Watches Blog Wrist Watch Reviews

Trust me, I tried and tested the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso more than once, but it is not for me. And I feel bad, because I love the looks and want to like it, but I just cant. Rectangular watches are not for me, there, Ive said it. But if there is one rectangular watch to buy, it is the Reverso in my opinion (no offence to all the Cartier fans). Ive tried many different versions and sizes, at some point even there square shaped Squadra, but that didnt work at all for me. I have the same issue with the classic Heuer Monaco for example. It is not for me. I tried again this time with this blue Reverso Tribute Small Seconds from Jaeger-LeCoultre. Lets have a closer look.Beautiful Blue Reverso Tri [...]

Like choosing a favorite offspring, ranking my chronograph collection is a tough call. In reality, I regularly cycle between my Breitling Chronomat, Omega Speedmaster, and Rolex Daytona. Any one of these chronographs suits a particular mood or event. But thats not useful for budding buyers looking to purchase their first and perhaps last great watch. For you, I present an objective and subjective ranking of these iconic chronographs based on personal experience. At the end is the score determined purely from their position in each category. And, as we are all hooked on the Winter Olympics, which watch do you think will take home the gold medal?For more detail, the watches in question are the [...]

We are gliding on very thin ice here. Does a privately modified Rolex 116520 in full black PVD coating open a taboo topic?I have a friend that wants me to hear me say I like modern Rolex Daytona watches. He wants it so badly that he left me his 116520 for a week so that I would test it out and feature it on 52Mondayz. A week later, I got a text message asking what the verdict is. My reply? Im not feeling it. But, after much heckling, I gave the watch another chance. It stayed on my wrist a month longer. And then for another four weeks after that. I could easily start a new series called 12Monthz because of this Daytona and how I postponed writing about it multiple times. People in advertisin [...]

The Omega ladies' novelties are here to shine and this collection is no exception. The Constellation Petite Seconde in Sedna Gold adds a bit of the sparkle we all need in life.?From Cindy Crawford to Nicole Kidman, the iconic Omega Constellation was seen on the wrists of many it-girls especially in the late 90s and early 00s. The last few years have seen something of a revival. I've met so many wonderful women wearing the latest generation of Constellation or its previous versions, so much so that Omega has decided to bring back another well-known model the Constellation Petite Seconde.The Very First Constellation Petite SecondeAs part of the Constellation collection, in 2016, Omega released [...]

Iconic ChronographOne of the most talked about watches this year is without a doubt the new Rolex Daytona 2016 model, with black Cerachrom bezel. But what is all the fuzz about? Let me try to explain this to you in this article, about the Rolex Daytona 2016 model, some of its predecessors and perhaps, about dreams.Truth to be told, I do not own a Rolex Daytona and I never actually did. My Fratello Watches colleagues Gerard, Bert and Michael do own Daytonas, from vintage to new, and I have tried the previous model (reference 116520) more than once. I love the watch, both vintage models and the new (lets say after 1988) models. It is one of the most iconic chronographs and only few things have [...]

Every November, the Movember Foundation (founded in 2003) encourages men to grow their moustaches to raise money in support of 1200 health projects world wide. The Movember Foundations mission is to help men live happier, healthier and longer, and raise awareness (and funds) for prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. Oris announces their partnership with the Movember Foundation and introduce to you the Oris Movember Edition. A special edition timepiece that is based on the iconic Divers Sixty-Five that weve praised here many times. Part of the sales will go to the Movember Foundation.Oris Movember EditionThe Oris Movember Edition has the original 1960s Oris [...]

Although youll find Breitling not very often covered on this and other websites, they are still highly in demand according to the numbers we showed you last week. The Navitimer is our favorite Breitling model and comes in many variations. One of the models that looks a tad bit different from the others is thisBreitling Navitimer 01 Blacksteel. Lets have a look.Breitling Navitimer 01 BlacksteelJust recently I had a Navitimer in my hands from someone who was visiting our office. A Breitling Navitimer with an automatic B23 calibre (based on Valjoux 7753), probably from around 2011 or 2012. How different is the look of this Breitling Navitimer 01 Blacksteel compared to the Valjoux 7753 powered [...]

Rolex is the king of the luxury watch market today. That is by no means a bold or shocking statement. If anything, its so undeniable, at this point youre probably checking who wrote this article to make sure his name isnt Captain Obvious. And while some of the brands hot models, like the Submariner, Explorer, and vividly colored Oyster Perpetuals are on the simpler end of the horological spectrum, others show the range of horological capabilities the brand possesses. Watches like the GMT-Master II, Daytona, and Sky-Dweller are all examples of complications that the brand excels in not just producing, but producing really, really well.Some complain that Rolex doesnt make any complicated watch [...]

Oh, shoot me. This Panerai Forum is something I set-up with the help of some Panerai enthusiasts. The Dutch Rolex Forum is quite popular, so I wondered if there would be space for a Dutch Panerai Forum as well. Panerai is a brand that I have the famous love hate relationship with. I had this wonderful PAM 113 and sold it because I thought I could do without. Boy, I was wrong. I really missed the whole Panerai experience.. being a Paneristi, buying and changing Panerai straps once in a while (or too often). So, about a year after I sold it, I ran into this great looking Panerai 000. As good as new. And the enthusiasm was immediately there again. Anyway, as a result, I started the Dutch Paner [...]

Want a watch wallpaper for your desktop? Jocke created www.watchwallpapers.com where you can download several very high quality photographs of watches for free. Certina, Seiko, Rolex, Omega, Dreadnought etc. Also check-out his tutorial section!Photo by Jocke. Ofcourse. [...]

All I can say is I'm deeply envious of older collectors like RJ who had the chance to wear and enjoy these iconic designs, wrote one of our readers below an article about the Royal Oak Jumbo. With many enthusiasts unable to fulfill their watch dreams these days, Im afraid this readers sentiment is all too common.Sitting across from me is Ignacio, our Managing Editor. And then we have editors like Jorg and Daan, who also stepped into the watch game not too long ago. As you can read in this article, one of Ignacio's absolute dream watches is the Rolex Explorer II Polar. But with the current market value of Rolex watches, it might stay a dream. For Jorg, its an even tougher pill to swallow. Ive [...]

This watch was already shown as a pre-SIHH 2015 release a while back, but nothing beats to see a watch in the flesh. I suspect that this watch was chosen to be a shown to the public as a pre-SIHH release for a few reasons, one of them is that it is commemorating the 185th anniversary of the Baume Mercier manufacture in 2015 and that it is a limited piece. So orders could be given in time. Another reason might be that Baume Merciers SIHH 2015 presentation had a strong focus on the Classima collection. We will get back to the Classima collection soon, but first well have a look at this Baume Mercier Clifton 8-Day Power Reserve 185th Limited Edition watch.Baume Mercier Clifton 8-Day Power R [...]

Welcome to the Fratello Holiday Gift Guide 2019: The Watches!? We have a cool assortment for you that includes both classics and new watchesenjoy and Happy Holidays!Over 5.000 Euro (or USD or GBP)Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 (9.100 Euro)Well, you knew a gift guide form Fratello would be thick with Speedmasters, so here is our first of two to make the guide: the Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8.? I wasnt sure about this one when it debuted at Baselworld 2018, but then I saw it months later on the wrist of Roy Davidoffand I loved it (RJ called it the best of the DSotM collection).? What amazes me on this watch is the impressive dial detail thats crafted to look like the surfa [...]

We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. While the daily routine is largely focused on the most recent developments in the world of watches, the most fun for many of us lies in the world of vintage watches. It's 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 priceless, some of them still affordable. In this installment, we will take a look at the best Longines watches from the 1970s.In the 1960s, we witnessed developments that challenged the status quo of watch design forever. The sheer amoun [...]

Although I dont wear it often, I still like my Chronoswiss R??gulateur Automatique a lot. Great dress watch and first real Chronoswiss watch (introduced in 1987 as a hand wound wrist watch).Christopher Meisenzahl mentioned the review on the Chronoswiss Digiteur at The Purists forum last week, and I thought that you might be interested!Enjoy the review by William Riepl on the Chronoswiss Digiteur Click here to read it [...]

In the past, watch brands presented their new watches during the two major shows. One of them doesn't exist anymore (Baselworld) and this year, the other one was done digitally (Watches Wonders, previously known as SIHH). I think I speak for the entire team and all my media colleagues when I write that we miss these shows a lot. However, we also noticed that brands are quite flexible and decided to release their watches throughout 2021, not only limiting them to one of these big events.It has been tough to travel this year due to the never-ending pandemic, but luckily, brands adapted and often sent us watches under embargo or made individual appointments with us to show the watches in the f [...]

There seem to be a lot of questions about the watch we are featuring today on Speedy Tuesday. The Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonphase with Aventurine dial.Even on our favorite Omega Forum some people started to wonder whether it was a phantom Speedy or that it really exists. Well, weve definitely had it in our hands during our BaselWorld visit and in the meanwhile, weve seen a few photos floating around of this Speedy model for sale at a Californian Omega boutique.Although we like this Speedy Aventurine a lot, there are a few things that keeps us busy. First of all, the wording Professional on the dial seems a bit strange to us. Although it has definitely the same case shape as the Spee [...]

Vintage watch collecting is a fantastic hobby for many reasons. Firstly, you have an endless number of timepieces from the past. And theres always more to discover. Its fun to explore new models from time-to-time. Then, there are those neat stories about them. This one was worn by a pilot in World War II. That one was the presidents favorite piece. Perhaps youll find a model made famous by a famous wrist? But what I love the most about vintage watches are those beautiful books written about them like 30 mm Chronometer by Erich Lexer.I think I heard about this project a while ago from someone. Not sure who it was. Then last year, during lunch after the Speedy Tuesday event in Frankfurt, I coi [...]

Earlier this year, we showed you the announcement of the Hamilton Murph. This watch is inspired by the Hamilton used in the Interstellar movie from 2014.Michael did a write-up on the Hamilton Murph and its role in the Interstellar movie, so I am not going into that in this article. I will be looking at the watch as such. Hamilton sent us the Khaki Field Murph Auto for review, including the limited box. Only the first 2555 pieces will come with this beautiful bright box, that was designed with the help of Nathan Crowley, the production designer of the Interstellar movie. After these 2555 pieces (with box) have been sold, the Hamilton Murph will come in a regular Hamilton box. Weve been inform [...]

No stranger to the world of luxury smartwatches, TAG Heuer launched its first line of Connected watches back in 2015. In the seven years since then, we have seen a number of improvements take place. Currently, we find ourselves in the fourth generation of Connected watches, which debuted last month in the form of the TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4. Just last week, I had the opportunity to experience these watches in person. The specs sheet looked rather promising, and the 42mm model seemed like a perfect match for my wrist. As such, I was very excited to get up close and personal with these watches. Today, I'll do my best to explain what makes this latest generation so special and express ho [...]