World First: A Watertight Gasket-Free Watch Mauron Musy
A brand's reputation is built piece-by-piece. Credentials, characters, stories, products, reviewsSo much goes into the formation of an identity it's a shame that we often neglect to appreciate this when we hold a young brand's early products in our hands for the first time. For those of us who live and breathe watches, it isn't so hard to understand instinctively the character (or lack thereof) of a brand and to sort the wheat from the chaff.Mauron MusyMauron Musy is a small brand from Broye Valley that we have been following since its inception. There was something special about them we just couldn't dismiss, as we did so many others. The model family central to their identity is the Armure...
#TBT Rado Over Pole A World Timer in a Captain Cook Case
And once again, just when you think you’ve seen it all in terms of vintage tool watches, something surprises like the Rado Over Pole.Man, it’s good to be back writing a #TBT article.? We’re so excited to have Tomas here on the team and he continues to share some fantastically different vintage pieces, but I couldn’t let him have all the fun, could I?? So, for the first time in months, I’m back in the well worn saddle to document a really cool watch that I truly stumbled upon in the Rado Over Pole.An Unexpected and Rare FindI was cruising some Japanese sites not too long ago when I truly stumbled upon the vintage Rado Over Pole.? I had never seen this model befor...
This Week in Watches: April 4, 2020 Homebound Edition
Hello homebound friends, we welcome you to another episode of This Week in Watches for April 4, 2020. We have a decent amount of news today, so let’s get to it!Ollech & Wajs COVID-19 AidIt’s nice to know that while you’re homebound, there are companies at work trying to do the right thing. Zurich-based Ollech & Wajs sent a couple emails over the last week. Firstly, they’ve announced that every watch sold will result in a donation of 100 CHF to the Italian Protezione Civile.?If you head to their site, you’ll learn that equates to roughly 10% of the sales price of most watches. Second, O&W is in the process of making and donating 10,000 surgical masks ...
TimeTravel #4: Seiko Mickey Mouse 2K03-5009
I shamelessly confess that I wear this shiny, gold-tone Seiko Mickey Mouse more often than initially thought I would.?Being watch lovers, it is not surprising that we often find ourselves compelled to gift our newborns with their very first tickers. While the temptation to buy a 3-week olf baby a classic chronograph that will make it the envy of all the other babies in kindergarten, it makes more sense to buy a watch that will spend the first 18 years of your progeny’s life on ice. It's generally considered that the Datejust or Omega Constellation are great choices for this kind of thing. But if neither of those well-trodden paths tickles your fancy, take a stroll through this list an...
Fratello On Air: WASP 6.0 Ambassadors And Formula 1 Angelus, Zenith, Hublot, Timex, And More...
This week, Balazs and Rob tackle the subject of watch brand ambassadors in the four major professional sports leagues in North America.Amazingly, six episodes in, this is a topic that hasn’t been fully addressed. In our pilot episode, we touched upon Tom Brady’s ambassadorship for IWC but he is far from alone in the NFL, with Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings coming in atop Balazs’ list of football-playing watch lovers and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers is Rob’s pick.The MLB throws up a couple of throwbacks, with Balazs stretching all the way back to the fifties for his selection. Rob, meanwhile, reaches back about a decade to call upon a superstar tha...
Sunday Morning Showdown: Revival Rivals Breitling Vs. Zenith
In our Sunday Morning Showdown, two of our writers go head-to-head in an epic showdown for the ages. Strong opinions and hysterical hyperbole are welcome (so feel free to join in with the fun in the comments section below). And don’t forget to let us know which watches you’d like to see torn to shreds/effusively exalted next week. We’ll try and feature as many of our readers’ choices as we can. After a short break for March Mania, we’re back with today’s candidates. Each contender revives a cooky layout from its past in a modern guise. The Breitling Top Time and Zenith Chronomaster El Primero A385. Which revival riles you up?Don’t adjust your televis...
Sinn 556 Models With Colorful Dials A Surprising Smash Hit
Sometimes, stepping out of one’s comfort zone can be a good thing. In the case of the new Sinn 556 with its collection of colorful dials, I was able to go hands-on with watches that will undoubtedly go down as smash hits. Folks, I wasn’t sure that this release warranted its own article, but seeing was believing.It’s tough to be in two places at once, but Sinn managed to pull it off last week. The brand held court in Geneva and showed its wares at the Frankfurt HQ in parallel. I had the chance to take a convenient short drive to the HQ on a cold, snowy Saturday and had the floor to myself. Well, Sinn’s Sabine Kleiter welcomed me and was kind enough to explain the brand...
The Curious Case Of The Unimatic Modello Due S-Series
It’s been seven years since Unimatic first hit the scene, and guess who’s been watching? Me, that’s who. Yes, I’ve been an admirer of this Italian “microbrand” since the beginning, but always at a distance. All that changed recently, though, with a purchase of the Modello Due S-Series. Was “scratching the itch” worthwhile?Seven years - that’s how long I’ve watched Unimatic. This Italy-based small brand has been releasing watches on a regular basis in two case forms, and I’ve always liked them. Whether it’s the more traditional Modello Uno with its external bezel or the no-frills Modello Due, the typically clean looks tur...
New: Citizen 200m Promaster Mechanical Diver (2022)
Finally, Citizen has decided to throw a haymaker at Seiko in the mechanical retro diver category. Us vintage nerds wondered if this day would ever come, but here it is - the new 200m Promaster Mechanical Diver.I must admit that collecting vintage Citizen watches has been a real source of entertainment for me over the last three or four years. I’m not alone in my passion, but there are definitely fewer of us in number than in the Seiko horde. During this period, I have come to appreciate all the goodness that comes along with older Citizen watches. I’ve also become painfully aware that there’s a real lack of information written in English about them. Similar to Seiko, I̵...
The Moonwatch With A Moonphase ?A Hidden Gem
For many watch enthusiasts, a watch moonphase complication is something special! It’s not the most difficult complication for brands to develop, but it’s very rewarding for the owner of the watch. A moonphase disc on a dial is a nice visual element, and it certainly suits the official Moonwatch. With Omega bumping up prices of the regular Speedmaster Professional ($7,500 for the Hesalite version, $8,600 for the sapphire version), you will find some of the discontinued models to be relative bargains all of a sudden. A good example of this is the Omega Speedmaster Moonphase, and there are quite a few variations out there.Speedmaster with a moonphase indicatorMost moonphase watches ...
Hands-On: HYT Conical Tourbillon Black Eklipse
One of the maddest creations that I discovered during last week's travels to the center of the horological universe was, most definitely, the HYT Conical Tourbillon Black Eklipse. The ultra-complicated watch was like a star system within a star system - a star system gone rogue. What you see is apparent mechanical chaos. You're waiting for the watch to implode, but it doesn't. A quick hands-on with this watch, which also shows HYT's signature hydromechanical features, is an attack on the senses. Are you ready for the chaos?The Neuchatel-based brand HYT blasted onto the scene 10 years ago with a unique hydromechanical wristwatch. Fluids and techniques from the medical industry were used to cr...
Introducing: Four New 38mm Seiko 5 Sports Models
Without a word of warning, and while most of the watch world was still digesting the Geneva-based extravaganza that was Watches and Wonders, Seiko has done it again! The Japanese brand has just introduced four new 38mm Seiko 5 Sports models. Since 1996 and throughout its 23-year lifespan, the Seiko SKX became one of the most popular dive watches. It was not a luxury item but an everyman’s tool watch - a quintessential piece in the collections of beginners and seasoned enthusiasts alike. For many, it was the first stepping stone into the rabbit hole of mechanical watches. We forgave many of its quirks, including misaligned rehauts and bezels, lack of hacking, and the fact that you had t...
?Is It Still Possible To Start A Watch Collection With $100?
Last weekend, researching this story was my way of returning to normality after being bombarded by sapphires, platinum, and composite bracelets with embedded diamonds. Yes, Watches and Wonders was a horological whirlwind romance, but afterward, I needed to get down from its gold-lined cloud. It’s easy to become enthusiastic about $100K grail watches, I’ll admit it. A single Laurent Ferrier hour hand takes 10, even 50 times as long to produce as a single digital Casio, but I still find joy in bargain cool. This story was a bigger challenge than I thought, and I was seriously considering upping the budget to $200. Asking myself the question “Is it still possible to start a wa...
#TBT The Orfina Golden Flame Double Automatic Twin Special
It looks like a joke, and it sounds like one too, but it’s a serious piece of wrist equipment. The name Orfina Golden Flame Double Automatic Twin Special sounds like a headline from a cheap tabloid - a watch you couldn’t take seriously today. But looking at it closely, there are so many distinct details to explore.Even though the Orfina name doesn’t ring a bell for many collectors, Orfina matters. Orfina was a Swiss company owned by Italian racer Umberto Maglioli, a former Porsche Racing driver, who was commissioned to manufacture the Porsche Chronograph 1. Yes, that’s the legendary watch featured in the original Top Gun movie. You can also see it in the recent Top Gu...
Hot take: The New Seiko 5 SNXS Series Of Watches
The Japanese watchmaker has introduced a new series within the Seiko 5 family, which pays homage to the past but somehow feels very natural in the present. Seiko is one of those few brands for which an enthusiast can buy a very humble automatic watch. Or a mechanical marvel with very tight tolerances that competes with the best the Swiss have to offer. Today’s release by Seiko honors the former category. And does so while proudly riffing off the Seiko 5 line’s heritage. The Seiko 5 line was introduced in the 1960s by Seiko to provide a durable all-round timekeeper for the masses. The ‘5’ in ‘Seiko 5’ refers to five critical elements that defined these watc...
Fantastic Fables: Do We Fool Ourselves To Justify Liking Watches?
Ambrose Bierce published Fantastic Fables back in 1899. It is a bundle of short fairy tales, most of which are absurd and feature an ironic plot twist. This unique combination reminds me of our behavior as watch lovers. Just as Bierce wrote about a woman who shot her man dead to prevent him from leaving her, do we fabricate stories that may not be entirely watertight to justify our inexplicably irrational liking of specific watches? Could we be seeking a logical narrative where none is truly required?Fantastic fablesSo, what kind of fantastic fables am I referring to here? I think this is best illustrated with an example. The first that springs to mind is a fable surrounding the Zenith Chron...
Fratello Talks: Things That Make A Watch Worthwhile
Welcome to a fresh new episode of Fratello Talks. Today, RJ and Lex join Nacho for a varied chat centered around the topic of things that make a watch worthwhile. From waitlists to limited editions and even watches for special occasions, added value is not really a matter of price. Does a reasonable wait add to the experience of eventually owning a watch? And does too long a wait spoil the desire? This is one of the topics the guys tackle today. So is the matter of limited editions. These days, everything seems to be limited and exclusive, but does this spoil it for everyone? It seems that, on the other hand, a total lack of LEs from certain brands is also no fun. So where’s the sweet ...
Brellum Duobox Triple Calendar Moonphase Chronometer
Today’s Brellum Duobox Triple Calendar Moonphase Chronometer brings heaps of functionality in a classy, relatively affordable package. We’ve covered the brand extensively here on Fratello and have come to enjoy the thoughtful touches and high-value quotient. Yes, today’s piece is a dressier affair, but it’s nicely executed.Brellum continues to roll out the hits with chronometer-certified, limited-edition watches that offer value for money. The Duobox Triple Calendar Moonphase Chronometer is no different and should please those looking for a more formal, highly complicated chronograph. It’s on the larger side, but that’s becoming somewhat of a rarity today....
Introducing: The Alpina Heritage Tropic-Proof
There are always surprises at the major watch shows. This year, one of the unexpected releases was the Alpina Heritage Tropic-Proof, a recreation of a manual-wind ’60s watch. The size and some other touches are true to the original.The big names dominate the scene at a show like Watches and Wonders. We spend hours predicting their releases, but it’s good to look at the news from the smaller brands. Alpina isn’t small, but the brand releases watches throughout the year. Perhaps this is why news of the new Heritage Tropic-Proof came as such a surprise.The original Alpina Tropic-ProofIn the ’60s, it seems that all brands were offering watches that could withstand some le...
New: Frederique Constant Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture
The Frederique Constant Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture debuted in 2016. At that time, it was the most affordable perpetual calendar wristwatch on the market. Now the brand has made some welcome updates to it, so let’s take a look.Frederique Constant is a brand that always brings value when it comes to perpetual calendars. The Highlife is a fan favorite and an impressive watch that we have discussed here at Fratello before. Today, the FC is giving customers another attractive option in the realm of perpetual calendars while introducing a new caliber. Let’s dive in.Frederique Constant’s Classic Perpetual Calendar ManufactureThe Frederique Constant Classic Perpetual Ca...