You re excused if you ve never heard of M?els & Co, a young British brand focusing on carefully designed modern watches. I hadn t heard of the company either until attending last month s World Time UK show at London s Heathrow Airport. Yet, among all the watches from the many small brands exhibiting, the new 528 S2 was one of the standouts. Then, when founder and designer Betina Menescal sent an unexpected email asking if I d like to go hands-on with a prototype of the new model, I was more than happy to take a closer look.Despite a relatively quiet overall watch market, the microbrand scene is abuzz with newcomers and well-known brands alike. Yes, costs have affected these small makers,...

The Seiko Speedtimer traces its roots back to the 1960s, offering plenty of sports timing and racing pedigree. Today, I got a chance to go hands-on with the lines latest incarnation, the solar-powered SSC959 limited edition.I say limited, but Seiko is producing a whopping 3,000 of these. Perhaps more important than its numerical limitation is its geographical exclusivity to Europe. Seiko regularly drops limited editions for specific regions; this time, it is our turn as Europeans. This latest LE costs $860 / $730 and will become available this November. Lets have a closer look.Seiko Speedtimer 101I am sure you ve read about Speedtimers before, but just in case, lets start with a quick histor...

Ask enthusiasts to name an affordable and fan-favorite series of dress watches, and chances are that Raymond Weil s Millesime collection will pop up in several answers. We love the Millesime, a charming line of retro-styled watches with a model for everyone. Now, the brand follows up the highly successful Millesime with the new Toccata Heritage. This latest string of watches is an early kick-off to Raymond Weil s 50th anniversary in 2026. With a full range of mechanical and quartz variants, this new Toccata Heritage series has the potential to become another hit for Raymond Weil. Let s find out more.A glance at Raymond Weil s current catalog reveals four product lines. The first is the popul...

Omegas timekeeping for the Olympic Winter Games dates back to 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Each New Years Day, a thrilling ski jump takes place at the Gro?e Olympiaschanze, known in English as the Great Olympic Hill. Its a cherished family tradition - though Im the only one watching these days - to tune in to the television and enjoy leftover treats from New Years Eve while marveling at the daring jumps. This ritual has been a beloved part of my holidays for decades, creating memories as exciting as the jumps themselves. Next February, 90 years after its Winter Games debut, Omega will continue its longstanding role as the official Olympic timekeeper. As expected, the brand will produce so...

Welcome to another episode of Fratello On Air! This week, we discuss the triumphant return of Seiko to the forefront of value-laden watchmaking. For some, perhaps the massive Japanese company never left. From our perspective, though, 2025 has been a turning point. We feel that the brand has truly listened to its fan base and the market. Listen along to why we feel this way and what else we d like to see.This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings After what felt like a lengthy period of offering chunky watches with big price tags, it seems that Seiko has made a triumphant return. Reasonably sized watches with prices that have held s...

Welcome to the first round of the Fratello Dress Watch Season contest, our effort to identify the best new dress watch of 2025. If you thought wed kick the series off quietly, you are mistaken. The first match in round 1 immediately sees a major clash of entirely different watchmaking philosophies. Lex defends the Grand Seiko SBGH368 Sakura Kakushi, while Thomas puts forth the 34mm A. Lange & S?hne 1815 in white and rose gold.These contestants are taken from the eight watches that won our initial public vote over the weekend. You, the Fratelli, voted for your favorites from a long list of possible contenders. The eight surviving watches include todays Grand Seiko and A. Lange & S?hne...

Its back - but only in Europe, with a limit of 100 pieces. The Alpiner Heritage Carree Automatic Edition Europe exchanges the standard model s Arabic numerals for stick indexes, creating a more sober and persuasive Art Deco look.Alpina has been on a retro roll lately. Earlier this year, the brand released the Heritage Tropic-Proof, and even Alpinas modern Seastrong Diver Extreme received a retro touch-up. The Alpina Alpiner Heritage Carree Automatic is next. Youve seen this model before, but in 2023, it was called the Alpiner Heritage Carree Automatic 140 Years. That celebratory watch is a serial-production model with a black or silver dial.The standard Alpiner Heritage Carree Automatic 140 ...

It s Sunday morning, so it s time for another epic watch battle. In this week s showdown, we selected two stainless steel and gold watches with integrated bracelets to go up against each other. The first is the new Girard-Perregaux Laureato Fifty in steel and yellow gold. Released just a few weeks ago, it s a proper statement of 70s bliss. Today, it takes on the steel and rose gold version of the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF. It s another powerful design statement that looks brilliant in two-tone. Which of the two will win this week s battle? Let s find out!This week s showdown is all about presence. If the world of steel and gold is not for you, then this battle will not be your cup of tea...

Theres a particular kind of madness that grips watch nerds before a big trip. Other people worry about airport transfers, currency exchange, or how many pairs of socks they need. I, however, have spent the last two weeks in what I can only describe as horological paralysis, staring at my watch box as if it were a chessboard. Soon, Ill be flying from Australia to Europe for a month, bouncing between Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Austria, and the Netherlands. There will be swimming, pasta, and Aperol. And through it all, one watch - just one - will have to hang off my wrist every day.And thats where things get complicated. Ive always loved the idea of a travel watch - something dependable, low-main...

Wristwatches have been mainstream for a little over a century now. This gives us a decent timeframe to reflect on watch design and its evolution. We tend to throw terms like watch design and aesthetics around loosely, but I feel that these concepts warrant a closer look and a slightly wider perspective. Consider this my attempt to step back and try to put them in a proper context. The aim is to help you sharpen your eye for evaluating watches, based on their aesthetics.I will not be going through watch designs as they evolved through the decades. I have done that before in this earlier article. Instead, I want to try to clarify some of the concepts and sketch a broader context around these o...

When CIGA Design first released the Everest Central Tourbillon, it caught plenty of us off guard. Here was a young Chinese brand taking on one of horologys most challenging mechanisms while doing it in a watch that actually felt emotionally grounded. Brads hands-on review from last year summed it up nicely: this was a watch that didnt just look good in photos but also had a story worth telling.Now, for 2025, CIGA Design returns with the new Everest Summit Central Tourbillon, quietly refining what was already one of its most ambitious creations to date. I saw the watch in hand at the recent Windup Watch Fair in New York, and its an impressive watch to hold and wear. The 45mm Grade 5 titanium ...

Twenty years after launching its first watch, British watch brand Christopher Ward seems to be settling into a hard-earned level of maturity. Its latest introduction, the C63 Sealander Extreme GMT, exemplifies everything the brand has learned over the past two decades. It s an impressive, feature-packed tool watch that combines the brand s now fully fleshed-out design language with great specs at a seriously tempting price point. It s a combination that s easy to get excited about.Those who have followed along will remember the meandering stages of its adolescence. The last couple of years have seen it reach an equilibrium. The brand now knows what it is and what it wants to do, and has achi...

As the year progresses and new releases continue to shape the horological landscape, Fratello is turning its attention to one of watchmakings most enduring genres, the dress watch. Welcome to Fratello Dress Watch Season, a new series that brings together eight of our writers - and you, our readers - to determine which of this years refined timepieces best represents modern elegance.Following in the footsteps of our Summer Splash and Seiko World Cup competitions, this new series moves away from sporty versatility and focuses instead on proportion, restraint, and timeless design. The goal is simple - to find the standout dress watch among the 2025 releases.How it worksIn this first phase, we p...

Another Friday, another list! This week, we re following up last week s article about ceramic watches with our favorite titanium ones. After all, it just made sense to dive deeper into the world of modern materials used for watches. While titanium has been around for quite a few decades in the watch world, it s still considered a modern material compared to stainless steel and precious metals. Having said that, we ve been seeing an increasing number of impressive titanium watches, and more and more watch fans have slowly warmed up to the material. Therefore, we decided to look at our favorite recently released titanium watches.Before we dive into our list, allow me to specify what we were lo...

Let me ask you a simple question: if you had to choose between a tourbillon and a Gravity Control System, which would you pick? Well, then again, you might require more information before answering my question since the system I mentioned might not be a household name. Therefore, let me introduce the gravity-defying Zenith Defy Zero G Sapphire, a watch that comes in either a 46mm transparent or blue sapphire case and uses the aforementioned Gravity Control System instead of a tourbillon to maximize the movement s accuracy.The most famous antigravity device in the horological world is, without a shadow of a doubt, the tourbillon. Since its invention by Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1801, some comp...

Casio has teamed up with one of cinemas most beloved sci-fi adventures to create the new CA-500WEBF-1A, a digital calculator watch inspired by Back to the Future. This special edition pays tribute to the films 40th anniversary in the most appropriate style possible.In the 1985 movie, Marty McFly famously wears a Casio CA-53W. The new CA-500WEBF-1A closely resembles that classic but adds visual cues pulled from Doc Browns time-traveling DeLorean. The result will surely resonate with those with warm, nostalgic feelings about the film.Back to the FutureDirected by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg, Back to the Future became an instant classic when it hit theaters 40 years ago. Th...

Although Airain only returned to the global horological stage in 2020, its roots, famously, go much further back. So much so, actually, that the classic Type 20 turns 70 this year.Naturally, Airain could not let that pass without an appropriate celebration, so here we have the Airain Type 20 70 ANS. Lets have a closer look!The Airain Type 20 70 ANSAs you probably know by now, the Type 20 is a post-WWII chronograph made to French military specifications. I will not retell the entire story, as Gerard did a great job of that upon the relaunch in 2020. You can find his article with all the details here.The revived Airain launched several very appealing versions of the Type 20 over the past five ...

We may be rolling toward the end of 2025, but Breguet is intent on releasing more stunners in celebration of its 250th anniversary as a watchmaker. Thus far, we ve been treated to some lovely pieces within several of the brand s collections. The reception has been positive, which is consistent with what is likely to occur after today s introductions. The Classique 7225 and 7235 are here, and they re stunning.Admittedly, I can be tough on Breguet. I want to love the brand because of its history and enormous contributions to watchmaking over the past 250 years. However, I sometimes find the newer watches incredibly close to pieces from 10 or 20 years ago. On a positive note, though, 2025 feels...

Longines famously says, Elegance is an attitude. But lets be honest; theres probably more to it than that. On todays episode of Fratello Talks, were asking the big question: what makes a watch truly elegant? Is it the proportions, the case material, or the strap? Maybe its how the watch sits on your wrist, or perhaps it s the mysterious mix of all these things, like some horological alchemy that gives a timepiece its unmistakable charm. And lets not forget the wearer. Elegance might not live in the watch at all. It could be in the confidence and subtlety that the person wearing the watch brings to it. Whatever the answer (or lack thereof), Nacho, Lex, and Thomas are ready to dig in, veering ...

Watch brands are great at celebrating their milestones. It usually leads to one or multiple limited releases commemorating the different events. However, RZE decided to celebrate its fifth anniversary differently. The brand is not releasing a limited edition with a new dial color or another variation of an existing watch. No, for this occasion, RZE introduces a new collection to its lineup. With the Resolute 36, the Singaporean brand brings a lightweight, versatile daily wearer for all your adventures. I had a chance to check out the ice-blue Halcyon version of the Resolute 36.Here at Fratello, we closely follow what RZE is up to. As most of you will know, we released the limited-edition Res...