I would like to abuse this week s Speedy Tuesday to do an educated guess on the novelty that Omega is going to present to us during BaselWorld (19th of March till the 26th of March). Almost every year, Omega introduces a limited or special edition Speedmaster to commemorate historical achievements of NASA where a Speedmaster was involved.For example, every five years, Omega introduces a Speedmaster Professional Apollo XI limited edition, to commemorate the moon landing in 1969. Last year, it was the Omega Speedmaster Professional Apollo XI 45th Anniversary edition (we covered it here), limited to 1969 pieces.So, going through the list of Apollo missions, it shows that Omega could commemorate...

Hot on the heels of the Fratello teams visit to Zenith in Le Locle, its time to talk more Zenith.A joke, you say?? Its not April 1st and this isnt a comedy site.? So, really, does your author truly have the audacity to bring the commonplace Seiko 6139 chronograph into the ring against the legendary, and FAR more valuable, Zenith A386 El Primero?? Well, if you clicked on this, you likely noticed loads of prose.? So, the simple answers are: this is no joke and I will attempt to convince you that these two timepieces are worthy of a battle royale.? In the end, though, youll likely want both in your collection.First, lets discuss a little history.? In the 60s, with a large shift to automatic wat...

A. Lange & S?hne were the talk of the town with their new Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, but also introduced a very impressive line-up of other watches as well. The new Saxonia collection as well as the Datograph Perpetual are truly stunning watches, but they also gave their icon from 1994 a little upgrade: the Lange 1.Why touch an icon? It rarely works and makes eyebrows go up when shown to aficionados. What the Royal Oak ‘Jumbo is for AP, the Calatrava is for Patek Philippe, the Speedmaster is to Omega and the Tank is for Cartier, is the Lange 1 for A. Lange & S?hne.Now, 20 years after the introduction of the Lange 1, A. Lange & S?hne decided it was time to slightly modify th...

You probably have read it by now, but Montblanc seems to be the big surprise of the SIHH show in Geneva. Again, as the brand from Hamburg could really enjoy some positive and overwhelming responses during the SIHH in 2014 as well.Let us add some words on Montblanc and its position in the Richemont group – or the watch universe in general – at the end of this article. First, we speak about this Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum, their world timer watch with an in-house developed complication.Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis TerrarumMontblanc surprised everyone this year. Not only with this Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum (euh, World Timer) but actually with their en...

The success of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15400 has to do with the upgrade this watch received a couple of years ago. In Le Brassus they decided that the 39mm Royal Oak 15300 was too small and needed a bit of an upgrade. While the 15300 was already an upgrade (introduced in 2005) for the former 36mm models, the 41mm size would appeal to a wider audience. The 39mm Royal Oak ‘Jumbo or ‘Extra-Thin remained to have the same size. Of course.Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Two-ToneThe first series of Royal Oak watches, the reference 5402 (basically the predecessor of the current 15202) had also been available in two-tone. The 15202 was and is only available in either stainless steel or ...

We know we don t cover many ladies watches here on Fratello Watches, but this Richard Mille RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur that was presented to us this morning is really something you have to see. It is one of the two pieces that Richard Mille introduced during the SIHH 2015. Normally they have about 8 – 10 pieces every year, but they decided not to blow all their ammo during SIHH and get snowed-under with all the SIHH novelties from other brands. Later this year, Richard Mille will unveil more timepieces to reach their ‘normal number of new watches.However, let s talk about this Richard Mille RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur first. We will cover the other novelties from Richard Mille duri...

Roger Dubuis let us know it is the(ir) year of the Astral Skeleton and comes with a range of new pieces. One of the Roger Dubuis watches we saw here at the SIHH in Geneva that we love best is their Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon.The impressive case of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider is only 45mm, but definitely looks (and wears) bigger on the wrist. This watch is not for the faint hearted. However, the most important feature of this watch is of course that it has been skeletonized which allows you to see all of the in-house manufactured hand-wound caliber RD505SQ movement.Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying TourbillonBut let s get back to the case of this Excalibur S...

It is Speedy Tuesday! No SIHH or EurCHF-crisis can do anything about that! Today we show you one of the very last Omega Speedmaster Professional 145.012 models. Introduced in 1967 as a successor of the Speedmaster 105.012, with new pushers and a new case back (non stepped). Besides the 105.012 (Armstrong and Aldrin s watches), the 145.012 was worn by Apollo astronauts (Apollo 11 s Michael Collins for example).In terms of technical specifications, the Omega Speedmaster Professional 145.012 is the last model that had a caliber 321 movement. The column-wheel chronograph movement based on Lemania s 2310 movement. A movement also used by Patek Philippe and other high-end watch brands for a long t...

One of the highlights of the first day at the SIHH for us is this Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Calendar in stainless steel with a meteorite dial. We will soon get back to you with a hands-on article but we thought it would be nice to already show you some first photos.This watch will be available in gold as well, but we actually prefer the stainless steel model (reference Q1558421). This Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Calendar watch features a day, date, month and moon phases indication. Besides showing the time of course. Since all meteorite cuts show different patterns, you could say you will have a unique watch with this Master Calendar piece.Inside ticks JLC s caliber 866 movement and consists of 30...

Piaget, known for their ultra-thin watches (remember their Altiplano 9P from last year?) now introduced the Altiplano Chronograph. Only 8.24mm thick is the case of the Piaget Altiplano Chronograph that was presented to us today on the 25th Salon International de Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva.The Piaget Altiplano Chronograph has a hand-wound movement that only measures 4,65mm (thickness). Available in 18 carat white gold and in pink gold. The white gold version has a diamond set bezel, 56 brilliant cut stones with a total weight of 1.8 carat. The diameter of this sleek designed chronograph is 41mm, making it very wearable. Piaget stressed that this Altiplano Chronograph would make a wonde...

It has been a few months since the release of Max Bsser s Horological Machine No. 6. An introduction that basically went with a Big Bang! Not the Hublot kind of big bang, but with a birth of the universe kind of big bang. The news about the MB&F HM6 ‘Space Pirate was about everywhere on the internet on the day of introduction.At first I ve to admit that I wasn t too fond about this timepiece. However, that was mainly because I was under the impression that this organic shaped watch was very large. Unwearable, was what I thought.I was wrong though. Seeing the MB&F HM6 ‘Space Pirate in the flesh, there s nothing not to like about it actually. The size is great and it is ...

In a week from now the SIHH 2015 will start and of course, we will be there to bring you the latest news from the Geneva exhibition. Besides the SIHH, there will be other horology events hosted like the SIWP and of course there are lots of individual presentations from watch brands at several locations in Geneva. From 19th to the 23rd of January, HYT will introduce their latest timepiece in Geneva as well, the HYT Skull.HYT Skull – Red and GreenWhen HYT introduced their H1 watch back in 2012 we – and lots of others as well – were blown away by their concept of indicating time using fluid. Being able to give this fluid any colour, the watch could be more or less be ‘ta...

There is the flashy coffee table type of book, and then there s the other, more educational one out there. On which end of the spectrum sits The Vintage Field Guide?For the first type of 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 dont 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 Field GuideThe book in review today falls on the other end of the spectrum. A lot of black & white pages. Many pages without an...

The 1980s could not be described as the decade with the epitome of good taste. Today s Speedy Tuesday subject is a typical product of the 1980s, a bi-color Omega Speedmaster Professional DD145.0022. Although the case design, dial and bracelet are those of the typical Speedmaster Pro, the use of materials and colours could be defined as ‘1980s .Personally, I would not mind owning this Omega Speedmaster Professional DD145.0022 as I am a kid of the 1980s and love these things. They bring back memories of how things were in those days.Omega Speedmaster Professional DD145.0022The Omega Speedmaster Professional DD145.0022 has not been made in huge quantities, but there is no information avai...

During our visits to watch manufactures we always get to see a lot of watch makers at work. Sitting behind their low desks, highly concentrated, working on movements or other small watch parts. Recently I was able to try it ourselves during the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Class Watch Training.Jaeger-LeCoultre Master ClassOrganised in their recently opened boutique in the renowned P.C. Hooftstraat in Amsterdam, we were welcomed by the JLC team and their watchmaker. In their basement they d set up some work benches, with all the necessary watch making tools for the surgery we were about to perform. Today patient? The Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 986, as used in the Grande Reverso Duoface.After explain...

Just recently we wrote an article on the Breguet 5447BR Classique Grande Complication, a $ 268.000 Euro timepiece that is mind blowing, but also about a ‘dream piece . Unless something happens in the lottery, it will stay a ‘dream piece as well I am afraid. A bit closer to the wallet is the Breguet we are featuring today here on Fratello Watches. The Breguet Tradition GMT. Almost two years ago we wrote about the Breguet La Tradition that was already introduced in the mid-2000s and featured the escapement on the dial side and had a pocketwatch-like construction (read more here).The Breguet Tradition GMT is another version of that family of watches with the escapement on the dial ...

With the Geneva based 2015 SIHH watch exhibition around the corner, our mail-box is filling up with many interesting invitations. The SIHH itself this year hosts ‘only 16 – mainly Richemont group – brands, however at the same time there is, like always, a lot of activity from independent watchmakers and brands around it.On an individual basis almost every major hotel in the Geneva area hosts one or more of them in one of their conference rooms, where the visitors can take notice of their watches. We have seen larger initiatives in the past as well, think of the Geneva Time Exhibition (GTE), which unfortunately stopped existing a few years ago.This year however, besides the...

In just a few hours from now, we will be toasting to the new year and wish each other all best of luck and happiness. Before doing so, we want to share our Top 10 watch articles from 2014 with you. This top 10 watch articles overview is based on the number of views it received.Now, you might think that Speedy Tuesday might top the list – and it is surely in there – but it still seems that you – our precious reader – are also interested in other articles.Before I will show you our Top 10 watch articles overview of 2014, a few words:The survey we performed earlier this year (in July) showed some very interesting statistics and you gave us truly interesting and useful fe...

Today, on the last Speedy Tuesday of 2014, we feature one of the rarest Omega Speedmaster watches you ve seen so far here on Fratello Watches.During our visit to the Omega Museum in November, we were shown this beautiful white dial Omega Speedmaster. On first sight, this watch looks a bit like a customized white dial Omega Speedmaster (like the ‘modding of Speedmaster watches we discussed here) and in fact it is.White Dial Omega SpeedmasterAlthough only little information is available on this white dial Omega Speedmaster reference DD 145.0022, our favorite book on the topic – Moonwatch Only – describes it as special made for the German market. Basically, this watch was mad...

Just before year-end and thus before the 150th anniversary of the Zenith Manufacture, Bert and I visited the impressive and big building in Le Locle (Switzerland) to see with our own eyes what Zenith is about these days.A friend of mine collects (mainly vintage) Zenith El Primero watches and I ve always been very interested in their classics like the Chronomaster (with moon phase) and their El Primero Rainbow Fly-Back from the 1990s. When Zenith was headed by CEO Nataf I lost interest in the brand to be honest and only after his successor Dufour put Zenith back on the horological map for enthusiasts (a.o. with the introduction of the Zenith El Primero Striking 10th) my interest was triggered...