It is no secret that we are fans of the Airain brand here at Fratello. Sure, there is some home-team sentiment at play here, but Airain s CEO Tom van Wijlick has a sharp focus on creating some amazing watches. That s why we love what he does. The Airain Type 20 has grown into a fan favorite that brings back the brilliant aviation flyback chronograph in style. For the newest product launch, Airain brings back another iconic silhouette. The new Airain Sous-Marine revives the classic skin diver and brings its execution up to modern standards. And the results are, once again, nothing short of impressive.If you are a regular reader of Fratello, you might know that this Airain Sous-Marine did not ...

When I saw my name on the contributor list for this series, I must admit that I panicked a bit. Each writer would have to share his go anywhere, do anything watch. The only thing was, I wasn t sure that any of mine fit the bill. Could any one of my watches work as well with a tux at a gala as it could while roaming the streets of crime-ridden cities? Could any of them accompany me while scaling volcanoes, ice diving, riding dragons, and dining with world leaders all on the same day?! Ahh, the overthinker s curse! But then an epiphany came: I don t do any of those things. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), my life is much more mundane. And in the seven years that I ve owned it, my Subma...

If you have kept your eyes open over the last few years, you have probably seen some crazy timepieces from IFL Watches. This young brand from Stockholm takes regular watches and transforms them into colorful timepieces that are one of a kind. And as you may know, the brand is also no stranger to customizing G-Shock s popular CasiOak models. In the next step with G-Shock s popular model line, IFLW now introduces the CasiOak Jelly Splash Limited Editions. These smaller CasiOak watches come with extravagant dials and candy-inspired names. Who is ready for summer?IFL Watches has quickly made a name for itself in the world of watches. I first heard of the company with its release of the first run...

Breitling ferociously chasing Tudor - I saw it happening while I was watching the Tour of Slovenia on television. A rider from the Tudor team attacked, and there was an immediate response from a Q36.5 team rider, a guy with big Breitling logos on his shirt. The Breitling guy caught the Tudor guy, and after that moment, I kept noticing how much the two Swiss teams were marking each other. It looked like a race within the race and, foolishly, one without a real winner. Thats when the Frankie Goes To Hollywood Cold War song popped up in my mind. With it came the idea of watch fans of different brands chasing each other. A wild thought of watch fans behaving like football fans - no, football hoo...

Its summer, folks, so I hope you have lined up your watches for this special time of the year. Given what we typically do during the summer - visit expansive bodies of water, hike in the mountains, or explore cities - we must strap the right watch to our wrist. Naturally, we tend to seek colorful and comfortable watches since we are in more relaxed and festive spirits. And watches with clean and legible dials also seem to be popular in the summer (after all, we dont need elaborate complications in order to sun tan!). Although I do not claim to have found the perfect summer watch for you, I do want to share my thoughts on the new Vero Meridian Manual Wind. This watch has a few interesting det...

Welcome to another edition of Sunday Morning Showdown. Today, two editors go toe to toe with two watches of a similar persuasion. Expect no holds barred as these writers vie for your votes to be crowned the winner. In this fight, we have two high-beat chronographs with automatic calibers. The Zenith Chronomaster Sport is going up against the Grand Seiko SLGC001 Tentagraph. Both watches have spectacular movements, but which one will take the crown? Our writers are ready, so let s get this battle going.Today s showdown is an interesting clash between two brands that are known for producing amazing high-beat movements. It s been only three months since Grand Seiko unveiled the Tentagraph, which...

It s no secret that I m still looking for a multi-time-zone watch to add to my collection. I ve considered many options, including the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Worldtimer. Until recently, however, I had never tried it on because I deemed its 43mm size too large for my 17cm wrist. But after having worn the new Aqua Terra Worldtimer for a little over a week now, I realize that I might ve been wrong all along, especially now that there s a titanium version.There s just something about a watch that lets you track multiple time zones. It immediately makes you think about traveling and vacation, even though I travel within the same time zone for most of my holidays. In theory, it s still nice to...

In July 2020, the owner of a Oyster Perpetual ref. 1003 walked into an authorized dealer to ask whether it was possible to repair the watch s Oyster bracelet. A few months before, he had bought this birth-year watch in the USA. After wearing it for a few months, he noticed that two springs in the riveted expandable Oyster bracelet were malfunctioning.A Oyster Perpetual 1003 similar to the one in this article - Image: Bob s WatchesTaking the watch to an authorized dealer for repairThe representatives at Gassan Diamonds in Amsterdam, the authorized dealer, told the owner that they could not repair the bracelet themselves but that probably could. Gassan Diamonds then sent the Oyster Perp...

I was already preparing for this article when Mike and I recorded this week s Fratello On Air podcast about our perfect three-watch collections. My picks were the Submariner 14060, a Patek Philippe 5196G, and a Omega Speedmaster Professional. Not just any Speedy, though. The only watch that I currently own from this lineup is the Omega Speedmaster 145.022 Transitional. Writing this article was not difficult at all. To me, this Speedmaster is my GADA watch.My history with this timepiece is well documented. If you search on Fratello, you might even come across a piece (or two) I wrote about my Omega Speedmaster 145.022 Transitional. It was my third Speedmaster, and it has stayed with me for o...

It s Friday, and that means another Top 5! This week s topic, however, is a bit different. Ever since we started this list series, we have focused on different iconic watches or watch series. We decided to shake things up a bit this time and explore another watch-related subject. This week, we have compiled a list of the top five watch brand ambassadors. Let s discuss it!Brand ambassadors are a recurring topic of discussion among watch enthusiasts. Lex wrote an interesting article about the world of celebrity watch ambassadors not too long ago. In that article, he questioned the effect that they have. Do brands sponsor them because doing so is part of today s business practices? Do people re...

Summer is here, and a lot of people are getting ready to leave for their summer holidays. For many watch enthusiasts, it s the perfect opportunity to bring out their best summer watches or buy a new one. Norqain plays into the summer theme with two new skeletonized versions of the Wild ONE. Each celebrates summer in a unique way, with one for active summer days and another for late summer nights.It s not even been a year since Norqain launched the Wild ONE. The brand s take on the modern sports watch was unveiled with great expectations. As many of you know, Jean-Claude Biver s name was connected to the development of the watch, and that will always get people talking. For me, the design and...

Last week, I wrote an article on why I thought mechanical watches under $1,000 don t make sense. In a way, it was an article like many other articles I ve published here on Fratello. I had a thought, we discussed it during our editorial meeting, and we decided that I d do an article on it. What happened next was beyond any of my expectations.Just as with any other article, I was expecting a healthy amount of comments. But thus far, that piece has received more than 250 comments, and new ones are still coming in every day. Apart from the huge number of comments, though, I was most surprised about the sentiment in the majority of them. People got angry, very angry, both at me and Fratello in g...

Summer is officially here! June 21st - the summer solstice - was not only the longest day of the year but also marked the official start of the season. Naturally, summer watches become top of mind around this time of year, but the selection of those available is overwhelming. To help you select the best summer companion, the members of the Fratello editorial team are sharing their top picks.Are you looking for a new summer watch? Look no further; we ve got you covered. You ve already seen Jorg, Thomas, and Daan s picks, many of which would have easily made my list. To avoid overlap, I ve opted for three slightly different options. My picks also follow an incremental price pattern, with my fi...

Summer is upon us, and it holds a special place in our hearts here at Fratello. Why, you may wonder? It s pretty simple: the sun graces us with its warmth, the outdoors becomes inviting once again, and most importantly, we re thrilled to announce the release of the remaining Fratello Nivada Grenchen Racing Chronograph collection.Brace yourself for an exquisite selection of timepieces as we proudly present five distinct dial variants. We have a total of 40 watches available in each color, resulting in a magnificent total of 200 pieces. Yes, the time has come to place your orders. The watches are available right now, and we anticipate an overwhelming response, just as we experienced during t...

I promised you more Gallet vintage watches this year, so here we go. After years of hunting, I found my ultimate non-lumed Gallet Multichron 12 Snow White. As a warmup, I do recommend reading my story about the lumed Gallet Snow White, which I published almost four years ago. They have something special in common. To give you a hint, focus on the 12-hour counter. But we will get to that soon enough…Lumed or non-lumed Gallet Snow White?To me, the answer is simple - the non-lumed version wins. It seems like a minor difference, but the simple style of the hands adds something unique to the overall experience. The lumed Snow White is fresher, more playful, and a bit sporty. The non-lumed S...

The Sinn 104 is a watch that is near and dear to the hearts of many collectors and aficionados. I know that for many of them, it was their first and/or only foray into higher-end watches. I considered buying one many years ago too but never got around to it. So I am ashamed to admit I had never handled one. I felt it was about time that I see what the fuss is all about, so I asked the folks at Sinn to lend me one, and they did. I have spent some time with it, and I am happy to share that experience with you.In short, the Sinn 104 lives up to its promise. Join me to have a closer look at the 104 ST SA I, the black-dial version with stick indices.The Sinn 104The Sinn 104 was introduced in 2013...

Its late June in the quiet mountain town of Zermatt. A bustling ski resort in winter, summer is a relatively quiet time up here, with only hikers and mountain bikers making the pilgrimage to the Matterhorns unofficial base camp. Fittingly, it s this alpine backdrop that Alpina has selected to celebrate its 140th anniversary, and it wouldnt be a proper celebration without at least one new release. To mark the occasion, Alpina decided to look back to some of its accomplishments in the early 20th century and release two new watches, both named Alpina Heritage Carree Mechanical 140 Years.Not everything about these two new timepieces is new. The movements used inside are a young 85 years old. Wel...

Two years ago, I wrote an article about the five watches on my wish list. These were the watches I wanted to add to my collection. This list explicitly comprised watches that were attainable in price and weren t just pipe dreams. Today, I wanted to revisit that list, see if I had managed to tick anything off it, and tell you how things have changed since 2021.Looking back at my previous list, I can confirm that I did manage to add one of those watches to my collection. That watch is the Hermes H08. I only added it recently as the one thing that held me back was that I had never seen the watch in real life. As a rule, I prefer trying a watch on before buying it whenever possible. The only wat...

Do you approach other watch wearers in the wild, or are you hesitant to do so? We often see others wearing incredibly nice watches on their wrists, but we only comment on them once in a while. Lex remembers making a comment to someone wearing a full-gold Cartier Santos 100 with a very special strap. And RJ commented on someone s , but that wasn t well-received. In this episode, we talk about approaching watch wearers in the wild!This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Wrist checkBut first, it s time for the mandatory wrist check! Gerard is wearing his now-discontinued Grand Seiko SBGW235 on the original beads-of-rice bracelet, ...

With this review, Mk II will be making its very first appearance on Fratello. However, it is a brand known to those who are into historically accurate, modern-made military dive watches. There are many military watches, vintage and new, that watch collectors are into, and the Mk II Stingray II Keroman has become a sought-after timepiece. Lets find out why!?Mk IIs founder Bill Yao developed a few collections that he has meticulously put together over time. His goal has always been to make the best watches money could buy and that would look and feel like the real deal. Or, to be more accurate, the goal was to make robust tool watches that only cost what they should. According to the brand s w...