Watches Blog Wrist Watch Reviews

This week, I am looking at brands that have designed watches for the Stuttgart-based sports car brand, Porsche.I partly took inspiration from Tomas' TBT article on the Porsche Design by IWC reference 3704 that you can read here. Scrolling through Chrono24, I found more awesome watches that co-branded with Porsche. Before Porsche Design became, well, Porsche Design.All watches are pre-owned and picked from Chrono24. Every week we pick a few pre-owned watches from Chrono24, the largest market place for wristwatches in the world watches that we love ourselves, or think they will be interesting to you. So, to be clear, we picked the watches, Chrono24 only send us the images without their waterm [...]

We give a lot of Speedmaster coverage, but mainly on (Speedy) Tuesdays. Today we make an exception, as?we were invited to join the Omega Speedmaster Event in London, with Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, former NASAs engineer James H. Ragan who was responsible for testing and selecting the Speedmaster and actor George Clooney, a long-time space and Speedmaster fan.Speedmaster Event in LondonThere is no secret that I love the Speedmaster. Ive told this many times before, but the Speedmaster is the model?that got me into watches in general and one that I collect myself. A love that resulted in starting the Speedy Tuesday feature and has been celebrated with its own limited edition watch for it [...]

The Portugieser debuted in 1939. IWC built it at the request of two Portuguese businessmen, who requested a wristwatch that was as accurate as a marine chronometer. Pragmatically as watchmakers are in Schaffhausen, IWC put a marginally altered hand-wound Calibre 74 pocket watch movement in a 41.5mm case, put a leather strap on it and the Portugieser was born. It wasn't until 1998 that the IWC Portugieser Chronograph was introduced. The current model still looks like the one from 23 years ago and has proven to be a modern-day brand icon. Does that strike you as laziness on IWCs part or sound boring? Why change a winning formula, you could riposte.The first Portugieser bears the reference 325. [...]

The Rolex Sky-Dweller has, recently, started to get a bit more of the love it perhaps deserved when it stumbled out of the blocks in 2012. For the best part of a decade, the bizarrely complicated love child of the Rolex Datejust and GMT Master II clamored for attention. With an updated dial that saw batons replace the busy numerals used in its early days, the watch began to come of age. Now, with the release of three 18-karat gold models on Oysterflex bracelets, the crown has given a new angle from which to appreciate the ugly duckling that is flourishing into a graceful swan.Weve seen the Oysterflex hit the Daytona and Yacht-Master collections before. Despite this rubber bracelet looking li [...]

Welcome back to This Week in Watches we have some exciting news this week, so lets get right down to it!Hamilton Chrono-Matic 50First up on This Week in Watches is a new Hamilton.? We received word a little over a week ago that Hamilton was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Caliber 11 with a limited edition release based upon its highly collectible vintage Chronograph E from 1972, which is otherwise known as the Count-down GMT Chrono-Matic.? Hamilton was one of the original partners in the Caliber 11 automatic that debuted in 1969 along others such as Breitling, Buren, and Heuer, so its fitting that they decided to take part in the celebrations.? Admittedly, Hamilton chose a very obsc [...]

One of the best designed watches in my opinion is the Patek Philippe Calatrava ref.5127. I dont know what the idea is behind Pateks reference numbers, as they dont seem to be logical, but if you want to order one at your nearest (un)authorized Patek dealer it might come in handy. Anyway, I will call it Calatrava in this post, without mentioning the reference all the time. Patek has a lot of Calatrava models in their collection, but the one below is the one in particular when I addressed one of the best designed watches. It has no sharp edges or hard lines in terms of design, the lugs have only this slight bend towards the strap (or bracelet for the /1 models) and the dial is perfectly clea [...]

I have to admit I am not a fan of doing pre-SIHH or pre-BaselWorld releases. However, I also understand that during some of the other shows, like SalonQP, or in this case the Dubai Watch Week, you need to have something to tease the customers with. Some pre-SIHH or pre-BaselWorld novelties are shown in a smaller group, mainly press only, I assume also to monitor their responses. While that is a good thing, it does take away a bit of the ooh and aah effect during the official launch dates.Whatever the reason is for a brand to come up with a pre-SIHH/BaselWorld release, Vacheron Constantin decided now is the time to show us this new Overseas Dual Time.Lets have a closer look.Vacheron Constanti [...]

Well, folks, I am honored to be holding the fort during RJs summer holiday absence. Earlier this month, I was at Fratello HQ in The Hague when RJ shouted at me from his desk. He said he was going on holiday (yes, even RJ needs a holiday sometimes) and asked me if I could make sure that Speedy Tuesday went ahead as usual. He suggested lending me a Speedmaster for a week on the wrist type of review.While that may seem a little vanilla at first, I think I am probably the only member of the Fratello team that doesn't actually own an Omega Speedmaster. I know, I know: on paper, that is absolute sacrilege. For some of the team members, joining Fratello was the catalyst for their first Speedmaster [...]

Jason Oliver at TimeZone posted a message that the Speedmaster Pro owned by astronaut Deke Slayton was sold at some auction. You can find it here.Here is a picture of the watch:I hope the buyer puts on a new strap ?? The buckle seems to be original Omega (and in the right time-period). I really doubt if I would ever sell such a personal belonging as a watch that joined me on spaceflights. [...]

Just a few days before traveling became impossible, we saw the new Longines Spirit collection. Under embargo, of course. So we are happy that its now finally time to show you the pictures we took during that appointment.To me, it seems that Longines is taking a new direction with the Spirit collection. Although weve seen and still see some heritage-inspired watches from Saint-Imier, this Longines Spirit collection is different. It combines heritage and modern watchmaking, with a very attractive price tag.Longines Spirit CollectionEvery new watch needs a story. For this collection, Longines has dived into its archives and come up with tales of more than 20 pioneers as well as some extraordina [...]

TAG Heuer has a history of creating some of the best full lume dial diving watches. In the mid-1980s, the brand released an entire collection of full lume dial versions of their Heuer 1000 and later TAG Heuer 1000 Professional line of watches. One of them became a Bond icon on the wrist of Timothy Dalton in the Bond movie The Living Daylights. I love this series of watches a lot. Its why I was delighted that TAG Heuer announced a full lume version of theirAquaracer Professional 300M. Time to find out whether the new stylish Aquaracer Night Diver is as good as its iconic predecessors.As some of you might know, I write a series of articles on the best vintage watches per brand per decade. Over [...]

I have covered the Omega Speedmaster Professional Apollo XI Moonshine more than once here. That includes a long-term review on the watch after exactly a year of ownership. But never before I did an article on the bracelet alone. Here we are though: Meet the Nixon bracelet review.The bracelet of the Speedmaster Professional Apollo XI Moonshine deserves its own article. It is that good, in my opinion. And, to be frank, I didnt expect it to be this good. The specifications didnt lie about the small clasp (14mm)? and got me a bit worried at first.The Speedmaster Nixon BraceletBut boy was I worried for nothing. I mean, it is not everyday one spends the amount of a nice car on one watch. It was ev [...]

Wrist Game or Crying Shame is here with a look at yet another Omega. This time, we put the Omega Dynamic III to the test. But firstIt was tough sledding for last weeks TAG Heuer Kirium Formula 1. The neo-vintage ana-digi chronograph took a vintage Mike Tyson style beating with 73% voting this one to the scrap pile. The comments were absolutely savage and many of you recalled the days of fragrances such as Drakkar Noir and Davidoff (no, not those guys) Cool Water. Im going to go out on a limb and guess that todays Omega Dynamic III will fare much better. Whether it wins the Fratellis favor, will be up to you.The Omega Dynamic IIIThe Omega Dynamic series of watches have normally been reserved [...]

I'm only kidding, of course. No need to commit a cyberpunk sci-fi fashion faux pas this early in the week. The latest Hamilton Pulsar dons the black mantle for you, also featuring the iconic green digital text of the 1999 cinematic masterpiece The Matrix. This limited edition release provides fans of both the Hamilton PSR and Wachowskis's iconic film with a perfect wrist-dwelling companion, just in time for the latest sequel in the franchise coming out later in December. Are you ready to acrobatically dodge some bullets in slow motion? You'd better be because this one is taking us straight into the gritty digital sci-fi universe. Is it the One to have though?I hope you've had enough Matrix p [...]

Its Speedy Tuesday Every 5 years, Omega introduces a commemorative edition of the Speedmaster Pro with regards to the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. In 2009, the 40th Anniversary edition of this Speedmaster Pro Apollo 11 was a slightly modified version of the standard Speedmaster Pro 3570.50 model. A beautiful silver medal patch on the sub dial on 9 oclock and a big Eagle on the case back. We covered it in one of our Speedy Tuesday articles, of course (click here).Omega Speedmaster Pro?311.62.42.30.06.001It wasnt a surprise to anyone that Omega introduced the 45th Anniversary Edition of the Speedmaster Professional Apollo 11 this year. However, I guess that nobody expected the watch to be like t [...]

Rafael Nadal, who won Roland Garros for the 7th time last Monday, reported his Richard Mille RM027 Tourbillon stolen from his hotel in Paris. This $374.000 USD tourbillon time piece was lend to him by sponsor Richard Mille. Unfortunately for Rafael Nadal (and Richard Mille), it wasnt the first time that he lost one of his precious RM pieces. It happed before in 2010 with his $500K USD Richard Mille.French news paper Le Parisien reported that the police traced the swiping card from hotel room and ended up arresting a bar tender from the hotel. The bar tender confessed the theft and led the police to the watch on Tuesday night. The bar tender hid the watch near a Metro rail track where the pol [...]

Integrated bracelets have been in vogue for several years and most brands now offer a choice in this highly competitive arena. Were here to take a look at the contenders.The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus are popular icons. Aside from the fact that both are 1970s Genta concepts, they also share a major design trait. Namely, they feature integrated bracelets. This look seems to fit the current trend of what has become an ever-widening grey zone between dressy and sporty. And so it makes sense that these watches are blazing hot today and nearly impossible to source. But whats a person to do if theyre not on a first name basis with their local AP boutique? Well, the posit [...]

One of the age-old questions in our hobby is, Are there genuine alternatives for some of the most sought-after watches? At Fratello, we never back down from a challenge, having already provided alternatives to the venerable Rolex Datejust and GMT Master, as well as the iconic Omega Speedmaster and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. In this article, I am searching for five alternatives to the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 possibly the hottest watch in the world right now. Can anything come close? I certainly think so!Comparing any watch to something like the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 will always be a big ask. Not because that watch is so inherently better than every other watch out there, but reput [...]

Were back with more block-rockin beats errrr, talk Balazs and Mike return (quickly) to talk about vintage watch opportunities in 2022. If you love the old stuff and are looking for value, tune in and relax!Thats right, the dastardly duo of Balazs and Mike is back, and we return to one of our favorite subjects the vintage watch market and where to find opportunities. As we know, theres little out there that hasnt been uncovered. However, that doesnt mean that value doesnt exist. Theres no highfalutin talk during this podcast, so your trust funds are safe!Vintage watch picks for 2022After a bit of a Handgelenks Kontrolle, we head off into our vintage watch picks for 2022. Balazs talks about An [...]

I promised to get back on my new watch ?? At first, I was looking at Rolex watches again, but couldnt make up my mind. Although I like the new GMT-Master IIc and the Milgauss, it wouldnt add much variation to my current collection. Then I was looking at the Royal Oak Jumbo, but I am not ready yet to spend over 8K Euro on one wrist watch.However, as I have written before, I am a huge fan of the 1970s design of Gerald Genta. He designed the Nautilus, Overseas, Royak Oak and the Ingenieur. The original ref.1832 Ingenieur SL is highly sought-after I believe, and the prices paid for those are unbelievable. So I decided to settle for a brand new one To be honest, IWC isnt my brand. Omega and Rolex [...]