Certain models of watches have become iconic because of their distinct design and history. Generally, this history is linked to some kind of human adventure or exploit. You know, climbing Mount Everest, circling the North Pole, or exploring the Mariana Trench in a submarine. One of these iconic models is the Explorer, which some of us see as the quintessential exploration watch. Many brands have taken inspiration from the Explorer and created their own versions of it. And there is no shortage of exploration-type watches in the microbrand/independent watch market. In this article, we will look at four alternatives to the Explorer from the aforementioned family of brands.?The Explorer is a ...

One of my first goals with Watch Strap Review was to showcase strap makers worldwide. Over the years, we ve featured artisans from many countries. The list is vast, spanning from Spain to Germany, Canada, Singapore, and Iceland. Yet there was one country (continent, in fact) where I could not find a brand to bring to the attention of our readers - Australia. Finally, this journey comes to an end. I m pleased to introduce our first strap maker from down under, Artisan Straps.I m optimistic that we can bring more of Australia s fine artisans to the forefront in the future. If they are every bit as good as Artisan Straps, we have nothing to worry about. Are you ready for some Oz leather love?Ar...

Finding the best watches with a specific budget in mind is always a welcome challenge. It s also one of the most frequent requests we get in the comments and on social media. Prices change, and classic favorites at a certain price point float up beyond reach. At the same time, new watches are introduced each week. Today, we begin a roundup of our favorite watches in the sub-$500 price bracket. Our editors have been tasked with picking just one watch that they would buy with $500 or less. However, we won t just tell you about one watch. Each editor will highlight a series of favorites before arriving at the final pick. Call it the best entry-level watch or a must-have complement for all colle...

Camouflage comes in numerous styles and colors. The Panerai Submersible S BRABUS Verde Militare Edition relies on a moss-green color to stay undetected in nature. The Casio G-Shock GMW-B5000TCC-1 watch with circuit-board camo pattern is suited for an urban environment - wear this watch with a all-black outfit inside a computer, and you will be completely undetectable. And since camouflage has a functional purpose, Ive added a watch you can hunt while wearing camo. Its the preppy Ralph Lauren Ralph & Ricky Bear Watch. The new Ralph Lauren watch is not a limited edition, meaning it wont go extinct due to overhunting. Such a relief!A titanium G-Shock Square is something special. Theres just...

This installment of Pre-Owned Spotlight is heavily inspired by a couple of get-togethers that I attended recently. Get-togethers are great for talking watches and hanging out with like-minded people. But they might be even better for planting new ideas in your head because almost every time you attend a get-together, you see a watch you hadn t seen before. And that s great, of course, because it s exciting to see new things. But it also messes with how you see your own collection a bit. With this article, I hope to write that feeling away so I can continue to enjoy what I already have.I m sure you know the feeling. You come home after seeing a watch that you had never seen before, and you ca...

When I began my watch-collecting journey in 2006, forums taught me that Cartier was a fashion brand. Back then, the sentiment among (those) watch geeks was that Cartier was just a jewelry maker that also sold watches. Cartier s timepieces, they told me, were reserved for fashion-minded suckers who could afford to spend big on watches but not on real horology. Well, as an impressionable 17-year-old kid, I admit that I bought into that mindset. In fact, I wrote off Cartier until 2021 when I began writing and editing articles for Fratello. Joining the industry opened my eyes and shattered my perceptions of watches that I would have never considered before. Furthermore, my colleagues articles s...

Watch brands are like car dealers nowadays. You sell a new car to a customer, you make money off servicing the car, and after a certain amount of time, you buy the car back. After hopefully selling another new automobile to the same person, you refurbish the old one and sell it for the second time. Replace the word car with watch, and you see what I mean. There are similarities, but there are also great differences. Were not talking mass-produced, five-year-old hatchbacks here. We re talking real vintage watch gems - collectors items, rare pieces, and complicated creations with historical value. Longines and Vacheron Constantin already offer a curated selection of historical timepieces, and ...

It s time for another Sunday Morning Showdown! It s that day of the week when two of the Fratello writers go head to head in a heated battle defending watches they love. In this week s showdown, Nacho and Jorg decided to set up a battle between two different Grand Seiko GMTs. Both represent the Japanese brand s quest for watchmaking excellence at separate price points with different movements and different designs. Which of these two brilliant timepieces would be your pick in this week s battle of the Grand Seiko GMTs? Will it be the Spring Drive SBGE283 or the quartz SBGN027? Time to find out!This week s matchup is an indirect result of Jorg s article asking you, the Fratelli, whether you p...

It took me a long, long time to get into chronographs. The first few years of my watch collecting were focused on divers, then field watches, and then exploration watches. But a good friend of mine (and a proper watch nerd) was into chronographs and convinced me to take a look. So I did. I started by reading about classics such as the Speedmaster, El Primero, and Daytona. It became clear that chronographs exist for a specific reason - timing something. And the more I read, the more I became fascinated by niche chronographs, such as the Bravur Grand Tour Series. This collection was made specifically for bike races. Lets talk about that.Bravur popped up on Fratello in 2017 and 2018 when RJ and...

The massively domed Bubble legend by Corum seems to exist in a time vacuum, and I respect it; what can I say? Nothing except a dome-topped MB&F or bling-fest Jacob & Co gets close to the mad side view of the Corum Bubble. Would I wear the new Bubble 47 Central Tourbillon? Maybe not. It depends on the actual size. I ve got neither high hopes nor the requisite fat wallet, but that s beside the point.Not that my shirts would fit it either. Imagine commissioning all your shirts anew with one extra-wide cuff to accommodate this amphitheater of gears. Maybe it s all worth it, but with a new stealthy look and a central tourbillon, it ll cost you. Impressively, such an expressive shape has s...

Last weekend, I attended a get-together organized by the great people over at Bulang & Sons. Among the attendees, there were collectors of watches from all across the value spectrum. Some were focused on the more affordable side of things, and others definitely brought some high-end and rare watches. Of course, everyone got along quite well since we re all in the same hobby in the end. And in many of the conversations with the guys (yes, there were only guys present) I asked them what they were considering for their next watch. It struck me that almost all of them said something like that they felt quite happy with what they had. They weren t really actively hunting down any new watches....

It s time for a new Friday Top 5! We decided to focus on one famous watch for each article in this series and pick 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 second installment of the series, we will take a look at the G...

It s hard to believe that the Synchron Military hatched all the way back in March 2021. That s nearly two years ago, and in some ways, I m surprised that it s taken so long for a sequel. Well, the day has come, and the Synchron Military Poseidon is here. This watch may look somewhat familiar, but there s more here than meets the eye.When the Synchron Military first debuted in 2021, it created quite a stir. The watch was an homage to the Doxa Army, a little-known piece from the 70s that had a very brief run. The controversy came because Rick Marei, Synchron s current owner, was previously with Doxa and because the Synchron brand actually owned the Doxa name back in the 70s. Regardless of al...

The new year is well underway, and Watches and Wonders 2023 is coming up in two months. You can already feel it in the Fratello office as many brands send us teasers about what they ll be revealing. Hermes even thought it would be nice to warm us up with an actual release. It s not a completely new watch, but it is a new iteration of the Hermes H08 in rose gold. This actually marks the first time that the French luxury maison has used a precious metal for the H08 s case construction. Let s take a quick look.Right at the end of last year, I was able to handle the H08 by Hermes for the first time. It was the Blue Edition that Lex had in for a hands-on review. Its case shape did remind me a bit...

Okay, the hype may be over its most hysterical peak, but integrated-bracelet steel sports watches remain all the rage. And rightfully so as they can be the ultimate daily companions. They combine a rugged build with a luxurious fit and finish. And that, my dear Fratelli, tends to pull on our heartstrings. Unfortunately, most iconic watches in this genre have grown far beyond the common watch lovers reach. So today, I want to look at some pre-owned picks at different price levels, all of which are under $10K.Of course, you could look at the plethora of modern reinterpretations of the genre, many of which are by brands that were not even around yet when the genre emerged. But I want to raise t...

This new Omega release is not only about a new Speedmaster but also about pushing boundaries in terms of accuracy. Meet the Omega Speedmaster Super Racing 329.30.44.51.01.003, featuring the new Spirate System. This watch is a visual tribute to the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Bumblebee (the black and yellow version) introduced exactly 10 years ago, which was antimagnetic to over 15,000 gauss.When Omega introduced its Co-Axial escapement in 1999, I couldn t anticipate the impact it would have. I didn t know it would inspire continuous innovations and improvements to create the Master Chronometer movements that Omega uses today. It was a game-changer for sure, but I had no idea about the magnitu...

It s not often that you bump into a big-date watch that you have never seen before. Well, I did, and I can t wrap my head around it. Dear Fratelli, I need help uncovering the story behind my Perfecta Big Date.It s been a few weeks since I shared my Gallet Big Date story. In the case of Gallet, it wasn t the movement that puzzled us, it was the watch. The Venus 211 is quite a fascinating movement, and we have seen it powering so many different watches.Perfecta discoveryOr rather shall I say a perfect discovery? I think was following an auction where I was after an Enicar chronograph. As I always do, I scrolled through all the lots offered in the auction. What struck me immediately was this Pe...

It s great to be back with another review of a vintage Japanese watch, and this time, it s an affordable and findable piece. We go back to the era that I think is the heyday for most watch companies, the 1960s. The Seiko Skyliner 6620-9970 is our target, and I think you ll enjoy it.Yes, it s time for another review of a vintage Japanese watch, and today s Seiko Skyliner 6620-9970 is a lovely specimen indeed. The watch in focus dates all the way back to 1965. That s not overly significant in itself, but it supports my belief that the mid- 60s were a truly magical time for Seiko. Some truly iconic pieces debuted during this period, including the 62MAS, 44GS, 6159, and so on. Seiko was emerging...

Grand Seiko introduces its third watch release of 2023. This time, it s a deep-blue-dialed addition to the Evolution 9 collection boasting a five-day power reserve. The new SLGA021 finds inspiration for its dial in the quietly rippling waters of Japan s Lake Suwa right before dawn. The opaque indigo dial has been carefully crafted to reflect these soft waves that delicately adorn the lake s surface. The sweeping Spring Drive seconds hand adds to the tranquil scene as an embodiment of the distant breeze that shapes the water with its ghostly presence. As always, the brand s signature touch of poetic artistry captures a scene beautifully and turns it into yet another visually stunning textured...

Its all about motorsports. Heuer was synonymous with them, even before it became TAG Heuer in 1985 when the company founded in 1977 by Akaram Ojjeh bought the Swiss watch manufacturer. Techniques d Avant Garde (TAG) and Heuer were already very active in the fast-moving and glamorous world of motorsports, and the new, combined entity only strengthened the bond further. The legendary Ayrton Senna helped TAG Heuer rise up after the Quartz Crisis, and the reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen also wears the red and green badge. So does Mario, by the way. American F1 world champion Mario Andretti? No, Mario Kart. Is the brand taking things too far with that? Is there still original Heuer DNA...