We who write for Fratello are passionate watch lovers like you. But our writing bears the risk of persuading ourselves to fall in love with one or the other watch or even follow one of the current trends in design. Next to the inescapable vintage trend and the continuously evolving diversity of structured dials in all imaginable color hues, the unbroken demand for what has been named “luxury

You might have noticed several new brands, especially those born on crowd-funding platforms, are using the direct-to-consumer model to slash prices and therefore provide “accessible” or “attainable” luxury”. Maybe I’m a grumpy old cynic or maybe I’m just tired of seeing the same uncreative blurb pushed under my nose already well past its sell-by-date despi

Recently, I went along to the London stop of the IWC roadshow in Covent Garden. It was an excellent opportunity to view watches that seldom see time in a boutique. Take, for instance, the Big Pilot Top Gun “Mojave” that is garnering a growing waitlist. IWC also demonstrated the relative mass of a selection of its materials. A block of Ceratanium is far lighter than an equal size block

The world of watches never ceases to surprise me. As far as Cartier is concerned, I can’t recall a watch that caused as much of a buzz around its launch as the Pebble did. Even the 2019 rerelease of the Cartier (London) Crash watch caused less noise on social media than the Pebble. And that Crash truly gave me and lots of other collectors sleepless nights, let me tell you.What is a Pebble wa

My hunt for chronographs with Excelsior Park calibers is well documented. I spoke about it in some of the Fratello On Air podcasts. You can also read about my endeavor of finding my NOS Excelsior Park some months back. Yet, when it comes to EP-caliber watches, the vintage market offers much more than you might think. On the one hand, we have the usual suspects - Gallet, Zenith, Girard-Perregaux, a

Winter is approaching in the Northern Hemisphere, so spend a few minutes in bed and warm up with another Sunday Morning Showdown. While the opinions might get heated, the watches are icy cool. In the case of the Czapek Antarctique Rattrapante, the ice-blue flourishes may send shivers down your spine. At the same time, the split-second snap may warm the cockles of your heart. In the other corner, t

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the first watch officially issued to NASA. This watch, a LeCoultre, was based on an existing model (Quartermaster) but customized at NASA’s request. In this article submitted by space-watch buff (and author) Philip Corneille, you can read about this specially commissioned LeCoultre 24 Hours wristwatch. In the header image, you see Mercury astronauts Sc

Welcome to another episode of Fratello On Air! This week, we discuss Japanese watches. That’s a wide subject, so we attack it in different ways. Stick around to find out how we tackle one of our favorite watch genres. For our listeners, the watch content begins after approximately 17 minutes.

Seiko is a brand that many consider the gateway drug to entry-level mechanical watches. It is also a rare example of a watchmaker that produces anything from affordable timepieces to expensive and high-end watches. The Seiko “Turtle” exemplifies the brand’s ability to punch hard in the affordable segment.The Seiko SRPE93 (formerly known as the SRP777 and nicknamed the “Turt

As the title of this post already says, the AP Millenary 4101 was one of the nicest horological surprises in 2011. Some of you probably know that I have a weak spot for the Royal Oak, but this Millenary suddenly appeared on my list of favorite watches as well. The oval watch case is definitely something different and the fact that the oval shaped in-house movement caliber 4101 is specially built f

Speedy Tuesday is here! Although we love all the limited edition Speedmasters, mission patch models, X-33s, Flightmasters, Z-33, Moon phase etcetera etcetera models, we are the first ones to admit that some times it is just best to buy the ‘original’ Moonwatch.The current Moonwatch is – in our opinion – the ref.3570.50 (as discussed and compared to a vintage Moonwatch in th

There will be a few readers who experienced the 1970s themselves – or from a close range, like myself (1977) – and there will also be a readers that know the 1970s best from ‘That ’70s show’. The first group probably don’t know about ‘That ’70s Show’ at all. The 1970s was an era of continued NASA Apollo launches, super jets, orange curtains, qu

A Tank, Is A Tank, Is A Tank was Cartier's slogan in 2013 when the Tank Anglaise was released. There was a huge presentation during the launch, that featured all the Tanks models? that Cartier ever created. But there is only one Tank that is seen as the king of the collection, since there is one Tank that is the most accepted, most wanted, most copied and most admired Tank of all. But that does no

Omega gave us the opportunity to use one of the Golf Edition models of their 2017 Omega Aqua Terra line up. I happily accepted it as my 52Mondayz watch for this week.The Omega Aqua Terra Golf Edition on my wristOmega Aqua Terra 150M Golf EditionThe Omega Aqua Terra 150M collection currently comprises of no less than 22 variations. A closer look learns that in fact there are 9 different watches wit

You probably recall the Jaeger-LeCoultre Geophysic 1958 Tribute that was introduced in 2014 (we wrote about it here). At the time also a limited edition that came in three different case materials: stainless steel (800 pieces), pink gold (300 pieces) and platinum (58 pieces). A tribute to the original 1958 Geophysic, with a 38.5mm diameter cases (instead of the original 35mm). All three watches we

MeisterSinger stands for single-hand watches. A single needle-thin hour hand shows time to the nearest five minutes and contributes to a rather relaxed way of keeping track of time. This simple and convincing idea is most elegantly transferred in the pure and modern style of the Neo product line – now upgraded by the Neo Plus, which debuted at Baselworld this year.New white and vibrant highl

The world’s largest online market platform for watches is hosting a Speedmaster-only auction on December 11th. A selection of discontinued and rare Speedmaster limited editions are being offered through the Chrono24 platform as auction items. What to think of the highly sought-after Alaska Project re-edition from 2008? Or the Japanese racing model from 2004? You will find the platinum Apollo

Now that the recently announced Fromanteel Pendulum Traveler is for sale, we decided that this was as good a time as any to dive a little deeper into the Amsterdam watchmakers. What drove them to create the automatic Pendulum watches? Let's have a look!Watches With a StoryThe only thing better than an affordable, high quality watch is an affordable, high quality watch with a story. And the story o

About two years ago, Bert and I visited the boutique of the Davidoff Brothers in Geneva, and were able to capture a number of tropical dial Speedmasters. Among them, a CK2915 with tropical dial, but also the later CK2998, 105.003, 105.012, 145.012 up till the 145.022 (first watch with caliber 861). In total, we had 12 references in front of us, each with their unique (aesthetic) features.Because w

Remember the first Omega Seamaster Professional 300M ‘Bond’? The 2541.80 (quartz) and 2531.80 (automatic) to be precise. Those watches weren’t limited editions, but part of the regular Omega collection and worn by Bond in 1995 and onwards. Today, we introduce to you the Seamaster 300M that Bond will wear in No Time To Die, and it will be in the regular collection as well.I love t