Watches Blog Wrist Watch Reviews

Tiger Woods, a golf pro hero that sees his career end-up in pieces in just a few weeks, only because he doesnt live up to the high standard of being a role model for every kid in the US who wants to achieve something. Who cares what he does in his private life? He didnt kill anyone, didnt steal.. The hypocrisy of the ones who judge and dropped him is unbelievable imho. I think golf pro Nick Faldo had the same sort of problems in the past (early 1980s) and he recovered quite okay-ish. Anyway, just like his sponsor TAG Heuer, Tiger saw his name/image going down rather quickly due to some bad Public Relations/Communication.I hope that TAG Heuer at least has the decency not to drop him like some [...]

I like the quiet contenders. On school sports day, they're the ones that lag behind at a snail's pace, reserving their energy before pulling a last-minute trick out of the bag and surging past everyone like a little Duracell Bunny. If they're particularly cunning, they'll throw a curveball and trip an opponent up, ever-so-sneakily before the finish line. I'm also quietly competitive. I like to gather all my facts. Observe other people. Study their strategies before conceiving and executing a nefarious master planIs that what smaller watchmakers do, do you think? They may not stand directly under the limelight or indeed, have the financial backing or the marketing they need to steal another's [...]

As you probably know, we launched the Fratello Shop last December. Recently, we updated our stocklist with a few new watches for your pleasure. Lets have a quick look.Besides the pre-owned (NOS) Omega Speedmaster Professional watches and Frederique Constant Manufacture with Moonphase, weve now added two references each from Rado and Fortis.Rado in Green and RedWe are very enthusiastic about the Rado Captain Cook, but the red-dialed Golden Horse on a beads-of-rice bracelet really struck a chord with our team. When it first came in for review (click here) it was the watch everyone rushed to strap on their wrist. A beautiful 36.5mm dress watch that originally came with a leather strap only, wev [...]

I am not a big fan of Breitling watches, with the exception of the Navitimer. I have owned one and wasnt very impressed with it, to say the least. However, Breitling is on a roll with their new in-house constructed movements.Breitlings most interesting model, the Navitimer, is now available with their chronograph Caliber 01 movement. Column wheel chronograph with a vertical clutch and the classic tri-compax dial layout (sub dials at 3, 9 and 6 oclock). If it wasnt for the price of approx $7,600.- USD, Id put it on my list.My guess is that Breitling will quickly sell their stock of 2,000 pieces in stainless steel. The run of 200 pieces in 18 carat red gold probably wont sell as fast as the st [...]

I recently enjoyed some lens time with this rather unique piece by Peter Speake-Marin. Out of the box, the aesthetic was a littleunusual, but I admit that towards the end of the session, the design grew on me.Enjoy All images can be clicked on for larger versions. Dont forget to check us out on Facebook?and gives us a Like!MTYes, it glows in the dark, too!MoonphaseDay of the week hand and instantaneous change mechanism24 hour handMaster control wheel for perpetual calendar mechanism. Note the incredibly thin jumper spring attached to the pawl center-right, and the square cut gear controlling the date advance at the end of each month.One final view. [...]

Oris is a sympathetic brand in my opinion. Independent (but not small) and very strong in the sub 2000 price range. We covered their Aquis and Sixty-Five Divers watches a number of times, as these are great value propositions. What also helps for us watch journalists, is that the people behind Oris are also sympathetic and real watch enthusiasts. That doesnt help or mean much for the end-consumer perhaps, at least not directly, but believe me, it does for us when the people behind a brand share the (true) love for watches. However, being very strong in that 1000 to 2000 segment, what happens if a brand like Oris creates a watch that retails for nearly 5000?For that kind of money, you are ent [...]

It is becoming more and more difficult to find a mechanical divers watch under 1,000, especially from the big brands. The watch landscape changed tremendously over the past 10 C15 years, and prices have increased quite a bit.Is it still possible to find a proper mechanical dive watch with this budget? In this top 7 mechanical dive watches under 1,000, you will find my favorites.Top 7 Mechanical Divers Under 1,000I am not a diver by any means. I only go for the occasional swim during my holidays. The real divers in our team are Gerard, Bert, and Andreas. They have their PADI qualifications and know a thing or two about what it takes to dive with a watch. And while I do like the looks of divin [...]

Announcement: Prints of?Watches Pencils artworksBefore we take a look at?the panda?I would like to start of with an announcement.?Last months I received a lot of questions about prints of the artworks presented in?the Watches Pencils feature. Unfortunately I wasnt able to handle all the individual requests and therefore I decided to open an online shop. In the shop Ive placed a selection of my artwork, which will be updated now and then. Since the payment, printing process and shipping is handled by a professional third party with quality products (RedBubble), buying a print should be a breeze from now on (several materials and sizes available). Please take a look around at the?Watches Pe [...]

Today, Oris introduces a new variation on the Aquis collection. The?Oris Aquis Small Second with date feature. Let us stress that the small in the model name has to do with the seconds and absolutely not with the size of the watch. A whopping 45.5mm in diameter for this Oris Aquis Small Second Date.The?Oris Aquis Small Second has the same design as the Aquis that was introduced earlier this year. Gerard did an interesting write-up on the new Aquis during his trip to Florida with Oris a few weeks ago, you can read it here.In short, the lugs and bracelet are a bit thinner than on the previous Aquis versions ?and the crown guards are a bit more tapered. These changes give the new Aquis models a [...]

Its This Week in Watches for September 19, 2020 and Ive dubbed this one the Enjoyable Edition. Why is that? Well, I think we have some nice news indeed.Mido Belluna RoyalSometimes, theres something extremely enjoyable about a basic, nice looking watch. In fact, Id say thats what we have here with the new Mido Belluna Royal series. These watches feature a cushion case and guilloch style sunray dial. Interestingly, the shape is meant to evoke Royal Albert Hall in London. Putting the story aside, the gents watches come in at 41mm x 10.14mm thick and use the Powermatic 80. The ladies version uses the same movement, but measures 33mm. All have water resistance of 50 meters. Honestly, I really li [...]

It's been more than a quarter since I've given an update on the vintage watch market. Why is that? Well, the article would likely have come off as more of the same prices are up and the market is tight. And today? It's no different, so I'll focus the article, instead, on the trends I've witnessed along with some commentary on condition.Your Hobby is Becoming MainstreamThe vintage watch market continues to evolve and what I've noticed is that it has become far more mainstream. What was once a true enthusiast/hobbyist market has now pivoted and attracts a far wider range of customers. Speculators, those concerned about general style, and trend followers now, more often than not, exhibit more [...]

In a recent installment of This Week in Watches, we mentioned that Jeff Stein C noted Heuer collector and creator of On the Dash and Fred Mandelbaum C noted Breitling collector would be hosting a bit of a celebration for the 50th anniversary of the Chronomatic movement.? Their respective Instagram accounts (@on_the_dash and @watchfred)? will serve as ground zero for the events, but we have a feeling that some others will get in on the act.? As a reminder, begin using the chronomatic50 hashtag starting on March 3rd through the 10th to participate.? First, though, we thought we'd provide a little background on the famous movement and I put together a brief Top 10 Chronomatic list of my favo [...]

Every now and then we get a message from someone who lets us know that they're selling a watch. But it's certainly not every day that the watch going up for sale is an original-owner Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 6265 from 1972, especially restored by Rolex. Yeah, you heard that right. This is a true heavy-hitter. Seeing this one in the metal was a highlight of my time at Fratello so far. Earlier this week, Kenny Vaes from Relleb paid us a visit here at Fratello HQ, and showed us the watch. We sat and had a chat about the watch's story, how he came to own it, the work Rolex did on it, and when and where it will be put up for sale. If you're in the market for a very special watch, or just want to [...]

All Hallows Eve. My favorite time of year. And Im not alone in this. Watchmakers also revel in putting a spooky spin on their collections. For this weeks Pre-Owned Picks, I am selecting three watches with an occult theme. What may surprise you is how collectible some of these watches have become or will become.Horror films are my guilty pleasure. I am far more likely to select a terrible horror film on streaming services over an acclaimed drama. Many share my deep fascination with horror fantasy, whether that stems from books, art, poetry or motion pictures. Some of the characters within are so ingrained that you can distinguish them from only a few subtle shapes. Konstantin Chaykin uses thi [...]

Its been a couple of years since I last picked up a vintage Rolex. Woe is me Its a hard life indeed. Jokes aside, I recently took delivery of a lovely Rolex Submariner 5513 Maxi Dial and I thought Id share my impressions.Im a dummy. As sure as I sit here today looking at the 90s and early 00s Bluesy Submariners telling myself to strike now before its too late (its already too late, by the way), I did the same thing five to seven years ago on another Rolex. I cant remember the websites, but I remember the watches. I was looking at 5513 Submariner watches and they were staring back at me with their lowly $4,500 to $6,000 price tags ALLaDAYaLONG. What did I do about it? Nothing. I did nothing e [...]

Could there be a better place than Dubai to launch a new dazzling watch created especially for Women? Absolutely not There was magic in the air that night The presentation of this new diamond pav timepiece during LVMH Watch Week had an almost?One Thousand and One Nights feel. Seeing as the Defy family has become Zenith's signature design of recent years, the ladies version might be considered as a risk-free move these days, but that wouldnt always have been the case. A less elegant silhouette that has an edginess not often seen in womens watches of the last century, this is most definitely a piece for now. But let's see if the new model is what we (the wearers) want from a contemporary time [...]

Stormy. Slick. Sophisticated. Shimmering. Smokey? Smart These are some of the words I would use to describe the new Grand Seiko SBGE271 (the black dial) and the SBGE269 (the white dial). Ive never been a massive fan of Grand Seikos elegance collection but occasionally find myself taken by one or two of the models. These bad boys have my attention because their existence is justified by one thing and one thing alone. It just so happens that one thing is something I definitely like: texture.Im straight of the back of two special edition projects that gave me the chance to play around with my love of texture. The Minase Dividio we released back in March was my take on the Japanese brands classi [...]

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, some of them still affordable. In this installment, we will take a look at the best IWC watches from the 1990s.This week we will continue our journey through watch history t [...]

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. This week we line up two modern luxury steel sports watches from the mind of G rald Genta. The Royal Oak is one of Gentas pioneering designs, while the Octo Finissimo continued his legacy when Bvlgari acquired his eponymous brand. Which one would integrate into your life?Like Hansel in Zoolander, mode [...]

Omega Speedmaster 2915It is Speedy Tuesday today and I realized that we lacked putting the spot light on the very first Speedmaster model. This first Omega Speedmaster 2915, officially reference?CK2915, was designed by Claude Baillod when he was working in the team of Head of Creation Pierre Moinat.The high contrast dial was inspired by Italian race cars of that time, also explaining the very first advertisements of the Omega Speedmaster 2915, showing two sports car enthusiasts and their Speedmaster. As you can see, this Speedmaster is of course close family to the current Speedmaster models, but has some differences. The bezel is stainless steel instead of the black aluminum inlay and the [...]