Geneva Watch Days will run from August 30thCSeptember 3rd: It s that time of year again. For the second year in a row, the world s (or at least Europe s) watch media will descend on Geneva for a week of boutique-and-suite-based showcases. All the major brands from last year s inaugural run-through are returning, with expectations high of what another travel-lite year might have in store for us. Today, I m going to share my hopes for Jaeger-LeCoultre, Bvlgari, De Bethune, Moser, and Urwerk. Let us know what you d like to see from these brands in the comments below.One year ago, we stepped into the unknown. The Geneva Watch Days event was, in short, a revolution. Being there at the opening cer...

Due to its use of the hardest kind of titanium as well as COBARION (more on that later), the Casio G-Shock MR-G MRG-B2000BS-3A Hana-Basara is the hardest G-Shock yet. This limited edition watch of 400 pieces celebrates the 25th anniversary of Casios Flagship G-Shock collection. And it does so in a colorway that finds its origin in the Samurai of feudal Japan. The armor of the new MR-G is inspired by the boldest, most artistic, and exuberant of samurai, the Basara Busho. By the looks of the watch, that must have been a very colorful bunch.Maybe its a good idea to go through all the unfamiliar terms before we take a closer look at this hard and colorful limited edition MR-G. The term hana-basa...

For many of Fratello s readers, the name Citizen will be a familiar one. Not only because the brand enjoys a voluminous presence in the windows of high street and shopping mall boutiques around the globe, but also because it is a company with a long and exceptional history, which began over one hundred years ago, just outside of Tokyo…In 1918 the Shokosha Watch Research Institute was established. Founder Kamekichi Yamazaki was determined to produce watches in Japan, at a time when imports were the norm. After establishing Shokosha Watch Research Institute Yamazaki set up the Shokosha Watch School to train the talented technicians he considered essential for creating exceptional watches...

Nothing beats a nice little watch challenge. The guys from Chrono24 Magazine asked me to participate in a little game. Together with their host Thomas Hendricks, located in New York City, we also discuss a lot of facts and stories during the watch hunting.Chrono24 Magazine defined three hunts, each time-limited (spoiler alert: I failed massively to stay within time) and within each hunt, I had to find three watches in a special category.Confused? I was as well when they asked me, but it boils down to the following:Watch Hunt 1: Three Omega WatchesApparently, they thought I must know something about this brand. So I had to come up with three picks from this brand. One watch in the entry-level...

We watch lovers are a varied bunch. Within this quirky watch-collecting sub-realm of ours, we have everyone from monogamous brand devotees to polyamorous proponents of brand diversity. We have both laid-back, casual toe-dippers and laser-focused hunters, forever on the prowl for the next prize. The beauty of this variety is that no matter what type of watch lover you are, there will always be a horological gem out there to set your passions ablaze.Throughout my watch journey, I ve found that I have developed a collecting philosophy. A set of rules, if you will, that I follow in an attempt to build my perfect collection. If you read my article on grail watches, to the end, you may be familiar...

Well, it has certainly been a while since the last installment of Indie Insights. But, thankfully, I am back with what I believe to be some exciting watches indeed. Take a look for yourself and let me know what you think in the comments. I hope you ll agree, there s some serious hotness on display today!Konstantin Chaykin – the Joker goes all-in on blackWhen you think of the word Russia and roulette, your mind will likely go to the deadly game of Russian roulette. Thankfully, celebrated Russian watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin went down a far more literal route. Staying away from gun-related activities with his latest creation, the Joker Black Bet. A new model paying tribute to the roulet...

We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. Though most of what we write about is largely focused on the most recent releases and developments, for many of us, a lot of the fun can be found in the sometimes weird and often wonderful world of vintage watches. Its a world full of history, remarkable watches, incredible stories, and quirky details. It inspired us to come up with a series of articles focusing on the best watches per decade from a select group of brands. Some of them are priceless, some of them still affordable. In this installment, we will take a look at the best TAG Heuer watches from the 1980s.While the 1970s were a decade filled with tremendous chang...

When I picture the 1930s, I am transported to an era of boundless creativity - an age of booming prospects and extravagance. Of course, history distorts reality, as hardship is consistent through all decades - some just more than others. But the Art Deco spirit of the 30s shines prevalently in media and advertisements of the day. Thus, it proves a challenge to dissociate this decade from the lifestyle portrayed in The Great Gatsby. Today, Fears presents its new Archival 1930 watch in a rectangular steel case. Looking at the design, I can t help but be drawn into the allure of the era. But behind the closed steel case-backs lie the movements powering the watches, repurposed from the 30s and...

Since 1987, the Fortis Flieger watches have been a cornerstone of the brand s lineup. The Flieger watches from back then looked quite different from the Flieger models introduced by the Grenchen-based brand just last year (click here). It s clear that Fortis has made a great investment into these models, which have continued to evolve over the years to reach their current style The new Flieger F-39 and F-41 Midnight Blue are the latest additions to the Fortis collection. According to Fortis, this is a true tool watch. Not just for pilots, but also for watch enthusiasts like you, and me.In my opinion, a Flieger watch needs to tick a few boxes in order for it to truly be a pilot s wristwatch. ...

The decision of which watch from my collection I would first write about for Fratello was an easy one. I dont have the most extensive collection, and within the core group of watches, only a couple are interesting enough to warrant a closer look. However, one watch in the collection is definitely an eye-catcher and conversation starter. Nothing rare, nothing fancy, but certainly a watch that I truly enjoy and something worth talking about, especially considering the story behind it. Im talking about my heavily worn, ghost-bezel Seiko 7002 dive watch.?Its a well-known fact that the first sure-footed step into the bottomless rabbit hole that is our hobby and passion often comes in the form of ...

Dont have a caliber Valjoux 72 watch yet? Its about time you started looking around for one. If the classic 1960s Omega Speedmasters or Daytonas are past your budget, you might just find that the Zodiac Zodia-Chron Hermetic fits not only your budget but also that gap in your collection. I think you ll agree with me when I say that it s an extremely cool watch with a bit of both the Speedmaster and the Daytona DNA at its core.Should you already be lucky enough to own a chronograph with this workhorse caliber inside, I still recommend you keep on reading. After all, there s no such thing as having too many Valjoux 72 caliber watches in one s collection.Zodiac mattersIf you compare the number o...

Armin Strom presents its new Gravity Equal Force at Dubai Watch Week.The Middle Eastern watch extravaganza that Dubai Watch Week is has a lot more to offer than what youd expect from the famous emirate. The event is a world-class gathering of the whos who in the industry. It is also the place for several brands to showcase their latest and greatest. This is a given. Every watch show includes these things in their lineup. Dubai Watch Week also serves as the perfect occasion for many brands to launch their new models during the event. Our friends at Armin Strom think precisely like this. That should be the reason why they chose this time of the year to launch something special. Its not only a ...

Its not easy to keep track of all the Timex releases. There are a lot of them, but dont panic, here at Fratello we have picked what we consider the three best models from their recent introductions. The Timex x Pac-Man T80, Timex x Snoopy Space Traveler and Navi XL Automatic.There is something about watches with a $250 price tag. And its not only the fact that you can have at least four of them within a $1000 dollar budget. Magic math, isnt it? They don t break the bank, and they can be a lot of fun! Today we will take a look at three novelties from a brand that excels in this particular price range: Timex.Timex x Pac-Man T80The first watch I have here is the Timex x Pac-Man T80. It is a nos...

During our Speedy Tuesday event in Tokyo last October, we had special guest Sam Cossman on the stage. Although he s best known for his viral Vulcano video, Sam Cossman is now working on a very prestigious project: Quantum Leap.Sam Cossman is an ambassador for Omega and wears the Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon on a daily basis. He is not an astronaut but sees himself as an explorer.?In this video, Sam Cossman explains what Quantum Leap is about and how it is relevant for (future) space traveling. But before he does so, he looks back on his vulcano exploration (Wired did a nice feature on Cossman and his vulcano exploration) and his project on developing a special helmet for them that enabl...

Some will remember that, for a period of exactly one year, which is 52 weeks, we published a rather popular column named 52Mondayz. Inherent to its name, after one year, this column came to an end. And although it has been a while since it stopped, we still get positive reactions concerning this feature.Revival of 52MondayzSo we think it s a good time to revive 52Mondayz, although, with?a slightly different approach. Was it mainly me writing every Monday which watch I would wear that week, now all of the Fratello authors will take part in the fun. So, I will kick off this week, but next week you ll learn about a watch worn by one of our other editors. This way, it will give an even larger sp...

We take a look at the new, limited edition Longines Heritage Military 1938.It was truly a month ago that we were right here talking about the newest addition to the Longines Heritage collection with the sector-dialed Classic model.? That 38.5mm model proved to be a popular watch with our readers and the comments were quite favorable.? I had the chance to pen that article and I walked away suitably impressed with the fact that the watch lacked any extraneous writing on its dial about the movement, etc and declared it a positive change in direction for the brand that once adorned every vintage-inspired model with both a date window and an automatic movement.? Today s model is one such example ...

Our Watch of the Week is the MeisterSinger Vintago. The name already indicates that the new model was designed with historical archetypes in mind, which is something that many watchmakers have been doing for years in the wake of the big retro wave C some more convincingly than others. Here too, MeisterSinger is a special case, as because the brand is young, it doesnt have any of its own models from bygone decades to hark back to. On the other hand, the single-hand design of our watches has always been inspired by ancient timepieces C the tower clocks of the Middle Ages.This video is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings For MeisterSinger, the word ...

Real dedication by a mono-brand collector. A beautiful 24.5 pounds weighing set of 5 five books on the Illinois Watch Co. was written by one man, Frederic ‘Fred J. Friedberg.Last week, I stumbled across this article in the LA Times. They did a great article on Fred s work and made me realize I know nothing about Illinois watches. This American brand was creating beautiful art-deco style timepieces but was put out of business about 90 years ago.Fred Friedberg and only a part of his collection. Photo by Allen J. Schaben / LA TimesIllinois Watch CoFriedberg became a watch collector in the late 1980s, which was a pretty unusual hobby back then. He was an attorney in his 40s, and by accide...

It s This Week in Watches for November 16, 2019 – let s do this!Before we get into the new watch news of This Week in Watches, I ll spend a few minutes talking about some observations over the last week.? Last weekend was auction weekend in Geneva with the Only Watch charity event occurring.? If my math is right, the Patek Grandmaster Flash Chime helped raise roughly 82% of the proceeds for charity when it sold for a whopping 31M CHF.? I m really happy for the charity, but if I m being open and honest, that was one unattractive watch.? Still, congrats to the owner and the charity.? Next up were all the individual auctions held by the usual suspects.? This year felt a bit normal as ther...

After the dust clouds settled at Baselworld 2019, the Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time 5520P was one of the most talked-about watches of the fair. Another great introduction is the updated version of the Patek Philippe 5235R Annual Calendar Regulator. It may be less talked about than the Alarm Travel Time 5520P, but it s at least as divisive.It s funny how most of the discussion about Patek Philippe as a brand is about the design of their new watches. There is hardly anyone that doesn t think that Patek watches are technically brilliant and that their level of craftsmanship is almost unparalleled. The design of new Patek watches, on the other hand, does cause a lot of discussions. Some of th...