When you squint, you can see the original 1992 yellow gold Yacht-Master in the 2023 stealthy titanium version. But the elusive Yacht-Master 42 in RLX titanium must be seen with eyes wide open because this is not a watch you see every day. Indeed, this monochromatic Super Sub is a hard-to-find exotic watch with far higher demand than available supply. You might say that s nothing new concerning sports watches. Still, something tells me this lightweight water-going watch will always be a rare and under-the-radar timepiece. So when it unexpectedly appeared at Fratello HQ, I seized the opportunity to wear it for a while. I just had to experience its stealthy yet luxurious presence with both ha...

Christmas and New Year s are a wonderful time for many. The holiday season is often a chance to reconnect with family or celebrate and reflect on the year. It is also a fantastic opportunity to treat yourself! Buying a watch for Christmas is always a good idea, so today, I m sharing five attainable watches that I d recommend and even consider as a gift to myself.The options are both pre-owned and new. Affordable secondhand timepieces can offer incredible value, and the variety of styles and designs is enormous. As part of this exercise, I restricted myself to options I would genuinely consider for my collection. Another important factor was recognizing that we live in challenging economic ti...

Lists - dont you love em? Well, I do. Unlike Lex, our resident Grinch, I love a good list. That should come as no surprise, though, as I am Fratello s in-house list fanatic. It was interesting to read that Lex likes to look forward to what s to come rather than looking back at what has been. If there is one thing I ve learned this year, it s not to live in the future but to enjoy the present and nurture a love for the past. So I am always happy to share a best-of list. Here is the list of my favorite watches of 2024.Before I get into it, though, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the past 12 months in the horological world. It has been an absolute joy to see the many great releases from...

Sometimes the little chores in life feel like herculean tasks, don t they? Im not just talking about lubricating that squeaky hinge on the front door; Im also referring to taking your beloved watch to a watchmaker for some love and attention. I know what Im talking about. Not only does the hinge of my front door sound like an evil witch on acid whenever I go out and come back home, but I also have a watch that, although it s one of my absolute favorites, desperately needed a revitalizing treatment. I denied that watch this treatment for several months, but not so long ago, I managed to set the wheels in motion and brought the watch in for a new battery and some cosmetic touch-ups. And now Iv...

Excelsior Park re-entered the market with a boom in 2021. The brand released many models, created limited editions and one-offs, and then retreated until this year. This past summer, after a few years of hibernation, EP returned with a time-only model, the 884-SI. The watch received positive reviews for its appearance and competitive price. Now Excelsior Park is on a roll and surprises us with yet another new model line. The Bi Compax Dual chronographs, the topic of this article, are hitting the market now.After the time-only 884-SI, Excelsior Park returned to chronographs, the brand s bread and butter in the past. The Bi Compax Dual comes in two versions - the Bi Compax Reverse Panda and th...

Welcome to our last Sunday Morning Showdown of the year. Next week, Jorg will share this year s Sunday Morning Showdown highlights, so let s go out with a bang. Today, we put the new Omega Speedmaster Pilot Flight Qualified up against the Zenith Pilot Big Date Flyback. The leaks of the Speedmaster Pilot for US military aviators properly stirred up the rumor mill. Then, last week, the consumer version was received with a lot of excitement. Let s see if the Zenith Pilot Big Date Flyback s muscles are big enough to gather the majority of votes in this confrontation.Of course, both these watches are automatic pilot s chronographs. They re very legible and have colorful accents on their dials. Ot...

The Alcadus Quantra is a striking example of how a microbrand can evolve, delivering a product that competes with more established microbrands at higher price points. From its tasteful design and refined build quality to its thoughtful packaging and enjoyable unboxing experience, this watch encapsulates a level of sophistication that is rare at its price point. Having reviewed the Alcadus Dromo and Opus V2 back in 2022, I was already impressed by the brand s attention to detail. However, the Quantra Type 02 marks a clear leap forward, showcasing a greater sense of maturity and overall quality.Delivering from the very startI appreciate the privileged position I m in working here at Fratello. ...

Yema does not shy away from more creative uses of materials and colors. The French brands latest release proves this point brilliantly. You would be forgiven for thinking this was a forged carbon watch at first sight. You would be wrong, however. The new Yema Wristmaster Slim CMM.20 Limited Edition is made of hand-finished black PVD-coated stainless steel.Yema will produce 200 units of this edition. Despite the limited numbers and large amount of handwork, the price of $2,449 is just $200 more than the non-limited versions. At the time of writing, the batch has not sold out yet, so you can still order one. Lets have a closer look together!The Yema Wristmaster Slim CMM.20Lets start with a qui...

Another Friday, another Top 5! This week, we continue our series of best-of-the-year lists with our favorite affordable watches of 2024. This has been a great year for fans of affordable watches, with tons of releases over the last 12 months. We have seen many well-executed affordable tool watches over the past couple of years, but 2024 also gave us several wonderful dress watches, showing how this side of the price spectrum continues to get more and more interesting. So let s find out our sub-$1,500 favorites from this year!In the vast avalanche of yearly watch releases, it is interesting to see how the affordable segment evolves. As mentioned, we have seen more affordable dress watches tha...

Well, 2024 has been quite a year for Omega, hasn t it? The brand fulfilled its role as the official timekeeper of the Paris Olympics with verve. In the meantime, it also presented numerous special-edition watches. But somehow, it seems Omega just can t stop unveiling new references. Right now, it s in the middle of a strong sprint toward the end of the year. We saw various new iterations of the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M last month, and last week, we finally saw the consumer version of the new Speedmaster Pilot Flight Qualified. There was quite some buzz around all these releases, but one that went a little under the radar was the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra with a gradient turquoise dial. Le...

Lists - dont you just love em? Well, I dont. I dont want to sound like the Grinch, but the avalanche of end-of-the-year lists - whether about music, movies, or sports moments - that comes during the holiday season doesnt exactly give me a warm and fuzzy feeling of remembrance. I prefer to look ahead. Im more interested in watches to come than regurgitating has-beens. Yet despite my objections, I present you with The Best Watches Of 2024 - Lex s Picks. I chose watches from Omega, Echo/Neutra, and Tudor that immediately made my heart jump when I put them on my wrist. Yes, this Grinch does have a heart; how about that?Since Ive already been brutally honest about year-end lists, I think its best...

Welcome back to Fratello Talks. Everyone knows Switzerland is home to some of the world s greatest and most renowned watch brands. But plenty of brands outside the Alpine region - and even outside Europe - produce high-end mechanical timepieces that can stand shoulder to shoulder with their Swiss contemporaries. Some of these non-Swiss brands have garnered the fervent interest of collectors, who have formed communities around them. Some even rival Swiss manufacturers that have long held their place in the pantheon of horology. In today s episode, Nacho, Thomas, and Lex highlight more than a handful of these brands, from the entry-level value propositions we know and love to the very high end...

Have you ever heard of UTOs? Unidentified time-telling objects can appear on the wrist out of nowhere, as sightings around the world indicate. Today, one appeared on my left forearm, and I got to try it on for a day.As it turns out, it may be spaceship-esque in appearance, but it isnt entirely unidentifiable after all. The dial appears sterile, but the true connoisseur will recognize the little hand icon, symbolizing friendly intent. Flipping this oddity over reveals that it is fully willing to identify itself as a Ressence Type 9. Its not from a galaxy far, far away but, rather, from Belgium, a 90-minute drive from our office in The Hague. Things dont look so intimidating anymore. Lets take...

Its funny; when I think of memorable releases of 2024, I remember watches from 2023. In 2023, released a dazzling amount of wild watches. The brand dared to bring out a lefty GMT-Master II, three jigsaw-dialed Day-Date models including 12 inspirational words and 31 emojis, an Oyster Perpetual with colorful balloons on the dial, and a tool-like titanium version of the Yacht-Master 42. surprised us with daring designs and functional innovations in 2023. The 2024 novelties were way more conservative, making them not nearly as memorable. This begs the question: is still the undisputed king of watches in 2024?Despite this year s novelties not having been as exuberant and surprising, you coul...

I think its safe to say we dont expect any more Omega Speedmaster models this year. Just last week, Omega introduced the Speedmaster Pilot Flight Qualified after teasing us with a similar model for US military pilots only. But this year s releases had already started coming in January when Omega introduced the newly updated Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 featuring the much-discussed rocket hand.In this article, I will provide a brief overview of all Omega Speedmaster models introduced in 2024.January: Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8On Tuesday, January 16th, Omega held a Speedmaster event for our readers in Biel, Switzerland. During this event, the brand also introduced...

Welcome back to another episode of?Fratello On Air. In this episode, we stray from our original topic and discuss questionable vintage watches. Lately, too many questionable watches have received universal praise from noted experts. We get on the topic after approximately 15 minutes.This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Sorry for the aberration. We both love watches from brands that are non-mainstream. This means that shady activity is often afoot among unscrupulous vintage dealers. Ingrain yourself within a community and quickly find out what s correct and what isn t. Hear about watches that have been passed around for years ...

Last weekend, Thomas kicked off this year-end series about our best watches of 2024. I m glad I m the second one in line because that means there are still many watches to choose from. Some of Thomas s picks were quite complicated and on the more expensive side of the spectrum. My picks are all under $10,000, except for one, which, unfortunately, is my overall favorite. All right, let s dive in.In preparation for this article, I made a long list of my favorite watches of 2024. I indeed ended up with quite a long list because there were many great releases this year. As Thomas already said, it s hard to make a list of the best watches. I simply jotted down personal favorites of this year. The...

Mhle Glashtte is a German watch brand with a deep fan base. The company is known for its robust and affordable watches. While the original brand began in 1869, the modern incarnation was resurrected in 1994. Today, we ll highlight the sixth generation of the family now working with the company. We ll also mention the final 30th-anniversary piece, the Teutonia IV Big Date Edition 1994.I ve followed Mhle Glashtte for many years and have been impressed by the brand s commitment to making highly functional and attractive watches. Best of all, the offerings are affordable and often outpace the competition regarding specifications. Now, 30 years since the brand s reintroduction, a new generati...

Yema and I go back, way back. Well, back to 2021, actually. One of the first articles I wrote for Fratello was on a Yema watch…and not just any Yema watch. The Navygraf Marine Nationale GMT Limited Edition I wrote about marked the start of Yemas military career as an official partner of the French Navy. The French Navy, or Marine Nationale, has been sailing the seven seas since 1626, making it one of the oldest naval forces in the world, and having a French watch brand on board makes total sense. And so did the LEs dial in Marine National Bleu. The soft, subtle, and matte yet fresh aquatic shade of blue is on point. More than three years later, a similar blue dial attracted me to the 3...

Let s start this review with a confession: I hate this time of year in the Netherlands. With gray skies for days on end, endless wet streets, howling winds, and inhospitable temperatures, it s not always the most enjoyable place to be. It s not necessarily that I can t handle these conditions individually, but together, they are rather depressing. Combine cold temperatures with a bright blue sky, and the world looks inherently different. However, one watch that is perfectly equipped for these dreary conditions is the Micromilspec Milgraph. The watch made me smile countless times during these dark December days. Let me explain why.When Micromilspec introduced the Milgraph in late August, ther...