Good morning, Fratelli! I hate to shock you before you’ve had your first sip of coffee this morning. I know you’re expecting Lex’s usual introduction to the week. However, due to his summer break, I’m taking over. But don’t worry; Lex will be back next week. Now that I find myself with my feet firmly up on the soapbox, there are a couple of things I want to talk about

Fortis makes tool watches. In fact, the folks there make pretty damn good tool watches. How do they do that? By testing them in the harshest possible conditions to make sure they can cut the mustard. Think about it: of all the luxury watch brands that make tool watches, how many go into full detail about the all-important testing procedures? I can’t think of many. And I can’t think of

This article is completely based on homesickness. Once again, I’m spending the summer with my in-laws in Spain. Of course, I had to make a watch selection for the trip, and I left my Cartier Santos back in Amsterdam. I think it was the right thing to do as it’s very warm here in Spain, and without any quick adjustment, it would’ve just stayed in my watch roll all the time. Howeve

Yema has been knocking out new releases one after another. The French brand focuses on introducing new additions to the brand’s “Manufacture” line of watches. It focuses on premium versions of existing models that feature the brand’s in-house developed movements and are generally also finished on a higher level than the regular models. The latest addition to the line-up is

Many well-known microbrands have emerged from their niche and become bonafide small brands. Thanks to crowd-funding initiatives, we have also seen many projects jump into the small-brand status directly. Yet a cloud of skepticism seems to hang over many Facebook groups and even in our own Fratelli's comments. That raises the big question that I set out to answer today: Is there still Microbrand va

There’s no doubt that vintage Tissot watches represent great value. I liken them to downscale Omega watches in the same way that many VWs are similar to more expensive Audis. This translates to quality movements, cases, and designs at approachable prices. Today’s Tissot Antimagnetique Pointer Date 6445 is a great example of an affordable and available vintage powerhouse.eBay is still m

There is horology, and there is art. And sometimes there is both. The first popular culture reference to skulls in recent times can probably be traced to Damien Hirst and his diamond-covered skull; I was struck by a sense of dej-vu when viewing this watch for the first time. But there actually was not one, but two diamond-covered skulls. I have to admit, this watch was making me feel a little unc

Gianni Agnelli, former Head of FIAT and Italian industrialist was famous for his flamboyant style. Nicknamed ‘The Rake of the Riviera‘, Mr Agnelli was always wearing his carefully selected timepieces over his cuff.In the autumn of his life he has been spotted wearing this large – especially for that time – OMEGA Seamaster PloProf over his cuff. Earlier even – but alre

Glashutte Original Sixties CollectionThe Glashutte Original Sixties collection is based on the caliber 70.1 and 70.3 watches that this manufacture produced in the, well, 1960s. Personally, I know Glashutte Original best for its Senator collection and collection of sports watches that they produced years ago, by the name of Sport Evolution. That has been discontinued a while ago, and Glashutte Orig

For some reason the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra collection struck me as younger, but Omega put out a press release about the 15th anniversary this year of this watch. In 2002, the Aqua Terra was introduced as another sub collection of the Seamaster family. Although Omega has only a couple of watch families, like the Seamaster, Speedmaster, Constellation and De Ville, some of them have quite a few s

Owners and their watches, providing an insight in what moved them to buy a certain watch or in this case, a Speedmaster. Once every while we like to feature a reader’s story on their Speedmaster(s). This week we have the story of Iain and his wife Jackie and how they came to purchase their Omega Speedmaster watches.Iain tells the tale of their two Speedies in today’s Speedy Tuesday fea

Back in 2009, Linde Werdelin showed me their (then) new 3-Timer and I was smitten by it. Actually, I ordered the Linde Werdelin 3-Timer with brown dial and matching brown leather strap on the spot. Then, in the years after, the collection changed quite a bit at Linde Werdelin and so did their pricing model. The 3-Timer disappeared and instead, Linde Werdelin came up with the Spido and Oktopus coll

Oris has a good habit of bringing limited editions in their Aquis line to contribute to ocean conservation. This week we received a question from Apostolos, I guess one of our readers in Greece.You Asked Us: Will the dial of my Oris Aquis Clipperton fade in bright sunlight?Here’s the original text of Apostolos question:Subject: WATCH DIALS AND SUN EXPOSUREHello,I recently bought an Oris Aqui

The new Certina DS Action Diver Titanium is a runner up for the “nicest affordable, titanium sports watch on the market” prize. Too bad there’s no such prize…yet.It seems that finally, Certina has found its rhythm and place both in the watch industry and within the Swatch Group. Certina knows about its position in the Swatch Group but for a long time, it seemed that they we

Forget about the moon phase or perpetual calendar. We have something better, more ludicrous in store for you. Meet the Astromatic X, a fortune-telling watch from the mid-1970s.Astromatic X with a manual from @right_hand_watchThe scientific super-gadget Astromatic XCross my heart; I?did not make this tag line up. The original Astromatix booklet from that era serves as proof, and I'm positive you've

Last weekend we published an article on the planned Bonhams Seiko Auction. The event was taken down after some heavy criticism but has returned.That’s right, the Bonhams Seiko Auction has returned for another try. Dubbed as “Making Waves: Seiko Part 1,” this online only event is set to expire on August 25th at 18:00 Hong Kong Time. Last weekend, I had attempted to write a full re

If you've ever been dubbed an expert in a particular field, you'll understand the kind of pressure that comes with the title. A desire to do well for those who look up to your apparent position of influence, who wish to feast upon your assumedly limitless knowledge and experience, and who hope to find you completely and utterly infallible when put to the test comes with the territory. Getting the

Nothing beats a nice little watch challenge. The guys from Chrono24 Magazine asked me to participate in a little game. Together with their host Thomas Hendricks, located in New York City, we also discuss a lot of facts and stories during the watch hunting.Chrono24 Magazine defined three hunts, each time-limited (spoiler alert: I failed massively to stay within time) and within each hunt, I had to

We watch lovers are a varied bunch. Within this quirky watch-collecting sub-realm of ours, we have everyone from monogamous brand devotees to polyamorous proponents of brand diversity. We have both laid-back, casual toe-dippers and laser-focused hunters, forever on the prowl for the next prize. The beauty of this variety is that no matter what type of watch lover you are, there will always be a ho

For many collectors, the Datejust is the luxury watch that got them started in this hobby. I hear stories from vintage watch dealers around me that can never have enough Datejusts in stock. Seemingly, everybody wants one, probably because it’s more or less the most affordable way of getting your hands on a watch. I also bought one about two years ago. But not long after it arrived, I deci