Watches Blog Wrist Watch Reviews

Tomorrow is the big day for Rolex, but especially for all the Rolex fans. Where Rolex would normally introduce its new watches during Baselworld, they now use the Watches Wonders exhibition. So far, the bets seem to be on a new Rolex Explorer II watch. We will be on location with Rolex to see the watches in the flesh, take pictures and get those real-life impressions.Whether they will introduce a new Rolex Explorer II or not is not stopping the watch collectors and speculators from making strategic moves. Not too long ago, I was contacted by a Dutch guy who follows me on Instagram, whether it would be wise or not to sell his current Explorer II. I am by no means someone to give financial ad [...]

Part of being a Paneristi is to collect nice and special watch straps. I have written about straps made from vintage ammo pouches and one not for Panerai in this case made from the leather interior of a Mercedes SLR 300 (1956) formerly owned by Jean Todt.Last week, I received an e-mail about DaLucas Panerai Straps. The owner, Daniel Luczak, creates one-off straps for Panerai watches made out of ammo pouches and other vintage leather used for (mostly) military purposes. Each strap is individually named and will never be duplicated.On PaneraiSource.com, youll find a well written and documented review of DaLuca straps. As I wrote some time ago, these kind of straps and intiatives makes me wan [...]

The Watch Photographer, friend of the show and famous because of his Rolex calendar is now offering his beautiful Rolex GMT-Master ref.1675 (ca.1971) for sale. We can easily say that this is the most popular GMT-Master of this moment and still considered to be affordable when it comes to collecting vintage Rolex watches.What once started as being the watch for (PanAM) pilots, grew out to be the most popular watch for?travelers?of all sorts. The current GMT-Master II ref.116710LN is the result of decades of small and well thought-of tweaks and adjustments to the original GMT-Master, such as the ref.1675. GMT-Masters prior to the ref.1675, carry the 6542 reference number (1954) and have no cro [...]

First things, first, Happy Christmas to all of the Fratelli From the team here at Fratello Watches, we hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday and that there were many horological gifts under your Christmas trees Whether those watch-based gifts were from friends, family, or even self-bought that's not important!Around this time of the year, brands (or, more specifically, the people working for the brands) traditionally tend to have wrapped things up for the Christmas break. Yes, even the watch industry needs a Christmas break That said, there have still been some exciting things that came up this week. Let's have a look!Grand Seiko GS9 club and SBGE263 Eagle US LEIn some exciting news for [...]

When RJ and I discussed the topic for this week's Speedy Tuesday I had no idea how timely this is. See, for someone who loves vintage Omegas and especially chronographs (Seamasters and Speedmasters alike) the Speedmaster 125 is always in the back of their minds. It's an odd-one-out in a good way for so many reasons. Reasons which we will talk about below. So after our discussion, I said to myself; We've covered this watch numerous times, not sure if there's anything else left to say. Well, when I looked back in our archives I realized that the last article about the Omega Speedmaster 125 is from 2013. And that mainly concerns?Adrian van Hooydonk BMW Group's design director and his 125. One c [...]

Tennis star Maria Sharapova just turned 21 years old on the 23rd of April. TAG Heuer organized a big birthday party for their ambassador of sports watches. The press release states that TAG Heuer was honored to do so. Yeah ??I understand the whole ambassador concept, it seems to attract potential buyers. But why giving a birthday party AND brag about it in press releases? Anyway, it does produces some nice pictures ?? [...]

At Watches and Wonders 2022, IWC dazzles your eyes with the snow-white ceramic Pilot's Watch Chronograph Top Gun Edition Lake Tahoe and calms you back down again with the camouflaged green Woodland. Many people have told me that I have gone beige lately. And that's right, I like a bit of beige in a watch IWC's Mohave models, for instance, but also the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Small Seconds I tried not too long ago. With that knowledge, you would expect me to prefer the blended-in Woodland over the blizzard-like Lake Tahoe. But it's the black-and-white Lake Tahoe that stole my heart.Love at first sight. It happened to me back in August 2021 in Geneva during a visit to the IWC boutique. It [...]

TimeZones 2011 Watch of the Year competition has started and there are six candidates you can choose from when voting. Go to the TimeZone website and leave your vote for your favorite watch manufacturer. Make sure you are a registered user of TimeZone and read the voting policy before doing so.The candidates of the 2011 edition of TimeZones Watch of the Year are:A. Lange Sohnes?Richard Lange Tourbillon Pour le M rite. Limited to 100 pieces only in platinum (model shown here in 18 carat red gold) and the fourth piece from this Glashuette manufacture with the Pour le M rite distinction. The tourbillon with a patented stop-seconds mechanism and the fus e-and-chain transmission have been develo [...]

Were back again for another Sunday Morning Showdown Last week was not a fluke, and we have another Watches And Wonders 2022 brawl today. Two writers once again face off in an opinionated showdown. Were focusing our love/hatred on a single Rolex novelty this time. And, yes, I mean novelty in the way the trade shows use it (something new), but also in the amusing sense of the word. The Rolex Air-King sure garners both an amusing and bemusing response, but one that is ripe for scrutiny, which weve seen before, as this is not the first time the Air-King has found itself in the Showdown arena. Today your votes determine whether the revisions push the Air-King further into the rate it camp or swin [...]

Wait a minute? Didnt Bukowskis?auction a CK2915 before for a record price?Yes they did, and we reported about it here. We also published an interview with the collector who bought that CK2915-1 for a whopping?$275,508 US dollars (including buyers premium). You can read that interview here.Speedmaster CK2915-2So now, it is time for another CK2915 for them to auction. This time, the 2nd iteration of the Speedmaster CK2915, indicated by a -2 designator. Interesting enough, the first CK2915(-1) and this 2nd iteration CK2915(-2) are pretty similar to each other. The first generation Speedmaster CK2915 was only in production for a very short time, and during those first years of the Speedmaster pr [...]

Over at The Watch Gallery in the United Kingdom they are doing some cool stuff on-line for their customers and potential new clients. They recently published a video featuring professional watchmaker Jamie Hardes (at Rolex London at One Hyde Park) showing you the anatomy of a Rolex. He disassembles their Rolex calibre 3132 movement, featured in the Rolex Explorer ref. 214270.The current version of the watch that was used during the climb of the Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and his team, worn on the wrist of Ian Flemming when he wrote the James Bond novels and many more adventurous people out there (including the elegant wrists of Victoria Secret Angel Alessandra Ambrosio). In 2010, Ro [...]

Some time ago, I went through some brochures from Dunhill. Gerard pointed out the Wheel watch. An interesting construction of hiding the crown. The case design is inspired by old motors and it is shaped like the evocative metal spinners often used to attach wire wheels to period sports cars. The crown is hidden by the engine-turned bezel. This systems cleverly protects the crown from knocks. The monolug system looks good and emphasizes the cases spinners design.The watch pictured above is the Wheels watch Petrolhead model. 42mm case diameter and an automatic movement (ETA 2824-2 + Dubois-Depraz module for power reserve) with date and power reserve feature. Only 1500 units available. The case [...]

Youve probably read our enthusiastic reviews on the new Bvlgari Octo Finissimo watches. Today, we show you a video review of the three Bvlgari Octo Finissimo watches that are about to hit the boutiques this month.Nothing beats trying the watch on the wrist yourself, but a video might be a good alternative if you arent near a Bvlgari boutique. In this video, we will show you the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo in polished ceramic, satin-polished stainless steel and in rose gold (on a leather strap).Bvlgari Octo Finissimo reviewThe side-by-side comparison of these three references (ceramic ref. 103368, satin-polished steel ref. 103297, and the rose gold ref. 103286) shows how different they will appear [...]

Welcome to the Speedmaster World Cup. In the absence of Euro 2020, we thought our beloved readers might enjoy a tournament of a different kind. Weve assembled eight groups (A CH), each governed by a different Fratello team member. Each writer has been assigned four watches, which they will pitch to you during the group stages.All we need you to do is vote for your favorite to move on in the competition. The next round will be the quarter-finals, which will see the eight group winners go head-to-head for your votes. The four winners progress to the semis. Following that, a third-place play-off will precede the final round, due to be held on Sunday, December 13th (get the beers in).If you have [...]

Also known as the Seamaster PloProf, Omega developed this watch in the late 1960s in close cooperation with the COMEX company and Jacques Cousteau. Solely designed and developed for professional use, this divers watch was being nicknamed PloProf (Plongeur Professional) by those involved. Earlier this year, I wrote a small review (click here) on the current Omega Seamaster PloProf 1200M, a successful re-designed timepiece based on the original PloProf.The new PloProf 1200M is a superb divers watch, although collectors or connoisseurs probably prefer the original PloProf. Therefore, I am bringing this beautiful and original 1970 Seamaster PloProf 600M (166.0077) to your attention that is cur [...]

Although most novelties are already covered on the TimeZone Basel 2007 Forum, tomorrow????I will post an overview of what I think are the nicest new time pieces. And then, on to the SIHH 2007 starting tomorrow in Geneva.Universal Geneve with microrotor, 43mm model. The large watches arent over yet ?? [...]

We introduce a new series here on Fratello: Wrist Game or Crying Shame and we kick things off with the Omega Speedmaster 3210.52 Casino Dial.Welcome, watch fans, to something new here on Fratello.? Higher power-willing, Ill be bringing you this feature every Wednesday afternoon (European time).? The theme of Wrist Game or Crying Shame is pretty simple.? Ill present a watch in all its glory or lack thereof due to my strict usage of sellers photos and when you reach the bottom of the article, you wise people will be given the opportunity to vote on whether you think this watch is a fair deal or not.? Now, Ill make this clear, neither Fratello nor I am endorsing any of the watches or sellers [...]

I am happy to admit that my taste in watches spans from the classic and reserved to the more out there and wacky pieces. Ive made no secret of my love for avant-garde and non-traditional watch design. Its not always easy for brands to step outside of conventional design, either by their own self-imposed boundaries or by what they perceive to be their fanbases boundaries. Sometimes, these boundaries can only be overcome by the input of someone not connected with the brand or its history.Such collaborations can often end one of two ways. A big swing and miss, or something which adds a valuable point of difference and indication that a brand is willing to experiment with creativity. Today I am [...]

Last week we visited Milan where we held our second Speedy Tuesday event this year (and more to come). In this article, you will find some impressions of that day.If youre new to Speedy Tuesday and wonder what it is about, please visit this introduction page on the topic. If you are already familiar, and perhaps already part of this movement, simply continue to read.This year started with an amazing cool Speedy Tuesday event in Switzerland, where we (with about 50 Speedmaster enthusiasts) witnessed the introduction of the caliber 321 re-birth. Omega kept this introduction especially for the Speedy Tuesday community, even before the press got to see it, to show their appreciation for enthusia [...]

Oris's Change for the Better campaign wants to make a difference. The company partners up with various nonprofit environmental organizations and clean-up movements that work around the world. Other than raising attention to these causes, Oris also releases beautiful timepieces, and through them, they support the project financially. Their new Oris Aquis Dat Watt Limited Edition is the next one in line.The company's latest project is with Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, a trilateral organization aiming to protect and conserve the Wadden Sea, the world's most extensive unbroken tidal flat system. Oriss new watch is the latest in a line of timepieces dedicated to special marine life conservation [...]