Half a century of Omega Constellation watches explained. Fratello Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Robert-Jan Broer is a watch collector in the truest sense. He sat down with us to discuss his thoughts as a collector of Omega Constellation. A passion interlinked with his family history that, still today, he cherishes with great pride. Find out more to discover the history and meaning behind a part of his watch collection!This video is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Omega Constellation collectionThe Omega Constellation holds a special place in RJ s heart, including the models from the 1980s and 1990s that are definitely not for everyone. It could...

Switzerland is often considered the cradle of watchmaking. The Swiss Made label has become a seal of quality, and the vast majority of high-end watch brands are Swiss. But how come? How has this one European nation become so dominant? What made Swiss soil so fertile for the budding watch industry?On the road to answering this question, we come across tales of refuge, religion, and a distaste for the ornate. And as is so often the case, it is a matter of serendipity. Lets get into it!The clock of Salisbury Cathedral. Dating back to 1386, it is possibly the oldest clock still working today. - Image: The Vintage NewsThe first mechanical clocksWe should probably start this story with the very fi...

The sad reality is that money is definitely an object, and when you have a family, its not always easy to allocate the amount of money you want to spend on a watch. But, as Thomas did in his Shopping With Cheat Codes ‘Infinite Money And ‘Infinite Purchase History' article, I d like to consider watches that I normally dont give much thought to. Aside from infinity money and infinite purchase history, I would also like the add the infinite lives cheat code (F7 + [i] in my favorite shmup game from 1989, Xenon 2). I guess I will need it, not in the last place to protect myself against an angry wife, despite the infinite money.Anyway, creating an overview like this is not as easy as ...

Join me on the hunt for non-cliche pre-owned picks in the diver segment. It is safe to say that the dive watch is one of the most popular genres in the watch world. Even though most of us do not dive, most watch aficionados own at least one diver. There are some obvious candidates out there. , Omega, Tudor, and Seiko hold the majority stake in the dive-watch universe. But what if you want something of high quality that is, lets say, less predictable? What if you d like a not-so-obvious luxury diver? Today, I am offering three pre-owned picks that will have people saying, Hey, what is that?I am not going vintage for once. This time around, I will stick to youngtimer pre-owned picks. If proper...

I have written about IWC before in this series. In a previous installment, I expressed my love for the classic IWC Ingenieur that Gerald Genta designed. It s a watch that I have a stronger personal connection with than most watches. But IWC has more great classics that deserve a glorious comeback. One of them is the first Aquatimer that the brand ever produced. The IWC Aquatimer ref. 812 was introduced in the late 1960s as the brand s first diver. Over five decades later, the watch hasn t lost its attractiveness. It s time for a new Aquatimer ref. 812.When IWC introduced the first Aquatimer ref. 812, the brand was pretty late to the diving game. As most of you will know, the brands that pion...

We seem to be on a dive-watch kick lately on Sunday Morning Showdown. Last week, it was a battle of the household (more on that shortly), but this week, we head over to Biel with our time machine and put old versus new on the battlefield. As you know from the title, this weeks battle will be Seamaster versus Seamaster. Less than fifteen years stand between this weeks contenders, and though the Seamaster DNA is strong, these two could not be more different. So today, it will be Nacho and Jorg that clash, each on the side of one of these two modern icons, to see which of the two takes the crown home. But, as always, thats up to you and your vote. So make sure you read through until the end an...

Are we done with aging? Strap a product to your wrist, and go about your daily business for 30 or 40 years. That product will endure a degree of torture that will keep even the best product designer awake at night. It will get banged into stuff, dragged over table tops of all sorts, and go through temperature changes, vibrations, magnetism, water, steam, dirt- And what do we expect to come out at the other end? A functioning product that still looks great. We are a demanding bunch, wouldnt you agree? Even under considerate, careful use, a wristwatch takes massive abuse over the decades. Most will come out discolored, scratched, and dented. And I am only limiting myself to aesthetics for this...

Except for my Seiko SPB317 and my Autodromo Intereuropa, all of my watches are Swiss made. Admittedly, this is not actually something I consider when I buy a watch. I guess it s just a coincidence that the watches I like tend to be this way. Or maybe it s not a coincidence at all. Thanks to their long history in watchmaking, the Swiss certainly know how to make a good-looking and high-quality timepiece. But when is a watch actually considered to be Swiss made?That Autodromo Intereuropa, for example, has a (presumably) Swiss ETA 7001 movement inside but it doesn t say Swiss Made anywhere on the case or dial. And that s probably because there are some very strict requirements that a watch shou...

Another Friday, another Top 5! In this series, we take one classic watch and choose our five favorite references ever produced. Four of these references will be based on the historical importance of the specific watch in the grand scheme of things. Though there may be some overlap, its not a question of which references are the most collectible or of the highest value on the market. The fifth pick is our Fratello favorite that takes the current market price and collectability into account, potentially making it a sleeper reference. As such, the last pick could be described as our wild card. In this new installment of the series, we will look at the Tudor Submariner. What are the top five ref...

I know the feeling of invincibility that comes from rocking a big, boisterous tool watch. But let s face it, many of us are stuck behind a desk, traveling, or in meetings on and off camera. An over-44mm, 250g diver is not conducive to comfort, so why wear one every day? Have a look at vintage images of watches and Don Draper in Mad Men wearing a 34mm Omega Seamaster. Even Mafioso Tony Soprano wore a 36mm wrist-babe in gold, not a 46mm monster (but he was one…).Your extreme adventuring might be limited to streaming Cliffhanger, but even lifting the remote control is better with a smaller watch. And if youre a specs geek, youll notice that divers now get proper depth ratings even in smal...

We asked you to share your watch box stories, and the entries have been overwhelming! Last week, we covered Christophers story, showing his prized possessions, and in this article, we have a very impressive lineup of watches from Wesley. He has been an avid watch collector for many years, and he picked five watches from his collection to share with you.After we share all the stories, we will raffle off a Peli case and a few other accessories among the contributors. So far, Ive seen some very interesting contributions, and I am excited to share them here on Fratello in the coming days and weeks. Without further ado, heres Wesleys story about whats in his watch box.A readers collection - Wesle...

After three episodes of Building A Watch Brand on plans, strategy, and finances, it is time to talk watches! Thank you all for sticking with me through the initial introduction. I am humbled and honored by the many supportive messages I get via the different channels! It seems that something of a VPC community is already emerging, which is awesome. So now it is time to start talking about the crux of the matter - the actual debut watch for VPC.This is easily the scariest episode of Building A Watch Brand that I have published so far. After all, I am deeply invested in this concept, not just financially but especially emotionally. I am pouring my heart and soul into VPC, building the brand an...

You guys know by now that I am a fan of Unimatic. I won t lie, I love the design signature of the Milan-based brand a lot. With their minimalist design approach, Unimatic founders Simone Nunziato and Giovanni Moro have found the magic canvas for their timepieces. The style they developed is modern, minimalist, and easy to recognize overall. But the next layer is that the style combines very well with different influences without ever losing its recognizable character. Further proof of that comes once more in the form of the brilliant new Unimatic Modello Uno U1S-ET.Loving a design signature is a strange phenomenon. When it comes to Unimatic, I don t love all of the brand s releases, but the ...

It s easy to end up in an exciting discussion about Heuer, Omega, or watches. But didn t know many collectors that would lose track of time when discussing Alpina until I met Bas from Vintage View. Today, we will look at his personal treasure, a Valjoux 13-powered Alpina Leftie.I got to know Bas on Gallet fan pages. He had a nice MultiChron 12 with minty-green lume that I bought from him at some point. We started to follow each other on Instagram shortly after. I could not believe my eyes when he posted a simple Alpina time-only watch. To my greatest surprise, he kept posting his new vintage Alpina additions, including some of the brand s rare chronographs.My soft spot for AlpinaThere s a s...

Today, on white sands by the crystalline waters of the Rangiroa Atoll in French Polynesia, Blancpain unveiled the Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the birth of what many recognize as the first modern dive watch, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Since 1953, watches and diving have both come a long way. This should not come as a surprise, as seven decades are enough to bring change to just about anything. Today, the brand behind the timepieces on the wrists of those brave enough to venture underwater in the early 1950s launches a watch designed for the pioneers in the field today. With how far scuba diving and all the associated technology have come since those ...

Seiko is one of those brands that many of us start looking at when we get into this hobby. However, it took me a while to appreciate Seiko, and as always, it started with some vintage pieces. I think my first model was a King Seiko that I got after seeing RJ s a good few years ago. When Grand Seiko became a separate brand and slowly started to claim space in the industry on its merit, I was eager to see what would unfold. Over the years, I got closer and closer to owning a GS but never pulled the trigger. It took me years of lurking around, two trips to Tokyo, and my followers on Instagram to finally push me over the edge. What I landed on might not be the funkiest Grand Seiko model, but I l...

This installment of Pre-Owned Spotlight is specifically for all you engineers out there. My wife is actually a chemical engineer. She spends most of her time in the office, though, so she wouldn t really need any antimagnetic watches. While I think that s the case for most engineers these days, it s still nice to get a watch that s designed with your profession in mind. In a way, it s even better than all those non-divers desk diving with their capable Submariners and Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphes.We all suspect that and IWC will probably introduce new iterations of the Milgauss and Ingenieur models this year. The prime opportunity to do so would be at Watches and Wonders, which is ...

In this episode of Fratello Talks, Daan, Timo, and RJ talk about the fanatic fans of watch brands. The comments on articles where we discuss , Tudor, or Omega are sometimes quite unforgiving towards one of the brands. But often, they are also entertaining (and educational). We discuss why fans are so important for brands, why fans feel the need to defend their favorite brand with all they ve got, and why some brands have louder fans than others.This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings If you want to listen to last weeks episode of?Fratello Talks, where Nacho, Lex, and Daan discuss brands selling their own vintage watches, make su...

As a watch aficionado, you must have noticed that the Equation Of Time (EOT) is found on some of the most complex and expensive watches, so it must be important, right? Unfortunately, when googling Equation Of Time, one finds dazzling formulas and lengthy pieces of scientific text. But what does it mean to those of us without a degree in astronomy? Although I must admit the foundation is complex, let me try to explain the Equation Of Time simply.Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Equation of TimeEquation Of TimeWe think of a day on our planet as 24 hours, but that actually depends on how a day is defined. A solar day is indeed around 24 hours. Our planet turns, and it takes exactly 24 hours for the s...

Whenever Fratello works with a brand partner on a limited edition, it s always something with a story of how and why it came to be. Fratello is a business at the end of the day, but we don t treat watch collaborations as purely commercial enterprises. All of us on the Fratello team are watch lovers and watch enthusiasts like you, the Fratelli. That enthusiast-first ideology helped create the Fratello Aquastar Deepstar II Limited Edition, available today in the Fratello Shop.The Deepstar II is a modern cult classic and a continuation of the vintage Aquastar Deepstar design. The brand s resurrection and the Deepstar II model come courtesy of industry veteran Rick Marei, who helped bring Doxa...