Theres no denying that I thoroughly enjoyed tough-testing the bright yellow CasiOak two months ago. And guess what? There was also a full-metal Casio G-Shock GM-B2100D-1A in the office. This shiny and sturdy-looking watch seemed more than ready to undergo a rigorous test. Thats why the Fratello Tough-Test is back, and this time, we put a metal CasiOak through the wringer. Well let the four elements water, air, earth, and fire try to do their worst to the watch.After roughing up the bright yellow G-Shock GA-B2100C-9A on a racetrack, we thought it was best to go back to the basics. There were a couple of wild ideas about how we could put the full-metal Casio G-Shock GM-B2100D-1A through the te...

Just over a year ago, I wrote an article about the rise of microbrands. It was a musing on why small, independent watch brands seem to rapidly gain ground. Little did I know that today, a year later, I would be building a brand of my own. It was already a lucid dream then, but due to illness in the family, there was no room for such risky frivolities. Relief in the form of a clean bill of health for my loved one came unexpectedly soon after. So I decided that life is too short to wait and set off on my journey.This, for transparencys sake, is the background with which you should see my answer to a question posed by Nacho, our managing editor: can a microbrand pull off high-end watchmaking? I...

If you can afford a , you want a . Okay, this statement is not entirely true, but it is an undeniable fact that almost everybody wants a . The Crown is by far the most popular luxury watch brand that the world has ever known. The unavailability of a large portion of models had people looking for alternatives. They were found in the catalogs of fellow Swiss staple brands like Breitling and IWC. Also, some sublime Japanese-made Grand Seiko watches proved to be fine surrogates, and so did watches from s sister brand Tudor (who once wrote that a Tudor is a poor mans ?). But now that watches are starting to show up in shop windows again, what happens to the alternatives?Not too long ago, I wro...

You probably know Piaget as the maker of the legendary Polo collection, which has swung back into the limelight since its 2016 revamp. Did you know that when the Polo premiered in 1979, it was never intended to be simply a sports watch? Cue the famous quote from its creator Yves G. Piaget: The entire Polo philosophy can be summed up in one sentence: its a watch bracelet rather than a mere wristwatch.Yves G. Piaget and Ursula Andress, the original Bond girl and spokesperson for the Piaget PoloThe fourth-generation heir of the family firm might have recognized the promise in the Genta-designed sports-luxe timepiece integrated with a bracelet in the early 70s. But by 1979, Monsieur Piaget had c...

The time has come for the first quartz watch with hands and digital readout. And we ve got it, says Zenith in a mid-1970s print ad. As an 80s kid, I love everything with a digital display in it. When it is integrated into a classic watch design, I am doubly excited. The Zenith Defy Quartz TimeCommand is one hell of an interesting watch that looks like it was just pulled from a cyberpunk movie.I found it about four years ago on eBay. I had never seen it before, and I had no clue how it worked. At the moment of purchase, I didn t even know how many functions it had. I just saw an LED display and two classic pushers on the right side. Since there were two decently integrated pin pushers on the...

Today, I ll be taking a look at a brand that you ve not likely heard of before, despite it having existed for over a decade. Mona Watches is a Bordeaux-based brand, which proudly labels itself the first French microbrand. It has been around since 2012, offering several quartz timepieces with a unique design aesthetic. The most popular model was the HMS. This is the model that we witness the mechanical rebirth of here today. And if you re reading this on Thursday, the 9th of November 2023, you happen to be doing so on the date of its Kickstarter launch. But more on that later.Mona s new mechanical timepiece follows the design cues established by the brand s flagship model. The most prominent ...

I love changing straps on my watches, but with some pieces in my collection, I hesitate. If you have a watch that is synonymous with its on-bracelet look, youll know what I am talking about, and that can be despite its less-than-perfect wearability. So I wondered, can a curved-end rubber strap transform the beefy Marinemaster 300?For me, the Seiko SLA023 was the final step on my Seiko diver journey, and just like a Tudor Black Bay 54 or Speedmaster, many feel that it looks best on its original bracelet. Most Seiko divers are known for superb quality and finishing with a scarily perfect and soft case shape for their size. But the bracelets come under criticism. Still, it took me two years of ...

I can do this. I am someone who loves a good list. This shouldn t be too much of a problem. Those were my first thoughts when Nacho asked me to put together a watch collection with $25,000. Nonetheless, after a day of soul-searching, I knew that this challenge would drive me crazy if I let it. There are simply too many watches to choose from that I would love to own one day. But as this is a hypothetical exercise, there are no mistakes. With that comforting thought, I tackled my list of watches that I would buy with $25,000.Let s go back to that day of soul-searching for a minute. The first question that popped up in a Fratello team discussion was whether any of us would pick one watch. Whil...

Thank you for tuning in to this week s episode of Fratello Talks. You join RJ, Timo, and your host Nacho, who are going to be covering a rather broad topic. This week, it s all about watches in cinema. In this episode, we ll cover anything from memorable sightings to examples of marketing gone too far. How much can brands get away with when it comes to blatant product placement? And does it actually have its desired effect? We also cover movie-themed watches and touch upon some of our favorites featured on film. But first, let s see what we can spot on the guys wrists today.This video is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings This podcast player is bl...

Not too long ago, I wrote about Miyota and its effort to become the go-to movement supplier in the microbrand space. Todays release is proof of the merit of that strategy. This is the Boldr Worn & Wound 3xT GMT, a limited edition of 100 pieces of each of two colorways, made for adventurers. It features a clever internal rotating bezel and, crucially, a flyer GMT complication. Oh, and it is colorful. Very colorful!Interestingly, Boldr and Worn & Wound specifically point out the automatic Miyota caliber 9075 as a source of inspiration for these watches. This is why I feel Miyotas strategy is working. The company s release of an affordable flyer GMT caliber triggers brands to design w...

Are you ready for the first head-to-head battle in the Fratello Seiko World Cup? This year s competition is all about Seiko dive watches. We ll start with an epic face-off between one of Seiko s first professional dive watches and a recent re-edition that s also based on one of those earlier Seiko divers. Mike will defend his beloved 6215-7000, and Daan will be rooting for his very own SPB317 Turtle Origin.You can check out the other contestants in Nacho s Seiko World Cup introduction article. Underneath the article, some of you already started predicting which watch will go home with the big cup at the end of the competition. But why don t you let our editors lay out their defenses first an...

Just when you thought the year was over, we have a new release coming right in time for the holidays. The Grand Seiko SBGW305 will be available globally beginning on December 1st. Yes, it s another debut, but this, folks, is the watch I ve wanted to see for quite some time.Before we get to the new Grand Seiko SBGW305, allow me to spend some words on why I am so excited about this watch. It was during some of my earliest trips to Japan that I began scouring the camera shops for, oddly enough, watches. Brightly colored G-Shocks, oddball Orients, and loads of Seiko watches were all that my eyes could see. It was overwhelming, but it was during this time, around 2010, that I first came into cont...

I have said it before, and I ll say it again: Yema is on a roll with one new release after another. It s been barely a month since Mike wrote about the unexpected Yachtingraf Tourbillon Mareographe. Not long before that, we saw the introduction of the Sous Marine collection and three new Urban Traveller models. Today, the brand from Morteau releases two Superman Bronze CMM.10 models powered by a new in-house-developed movement. This marks a big step for Yema as this caliber will undoubtedly power more watches in the not-so-distant future.The new CMM.10 caliberLet s start with the biggest news of today s Yema Superman Bronze CMM.10 releases - the new Calibre Manufacture Morteau 10 (CMM.10). T...

If you follow our Fratello Talks podcast, you may know that I included the new 18K yellow gold TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph in a recent episode on our favorite releases of 2023. And that was even before it ended up in our office for this hands-on review. Now that I have been wearing it for a while, I can even be more precise: I love it.Sixty years of the CarreraThe TAG Heuer Carrera traces its roots to 1963 and the reference 2447, which was designed by Jack Heuer and powered by the famous Valjoux 72 chronograph movement. In the following decades, Heuer (and later TAG Heuer) introduced many different variations. Gold models are on the rarer side, although Heuer made them early on (1964). My ...

Yuto Horigome didnt just win a Tokyo Olympic gold medal riding his skateboard. He also won the Men s Skateboard Street Best Trick at the X Games in California in July 2023. ?The Japanese athlete nailed a nollie backside 270 nose slide - thats a rotating jump onto an obstacle before sliding along it on the nose of the board - and that made him win the event. It s another success that helps this Seiko 5 Sports Yuto Horigome Limited Edition shine.Do you want to know more about Yuto Horigome or learn about the new Seiko limited edition first? Okay, watches before tricks; I hear you. The Seiko 5 Sports Yuto Horigome Limited Edition SSK027 costs $570, and 2,700 pieces will be available. What you g...

Thus far, weve seen only one Speedmaster introduction in 2023, the Super Racing model with Omegas Spirate technology. This watch is finally making its way to customers wrists, and were curious to see how owners will experience the improved accuracy of this chronograph. We re also incredibly interested to see what Omega watches will receive this new technology next.Omega Speedmaster with Spirate SystemDuring the introduction in January, Omega made it clear that its new Spirate technology will further improve its Master Chronometer-certified watches. With Spirate, the brand can regulate them to have an average daily deviation between 0 and +2 seconds.Omega has used the 44.25mm Speedmaster Sup...

When I first laid my eyes on the new Oris Collective Horology Divers Seventy-Five, I was pleasantly surprised to see a look that Oris said goodbye to a while ago. The Oris Divers Sixty-Five with the retro numerals returns in this collaborative effort as the cleverly named Divers Seventy-Five. This 250-piece limited edition is the result of a collaboration with Collective Horology. Its vintage-inspired graphical style is a perfect match for the color scheme that transports you straight back to the 1970s. It s the return of an aesthetic that I, as a 70s kid, greatly applaud.We know the Oris Divers Sixty-Five as the brand s vintage-inspired dive watch. Today s version has a straightforward d...

After a three-week hiatus, Fratello On Air is back with a new episode. This week, we re talking about our collections, what we are currently wearing, and what s on our radar. As always, it s a recording with plenty of diverse topics. We invite you to kick back and enjoy the show. This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings We ve been on the road for the past several weeks, and we apologize for the lack of new episodes. However, we re back and talking about our collections. That s a large topic, so we re focusing on what we ve purchased recently, what we re wearing more than ever, and where we re looking to bring in new pieces. But f...

Well, here s quite a challenging exercise. You don t get to spend $25,000 every week (well, most of us don t), and building the perfect watch collection with it is, of course, impossible. A watch collection is never perfect. But, as this is simply a hypothetical exercise, I can relax and don t have to stress too much about it. I m also glad that I don t have to get rid of my current collection because I am indeed very happy with it.What s also nice is that Thomas already had his turn, and he built the collection I would ve built if he hadn t already done so. That means that I can now go a little crazier with my choices. I m not saying the watches below have been pulled completely out of the ...

Today is a big day here at Fratello as we are officially kicking off the Seiko World Cup: Dive Watch Edition! Seiko divers are a crucial part of any watch enthusiast or collector s journey. Whether a first stepping stone into the watch world, a middle step into the mechanical realm, or a connoisseur s purchase of a rare, vintage, or particular piece, Seiko suits all levels. Inspired by an ongoing discussion at Fratello HQ, we created this month-long voting contest to find the best Seiko dive watch. Admittedly, the choices are somewhat limited as only eight editors will join in the Seiko World Cup (SWC) action. So don t expect a comprehensive representation of every Seiko dive watch ever made...