Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Sunday Morning Showdown. This week, we’re putting an Omega Aqua Terra up against a Grand Seiko SBGH. These watches are very close on paper. Their retail prices are nearly identical, and we’re talking about versatile three-handed watches that can be worn every day. It’s the Grand Seiko Heritage reference SBGH279 versus the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terr

For a color as ubiquitous in our natural surroundings as green, it is certainly not one of the most common hues in watch design. Thus, as green executions have started to catch on in recent years, some have called it a trend. That must sound preposterous to an upscale purveyor of watches and jewelry like Piaget. Green has been a hallmark element in the heritage brand's creative palette since the 6

A budget of $3K seems like enough to pick some amazing timepieces. What I found, though, was that it was a pretty hard task. It’s not that there weren’t enough options, but what were the ones that ticked all the personal boxes? As it turned out, there weren’t all that many that truly made my heart sing. Nevertheless, I did find a trio of watches that I would love to wear every da

There's a bunch of clever people working at Mido. Take a look at the new Mido Multifort TV Big Date. What do you see? I will tell you what I see later on, but the TV-shaped case and big date are not the two features that hit me first. Yes, the case shape looks like a TV - not the flat screen you have at home but the television set your grandparents owned - and the big date is also a prominent horo

Is it September already? Well, not quite, but Geneva Watch Days 2023 is here, meaning we’re two-thirds through the year already. It also means that a tidal wave of watch releases is headed this way. So get warmed up, wax your board, and get ready to surf the wave right here on Fratello. Over the coming days, we’ll bring you the news on the latest releases from all your favorite watch b

You know, watch trends, like most fashion trends, are in perpetual motion. While the domain of luxury watches saw a slew of oversized timepieces dominate for years, the pendulum has swung back to smaller, more delicate ones. Enter Perrelet’s newest release, the Turbine 41 Titanium. Here’s why it’s making waves.Remember the days when large watches were the “in” thing?

Zenith is a brand that I feel often does not get as much attention as it deserves. The Le Locle-based watchmaker has formidable technical expertise, particularly with its El Primero movements. Zenith has recently introduced the latest watches utilizing the brand’s top-of-the-line El Primero caliber. The Defy 21 Chroma II is available in two colors - black (ref. 49.9013.9004/21.R952) and matt

As the watch world holds its breath ahead of Geneva Watch Days, Tudor has taken the opportunity to debut a new blue colorway for the Black Bay Chrono. This latest iteration also features the fan-favorite five-row bracelet, which only made its way onto the model earlier this year. First introduced in both panda and reverse panda, the latest version of the Black Bay Chrono received an unforeseen spl

When you think of Vacheron Constantin, the Fiftysix might not be the first watch you associate with the brand. Models like the 222 and the Overseas will probably come to mind first. However, like those, the Fiftysix is based on one of Vacheron Constantin’s true heritage pieces. Besides, it receives the same attention to detail and finishing. Vacheron Constantin has just introduced another ro

Do you think there's a small group of tourbillon collectors out there who operate like Pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town whose goal is to become a Pokemon Master? His motto is Gotta catch ’em all, and if the same goes for self-proclaimed Tourbillon Masters, visiting a Roger Dubuis boutique will help them bag different types of tourbillons. To keep things fresh, the brand from Meyr

I had studied it for months. I knew everything there was to know about it. The only issue was that I had never seen one in real life. The only way to get my hands on one was to order it online. So that’s what I did. It took its sweet time since I had asked the vendor to retrofit a domed sapphire crystal. Then, one fateful day, the mailman arrived with a parcel. I opened it, my heart racing.

Well, that is what I wrote when I started this story, genuinely believing that I would have a problem choosing. But as many times before, RJ, Mike, and others have finished their Best Watches Under $10K stories and stolen my chosen thunder.The $5KC10K segment is not easy for me as my taste annoyingly tends to hover far above my budget or in the $1,000C3,000 world of strict reality. But as I've dec

Speaking of Constellations (see post below), last weekend I visitted my grandfather and he told me he was quite happy with the accuracy and new ‘looks’ of his Constellation. Some years ago, before the watch got a complete overhaul, I wrote a small essay/review on his watch. Next time I visit him, I should make a new picture of his watch. The dial is cleaned up and the crystal and case

Some time ago, Jon Langballe (co-moderates the Omega Forum at WatchUseek) sent me a picture of his Seamaster 300.I guess Omega nowadays seeks the internet as well, looking for “what’s hot and what’s not” amongst customers and collectors. Omega uses details from watches like these and apply them on new models like the Seamaster Planet Ocean and others (think of the vintage C

Every month my company Chronolytics sends out a newsletter to the watch industry, watch enthusiasts and press with some facts & figures on watch consumers and their ‘behavior’. Today’s newsletter is about the awareness of German watch brands by consumers from the USA. Based on IP-address and cookies, Chronolytics is able to track the on-line behavior of millions of watch enth

Earlier today, I had the chance to visit the Sinn Boutique in Frankfurt.? I was with a friend who was interested in potentially buying a 103, so I took the opportunity to see if the just-announced blue pieces (T1 & T2 divers and the L.E. 103 A Sa B) were in stock: they were!? I think the bullk of what has been published on the web has been based on press photos, so I took the opportunity to ta

A letter from someone I knowA couple of years ago, 2012 to be precise, I traveled to Paris together with Bert and Gerard to witness the 40th anniversary exhibition of the Royal Oak. Being a big fan of the Royal Oak, we decided to drive down there and have a look. A friend, who was working at AP at the time, arranged an interview with designer Octavio Garcia for me. So we sat down and since I am a

Chronoswiss RegulateurBefore I start with the review of the Chronoswiss Flying Regulator, let me give you a brief history on my own experience as a Chronoswiss Regulateur owner. It must have been around Christmas 2000, when I got my own Chronoswiss Regulateur. Regulateur, not Regulator. At some point, Chronoswiss changed the wording.1987The Chronoswiss Regulateur model that I have for over 15 year

Earlier this year, I was asked to write an article for Omega’s Lifetime Magazine about the Trilogy watches. Including the Speedmaster 311.10.39.30.01.001 of course. From the first moment on, I was thrilled by this watch and I didn’t need much time to order one for myself. As I am writing this, I am waiting for the watch to be delivered, but in the meanwhile I received a Speedmaster?311

When Grand Seiko was re-introduced in 1988, their first models had quartz movements. Then, in 1998, Grand Seiko introduced the 9S calibre movement. The first two mechanical calibres for Grand Seiko that were introduced in 1998 were their calibre 9S51 and 9S55. The latter might sound familiar to you if you are into Seiko watches, as it was the base calibre for the 8L35(b) movements used in the Mari