Breitling just announced its acquisition of Universal Geneve. The legendary brand, previously owned by an investment firm from Hong Kong, is set to be brought back to its former glory under new ownership. Is the sky the limit for this heritage brand under Breitlings wings?Universal GeneveUniversal Geneve was founded in Le Locle as Universal Watch in 1894, and the company moved to Geneva in 1919. Universal released the Compur and the military Aero Compax chronograph in the 1930s. Later versions, such as the Uni-Compax and Tri-Compax?are highly collectible chronographs today.In 1954, Universal introduced the Gerald Genta-designed Polarouter, which would later be renamed Polerouter. One year la...
Mike and I are taking some time off from the podcast this week, but we d still like to leave you with an episode. So this week, I ll publish my talk with Bosko, the man behind the Zenith Yugoslavian Military Chronograph Collectors Guide. This guide won t be out for another few days, but rest assured, its coming this week. Dont worry; vintage chronographs are not the only topic the guys will discuss. While this is indeed a vintage-heavy episode, plenty of other timepieces get a mention.This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Aside from the usual watch talk, Bosko and I sprinkled in some drinks, sports, travel, and other topics. W...
Seiko has just announced the launch of two new Seiko 5 models - the SSK023K1 and SSK025K1. Though this debut comes late in the year, it s an exciting one for sure. Last year, the brand introduced a trio of Seiko 5 GMT models in the SKX-style case. Back then, I called them the best budget-friendly GMT watch out there. The last 12 months have witnessed the introduction of pieces that have given them a run for their money, but are these latest offerings from the Japanese brand ready to dethrone them as such? Opinions will differ, but I believe they can.These two new models tick off plenty of boxes, even at a glance. A well-sized, affordable field watch with the addition of a 24-hour GMT hand? S...
Lorier has quickly become one of my favorite microbrands. The New York-based brand has built a comprehensive collection of recognizable and accessible watches in a very short time. The latest addition is a blend of two extremely popular genres - diver s and pilot s watches. The result is the Lorier Hydra Series III, the name referring to the multifaceted monster from Greek mythology. This is a dive watch with a flyer GMT function and the brand s signature vintage vibes. So is this a jack of all trades and a master of none? Or is this all the watch you could ever need? Lets find out!I got a chance to spend time with both the standard Lorier Hydra on the bracelet and the blacked-out Hydra Zulu...
The biggest surprise of this years Grand Prix de l Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG) wasnt that impossibly complicated AP. No, it was something way simpler. Who would have thought that the Raymond Weil Millesime Automatic Small Seconds timepiece could win the GPHG 2023 Challenge Watch Prize? Well, no one at Fratello could. But when it did, it had my full attention. And thats why I had the winning watch shipped to HQ to find out what it was all about.My colleagues think it was accidental, but it was actually a carefully orchestrated field test. After I received the Raymond Weil Millesime Automatic Small Seconds, I placed it on the right side of my desk. Its in a spot where my watch-hungry colleague...
Size matters in watches. Just read any comments section under any watch release article. Watch size - and, specifically, diameter - has become a matter of principle. You re either on Team Small Watch, or you re on Team Big Watch. And many have a few ugly words about those in the other camp. We have learned that some brands refer to this as the diameter police, which made me chuckle. Upon some introspection, though, I concluded that I have been a part of it. And then it wasnt so funny anymore-I came to realize that caring about the diameter so much had put an unnecessary limit on my enjoyment of watches. And that realization, paired with some broadening of my horizons, led to me proudly decla...
This year, I felt a bit like a football player sitting on the bench with a serious injury. At the beginning of the year, my wife and I bought a new house, and now we re in the middle of remodeling it. That means that much of my attention is on the house, and all of my watch funds are going there as well. However, I have, of course, seen some very exciting new releases, and there are definitely a few that I ve put on my wish list. Here are my favorite watches of 2023.I thought Nacho told us to name a maximum of three of our favorite releases. Luckily, Jorg, who went first in this series, already featured five of his favorites plus honorable mentions. I guess that means I won t have to limit m...
G-Shock s 40th anniversary is almost over. But as the celebrations come to an end, Casio throws us one last curveball to close the year out. Two classic G-Shock Squares get the full-carbon treatment. As a result, these G-Shock GCW-B5000 models are featherlight. The carbon material messes with your usual perception of the already-light G-Shocks. That s why spending a couple of days with the G-Shock GCW-B5000UN-1 and GCW-B5000UN-6 turned out to be a surprisingly fun experience. Let me explain.When the new 40th Anniversary models first came into the office as part of a larger shipment of G-Shocks, these two full-carbon ones quickly brought smiles to our faces. The G-Shock GCW-B5000UN-1 and GCW-...
A few months ago, I sat down with Lionel a Marca, CEO of Breguet. A Marca has been with Swatch Group for 30 years and has been with Breguet since 2019. Hes not just a CEO, though. Hes also a trained watchmaker and has worked on various well-known projects, such as the Omega De Ville with a central tourbillon. After having worked for Blancpain for many years, he joined Breguet and was appointed CEO in 2021 by brand president Marc A. Hayek.Breguet Manufacture in Le Chenit, SwitzerlandAn interview with Breguet CEO Lionel a MarcaJust after the launch of Breguets Type 20 and Type XX watches in Paris, I had the opportunity to meet with Lionel a Marca. We talked about Breguet, the Type XX collectio...
Solid slices of Fordite, composite dials made from slate… What s next in Arcanaut s arsenal of unexpected dial materials? Scandinavian mussel shells. Yes, you read that correctly. When I first read that, I was equally surprised and intrigued. We are treated to two more unusual dials for the brand s latest Arc II models. One is a crispy white dial made from a composite material using powdered titanium dioxide. The other is a light purple dial created from a composite of Scandinavian mussel shells. It s time to learn more about these two new Arcanaut Arc II releases.I love how Arcanaut is continuing to push dial-making boundaries by searching for new materials. This specific focus is pos...
It looks like people are still not tired of vintage-inspired dive watches, and many brands keep coming up with re-editions of ones that used to be in their catalogs. Today, we ll put two of our favorite revived skin divers up against each other. In one corner, we have the Airain Sous-Marine, which is inspired by the 1962 original. In the opposite corner is the Seiko SJE093, which is a re-edition of the 1965 62MAS. Let s see which one of these classic skin divers is going to lure in most of the votes.As Mike mentioned in a themed Pre-Owned Spotlight article, many different brands had/have their take on the skin diver. The angular case shape with the slab sides makes for a strong-looking piece...
I love it when a brand is brave enough to be different from the rest of the industry. To go against trends and, by doing so, create new ones takes courage, and in the end, the market will tell if the move was correct. Regardless of what the brands say, the customers will decide if a watch succeeds or not. Nivada Grenchen is one of these companies that dares to be different. That s why I was not surprised when I saw the new Antarctic 35mm a few weeks ago in New York. Faithful to the original in size and looks, at 35mm, it is not your average model, yet it works very well.There is a sweet spot, a size that works for most watch wearers, whether their wrist is 6.5 or 8 inches. Well, 35mm is not ...
In 2021, an Instagram post of a vintage Nivada Grenchen Super Antarctic went viral. It caught the attention of the people who revived the brand, and they soon decided to make a re-edition. This resulted in a modernized 38mm version of the Super Antarctic. Until now, it has been available with a black or tropical brown dial with numerals or triangles at each quarter and different lume colors to choose from. To celebrate the newly formed retail partnership between Nivada Grenchen and Ace Jewelers in Amsterdam, the two parties decided to launch a unique collaboration version with a matte white dial - the Super Antarctic Polar.The white dial isn t something the two collaborators randomly came up...
Another Friday, another list! After last week s list of our favorite field watches of 2023, it s time to move on to another popular tool-watch category. In this week s article, we will be sharing the 10 best pilot s watches released this year. Pilot s watches are a genre with a tremendous amount of history and sentiment. That makes it a joy to look back on some of this year s best in the category.Back in September, Thomas wrote a nice article asking whether pilots still wear pilot s watches. It s a legitimate question as there are watches like the Apple Watch that provide much relevant information that a mechanical watch simply can t. But beating a pilot s watch s traditional functionality a...
A guy walks into a pawnshop trying to sell his watch. But it s not just any watch. No, this particular one is the thinnest water-resistant watch in the world - singularly unique, sculptured in design, handcrafted in Switzerland, and water resistant to three atmospheres. Incredible, especially for a watch from the 1980s! But hey, it was the sports watch of that era. It also cost $6,955 retail. Unfortunately, the pawnbroker is not impressed. First, he says he burned his fingers on it because man, that watch is so hot, it s smokin. And yes, that watch may tell time simultaneously in Monte Carlo, Beverly Hills, London, Paris, Rome, and Gstaad, but in Philadelphia, it s worth 50 bucks. The Zodiac...
Minase, a name familiar to our Fratello regulars, is a boutique Japanese watch brand revered for its remarkable craftsmanship and quality. Its distinctive creations have been winning fans in places as high up as the former Japanese Prime Minister. But the reason we get to discover this exclusive IYKYK (if you know, you know) brand is largely thanks to H-Development for its international foray.Based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, the firm has been the mastermind behind Minases presence beyond Japan since 2016. More than just a distributor, H-Development carries stock, employs watchmakers, and caters to custom requests for bespoke pieces. Specializing in private labels and watch engineering, H-D...
Is this a difficult story to write as a watch journalist? Yes. But the intriguing thought of selling off everything and starting fresh is immensely tempting nonetheless. And as I am in the middle of a consolidating process before the holiday season, the exercise is needed. I would very much enjoy building the perfect watch collection from scratch again.The problem is, to my chagrin, age hasn t brought enough sense. I wish I were a focused collector, but instead, I have tended to follow my heart, which often leads me astray. This is why I am trying to consolidate, so lets put that aside and do a clean-slate story here. Being a contrarian, you know very well that there will be no here; sorry....
When it comes to perpetuating the values of Haute Horlogerie, longstanding brands like Breguet, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and Vacheron Constantin never let us down. It s thanks to such brands and their persistence that mechanical watchmaking is at the high level that it is right now, and many of them will keep developing new technology for the foreseeable future. But nowadays, there are also some new kids on the block, such as MB&F, Urwerk, and HYT. In many ways, these fresh-faced brands are bold and daring, and they have a knack for developing things we ve never seen before. In today s Sunday Morning Showdown, we ll put watches from both of these schools up against each other - t...
Brands that share their backstories and celebrate their history, particularly with public exhibitions and museums, serve to inspire the next generation of watch enthusiasts. Here is one such story. If you ve ever seen a vintage watch and been completely mesmerized, I m sure that this story will strike a chord.It is no surprise that we here at Fratello have a fondness for Omega. Our founder RJ has a pretty amazing collection, and we often feature watch reviews from the brand on our site. Oh, and dont forget #SpeedyTuesday! There is another great thing about Omega (and several other brands that come to mind, including IWC), and that is an open celebration of its past with the establishment of ...
Welcome to the second semifinal match of Fratellos Seiko World Cup. Five Seiko divers have been eliminated so far, while three others remain to face their next opponent. Today, G2s SBBN011 Darth Tuna battles RJ s SBDX001 MM300. Both watches have iconic status, so we expect it to be a tough fight. Will the MM300 design prevail over that of the hockey puck, or will the Tuna s 1000m depth rating leave the SBDX001 in the shade? We can t say for sure, but one thing is certain: only one watch will emerge victorious and move on to the final round.In their first bouts, we saw that both the Darth Tuna and the MM300 have a huge supporter base. Now is the time to find out which is the most loyal. Lets ...
