Watches Blog Wrist Watch Reviews

Once upon a time, it was easy to get brands new pieces in your hands on the day of their release. We used to have physical fairs to enjoy, but the global pandemic has put paid to that for many of us. Nowadays, seeing novelties on or before release is very difficult so we were thrilled when IWC made a special effort to send us the Chrono 41 model so we could put it through its paces in advance of its launch today.The new IWC Pilot's Watch Chronograph 41 may look familiar but is actually a brand new fusion of design, movement, and case size. Visually, it most recalls the IWC reference IW377714 (Pilots Watch Chronograph Edition Le Petit Prince), bringing the blue sun-ray dial and red going seco [...]

Its time to burn rubber in Round 2 of The Fast And The Fratelli. You voted, you voiced your opinion, and now two watches have been eliminated from the race. Two qualifying racing chronographs from Round 1 are warming up their tires for a head-to-head shoot-out. This time, we pit two writers against one another for the knockout stage. Who will win? You decide So, buckle up, get voting, get sharing, and most importantly, get commenting for your chance to win a Traxxas Bandit RC car.Before we drop the clutch, lets back up to round one. Lex gave us the first taste of things to come with his choice of the Chopard Mille Miglia and the Singer Reimagined Track1. They were two good options of racing [...]

Montblanc has embraced the retro-styled looks well for a lot of their watches over the last few years. With the Minerva archives as a legit and extensive source of inspiration for both design and movements. The latest introduction to the Minerva inspired 1858 collection is the Montblanc 1858 Monopusher Chronograph. A smart addition that comes in a regular steel version and a limited edition bronze version.Over the last couple of years, Montblanc has increasingly invested in giving the Minerva name prominent place in their collection. What seemed like an odd couple at first, has quickly drawn the interest of many watch enthusiasts. I have to say I was wary at first because the names didnt see [...]

..its an IWC, and I dont like IWC. Their attitude towards complaining customers on their company forum is embarrassing. Furthermore, the design of most IWCs is too sterile for me. Like Audi cars. I bet a lot of IWC fans drive Audi cars ??However, the Ingenieur is an exception to this feeling. I saw and handled one today in Gerards shop. An IWC Ingenieur ref. IW2337. A thick and solid watch, and one of the view watches I really like for having an integrated bracelet (as the AP Royal Oak and VC Overseas).Horloge Platform Nederland is selling this one New In Box (NIB) for 4640 Euro. If I had the money, and no problems with IWCs attitude, I would probably left the store today with a new watch.Ph [...]

A timepiece that has been produced in your year of birth, seems to be an all-time favourite wish for many watch collectors. Ill have to admit that I once almost pulled the trigger on a Speedmaster Professional from my year of birth (1977). However, after a phone call to the seller in France to discuss last details, it seemed that this watch was not made in 1977. One of the inscriptions on the inside of the case back clearly stated that this watch was produced in 1978. Bummer.I can have more luck with a Rolex from my year of birth, however, the prices of these vintage beauties are becoming annoying. Just a few days ago, I noticed that friend of the show Henrik over at SubGMT has a Rolex Subma [...]

With one of the most recent additions to the Speedmaster family, the Apollo XI Limited Edition in Moonshine gold, theres finally a gold Moonwatch again. Time to share my personal top 5 Speedmaster models in gold.The gold Moonwatch has been discontinued for a few years now. Three years ago, the movie Money Monster featured a gold Speedmaster, but it was a discontinued reference. This Speedmaster reference 3195.50.00 was simply an all-gold version of the regular Moonwatch and was in production between 1999 and 2012. The reason it got discontinued I dont know and can only make a well-educated guess, as these watches werent cheap, to begin with, and gold was a bit out of fashion. But it isnt any [...]

The Aquis is a bread and butter piece for Oris. A popular divers watch with a great price-quality ratio and aesthetics that are very likable by a large audience. Of the 12 different Aquis models (each with several different executions, with a total of 57 including 6 for ladies), 6 models are designated as limited edition. A quick look in their catalog learns me that of the 57 different Aquis models, 10 watches are limited editions., each around 2000 pieces only. Thats about 20.000 limited edition Aquis watches, from their bread and butter collection. There is no official number on the total annual production of Oris, but 20.000 watches is very substantial for them. Is that a bad thing? It se [...]

The year 2020 has been tough on James Bond fans. It was a tough pill to swallow when No Time To Die was postponed for a second time. Like so many, I was more than ready to see Daniel Craig in action one last time as 007. And just when you thought things could not get any worse, the news came in on the 1st of November that Sean Connery passed away at age 90. The Scottish actor was the first and, to many, the best James Bond. In the light of Connerys passing, we decided to create a list of our 7 favorite Bond watches.Discussing a list of Bond watches is as much fun as it is incomplete. Sure, you could cough up all the watches we have seen in 25 official Bond films, but that would not start a d [...]

Ask any watch collector to name a few classic chronographs and no doubt that there will be a IWC Flieger Chronograph between the Speedmasters and Daytonas. It is one of the chronographs with the most readable and clean dials available out there, and it has been for years. The only thing about this watch that changed recently, is the diameter of the watch case and the color of the small seconds hand, it turned red. The diameter was 39mm and has grown to 42mm, a bit more into the here and now of watches.IWC Flieger Chrono ref. 3717-01Over the last few months, I had the opportunity to try and wear an IWC Flieger Chronograph (or Pilot Chronograph as you wish) that has been treated with the ever [...]

For years now, there's the trend in the watch industry to introduce watches inspired by the brands heritage. These watches are based on vintage watches with an updated design, technical specifications, and often have a larger size. It often results in a popular watch among collectors and enthusiasts. This has to do a lot with their looks that people often find familiar. Many different brands follow this trend, and in this case, we are talking about the new Hamilton (Hamilton Intra-Matic Auto Chrono).The original Hamilton panda chronograph. Photo courtesy of https://www.coolvintagewatches.com/Hamilton Intra-MaticIf you are familiar with Hamilton you might remember that last year they released [...]

Whenever Breguet adds new watches to its Marine collection, Im all ears. Within the collection, the Marine 5517, 5527, and 5547 are the three timepieces that form the collections backbone. In 2020, Breguet introduced these three models with white gold and rose gold bracelets. Up until that point, the titanium models were the only models available on a bracelet. For 2021 Breguet focuses on introducing new dial variations to its Marine line-up. Here we have three titanium models that will be available with a sunburst blue dial a clever addition that will broaden the appeal of the Marine collection.I am the first to admit that Im biased when it comes to the Breguet Marine collection. But not wi [...]

Last week I joined the SpeedyTuesday Live session on the official Omega Instagram account and talked about my precious Speedmaster Professional from my year of birth. It resulted in a lot of messages from viewers that are also searching for their perfect Speedmaster. But that means something different for everyone. For some, the perfect Speedmaster is an honest Speedmaster.A pre-owned watch that has been worn, so it was loved by its previous owner. An honest watch would be a watch that has signs of wear, ranging from minor signs like hairlines and a little dent in the lugs to one that has seen bars, banks, and perhaps the occasional gutter. As long as theres a good story to it, I am not so [...]

We all know watch brands who use exhibition case backs. Some do this to display especially beautiful or complicated movements. However, some of the beloved entry-level watches do so simply to show the wearer the beating heart inside. Seeing the balance wheel oscillating and the rotor spinning around has captured the interest of many of us, leading us deeper down the rabbit hole of watches. But Perrelet often takes a different approach. In its Lab Peripheral line, a subtle rotor spins on the front of the watch. I had a chance to check out two models from the collection the Three Hands Date and Dual Time Big Date.Born of the quest for dynamic design, the front-mounted rotor is Perrelets calli [...]

There is the flashy coffee table type of Rolex book, and then theres the other, more educational one out there. On which end of the spectrum sits The Vintage Rolex Field Guide?For the first type of Rolex books, you usually need more than both hands, as those books often have impressive dimensions and ditto weight. The paper is thicker than the cardboard your fridge was packed in and the pages so glossy that you need sunglasses, so you don't burn your cornea. We all know which books I am talking about. And we probably all have a few of them at home, myself included.The Vintage Rolex Field GuideThe book in review today falls on the other end of the spectrum. A lot of black white pages. Many p [...]

Lange and Sohne is back with a host of new releases. In this brief article, we take a look at the flagship model, the limited edition Triple Split chronograph in pink gold with dark blue dial.Lange and Sohne rarely fails to impress. Since returning to the market in 1994, theyve made some incredible watches that easily rank amongst the best of the best from the likes of Patek and other high end brands. Today, Lange returns with a new version of a watch that first debuted back in 2018 the Triple Split chronograph. The original model came in white gold with a gray dial whereas todays piece is in pink gold with a bold blue facade.The Long Triple SplitLange will make 100 pieces of its newest Tri [...]

A recurring theme in our TBT articles revolves around the aberrations from various watch companies. These are the one hit wonders, the exceptions and they're typically major breaks from a brand's ethos. Think of watches like the Nivada Datomaster, the Meylan chronograph and even the Rolex 1655 Explorer II and you'll be on my thought train. Today's excerpt continues the trend with a look at the original Rado Captain Cook. As you'll see, it's a timely article, but it's also a look at a watch that's essentially escaped view from all but the most ardent dive watch collectors. Hoist the mainsail all aboard (Come on, you have to chuckle a bit ?? )A New Rado Captain Cook Was at Baselworld 2017If [...]

As watch enthusiasts, we love any reason to covet and add extra value to our pursuit of new additions to our collections. One such tenuous reason used to explain to our spouses and significant others why we really MUST HAVE just-one-more-watch is using connections to movies.I'm sure that we've all used the line, but this is the exact same model worn by Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now It's a timeless classic No? Just me? OK. Without further ado, here we go my top 5 movie watches:Seiko H558-5000As worn by Arnold Schwarzeneggar in Predator and CommandoYou can spot Arnie wearing his Seiko H558-5000 Quartz Diver, hunting bad guys in Commando, and stomping aliens in Predator. With Arnie being the i [...]

Youve seen them on the bookshelves at (vintage) watch dealers and collectors: the Mondani books. We talk to Giorgia Mondani, who joined her family business at a young age and shared her love for (Rolex) watches with her +180.000 followers on her Instagram account.The Mondani books are massive in weight and size and are a bit more serious than nice looking coffee table format books. These are books with a purpose. They help collectors to research their vintage (Rolex) watches and ensure they know what to look for. As you know, it is all about the details when collecting vintage watches.Ive been a follower of Mondani for many years and bought a large number of their books myself. It started wi [...]

Welcome to another episode of Fratello On Air Finally, Balazs and Mike got their collective acts together, and theyre back with a return engagement Settle in and enjoy the banter about our favorite watches from 2021, along with a healthy rant for good measure!Folks, were back and better (or worse) than ever Balazs and Mike come together at the end of 2021 to talk about some of their favorite watch releases from another wild year. We wont give away everything, but the list is heavy on dive watches and chronographs. Seriously, what else do you expect from these two?Tudor, Breitling, Synchron, Excelsior Park, and Omega make the list along with a few more. Plus, the dynamic duo shares some recen [...]

Fratello is a broad church. We want everyone that visits our site to feel welcome and find something for them among our many pages. As such, in the run-up to Christmas, we want to focus a little more on ladies watches. Of course, these articles are mostly for our female readers, but also provide valuable insight into some of the watches the women in your life may be lusting over this yuletide.Today, two of our editors, Kristin and Franziska, share a recent email exchange regarding the perfect watch for the festive season. Wed love to know your thoughts on the format, so drop us a note in the comments section at the end of the article.19th November 2020Dear Franziska,I hope you are doing well [...]