All the news from the watch industry including boutique openings and new watch releases. Featured.
Watches – News, Reviews, Brands and Releases
When I look at the vintage time-only Omega watches that I own, I see a pattern. Most of them are from the 50s. They have a larger 35mm+ case size and a seconds sub-dial at 6. I dont know why, but Im just drawn to these timepieces like this excellent reference 2639(-14) with golden stardust dial and Dauphine hands.Todays subject is not my first 2639. Throughout the years Ive been collecting watches, I came across a good few examples. Still, I have to say; this is the most beautiful example I have ever had. There is just something special about watches with black dials. Although Im not a big fan of gold indexes and steel cases, it just works well with this 2639.Reference 2639PostThe first thin [...]
Its funny how, as collectors, we so often make plans for our collections. Some people might collect specific brands; others may stick to specific models within a brands collections. For the non-hardcore brand aficionados, many collections center around having watches fit specific style categories. Theres the rough and ready dive watch, the classy dress watch, and the travelers friend with the GMT. You cant forget the chronograph, or the everyday field watch too. The final one on this list is the pilots watch. Today I am looking at one of my favorite pilots watches, the Oris Oris Big Crown ProPilot Bronze.In the modern-day, when I hear the brand name Oris I think of dive watches first and for [...]
We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. Though most of what we write about is primarily focused on the most recent releases and developments, for many of us, a lot of the fun can be found in the sometimes weird and often wonderful world of vintage watches. Its a world full of history, remarkable watches, incredible stories, and quirky details. It inspired us to come up with a series of articles focusing on the best watches per decade from a select group of brands. Some of them are priceless, and some of them are still affordable. In this last installment of the series, we will take a look at the best A. Lange Sohne watches from the 2000s.By the turn of the mill [...]
There is no such thing as a Grail when it comes to collecting watches. As soon as you think youve found one, the next Grail is arising. However, the Patek Philippe Nautilus is the Grail for many watch enthusiasts out there, especially those with a weak spot for Gerald Genta designs. One of our readers belongs to that category, and showed us his Patek Philipe Nautilus 3700/1A. After having his share of OMEGA, Rolex and Audemars Piguet watches, it seems that this stainless steel piece de resistance gives him inner peace with his watch collection. Hed like to share some of the pictures of his 1977 Nautilus 3700/1A with the readers of Fratellowatches.In the past, weve written an in-dept article [...]
Oh, no. Not another article praising the new Speedmaster, I hear you say, as your eyes snap to the title of my article. Without a doubt, this piece is going to talk about the current Speedy. So, if you are fed up with the topic, feel free to navigate back to the main page and look for another write-up. No hard feelings. However, let me quickly try to sum up what Id like to talk about if youve stuck with me this far.The main idea behind getting the latest Speedmaster was to check it out, of course. I wanted to see a few things up close, namely: how is it compared to a vintage piece? Does the bracelet feel as good as it looks? Can you use the bracelet on other models? Is this iteration of the [...]
The two brands Porsche Design and Porsche are often assumed to be one and the same. But only recently, the Design Studio became part of the car manufacturer. Since then, the ties between Porsche Design watches and Porsche cars have become even stronger. Although there have always been links between the two companies, Porsche Design has created an impressive portfolio of non-car-related products including watches. Lets go back and explore the history of Porsche Designs watches.The history of Porsche Design starts in 1972. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, generally known as F. A. Porsche (but also as Butzi) founded the Porsche Design Studio in Stuttgart, Germany. F. A. Porsche had been responsible [...]
Where were you when the MoonSwatch landed? I know where I was because the build-up to the launch promised a big bang. And it certainly delivered. As soon as the eleven Omega a Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatches touched earth, it seemed like the entire world went mad. The watch world, that is. Swatch boutiques were surrounded by hordes of watch fans young and old trying to get their hands on a Bioceramic MoonSwatch. Find out how I experienced the touch-down of the Speedmaster MoonSwatch, what I think of the watch itself, and my perception of the concept; is the hype still alive?Omega a Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch Creating turmoil worldwideSo, is the hype surrounding the MoonSwatch still going [...]
I do enjoy writing lists (and tis the season, of course, with everybodys end-of-year round-ups hitting the web), but it can be harder than it looks. I suppose it comes down to how seriously you take the task. In my recent Top Five Watch Releases Of 2021, I really thought hard about it. I was genuinely sad to leave some incredible watches by the wayside. However, that was an article tasked with appraising the entire industry. Its surely a lot easier to do a top three for just one brand, like, say, Hamilton, right? Hmm Something tells me I might have been wrongYes, of course, it is a little easier to focus on one brands output rather than attempting to produce an infallible list encompassing t [...]
A significant part of the Fratelli enjoys blue-water-view holidays at this moment, and even your trusted supplier of This Week in Watches, Michael Stockton, was out of office. So for this week, Ill try to be a good stand-in as?I had part of my summer wind-down already. [...]
This 18 carat white gold Rolex Submariner ref.?116619LB is the indisputable King of the Submariner family. No one is probably ever going to take a dive with it, but they know they can if they want to. Or need to. You never know (the James Bond theme comes to mind).Dutch Rolex / watch collector Ryan5446 is the owner and photographer of this stunning Submariner. This watch is nick named Smurf but I am sure it has nothing to do with its size or weight, but everything with the nice blue color of the dial and Cerachrom bezel. Furthermore, it has all the specifications of the regular line-up of the Submariner watches, with the exception of the Submariner No Date ref. 14060m, which havent been repl [...]
Again interesting matter here at You Asked Us. One of our regular readers, Jordy, sent us a question about the possible discoloring of Luminova and Super-LumiNova.You Asked Us: Will Super-LumiNova, just like Tritium, Discolor When It Ages?Heres the full text of the question:From: JordyMessage Body:Hi guys!This is a question thats been keeping me busy for quite some time now. Im relatively new to watch collecting and started my addiction when all new watches were produced with Luminova and Superluminova.We all know that the older types of lume discolor when it ages. Is this the same with Luminova and why did they introduce Superluminova? What types of lume are there? Can we expect a slight sh [...]
Roll up, roll up The summer has hit The Hague, and Fratello is keen to celebrate. After the fizzing success of March Mania, we are back with the Summer Splash. A new knock-out competition conceived to find the very best summer watch out there, according to YOU, the Fratelli. And guess what? You can win prizes No, there wont be a watch available this time, but there WILL be some of the finest water-firing weapons money can buy: the Spyra 2 water cannon is reputedly the strongest of its kind ever made. Fancy getting your hands on one? Read on and take part in the comments section of this article.Eight writers will choose three of their favorite summer watches this time around and pitch them to [...]
The Atmos clock by Jaeger LeCoultre always has intrigued me. I really love the later models with a moonphase and in rhodium plated steel.These clocks do not need a power plug or a winding key. Atmos clocks get their energy from temperature changes in the environment. The following explanation is grabbed from the Atmos wikipage, as I couldnt say it better (in English at least):Its power source is a hermetically sealed capsule containing a mixture of gas and liquid ethyl chloride, which expands into an expansion chamber as the temperature rises, compressing a spiral spring; with a fall in temperature the gas condenses and the spring slackens. This motion constantly winds the mainspring. A vari [...]
The fact that Bernie and his girlfriend got robbed last month, is an excellent marketing tool for Hublot. Although pretty sure it was a JLC that got taken from his wrist, it now seems to be a Hublot. You can read more about the robbery here.The money making machine Bernie Ecclestone knows how to turn something negative into something positive (money).Thanks to JIFF for the tip and the original post at a Dutch car blog can be found here. [...]
Apollo-SoyuzIn 2014, we already covered the Speedmaster Apollo-Soyuz and the background of this watch:?The Apoll0-Soyuz mission in 1975.Two super powers forgot about the Cold War for just a moment by docking the Apollo and Soyuz spacecrafts at an altitude of 138 miles. Launched at the 15th of July in 1975, the docking took place on the 17th of July and lasted for 44 hours. After the docking, the American crew transferred from the Apollo to the Soyuz spacecraft.All men in this mission, astronauts and cosmonauts, wore Omega Speedmaster watches. Interesting enough, commander Thomas P. Stafford (we had a look at his personal watch here), wore his gold Speedmaster Professional Apollo XI that he r [...]
The IWC Portugieser Chronograph is one of the most recognizable watches in the industry. Its clean and clear display is often taken for granted, but it is a masterpiece of dial design, with particular attention paid to the spacing and layout of all information. Now fitted with an in-house caliber, the Portugieser is ready to be the go-to watch of the next generation.In recent years weve seen the fashion watch industry move over to exceptionally pared-back designs. The success and proliferation of brands such as Daniel Wellington, Olivia Burton, and Ted Baker may not seem all that relevant to readers of Fratello Magazine, but lest we forget the massive effect the high-volume sales of the fash [...]
In 2021, Omega updated the iconic Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch with the caliber 3861 movement. A very good reason to update our Speedmaster Buyers Guide as well!This guide dates all the way back to 2014, and since then, a lot happened. Not only did we have our own way with Omega and the two Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday watches (in 2017 and 2018), Omega also introduced a number of interesting Speedmaster watches to the collection. What about the Speedmaster Calibre 321 from 2020, or the new Moonwatch Master Chronometer models in gold? Time for us to update this Speedmaster Buyers Guide.In this Speedmaster Buyers Guide, we give you an overview of the most important references of the Speedm [...]
Welcome back to Wrist Game or Crying Shame, where you choose to point your thumb upwards or in the sinister direction at the end of a gladiator-like battle of wills This week, our contestant is the Vacheron Constantin Les Historiques 31110. But first?-I don't know what to say other than thank you to the new kid on the block, Rob Nudds. You see, yours truly (who is in his early 40s) thought he was still in his mid-20s and did something stupid at the gym and was basically out of commission during the heart of last week. People, if I can leave you with one word of advice it's this: stretch So, Rob stepped up big time and delivered last week's installment with a look at a highly polarizing watch [...]
The Rolex GMT-Master (II) finally stepped out of the shadow of its diving brother, the Submariner. With the introduction of the ceramic Pepsi and Batman (on Jubilee) recently, the hype is real. Long waiting lists and market prices far over retail result in disappointed customers, but that doesnt seem to slow down the demand. On the contrary.I can imagine why the Rolex GMT-Master II is so much in demand. It is a great daily companion, with the added value of an extra timezone. I had my share of GMT-Master watches, including a few vintage 1675s and a GMT-Master II 16710. When I was ready to purchase a GMT-Master II Ceramic or Batman in 2017, I was confronted with the above-mentioned demand for [...]
When the Omega Globemaster was introduced in 2015, I was super excited. Not only because it was a great new addition for the Constellation collection, but also because it was the first Omega watch with the Master Chronometer certification. That year was Silver Snoopy and James Bond, which made the Globemaster disappear to the background a bit.Not only that, the delivery of the Omega Globemaster watches to the boutiques and authorised dealers took a very long time. I would say that the momentum was gone at some point. In the last months, or perhaps last year even, I would say that I see that the Omega Globemaster is finally receiving some credits from collectors and enthusiasts. On Instagram [...]
