Watches Blog Wrist Watch Reviews

Yesterday, I had a phone call with a watch dealer that I know for quite some time. It was quite a while since our last conversation, so we had a lot to talk about. He told me that he bought this IWC Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar, in stainless steel. I didnt know about this version, only about the platinum version (click here to read about the platinum version).It seems that IWC made them as a Bucherer special edition. Bucherer was founded in 1888 by Carl-Friedrich Bucherer, who opened his first watch and jewelry store in Lucerne, Switzerland. Nowadays, there are 18 shops in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. I was in their store in Lucerne a few years back, they have a pretty impressive collec [...]

In this Sunday morning column, 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. You asked for it. We (finally) delivered. Perhaps the most hyped punch-up since the Rumble in the Jungle. This week the two RJs go head-to-head. Their champions? The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus.In our efforts to bring something new to the party every week, we cant help but [...]

Hamilton is going to shake things up again with their new release, the PSR. A timepiece that, back in the 70s, brought the space-age era to the dusty watchmaking tables of traditional Swiss watch ateliers is making a comeback. It was the hottest thing on the market back then. And I have to say the new one is not too bad either.The original Pulsar came out in 1970, exactly 50 years ago. To celebrate this anniversary, Hamilton releases the PSR, a remarkable reinterpretation of the iconic 70s quartz wonder. On the outside, the watch shows a striking resemblance to the vintage model. Inside, however, you find a quartz movement that has been reworked to meet 21st-century expectations.Hamilton PSR [...]

It is never too late to give yourself a nice present. If you order a vintage watch today, you know, you can pay FedEx to arrange for a little miracle and have it delivered to your doorstep (or shall I say under your Christmas tree) the next few days.So, if you haven't spent all of the savings on the ones you love the most, here is the December selection with watches from my never-ending vintage watches wishlist.Heuer Autavia 73363 Orange Boy StyleAfter the hype on vintage Heuers in the last few years, it is relatively quiet these days. Which is not bad. You have time to think twice and not to make impulsive purchases driven by fear of loss. I thought it might be the right time to talk about [...]

Welcome back to Wrist Game or Crying Shame, the weekly all systems go or all systems NO serial. This time around, we go digital with the Omega Speedmaster X-33. But firstLast week, I brought the metal with a first generation Panerai Luminor Submersible. And while our comments section showed stark divide, the big clunker took home a more than respectable 55% Wrist Game win. With todays Omega Speedmaster X-33, well also look at a first generation model. This happens to be a timely one as well as well soon see.The Astronauts choiceThis past Saturday night, my wife and I joined a friend at a restaurant thats allowed here in Germany and we streamed the SpaceX launch. It was absolutely fantastic [...]

When Anthony de Haas (Director of Product Development at A. Lange Sohne) started his job in Glashutte in 2004, he was welcomed by Walter Lange. Walter Lange explained to him that he would like to see a watch with stop seconds, like his ancestors did for their A. Lange Sohne pocket watches. Last year, in January 2017, Walter Lange passed away and Anthony de Haas thought of his wishes for a timepiece.The 1815 Homage to Walter Lange is exactly what he would have liked, ensured to us by Anthony de Haas. Walter Lange actually insisted on having a watch like this for a long time. Now, at the SIHH 2018, Lange presented us this watch with stop seconds in a 1815 case with a manual movement. There w [...]

In this Sunday morning column, 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 ask you to choose your flavor: Pepsi or root beer?Last weeks double-header was brutal. I need a nice sit down a long, cold soda. But which beverage would I choose? Dont worry. Well get to that. But before we do, lets address the results of our Lange extravaganzaPerhaps unsurprisingly, the [...]

Since Maurice Lacroix introduced their Masterpiece series (around 1990), they are able to compete with brands like Chronoswiss, Omega, Ebel and probably some more established brands. Maurice Lacroix is a relatively new player (1975) and in 2006 they introduced their manufacture chronograph movement. Maurice Lacroix produces 150.000 watches per year, of which 40.000 watches have a mechanical movement.How come that Maurice Lacroix gets so little attention from serious watch collectors and afficinados? Their price setting is really competitive and I have yet to see some complaints about the quality of these watches. One of the few things I can think of, is that Maurice Lacroix ruins their credi [...]

It's finally here!? As the first model in what we hope will be a multi-pronged approach, we have official news of the Gold Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Limited Edition.It's no secret that Omega releases a high number of variants based upon its legendary Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch each year.? For Speedmaster fans, and we are most certainly loyal members of that group, the last several years have been fantastic.? The '57 reissue, the Speedy Tuesdays, the Apollo XIII Silver Snoopy are just some of the memorable pieces we've had the pleasure of seeing and enjoying.? But and this is a big but if you're a space fan, a history buff, or one who likes recalling one o [...]

Grand Seiko has become synonymous with its incredibly textured dials but theres more to the brand than that, of course. Meet the Grand Seiko SBGY007 from the Elegance Collection: a Spring Drive powered dress watch whose dial pays tribute to the frozen waters of Lake Suwa. During most winters, a long ridge appears in the ice from one side of the lake to the other. Legend has it that this is the Omiwatari', or where the Gods themselves walk over the ice. When Grand Seiko puts it like that, then you know it must be good. And based on what weve seen so far, it is.The dress watch stylings of this Grand Seiko Elegance Collection SBGY007 are unmistakable. The case dimensions also reflect its more r [...]

Lets say youve always fancied a tourbillon watch but never had the hefty funds required to own one. In todays market there are several affordable watches that feauture a tourbillon. Although affordable is a personal thing of course but with an average price tag of around 100K for a tourbillon, buying one for roughly 15K classifies it as affordable instantly. Lets have a look at the TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02T Tourbillon chronograph.Being part of the Carrera manufacture line, the Heuer 02T tourbillon has the same case design as the Heuer 01 line. Both are fitted with their own calibre movements that evolved from their first in-house movement.Modular case designThe TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02T [...]

I can't deny it Chronoswiss is a very polarizing brand and I haven't been a big fan. Do you think I am being unfair by putting them in the folder marked Retro Overkill? Like Graham, Speake-Marin, and those clunky ZRC crown-at-6 divers, large-cased retro maximalism is not my game.?I know Chronoswiss has a penchant for large case sizes. So I'll do myself and the slim-wristed readers a favor by not checking the diameter until later. The Open Gear ReSec series is a baffling collection. There is everything from blacked-out stealth to eyewatering, PVD blue overload, so if you enjoy colors like me, you'll like the rainbow of choices. Seeing the traditional R gulateur design being remixed is refresh [...]

Admittedly, I am a fan of the Rolex Day-Date. I love the 36mm version best, but the Day-Date 40 surely ticks some boxes as well. Especially now that it will be available (or will it?) with a green lacquered dial.Mike already touched upon the new platinum Day-Date (with fluted bezel) in this article. But theres more.Walking by the Rolex booth here at Watches Wonders in Geneva, my attention was drawn to the new GMT-Master II Lefty, the new Yacht-Masters (I thought the Falcon Eye was a faulty watch, to be honest; thats the reason why I didnt take a picture), but especially towards this Rolex Day-Date 40 in yellow gold with the green lacquered dial.Rolex Day-Date 40 ref. 228238The green dial is [...]

Baume Mercier is adding some new interesting Baumatic powered watches to their Clifton collection, and we will cover them all. However, wed like to start with the boldest of them first (although theres also a red gold three-hander): the red gold?Baume Mercier Clifton Baumatic Perpetual Calendar. It is one of the most interesting complications to us, besides a chronograph (we dont care much about tourbillons, to be honest, Baume Mercier actually did one in 2014 for their Clifton collection).Clifton Baumatic Perpetual CalendarWe dont have to explain what a perpetual calendar is to you I am sure, but for those who are new to the world of mechanical watches; it is a complication that will kee [...]

We receive a lot of questions from people that give us a budget and ask us about the best watch they can buy for that. Thats too difficult to answer without knowing you to be honest. A watch is so personal, we wouldnt even recommend buying a watch for someone else only if you really know that person. We made an exception when an Italian reader asked us what to buy for his daughter (and give it to her in 18 years from now), but giving us a budget without any context is very difficult.You Asked Us:?What Watch Should I Buy To Celebrate a Life Event?That said, we received an email last week from one of our readers by the name of Moe regarding a watch to celebrate a special occasion. He likes the [...]

52Mondayz week 21 is not about the watch Ill be wearing this week. Its a tribute to the watch my wife is wearing. Not only this week, not only this month, not only this year. However every single day during her work as chef at her own restaurant Limoncello during the last 10 years.The Omega Seamaster Professional 300 Chronometer Mid-Size, reference 2252.50.00Life for a watch at the wrist of a chef is harsh, extremely harsh. Steam, ice, water, grease, and continuously hitting everything from the oven to the sink, from the espresso machine to the bar.Hotel and catering industry-worthyIn my professional life as a watch dealer Ive had many chefs as valued and loyal customers. And Im very please [...]

Silence. It's the sound of the Rolex Daytona 6265 Big Red upon opening the safe deposit box and it's sadly the noise, or lack thereof, that this highly finished chronograph creates 99% of the time. In the roughly 20 years since giving way to automatic followers, the formerly unwanted manual wind Cosmographs have become icons valuable icons. In its least expensive form, get ready to cough up somewhere in the range of $35,000 for a correct example. Whether that rates as a lot of money or not depends on your situation, but let's agree that it's a significant sum for a watch and for me, it makes for an infrequent wear. On TBT today, I'll try to unravel some of the mythos of the Daytona and wh [...]

The IWC Ingenieur reference 3239 that I review here was introduced in 2013, IWCs year of the Ingenieur. You have to know that ?IWC is restyling an entire collection, every year, to keep it fresh and up-to-date. So in 2013, IWC introduced a number of new Ingenieur models. From a simple straight-forward stainless steel model to a carbon version and a platinum model with perpetual calendar.Well, if you are a long time reader of Fratello Watches, you probably know that I have a preference for so-called purist watches. I have and have had my share of G|rald Genta designed timepieces, including an IWC Ingenieur of a previous collection. I decided to trade that Ingenieur for another Genta designed [...]

Over the past months, Oris has released a handful of novel and formidable in-house calibers. Starting with the inaugural Calibre 400, name of both movement and watch, a time/date Aquis, we were then quickly given the newest iteration of the Carl Brashear diver in bronze with Calibre 401, a small seconds variant of the base 400.On June 1, the newest Oris Holstein Limited Edition was released using the never-before-seen Calibre 403 with pointer-date and small seconds to the tune of a scarce 250 available pieces. All of these are built off the base architecture of the Calibre 400, a revolution in watch engineering, longevity, and economics. But with movements numbering 400, 401, and 403, one ha [...]

BaselWorld 2016 Rolex WatchesDuring our meeting with Rolex in Basel last March, we got to see a number of new Rolex watches. Sure, we get to see new Rolex watches every year, but this year the Geneva Giant had some pretty cool watches for us to see. The new Rolex Explorer in 39mm is something high on my wishlist, as is the new Rolex Daytona 116500,?but that one requires serious saving-up and a long breath regarding its waiting list (yes, also for us watch journalists).Rolex Air-KingA watch that quietly left the stage a couple of years ago, was the Rolex Air-King. This watch, often considered to be as an entry-level Rolex watch, had its own following and a long history in the Rolex collection [...]