Oscar Wilde once said: When bankers get together for dinner, they discuss art. When artists get together for dinner, they discuss money. I think you can swap the word artists for watch aficionados, to paint a pretty accurate picture of the state of the watch world nowadays. Talking watches has more and more become talking about money. And talking about watch prices is a shallow experience, a contest of figures that has no real content.Have you ever heard of affluenza? The word, thats also the title of a book about the dangers of overconsumption written by John de Graaf,?David Wann,?and Thomas H. Naylor,?contains both the word affluence and influenza and is defined by the authors as a painful...

More often than I would like, I find myself in a discussion about the resale value of a watch. Id rather discuss why someone wants a watch. To understand where their connection and attraction to a specific timepiece comes from. But perhaps, for some people, the resale value is one of their reasons. Another topic I often see appearing is the purchase price of a watch. People throw double-digit discounts that (supposedly) can be had when buying watches, while others pay the sticker price, no questions asked.Authorized Dealers offering discountsIt wasnt that long ago that authorized dealers could often be found advertising their watches with discounts. Not only in the shopping windows of these ...

When Nacho asked me to do a story on my Explorer II and Datejust, it got me thinking about my watch collection as a whole. In a sense, these two watches are the backbone of it. They are a perfect mini collection within my watch collection. One represents a significant professional milestone, and the other gets most of my wrist time nowadays. Lets have a look at these two pillars in my small collection, and afterward, I would love to hear what watches form the backbone of yours!We are talking specifically about my silver dial 1967 Datejust Ref. 1601 in steel and white gold. The other is a 2004 Explorer II in steel with a black dial. Join me on some personal ramblings about two of my favor...

Greubel Forsey has downsized two of its impressive Convexe watches. That alone isnt something that would necessarily trigger us to write an article. An existing design is just scaled down, maybe re-arranged a bit, and Bobs your uncle. But not with these two. Downsizing Greubel Forsey-style is a beast of a different nature altogether.Most watches feature coin-shaped calibers in round cases. Scaling down is a matter of reducing the space around the movement, bringing everything in a bit. With Greubel Forsey, the caliber is an architectural structure that informs the entire case shape. So scaling down means redesigning the whole thing from the ground up. And if the thing you start with is alrea...

July is always a special month for Speedmaster enthusiasts, as it commemorates the watch being used on the surface of the Moon on July 21 (UTC 3:15). First by Buzz Aldrin; as legend has it that Armstrong left his in the lunar module to function as a back-up timekeeper as the onboard Bulova-made clock malfunctioned. We paired up with REM Straps for our 7th collaborative strap release to commemorate this remarkable moment in both human and Speedmaster history.Aldrin climbing down the ladder 19 minutes after Armstrong set foot on the moon on July 21, 2:56 UTC (Image courtesy of NASA)Fratello REM Straps - The Eagle Has LandedJust 19 minutes after Armstrong spoke his famous words One Small Step...

This summer, watch brand pop-up boutiques are taking over. Breitling and Longines have landed on the German island of Sylt. Omega celebrates the Seamaster s 75th anniversary with pop-ups in locations like Mykonos, Saint-Tropez, Forte dei Marmi, and San Diego. But as tempting as those locations were, we ve reduced the yearly mileage allowance of the Fratello private jet for environmental reasons. So when we heard that a Tudor pop-up boutique would open in the not-too-distant Belgium town of Knokke, we had to make the trip. All jokes aside, the Benelux region s relatively short distances - coupled with an additional mission (which will remain a secret for now) - had us hitting the road, Belgiu...

I first wrote about the Seiko SZSB006 TiCTAC 35th Anniversary Limited Edition in the fall of 2021. It was as part of a list article compiling the best Seiko JDM releases. I called it the love baby of a Seiko Alpinist and a Explorer. Essentially, I labeled it a design construct. Generally, I do not believe in design constructs. But something with this SZSB006 is different. While I still stand by my words, the watch grew more on me every time I saw it. This led me to write a longer thought piece on the watch earlier this year. After that article, I knew I had to get one myself. And I can say it s lived up to its expectations.This story is not necessarily about a perfect watch-far from it. It ...

I find car-themed watches to be a bit of a minefield. One filled with many cringe-worthy attempts at reaching wider sales demographics. But, unlike the logo-stamped quartz wall clock you ve stared at while waiting for your car to be serviced at the brand dealership-or the matching wrist-sized version the manager wears-some brands simply get it right. For me, the kicker is having a good design quietly inspired by a brand or car model, not spelling it out too literally. Less is more, and it s always best to err on the side of subtlety.A big logo on the dial is a no-go for me. As iconic as the prancing Ferrari horse is, I don t want it on my dial. The kind of understated cool I want lies in not...

Do you ever add spices to your coffee? It s actually quite a common thing. If it s something you haven t tried, you could start with cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, cloves, or star anise as a way to spice up your coffee experience. And if you have an adventurous taste, you could test your pallet with cumin, for instance, or even a mix of different spices. While sipping a black coffee and looking at the five new Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Shades 38mm watches, the red-dialed version made me think of smoked paprika. How would that smoky, spicy, and delicately sweet taste mix with the dark, rich, yet fruity flavor of a coffee made with Kimbo beans? I had to find out.When you see the new...

I don t know about you, but I ve been looking forward to this hands-on review. A few of Mido s watches have intrigued me in recent years, so I m glad that I finally got the chance to wear one for a while. And it s not just any Mido watch, oh no. It s the new Ocean Star Tribute Special Edition with a blue gradient dial. I happen to be a fan of the color blue, so that s a nice coincidence. But, as you probably know, there are many blue dive watches out there, so let s see how this Ocean Star Tribute stacks up against those.When I was looking to buy my first serious mechanical watch, the Mido Multifort Datometer was a good contender. It s a re-edition of one of the brand s models from the 1930s...

No vintage watch sits more prominently in my mind than the Univeral Geneve Polerouter. There are certainly more popular watches and better-known vintage references. But the Polerouter is a pinnacle of (what I consider to be) the golden age of watch design. In recent years, it has become something of a cult classic. With the recent resurrections of vintage watch designs and companies, I think it s well past time the Polerouter made a comeback for the 21st century.I m not the only one that thinks this either. In an interview with Watchonista in 2022, Guillaume Laidet - the mastermind behind Nivada Grenchen, Vulcain, and others - talked about attempting to purchase Universal Geneve from its cur...

Butter up your toast and pour yourself a fresh cup of coffee, but be quick with your breakfast because it s Sunday morning, and it s time to rumble! In this installement of Sunday Morning Showdown, we put two brand-new Grand Seiko Spring Drive models head to head - the SLGA019 and SBGA481. There hasn t been a dull moment in Grand Seiko s release calendar this year. However, with the sheer number of new models released during Watches and Wonders in March, it s worth looking back at two models you may have missed. The only twist is that you ll have to pick your favorite at the end. As much of an internal dilemma as that may be, Thomas and Nacho will do their best to persuade you to give them y...

Isotope has been delivering its Hydrium dive watch in many different guises, most recently with neon-green touches in the successful collaboration with seconde/seconde/. The series has generally been segmented into regular Hydrium models and the X models, which are a little more playful. The watch I m going hands-on with today pays tribute to record freediver Johanna Nordblad, and it is the first to carry a Pro designation. As such, the Nordblad Limited Edition is the most professional and functional Hydrium variant to date. But what exactly does that mean, and what elevates it above previous models?Many of us will never push a dive watch to the extremes of its capabilities. I ll admit that ...

Bausele is one of those brands that has been around for some time and regularly shows up in social media feeds. But we have never covered any of the Australian brand s watches here on Fratello. The Bausele Sydney Diver Black Pearl seems like a good place to start. For this limited-edition timepiece, Bausele founder Christophe Hoppe joined forces with Luke Eldridge from Frogsquad Straps and Eric Ricioppo, founder and host of Rico s Watches Podcast. The daily work of the military and first responders was the inspiration for this new watch, which combines familiar looks with a new execution.As a fan of the world of tennis, I know that Bausele pieces grace the wrist of Australian tennis player M...

Its been a while since the second generation of Baltics HMS and Bicompax models came out - about three years, actually. In early 2020, Baltic released limited editions with salmon dials and, a few months later, regular production models with silver, black, and blue/gilt dials. So an update, if we should ve expected one anyway, was overdue. I love brands that dedicate themselves to updating the models they started with.Not only does this approach create a sense of continuity, but it also allows us to observe a brands evolution. And indeed, the way the HMS and Bicompax 003 look in 2023 is different from the first and second generations. They show maturity and a certain boldness that the brand ...

Yes, this is well-timed for the UK and European premiere of the long-awaited Barbie movie by Greta Gerwig, starring Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie. Sure, the jury is still out on its naivety or irony-saturated content, but the rose-colored glasses are definitely on. To me, that s one of the perfect reasons to curate a collection of six hot Barbie pink watches for you.Reason number two was a comment on the release of our drop-dead gorgeous diver, the Aquastar Deepstar II Pink Salmon. We are free-spirited when it comes to comments, but it did irk me that someone questioned the sub-37mm size and color for a mans watch. We re living in 2023. Seriously guys, the shrinkage is upon us, and despite ...

Two weeks ago, Louis Vuitton launched its all-steel, fully made-over Tambour. It s a watch that shows how serious the Parisian Maison is about its horological ambitions. According to the comments below the introduction article, some people still have to get used to the idea of wearing a watch that says Louis Vuitton on the dial. Well, maybe this report on my visit to La Fabrique du Temps, the brand s home of watchmaking, can help convince those people. And for everyone else, it can simply be a nice peek inside the brand s watch kitchen. In any case, here we go.The morning after the day of the presentation of the new Tambour at Musee d Orsay in Paris, we took a high-speed train to Geneva. La ...

Tudor surprised all of us with the release of the Black Bay 54 this year. While we were fully expecting a Black Bay 58 GMT or a blue Pelagos 39, Tudor took the shrink ray to its popular diver once more. But the Tudor Black Bay 54 is more than a simple downsizing effort. It is more of a straight-up reissue and less of a merely vintage-inspired offering than its predecessors. So, what is it like to live with?It is hard to open a web browser and not bump into a Tudor Black Bay 54 review. So I will include the basic objective review content for the sake of completeness, but I will particularly focus on some subjective matters too. This release triggers some bigger questions about vintage-inspire...

I don t know if it was the early power reserve indicator, the epic case style, or the -like novel printed on the dial, but I wanted this Tourist RotorAutomatic the second I spotted it. Oh, and it didn t help that I m a sucker for this brand.The not-too-significant Tourist watch manufacturer holds a special place in my heart. My relationship with Tourist started to form some five or six years ago when I landed the?dead-seconds Tourist Radio-Top. The world s first electrically lit watch, the?Tourist Everlight, fascinated me so much that I decided to get together the entire range. After that, my sensors became fully atuned to the slightest Tourist mention.Tourist RotorAutomaticI think my watchm...

Collaborations embody a strong sense of partnership between brands and those passionate enough about the brands to assist in designing watches alongside them. Additionally, if a collaborator is also an authorized seller of the brand, execution is doubly important. The Ianos Chronopassion Mihanikos is not your average brand/retailer collaboration, as we will see.Pre-order surpriseThere are many high-profile names in the world of horology. From collectors to retailers to brand owners, when certain names are involved, enthusiasts attention follows. As the founder of Chronopassion, a retailer established in 1988 and based on an enthusiasm for horology, Laurent Picciotto needs no introduction....