Cartier is well-known for its stylish, slimline dress watches. Among the many elegant forms, the Santos collection often stands-out as an edgier take on the classic form. Now, in an attempt to further modernize a model that was birthed more than a century ago, the Cartier Santos Dumont XL hits the shelves.Living up to 116 years of heritage is no mean feat. In 1904, Louis Cartier created the very f

The new Bell & Ross BR 03-92 GREY LUM is the latest addition to the brand's Instruments line.Bell & Ross has three major model families, Vintage, Experimental, and Instrument. The latter is arguably one of B&R's most iconic model families. Within that, the BR? 03 group is also the largest with 27 timepieces. From steel to PVD, two-tone, and even ceramic one can choose from many differe

The much-appreciated Cartier collection - the Ballon Bleu family - welcomes three new models. This line, introduced in 2007, brings Cartier's calling cards to the party. Refined craftsmanship and a nod to the brand’s fine jewelry legacy make the Ballon Bleu the kind of crossover piece that keeps on giving. While the diameters of men’s watches trend downward, the availability of larger

We sat down with Glashutte Original ambassador and world-renowned sailor, Boris Hermann…Rob Nudds: Hi Boris, thanks for taking the time to talk to Fratello. Where are you right now? On dry land or in the middle of an ocean somewhere?Boris Hermann: Hello, except for a short trip to the Alster (a small lake in the middle of my hometown Hamburg) for an interview, I’ve been on land with my

We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. While the daily routine is largely focused on the most recent developments in the world of watches, the most fun for many of us lies in the world of vintage watches. It's a world full of history, remarkable watches, incredible stories, and quirky details.It inspired us to come up with a series of articles focusing on the best wa

For all those who feel that watch brands don’t listen to our recommendations, Aquastar begs to differ. After hearing requests for something smaller, we now have the new Aquastar Deepstar Mid-size chronograph. Let’s have a look.When the first Aquastar Deepstar chronograph returned in 2020, we were truly enthusiastic. The return of a truly iconic vintage design paired with great finishin

With the dust having settled after the first four days of Watches & Wonders 2022, we can see clearly see the impressive number of new releases from all the different brands. Hublot, of course, also brought the heat with an array of new model variations and an entirely new line. As usual, the brand does not shy away from loud colors and cutting-edge materials for its Big Bang collection. On top