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Watches – News, Reviews, Brands and Releases
Today is father's day here in the Netherlands. It wasn't until a few years ago, that I realized that father's day is celebrated on different days around the world. Call me a bad son, but, to me, it meant little more than a mandatory call to my parents on father's day or mother's day. That changed when I became a father myself, on May 31st, 2013. I now know what it means, and I happily call my own parents now to wish them a wonderful day.I can't speak for anyone else, but I remember seeing my daughter for the first time and the only thing I could think was, I know you already. That instant connection and instant love is something amazing. Someone called having a child a life-changing event. I [...]
Hamilton's undeniably rich history in military watchmaking is once again brought to our attention. This time, it's the brand's Model 23 mil-spec pocket watch that inspires its latest release: the Hamilton Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer. A tough and reliable tool, Hamilton delivered over 27,000 pieces to the US armed forces during WWII. This was in addition to over one million wristwatches, marine chronometers, and a number of other timing devices and mechanical instruments. The Model 23 pocket watch was a staple of military aviation timepieces, featuring a large and extremely legible dial with cathedral hands and a chronograph function. Though the wristwatch which it inspires drops the added f [...]
This could be a life philosophy or just love for the suave look of black, you may interpret this in many ways. Some people (let's call out the architects and fashionistas) dress in minimalist black every day, but why? Let's just admit it, we all want to acquire that air of mystery sometimes, and what better way? Whether you're a wannabe secret agent, MIB fan, or believe in the slimming effect of black, it's all good, STEALTH is the word.This style lies between mission-tough and dark elegance. Should you go splurge-crazy and acquire all the items in this story, I'd be sincerely flattered. But don't put everything on while wearing black trousers and a black polo and driving the Defender. You' [...]
The early 1960's Cosmonaute reference 809 Wide Bezel' models are enough of an elusive piece for any vintage Breitling collector, so the news that one owned by Astronaut John Glenn will be coming up for sale is an absolutely awesome moment that might get some of us a little bit excited.On the 10th December 2019, Phillips Watches will be holding their Game Changers' auction in New York City where two of John Glenn's watches will feature, notably his Navitimer 809.John Glenns Breitling Navitimer 809 CosmonauteThis particular auction is already well known to be featuring Marlon Brando's Rolex GMT-Master as worn in the Film Apocalypse Now among other iconic watches.John Glenn Jr. was a United Sta [...]
When it comes to recognizing our favorite movie wristwatches, we tend to focus on the good guy. James Bond and the Omega Seamaster 300M, or Ellen Ripley with her Seiko Giugiaro, for example. Yet, in interviews, actors and actresses often proclaim they cannot wait to chew the scenery and portray the antagonist. Therefore, I am selecting wristwatches worn by the bad guys.Playing the part of the bad guy can often turn a performer into a household name overnight. Alan Rickman and Gary Oldman kickstarted their Hollywood careers with Die Hard and L��on respectively. Unnerving yet captivating performances surely leave an impression when exiting the theater. With my keen eye, their wristwatch choice [...]
Ten large, one stack of high society, or whatever you call it this, 10,000, is what I've been given to start a watch collection. Some would call it an insane amount of money to spend on an archaic wrist device. Others, perhaps, would say that it barely covers the price of admission. So, what will I do with this chunk of change? Let's see In reality, 10,000 is a lot of money to set aside for the sole purpose of starting a watch collection. It's the kind of money that pays for a seriously nice vacation or two. It helps pay off a car or some sort of desperately needed home renovation project. In the watch world, though, it all depends on your aims. Be reasonable, and you can expect some great o [...]
Meet the Omega a Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch. A watch made of bioceramic (a unique mix of two-thirds ceramic and one-third material derived from castor oil) that looks very similar to the famous and iconic Moonwatch by Omega. As we're pretty fond of Speedmasters ourselves here at Fratello, let's have a look at this new MoonSwatch and tell you what we think of it.A week before this official introduction, Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek, together with Omega CEO Raynald Aeschlimann and Swatch CEO Carlo Giordanetti, invited us to come to Biel in Switzerland where they surprised us (and a select group of other journalists) with a collab that nobody expected to happen. Ever.Omega a Swatch Speedmaste [...]
If youre enjoying the March Mania contest, weve got a little something for you to increase the fun A free, downloadable, printable bracket so you can either follow the competition offline or, better yet, make your own predictions.Why not play along with your watch buddies? Download the bracket here (or by clicking the below image) and share it with your group. Share it on Facebook, LinkedIn, throughout your Red Bar crew, wherever you like Nail it to lampposts throughout your hometown. Tie it to the backs of stray dogs (please get the appropriate jabs before attempting this), or have it blow up to 100 times its original size and attach it to the back of your Biplane before flying it all over [...]
We are always looking forward to the SIHH presentation by Theodore Diehl, who works for Richard Mille. He is a great talker, and author, and today he presented us the Richard Mille RM 50-03 McLAREN F1 timepiece. Richard Mille is known for his brilliant technical timepieces, but with this 40 grams tourbillon split seconds chronograph things got just more brilliant.Richard Mille RM 50-03 McLAREN F1Aside from the 980.000 Swiss Francs (excluding 8% sales tax that is) price tag, this Richard Mille is not for everyone. It is a highly complicated and technical looking timepiece, that doesnt tick everyones boxes, but it is definitely an impressive watch whether you are into these type of things or n [...]
Contrary to what you may think, I did not pick the watches Im going to talk about. That was the Krakens doing. That said, I could not be happier with this pair of great chronographs. The Zenith Chronomaster El Primero A385 is easily my favorite watch from the Revival lineup. The quirky case shape, the light brown dial, and the El Primero movement are simply my favorite features. And I like the watch equally on a bracelet or a strap. The red chronograph hand, with its dash of color, spiced up the watch for me and matched the other contender perfectly. Speaking of contenders, we have a Speedy to race our Zenith. Not just any Speedy, though. Its the one that has the most iconic red chronograph [...]
I never really liked Coke too much.I was always a Pepsi guy. No, I'm not talking about the drink. I could not care less about the age-old debate of which soda is better. I'm talking about two specific Rolex GMT-Masters. The choice is between Pepsi (blue/red) or Coke (black/red) bezel inserts.I shared the reasoning behind my decision to go with reference 1675 in this old TBT article of mine. To me, the colors on the bezel were the primary factor. I liked the look of a vintage Sub, but I dug the GMT with its Pepsi insert. It added a pop of color to the watch. For the longest time, I thought that no other GMT would take its place. Until this week cameDon't worry, I'm still Team Pepsi, but for [...]
It is not even a Speedy Tuesday but we're here with some important Speedmaster news. We've been following the auctions closely, and are happy to see that this very early 1957 Speedmaster CK2915-1 got some proper appreciation. With a record-shattering winning bid of CHF2,550,00 Swiss Francs!A very remarkable Speedmaster (lot 53) was auctioned today at Phillip's in Geneva. Not only because it is a Speedmaster CK2915-1 dating back to November 22nd, 1957, but also because of how it has aged. This is the horological dream to many collectors, not limited to Speedmaster collectors, a beautiful chocolate brown tropical dial with broad arrow hands.Speedmaster CK2915-1Introduced as a watch for race ca [...]
IWC Ingenieur EventRemember our give-away of tickets to the AMG and IWC event at the Zandvoort Racing Track in The Netherlands? The conditions to participate were quite strict, you needed to have an IWC Ingenieur already AND live in The Netherlands, Belgium or Luxemburg. We had to disappoint quite a few people who mailed us from Denmark, UK, Franc and even Italy. In the end, we had two people who met all requirements!We have a Winner!However, one of them needed to cancel the evening before due to an important business meeting. So, in the end, we only brought Maarten van Munster to the race track. Instead the other winner, there was suddenly some extra room for our photographer Bert Buijsrogg [...]
Youve probably heard it by now, OMEGA introduced the remake of the First Omega in Space Speedmaster. The watch worn by Walter Wally Schirra on the 3rd of October 1962 during the Sigma 7 flight, was the Speedmaster ref. CK2998. This is a second generation Speedmaster, a few years before it became the official choice by NASA and renamed Speedmaster Professional in 1965. We had a look at the new remake of this Speedmaster 1962 during our appointment with OMEGA in BaselWorld and wed like to share our findings and the pictures we took, with our readers.As you can see, the dial lacks the Professional wording and has the applied OMEGA logo again, like it was used in those days. The font that OMEGA [...]
With the introduction of the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic, Bulgari shows the world not only that they can produce record-breaking thin movements. They also cracked one of the most difficult design challenges by creating a chronograph version of the Octo Finissimo that fits the iconic design of the Octo Finissimo family.Bulgari has been very successful the last couple of years in breaking several the worlds thinnest records with the Octo Finissimo line of watches. The impressive Octo Finissimo collection features the thinnest tourbillon movement, the thinnest minute repeater movement, the thinnest automatic movement, and now it also features the worlds thinnest chronograph [...]
2017 is over, so welcome 2018 2017 was a big year for us at Fratello Watches. Reader traffic grew and our team is stronger and more excited than ever to bring you unique content. Regarding that notion, let's take a look at?our least worn watches of 2017 from most of the team that is and, why not, we'll talk about what graced our wrists most because that seems to be a popular thing to do this year.? There are some surprising picks!Balazs Ferenczis PicksBalazs hes often known as Blaise because his name can be tricky to pronounce (seriously, ever been to Hungary?).? But, in 2017 we all learned how to say his name correctly you can even hear him give some lessons on the a Time4APint Podcast! [...]
This year, 2019, commemorates the 50th anniversary of the end of the 1960's. I don't mean that just numerically. The year, 1969 really marked the end of an era. The free love movement culminated with the Woodstock '69 festival and the great human achievement of the USA landing men on the moon brought about a new era of scientific discovery.Designs of the times were certainly inspired by the whirlwind of events including the retro-futuristic Heuer Monaco. Introduced to sit between the Heuer Autavia and Carrera, the Monaco takes its name from the jewel in the crown of the Formula One calendar that is the Monaco Grand Prix. Racing on the streets of Monte Carlo requires precision and focus but t [...]
Only a few months ago, Christies had their Omega Speedmaster 50 Auction held in New York City with a 100% selling rate. This time, Christies is having an online auction (that still runs for almost 3 more days) with some incredibly nice Omega watches. Not only Speedmaster pieces, also Seamaster and Constellation pieces for example. There are 26 lots in total, that you can find here, I am not sure why all of them are considered to be rare Omega watches, as some of them can be fairly easy found on eBay and Chrono24. However, some of them are very interesting and in some cases even unique, definitely worth a look.Although one of them is even a flown Speedmaster, a X-33 model?previously owned by [...]
It's time for a good, old-fashioned shootout You might have noticed already that this week the pre-quarterfinal shootout for The Fast And The Fratelli began, with Lex and Ben, RJ and Thor, and Brandon and Rob battling it out. This is the stage where the voting really counts. It will decide who drops out of the competition, and who comes one step closer to taking first place. Today, it's Sinn versus Hamilton, and Mike versus Nacho. These two watches take plenty of inspiration from neighboring decades. The Sinn is a clear example of 70s cool, with its sleek and stealthy black finish and bright red details. Going back a little less than ten years, the Hamilton looks to the late 1960s for its ha [...]
The Group Stage is in the books. Its time for the head-to-head contests to begin. Over the next two weeks, we will run two quarter-final match-ups each weekend. One on Saturday; one on Sunday. Our intrepid warriors made it through blood baths of their own making, but now they need your help to fight another day. Only one man can progress from each quarter-final to the next stage. The choice of who receives that honor rests with you. Let battle commenceNo manual recounts needed here as the victorious Speedys for Group A and B have an unassailable lead. In the right-hand corner, representing Group A is the 45th anniversary of the Silver Snoopy Award. The original Silver Snoopy lapel pin was aw [...]
