Watches Blog Wrist Watch Reviews

In the 1990s, when my interest for mechanical watches sparked, one of the most complicated watches Id ever seen was the IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar. I was fascinated by the fact that a mechanical timepiece could be programmed to have a calendar that wont need any corrections until a certain year. The Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar was introduced in 1985 and now, IWC decided it was time for a new and improved version. Lets have a look.IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar ChronographThose old round IWC Da Vinci models (reference 3750) were clearly the inspiration for this new IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph reference? IW392101 and IW392103. What can I say? I never cared for the in-betw [...]

Cartier has a rich history when it comes to dial design. And when it comes to the Tank models, we've seen it all. That makes sense. The watch originated in 1917, so by the time the '70s and 80s came around, it's only natural that the designers had begun to play with new ideas. Their creativity coupled with the perfect blank canvas resulted in some stunning models. The amazing design found in those watches makes a comeback in the latest releases for Watches Wonders 2022. Today, Cartier presented three new precious-metal Tank Louis Cartier references and two Tank Must models which join the current lineup.First created in 1917 by Louis Cartier, the Tank's signature profile has been a timeless [...]

The lions share of new watches you buy will drop in value like a rock the instant you put them on your wrist. Is that a bad thing? Not if you love the watch, wear it with pride, and start adding emotional value to it. But that will be worthless once you want to resell your watch. Is it the price you pay for losing interest in your former horological lover? Your poor choice from the heart made you lose money, some arrogant person might say with a superior smirk on their face. People who buy with the brain aim for watches with (presumed) resale value. But when you have this investment-like approach, you have way fewer choices. And as passionate watch aficionados would claim, the joy of wearing [...]

Howdy neighbors, its time for another installment of Wrist Game or Crying Shame. This week, we travel down a couple of kilometers with the IWC Porsche Design Ocean 2000. Lets see if your thoughts about this watch are as deep as its depth rating. Before we doLast week, I brought you back to my brief stay in old San Juan with a look at a very period Breitling Chronomat UTC. It turns out that you really dont like going on cruises with me because you got seasick over this one to the tune of a 73% Crying Shame loss. Ouch Lets see if todays IWC Porsche Design Ocean 2000 fares any better.The Porsche Design line was epic under IWCIts just too easy for me to get sentimental about IWC back in the earl [...]

Just recently, I wrote an article for the German WatchTime portal about Omegas Constellation and the uncelebrated anniversaries of both the original 1952 model and the 1982 Manhattan edition. Just now, I noticed this teaser image on Omegas Facebook page (over 200.000 fans today).In case youre not on Facebook or not one of the 200,000 people, below is the image they just released.For those of you who cant read German, I will re-post the English version of the Constellation article I did for WatchTime below. I guess some of the conclusions are old now (already), but it still gives you a nice overview of what happened with the Constellation collection through the years.Omega Constellation Unce [...]

Were down to the quarter-final stage, and there is a disturbing number of Speedmasters left in the last eight. We limited the Omega entrants to just four places, but all four of them are still standing. Today, Robs Racing Speedy goes up against Daves surprise package, the Fortis B-42.Rob: Well, well, well, what have we here? An Anglo-Irish showdown. The clash of Bob and Rob. A match-up nobody saw coming (except perhaps Fortis). The fact a B-42 has made it to the final eight in a competition created to find the worlds best modern racing chronograph is a stunning testament to the brands current reputation. But while Fortis is flying high, with its head so frequently above the clouds (and somet [...]

When I just met my current wife, then girlfriend, I gifted her a TAG Heuer Aquaracer. She once showed me the watch in a display at a jeweller, and I kept it in mind.It was probably after our first year when I bought her this watch for her birthday. It made perfect sense because (unlike me) shes sporty and slim and she picked a watch that fits her style. I never actually considered the TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300M for myself, although I like the style of the watch.TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300MI am not a diver, on the contrary, my swimming skills are far below average, and even my six-year-old daughter shows a cleaner dive than I could ever perform. But I guess that these watches are more about the sty [...]

?The JLC Reverso is one of the most admirable watches around. It's one of the few concepts in horological history that constitutes its own category that few dare to copy. ?You could mimic a Reverso, but you run the risk of looking ridiculous (of course, as a vintage collector, I have seen some similar concepts but none quite like the slide-out-and-back-on-itself that makes the Reverso so robust and, thus, respected). Even if you made a solid fist of it, it is unlikely anyone would pay attention. And that's probably why nobody even tries. The random and quite unexpected vintage branded Tellus (still shrouded in mystery) soon to feature in our ? TBT column is as close as you can get to a Rever [...]

Ive had the Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th anniversary Moonshine Gold limited edition watch, in my collection for a little more than one year. Its time to share some takeaways now the dust has settled.Last year in March, right before Baselworld (when that was still a thing), I was invited to Biel. I was promised something special. On the 12th of March, which happened to be a Tuesday, I was about to witness the launch of a very special gold Speedmaster. Reference 310.60.42.50.99.001 commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. The result of this mission? Mans first steps on the moon. On their wrists at the time was the Omega Speedmaster Professional. You know the story, I am [...]

Welcome back to our Watch On Your Wrist? Instagram extravaganza Tag your watch snaps with fratellowatches to be in with a chance to win!Every week, we select four images. You can vote in the article for your favorite image. The winner moves on to the semi-final round (held every fifth week between the previous four weekly winners). Win that and youre into the final, which will be held at the end of the year. There will be five finalists in 2020 and ten from next year on.Basically, if you like winning things and there will be a prize for the champion of 2020 this year represents your best shot. So get snapping, get tagging, and get sharing. And dont forget to vote (once) for yourself Obvious [...]

The new 41mm Submariner Date replaces all previous 40mm models. I was very excited to get my hands on the new Rolex Submariner in gold, only available for the Date version. Is this new Submariner Date in 41mm nicer than the previous 40mm collection? Lets have a closer look at the famous diver in precious metal.Interestingly, only the Rolex Submariner Date is available in 18kt gold. This has been the case forever, all no date models up to now only have been available in steel. Not only that, the no-date Sub is only available with a black dial. The Sub Date, however, is there in a number of dial, bezel, and material combinations. Today, I will have a look at the Submariner Date reference 12661 [...]

A. Lange S?hne were the talk of the town with their new Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, but also introduced a very impressive line-up of other watches as well. The new Saxonia collection as well as the Datograph Perpetual are truly stunning watches, but they also gave their icon from 1994 a little upgrade: the Lange 1.Why touch an icon? It rarely works and makes eyebrows go up when shown to aficionados. What the Royal Oak Jumbo is for AP, the Calatrava is for Patek Philippe, the Speedmaster is to Omega and the Tank is for Cartier, is the Lange 1 for A. Lange S?hne.Now, 20 years after the introduction of the Lange 1, A. Lange S?hne decided it was time to slightly modify this watch. Lange already [...]

A what? And How much did you say that thing costs? These have been recurring comments Ive heard while wearing this G rald Genta Mickey Mouse watch. Or, as it is officially called, the Arena Retrograde Mickey Mouse reference 103613. And I understand. Especially when a bit of context is missing.Truth to be told, it was often comments made by people who know I do something to do with watches. People who have heard of Rolex, and perhaps of Patek Philippe, but thats about it. Yes, I also hang out with that other kinds of people (I wont say normal). My first encounter with a Retrograde Mickey Mouse watch must have been years ago when my colleague Gerard brought back some brochures (remember those? [...]

In this series, well be sharing the EDC (Everyday Carry) items of our editorial team. First up is Robert-Jan, founder and editor-in-chief of Fratello. What essentials does he carry with him on a daily basis?In all honesty, I had to google what EDC meant. I definitely do have some things that I consider essentials, though, that I carry with me on a daily basis. Most of the things are packed in my briefcase, a brown leather bag from Castelijn Beerens. This is a Dutch company founded in 1945 that actually started out making watch straps. Today, however, the company doesnt anymore, and instead focuses on briefcases, weekenders, laptop bags, backpacks, and so on. My briefcase has a padded compar [...]

This week, I am checking out some intriguing watches from Holsteins premier independent. Yes, I am talking about the plucky soloist Oris. In its heyday, Oris was outputting up to 1.2million watches and clocks per year. The onset of the low-cost and reliable quartz timepieces from Japan in the 70s and 80s, however, took a toll on the brand.The choice was either to follow the herd and produce quartz with a Swiss twist or, like so many Swiss watch-makers, fold and fade into obscurity. For a time, Oris did?produce a range of quartz pieces. But fortunately, a management buyout in 1982 changed the fate of Oris. The brand became Oris SA and swore never to make a quartz-operated wristwatch.Oris Dive [...]

You all know Universal Geneve as a watch brand that had some great models like the tri-compax chronographs and the Polerouter model. The Polerouter has a lot of vintage watch fans, and there is even a dedicated website for this particular model (click here).Universal Geneve also made military watches, and one of these models were sold to the Royal Dutch Army. These watches were issued to the Dutch soldiers during the late 1930s, just before World War II started for The Netherlands (on the 10th of May 1940). The dial of the Universal Geneve features a W symbol, which was the initial of Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands. Queen Wilhelmina ruled The Netherlands from 1890 till 1948 and is the g [...]

Ive always been a fan of Bvlgari, but in the last year, my fandom has changed significantly. Once upon a time, I was attracted to this roguish Roman revolutionary because of the fashion-first aesthetic. The watches were loud. The watches were proud. Crucially, however, they were cool. That was enough for me. In the past five years, Bvlgaris investment in manufacturing techniques has snowballed. Consequently, show-stoppers like the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo, which weve covered extensively on Fratello have become the norm. But all this research and development got me thinkingwhere could this lead? It would seem that Bvlgaris potential is now limitless. The brand always had the style, but now its [...]

Giuseppe Bonanno (January 18, 1905 ?e???? 2 May 12, 2002), better known as Joseph Bonanno, was a Sicilian-born American organized crime figure who became the boss of the Bonanno crime family in 1931 until his retirement in 1968. Joseph Bonanno was instrumental in forming The Mafia Commission, which was designed to oversee all Mafia activities in the U.S. and serve to resolve conflicts between the Mafia families. Joseph was married to Fay and they got three childeren. Salvatore Bill Bonanno (who was quite a character himself as well), born 1932; Catherine, born 1934; and Joseph Jr., born 1945.Joseph Bonanno received this Patek Philippe ref.1516 from other Sicilian mobster Charles Lucky Lucian [...]

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 installment, we will take a look at the best A. Lange Sohne watches from the 1990s.This week, we will continue our journey th [...]

One of the exciting experiences during watch fairs is the encounter with rare super complication watches. A few brands demonstrate what they are capable of C continuously stretching the limits of what is considered possible in watchmaking. In 2003 Jaeger-LeCoultre presented the first model of their Hybris Mechanica family. Since then, the brand adds one spectacular family member after another. Each new model is not just a modification of the previous one but a completely new approach, new design, and new movement. This year, too, Jaeger-LeCoultre doesnt disappoint us: the Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 is the brands new mind-blowing creation.As you probably know, the concept for the Re [...]