When I recently reviewed the Tudor Black Bay 54, I mentioned that I felt I might get bored with it. The reason was its retro styling, which makes it feel a tad - for lack of a kinder word - disingenuous to me. This point seemed to resonate with quite a few readers. Have we maybe seen enough vintage reissues? And how does faux patina fit into that notion?I wrote an article celebrating the nicer shade of white not too long ago. Your comments were quite clear. A warm tone of lume is fine until it makes the watch look like something it isnt - old. Today, I would like to explore what makes a watch feel real and honest as opposed to a bit of a sentimental throwback.A traditional designTraditional,...
IFL Watches has quickly made a name for itself with eye-catching modified versions of popular watches. Not too long ago, I wrote about the latest CasiOak that the Sweden-based team modified in spectacular fashion. Most watch fans will probably also be familiar with the brilliant Tissot PRX series that IFLW spiced up with pointillism dials. This time, it s all about the popular Seiko 5 Sports GMT, and in good IFL Watches tradition, reference SSK001 gets a remarkable makeover. For this new Seiko 5 GMT Voyager, IFLW fits the watch with a unique enameled dial depicting Earth as a tribute to world travelers.The Seiko 5 Sports GMT series was among the most talked-about Seiko releases in recent yea...
When looking at the Grand Seiko catalog, most of us will likely gravitate to the Heritage collection. That is where iconic silhouettes from the past like the 44GS and 62GS come to life in fresh, modern versions. But the brand s Elegance collection might be the right place for you if you are in the market for a more traditional but equally stylish timepiece steeped in Grand Seiko s rich history. I sometimes overlook the Elegance collection because it has that more traditional ring to it. But with the new Grand Seiko SBGJ273, I am again reminded that plenty of goodness can be found in the Elegance lineup, especially regarding great GMT watches.When we first got the new Grand Seiko SBGJ273 in t...
Singapore, the world s last true independent city-state, has a surprisingly large watch industry. Sure, like most affluent metropolises, there s a high consumption of watches and other luxury goods. However, Singapore differs in its relatively large concentration of independent watch brands. With ones like Zelos, Boldr, Vario, and more, watch and strap manufacturers in Singapore offer quality products that the rest of the world values. Furthermore, these companies emphasize the enthusiasm of being a watch enthusiast.My first exposure to the Singaporean watch industry was through Zelos. This was back around 2017, not long after the introduction of the Hammerhead dive watch. The Zelos Hammerhe...
Welcome to a slightly different Sunday Morning Showdown! As Jorg explained last week, at the time of writing this article, the team is deeply buried in work due to Geneva Watch Days. Part of the crew is in Geneva, and I am one of the few safeguarding our home turf. In short, that means I am doing this showdown as a solo endeavor. Sorry, no friendly banter among colleagues this time. You will have to make do with personal ramblings today.Never fear; we will be back to the familiar format next week. We will also surely cover many of the great suggestions you made when Jorg asked you what watches you want to see pitted against each other. So stay tuned for all of that! Now, onto today s battle ...
Not all watch shows are meant for consumers. Often, the shows attended by big-name brands have a strong focus on the press, retailers, and distributors. Collectors and enthusiasts are left watching from the outside and having to make do with reading the latest news online. Thankfully, there are some shows with a focus on the real people, as it were. One such show is held by our good friends at WatchTime in New York.WatchTime New York, one of North America s paramount watch collector shows, is making its grand return this October. This is the eighth iteration of the show, with the gears turning faster and the hands pointing towards an even more sensational gathering of the global watch commun...
Now it s my turn to profess the best watches in existence under $3,000. The bulk of my colleagues have already opined on the subject, and they ve certainly picked some fantastic timepieces. That said, there are still loads of nice opportunities to add a watch for this rather princely sum. I ve chosen a wide variety and have also tried to cover the major genres too. Let s see what you think.Just last week, I received an unexpected text message from a friend here in London. She has a colleague who is in her early 60s, and that colleague wanted to purchase a watch for her husband s birthday. They re not watch people, so the budget was $500C600. As always, I ask questions that seem normal to me ...
Another Friday, another Top 5! Last week, we picked our favorite recent Longines releases that show the brand is on a roll. This week, we re taking a different route. It s time to look at some of the most extreme dive watches that are currently available. Extreme divers are always a funny breed of watches. They are often not praised for their refined designs or extreme comfort. Having said that, some of the most famous examples have become industry icons, with the Omega Ploprof and the Sea-Dweller being great examples. But recently, we have seen a new generation of dive watches that take extreme to a whole new level. It s time to pick five of the most remarkable extreme divers that are curr...
Today, we take a look at a watch from a brand that has certainly become more popular here on Fratello. Rightly so, Breguet is getting more notice around here, and we can count at least two of our team as owners. They ve been enjoying relative bargains on the secondary market for stunning older pieces. Well, the new Breguet Classique 7637 Repetition Minutes in rose gold will likely never reach easy affordability, but it s still a gorgeous piece!It s nice to see that Breguet is entering more and more conversations among watch enthusiasts these days. Thankfully, folks have turned their attention away from the unavailable brands and have begun to take notice of other brands that are making speci...
Let me introduce you to three brand-new Sinn 356 chronographs! The German brand celebrates 25 years of its 356 with these three new models. Lovers of vintage chronographs rejoice: Sinn has opted for a dual-register layout. Lets have a closer look at the latest additions to Sinns comprehensive chronograph catalog.The new Sinn drop is comprised of an anthracite limited edition, a vintage-inspired model with a vignette dial, and a white panda-dial version. In short, there should be a little something for everyone here.Celebrating 25 years of the Sinn 356Sinns popular 356 chronographs go back to the mid- 90s. In reality, the story started a little more than 25 years ago in 1996. Sinn brought out...
It s a return in style! These two new Seiko models are not the first GMTs ever in the Alpinist lineup. They are, however, the first mechanical GMTs that the brand has created within its popular line of adventurer s watches. With the Prospex SPB377 and SPB379, Seiko has brought back a much-desired version of the Alpinist. There will be a lot of fans that will like these two new GMT versions. But are they as impressive as the quartz titanium Red Alpinist GMTs from the early 2000s? Time to find out more.When Seiko sent us the press information for these two new Alpinist GMTs, I was really happy to see a return of a GMT version to the lineup. While Seiko has released both quartz and mechanical G...
For centuries, we ve read time in the same way - with moving hands and fixed counters on the dial. But in a world where the traditional has been challenged across all spectrums, why should time be left untouched? Enter Gautier Massonneau, who has reimagined the wheel, quite literally, with his avant-garde French brand Trilobe. In Trilobe s watches, time is captured in a series of rotating rings, each carrying a gradation of time - hours, minutes, and seconds - and breaking away from conventional hands.This Trilobe concept is a method of time-telling that makes sense today, would have done so a hundred years ago, and still will a hundred years from now. Ive recently spent some time getting to...
The Gallet Clamshell Multichron 30 is one of my favorite Gallet chronographs. It is so perfectly balanced that it makes 37mm look meaninglessly big, and I mean it. Not a single one of my 34mm watches gets as much wrist time as this does.All of the so-called Clamshell chronographs are highly regarded among collectors. However, the Gallet Clamshell Multichron 30 (or, simply, Gallet M30) holds a special place among them. Introduced in 1939, supposedly, it was the world s first waterproof chronograph.A Clamshell-shaped holeI could not believe my eyes when I checked Fratello s #TBT archive a few days ago. Honestly, I was almost sure we had written about these legendary chronographs before, but th...
It s been over ten years since the relaunch of Czapek & Cie in 2011. At the time, the watch world could dismiss the decision to relaunch as another manufacturer in the reviving name game. But Czapek s heritage originates from when real-life watchmakers like Franciszek Czapek and Antoni Patek were alive and kicking. The 19th century was the barnstorming era before the names became logos on the dials from the brands we know today. Even the Czapek and Patek partnership predated the eventual collaboration of Patek and Philippe in 1845. Yet, following Franciszek Fran?ois Czapek s death in the 1870s, the Czapek brand laid dormant until the first timepiece in 2015. The Quai des Bergues model br...
Alpina released the very limited Alpiner Heritage Carree Mechanical 140 Years to great applause earlier this summer. The watch community seemed to agree that the concept and the design were spot on. Unfortunately, since the watch was built around rare calibers from 1938, the model was limited to just 28 pieces. Chances are you either missed out or felt the $5K price tag was a little too much for an impulse purchase. Well, either way, you get a second chance today!The regular-production models introduced here have already been on sale at certain online retailers, as some sharp-eyed Fratelli have noticed. This has caused some confusion since they were not formally announced yet. So you may hav...
Black and blue sunray dials were already available. Two three-piece lacquer dials, on the other hand, are new to the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Chronograph watches. The dials showcase JLCs artisanal skills housed within the manufacture in Le Sentier. And since the dial is the face of the watch, the new ones with a completely different finish give the watches a completely different look. Theres a blue version available alongside an iteration in a new, warm gray color that we had at Fratello HQ. Quite a striking watch, dont you think? But is it too striking and perhaps even a bit too trendy for a JLC Polaris? Lets take a closer look and find out.It s all about the dial with the new Jaeger-LeCoul...
Hautlence is back with one of its famous TV-screen-shaped designs. But Hautlence wouldn t be Hautlence if what we re watching on that TV weren t equal parts mechanical mastery and artistic aptitude. The brand itself calls this new Sphere Series 1 a playful watch. But when I look at it, I m immediately impressed by the sheer complexity and technical know-how that went into it.Reading through the press release for the Hautlence Sphere Series 1, my mind was dazzled by so many technical terms. If you re looking for an explanation of exactly how this watch works, then I suggest you take a look elsewhere. For example, Balazs already wrote an excellent article on the Hautlence HL Sphere 01 in 2019....
The London-based brand Mr Jones Watches offers an impressive variety of genuinely creative timepieces, often presented in a lighthearted manner. This differentiates the brand from many others that try hard to lend themselves a rather serious image. Very few Mr Jones watches possess traditional hands to indicate the time. Some of the designs make you wonder if it really is a watch youre looking at. One of Mr Jones s best-selling models is called A perfectly useless afternoon, and this one recently received a sibling.Ever since Tomas presented the original version of Mr Joness A perfectly useless afternoon, the watch remained in the back of my mind. However, that watch posed two problems to me...
Straight out of the gate, I am a fan of Vantablack. As someone who naturally gravitates towards black in clothing and watches, the intense nature of Vantablack is intriguing and wonderful. And when it comes to watches, the combination of red gold and Vantablack is a winner. H. Moser & Cie. has proudly created some amazing timepieces with Vantablack that had people talking. For Geneva Watch Days 2023, the brand introduces two new timepieces with intense black dials. The first is the Endeavour Centre Seconds Vantablack, and the second is the Endeavour Tourbillon Concept Vantablack. They both come with elegant red gold cases to create a remarkable contrast of modern and classic styles.H. Mo...
Welcome, dear Fratelli, to this week s episode of Fratello Talks. If you ve not been living under a rock, you ll likely have been following along with all the latest from Geneva Watch Days. Today, RJ, Morgan, and Nacho come together to chat about some of their favorite watches released this week. We ll feature highlights from Oris, Doxa, Laurent Ferrier, MB&F, and more! But before we take a look at the watches launched this week, let s see what s on the wrist!This video is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Wrist checkToday, we start with Mor...
