I could have let Teun write his own book promotion here, but I want to take the opportunity to tell you a bit about him and his book.In 2015, Teun reached out to me to talk about his passion for watches and how we could collaborate. We decided to meet somewhere in the middle and ended up in a cafe near the train station in Breda. We talked about previous projects he did on watches, but also about his daytime job and his love for watches. One of the topics we discussed were his drawings, and how this could work for the watch enthusiasts that visit Fratello. On September 14, 2015, Teun published his first cartoon on Fratello, called ‘The Wild Bullhead, and it was a huge success. Today, ...

This year, 2019, commemorates the 50th anniversary of the end of the 1960s. I dont mean that just numerically. The year, 1969 really marked the end of an era. The free love movement culminated with the Woodstock 69 festival and the great human achievement of the USA landing men on the moon brought about a new era of scientific discovery.Designs of the times were certainly inspired by the whirlwind of events including the retro-futuristic Heuer Monaco. Introduced to sit between the Heuer Autavia and Carrera, the Monaco takes its name from the jewel in the crown of the Formula One calendar that is the Monaco Grand Prix. Racing on the streets of Monte Carlo requires precision and focus but the ...

Hey there, it s Wrist Game or Crying Shame, out attempt to bring power to the people!? This week, we check out a Datejust Tuxedo dial…let s see if you re spiffy enough for this dapper do!Before we get to the Datejust Tuxedo dial, let s chat about last week s Breitling Cosmonaute with a Lemania 1873.? This watch cruised to a rather decisive 60/40 Wrist Game win.? Honestly, I tried to throw in a controversial one as that watch s $5K+ price tag was a bit of a spicy meatball, but you all lapped it up with gusto!? Onwards and upwards as they say and we move on to a bit of an oddball… Datejust Tuxedo DialIf you re an American, you ve likely rented a tuxedo for some sort of formal occ...

Are you looking to buy an Omega Speedmaster but don t know where to start? We re here to help! Over the past 65+ years, Omega has created many variations of one of the world s most famous chronographs. The classic 42mm Moonwatch has been in the collection since 1965, and to the novice eye, little has changed since then. But if you look a bit closer, you will find that the Speedmaster evolved quite a bit in the decades that followed.In this Speedmaster guide, we ll give you an overview of the most important references of the Speedmaster (Professional) and some of its variations. Although this article isn t meant as a pricing guide, we will give some hints, of course. If you re already a knowl...

Last Saturday, November 9th, 2019, the 8th edition of Only Watch was held during an auction-packed weekend in Geneva. The Only Watch Charity Auction was the end of a journey that started on July 1st with the presentation of 50 unique and especially for this occasion made timepieces.Thereafter the watches were exhibited during an extensive world tour covering Monaco, Dubai, Paris, London, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taipei, to arrive at the mentioned auction in Geneva last weekend.Only Watch 2019 credentialsAll 50 timepieces have been donated free of charge by their brands and or suppliers. 99% of the proceeds of the biennial Only Watch auction go directly to muscular dystrophy...

When Omega introduced the Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon back in 2013, I was destined to buy one. An amazing full ceramic piece with their in-house developed chronograph. What more could you wish for? That came only five years later, with the introduction of the Apollo 8.Well, a year later (2014), Omega introduced the Grey Side of the Moon, which made a choice more difficult even. An excellent platinum-like dial with an anthracite ceramic case color. We reviewed the Grey Side of the Moon here. Then, in 2015, Omega did something they better couldn t have done in my humble opinion, they released a few too many variations on the Dark Side of the Moon. There was the ‘black black, the &...

Today we take a look at a Seiko 6105-8110 Captain Willard, but this one has a story that s quite fitting for today.? Happy Veterans Day!I think we can all agree that conversing electronically is a fairly cold and impersonal method.? Plus, in its worst form, it emboldens people who are probably otherwise quite polite to act like jerks on social media.? But for all the grief our most popular methods of communication receive, it s nice to know that you can meet some really interesting and sincere people without ever truly meeting them in person.? Such is today s case of a vintage Seiko 6105-8110 that has a nice story behind it.If you follow our serial article,?Wrist Game or Crying Shame, you ma...

In 2018, FORTIS has become the official timekeeper for the AMADEE-18 Mars Analog Mission and equipped the Austrian-led team with the Special Edition AMADEE-18 chronographs during simulations of a Mars landing conducted in the Desert of Oman.Directed by a Mission Support Center in Austria, the small field crew has conducted experiments preparing for future human mars missions in the fields of engineering, planetary surface operations, astrobiology, geophysics, geology, life sciences and many other. For this mission FORTIS created the official mission watch AMADEE-18.LONG SPACE HISTORYFORTIS, founded in 1912, has long been associated with rugged pilots watches and became part of the official e...

And a warm welcome to all of you for This Week in Watches, the November 9, 2019 edition.? It s been awhile and it s good to be back!Yes, readers, This Week in Watches took a little breather over the past several weeks as yours truly went to the US of A on vacation for two solid weeks.? I did my best to stay away from the laptop, but I m happy to be back and bring a strong dose of news to your pupils.? I m ready if you are, so let s get it on…New Heuer Camaro SiteI mean, when you get an email from Steve Perry regarding Heuer, the thoughts of helping the former frontman of Journey find his dream vintage watch can really allow the mind to wander.? I mean, if I or my teammates did such a t...

We attended the GPHG 2019, the gathering of who s who in the watch industry in Geneva last night.As we get closer to the end of the year, the watch industry is also slowly starting to prepare for the quiet(er) winter months. Aside from a few events like Dubai Watch Week and some other local smaller events, not much will happen. Usually, right after the new year starts, wed set sail for cold and gloomy Geneva to take part in a week of SIHH madness. Not this time. As you might have heard, SIHH (from now on Watches & Wonder) will not happen until the end of April, right before Baselworld kicks in a week later. However, as youd have it around this time of the year, industries look back on th...

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.) is one of the must-reads for each stockbroker in Germanys finance capital at the start of the day. They already cooperated before with Sinn watches, who are also located in Frankfurt.Therefore it was a logical step to dignify the 70th anniversary of the newspaper with a special edition watch from Sinn. At the Watchtime event in Dsseldorf, I had the chance to try the Sinn 6060 F.A.Z. Later on, the Frankfurter watch manufacture sent us the Sinn 6060 F.A.Z. watch for a closer inspection.Each year in October, German watch enthusiasts traveled to Munich to visit Munichtime (read our previous report here). Unfortunately, during recent years, the interes...

With the new management at the helm at Breitling and the increased focus on appealing to Far-Eastern customers, youd be forgiven for assuming classically styled timepieces, such as the Premier, were destined to become the norm.Whilst Breitling is streamlining their collection, masculine timepieces tied to the military still have a strong resonance with the Breitling community.New AvengersContinuing the Summit ethos, whereby Breitling uses their own platforms to announce new watches to their own schedule, a slew of revitalised and reenergised Avenger models were unveiled in October 2019. A noticeable facelift on the new Avenger was the bezel with fewer numerals on the scale, save only for the...

What I like the most about this Tissot Navigator 2160 with the caliber Lemania 1343 movement is that it doesnt look like a chronograph at first glance. The Tissot 2170 with a Lemania 1341 caliber featuring a 12h counter proudly posed as Mona Lisa for the recent Tissot re-edition that Balazs shortlisted as one of the best 1970s chrono re-editions of all times. Todays vintage gem in question, the Tissot Navigator 2160, is missing the chronograph hour counter. Although it may appear like it is the poor brother of the aforementioned chronograph, let me try to explain its charm to you.Tissot Navigator 2160Tissot dress codeEven vintage watch collectors, rare specimens as they may be, are still hum...

Welcome back to Wrist Game or Crying Shame, our weekly series where you decide if a watch has what it takes to spend time on your precious wrist.? This week, we ll head back to the time of Maverick, Goose, and the Iceman with a look at an 80 s/90 s chronograph in the Breitling Cosmonaute.? But first…I honestly need to start choosing more controversial watches because you readers keep finding favor with the pieces in our series.? Last week s Omega Aqua Terra Railmaster in steel and 39mm stormed to a landslide 71% Wrist Game win and that was despite a few cranky comments!? Bring em on, we love the entertainment and, after all, we always have the last word…? So, if last week s ride...

It took 14 months for Zodiac to design the piece inspired by Manns muse, the Oceanic Whitetip Shark. The Zodiac Super Sea Wolf 68 Saturation is one of the most honest collaborations, truly reflecting the ambassadors lifestyle and cause. I did not expect to be the one from Fratello to write an article on a Zodiac watch. Both vintage and modern Zodiac watches have managed to pass me by successfully. Not un-noticed, but with almost zero attraction.Zodiac Super Sea Wolf 68 SaturationI froze for a second and stopped scrolling when I first saw the sharks first dorsal fin sitting, sorry cruising, on top of the dial at 12 o clock.That unexpectedly changed this morning! A newsletter landed in my mail...

Aurel Bacs & Livia Russo in association with Phillips auction house, are back for their tenth Geneva watch auction together. There is always a ton of buzz around Phillips auctions, and especially thematic sales as Aurel and his teams are established trendsetters.I think of Geneva watch auctions as the fashion week for watch geeks, and there is no more popular runway being watched like a Phillips auction room. Granted, that can be a nuisance for the auctioneer as so many attendees come to do just that, watch, and recently they have been stricter about paddle holders getting a seat and comfortably bid since the room gets so full.Phillips has assembled a special retailer signed watch (some ...

When Omega introduced their Speedmaster Automatic 376.0822 in 1987, they never guessed it would be nicknamed ‘The Holy Grail by Speedmaster collectors and fetch prices between 20.000 and 30.000 Euro.We wrote an article on the Speedmaster Holy Grail last year, with an explanation of mainly the technicalities of this watch. The production number (believed to be 2000 pieces), production years (1987 and 1988), and how it was initially being delivered (which bezel, dial, hands, bracelet, etc.). If you are looking for that, please read this article, as it covers the extensive research done by the authors of Moonwatch Only as well as the author of OmegaHolyGrail.com.But what makes the Speedm...

Say carbon fibre and anyone with a passing interest in motorsports will immediately associate the material with high-end performance machines.For decades, the recognisable weave of carbon fibre barely hidden by thin coats of paint on a well-tuned sports car signal lightness with strength. Large, complex components moulded from a single piece of carbon fibre with epoxy resin, such as a cockpit tub of a Formula 1 car, can maintain a solid shape under incredible stress and strain.In the production car world, a noticeable premium is added to carbon fibre bodies and chassis regardless of the performance benefits. The same connotation of the provenance of carbon fibre has drifted into cutting-edge...

In spring of this year Glashtte Original launched the SeaQ divers watch, the debut model in a new collection. Inspired by the historic Glashtte divers watch from 1969, the Spezimatic Typ RP TS 200, the SeaQ unites history and modernity in a fascinating manner. One of the more remarkable features of the new divers watch C the first models are already in the hands of authorised dealers C is its intensive testing for conformance with German as well as international quality standards.A divers life can depend on the flawless functioning of his watch. As a consequence, for Glashtte Originals design engineers and watchmakers the fundamental objective in developing the SeaQ was to ensure maximum ...

NORQAIN, the independent Swiss watch brand was founded in March 2018 after Ben Kffer left his corporate job in the Swiss watch industry and fulfilled his dream of building his own family-owned and independent watch company. Despite peoples concerns about whether the Swiss watch industry still has capacities for another brand, Ben has consistently followed his dream and been determined to go his own way.Watchmaking Roots & Rebellious Spirit The Kffer family has a great accumulation of experience in the Swiss watch industry. Bens father, Marc Kffer, is the Chairman of the Board and has over 45 years of experience in manufacturing Swiss luxury watches and spent 25 years on the Board of D...