Daan, Laurits, and RJ talk about the watches they would like to see introduced by brands in 2023. Daan is hoping that Vacheron Constantin will come up with a smaller Overseas, while Laurits would like to see a new Milgauss from . RJ is in for a proper re-edition of a gold Piaget Polo with engraved lines on the case and bracelet. What are the watches you want to see appear this year? Let us know!This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Wrist checkDaan is wearing his Seiko SPB317 on a two-piece NATO strap, RJ is wearing his Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 50th Anniversary, and Laurits is wearing his vintage Longines ref. 5760 on a ...
I do have a soft spot for the quirky, unmistakable style of Japan s smaller watchmaking ateliers. It might have something to do with a tattoo on my forearm saying contrarian, but it s more than that. The entire ethos of Japanese craftsmanship is about honing a design to its point of perfection with the best materials, no matter what. Whether it is a watch or a pair of exquisitely crafted selvedge jeans, the price is not the starting point. And in 2022, ever more buyers tuned in to this way of thinking, making it a big year for Japanese independent watch brands.Yes, we even had our very own Fratello Minase collaboration, the M-3 Very Peri. This was a big step for us and a well-timed one at ...
Lorier has been on my radar for quite some time now, but I just never had a chance to check the watches out in the metal. In fact, except for Thors interview with the brands owners, we have not yet covered them on Fratello, so it is long overdue. I requested three of the brands most popular watches for review and spent some time with them on the wrist. This is how I got on with the Lorier Neptune, Hyperion, and Falcon.In case you are new to Lorier, we are talking about a New York-based microbrand. Its owners Lauren and Lorenzo Ortega are a married couple, former teachers living the watch aficionados dream. They outsource production but do everything else themselves. Drop Lorier an email, and...
Fratello On Air has returned, and we cover several subjects this week. However, we spend the most time on a topic initiated by one of our readers about retro watches. Namely, are they at the end of their rope? This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings We re back a day later than usual this week with our episode, but we ve made it! In this episode, we discuss a number of topics including some of the TV shows and movies we ve seen lately. It s not overly watch-related, but it s cold and gray outside, so perhaps this will help pass the time. We also dive into a topic related to retro watches, a movement that has been with us for quit...
Two weeks ago, the father of one of my daughter s classmates came up to me and asked if I could help him out. He said he ll be turning 40 in a few months and wanted to gift himself his first luxury watch. He knew I was into watches, so he asked me if I could give him a few options to consider. Of course, my first question was how much he was willing to spend. He said his budget would be somewhere around $5,000. And as soon as I started looking for some options, I thought this could be a nice follow-up to the regret-free guide.If you haven t read the two previous installments of this guide, let me quickly summarize what has been going on. In the first article, I shared some advice on how to a...
Together with the Swedish strap maker REM, led by Totte el Siddig and Roger Clementz, we re very excited to introduce to you the first Fratello REM collab for the Moonwatch. Every month in 2023, we will have a different themed strap for the Omega Speedmaster. We designed all of these straps together with REM, and each will be available in a limited run. The first strap for this year is suitable for any Moonwatch. In the following months, however, we will come up with some more specific themed Moonwatch straps.Fratello REM Lunar Lander StrapFor this January 2023 edition, we thought it would be good to start with something that will suit all Omega Speedmaster Professional models. The black...
I love hearing about other people s choices in watches, but it s about more than just the outcome for me. How and why someone chose to buy a certain watch is often far more interesting. It leads to a different perspective on how people make choices, and being either a specs person or a design fanatic has a big influence. Of course, there s more to buying a watch than simply weighing the specs or the design, but most watch fans do favor one over the other. As a design enthusiast, my main attraction to a watch is its looks. While I definitely find specs important, they will never outweigh the ?visual aspect. But there are people that do put specs first. Are the numbers, ratings, and functions ...
Once you have a few nice watches, one of the first things you buy or receive is a watch box to store them in. Now we want to hear the story behind yours. Tell us what watches are in your watch box, and share what they mean to you. It should be a fun read, and I am sure it will inspire other readers to go look at some of the watches you shared in your story. There s no right or wrong; just tell us about the watches you love.My watch boxLet me start by giving an example of my watch box. I received this box over 15 years ago from my girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife. It is a nice lacquered wooden box with four watch cushions. Most of my watches are in my safe, but I also like to have s...
Vintage Omega Speedmaster references are getting more and more attractive as the price of a new Moontwatch rises. For the first time since buying it in 2020, my 1970 Speedy is now valued below a new one, at least compared to the recommended bump in the retail price coming this February. What is going on? Time to investigate the vintage Speedmaster market in closer detail. Is a vintage Speedmaster cheaper than ever before, even though it is rising in value?I remember a couple of years ago - before the 2021 upgrade - that a modern Omega Speedmaster was considered significantly less desirable than a vintage example. Granted, I operated in vintage purists territory, but the market backed the cla...
In this video, I talk about the new Omega Seamaster Diver 300M 210.30.42.20.03.002 that celebrates the 60th anniversary of James Bond movies. It was introduced last December in London in the presence of Daniel Craig.The Seamaster 300M has been around since 1993 and turned into one of Omega s best-selling models. Over the last 30 years, we ve seen many variations, including some James Bond editions, but never one with an animated case back like this. It reminds me of the case back of the Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 50th Anniversary that came out in 2020, but this one works slightly differently. The moire effect on the case back shows the opening scene of the James Bond movies in four fram...
Getting a new strap for your watch can quench your thirst for a new watch, at least for a little while. But a new strap can also re-energize the love for your watch. Im still deeply in love with the looks of my tough quartz Grand Seiko that I bought in the fall of 2021. But sometimes I wonder what it would look like on a strap instead of the bracelet it comes on. When I saw the new gray Fratello tropic strap on the desk of our e-com guy Laurits, I knew that pairing it with the Grand Seiko SBGX341 would turn me on. Another exciting thing is that Watches and Wonders 2023 is drawing nearer and will be open to the public on April 1st and 2nd. Finally, if you love the Nivada Grenchen Pac-Man Dept...
For a while, theres been an ongoing discussion at Fratello HQ on vintage Longines watches. We are constantly impressed at how affordable these pieces remain despite the brands respectable reputation and undeniable quality. We have even found ourselves referring to these watches as undervalued - sleeper hits that are just waiting for appreciation to catch up. Today, Ive selected a trio of watches that I feel give a taste of why these watches are so appealing. Price-wise, these examples are on the upper end of the scale. Please keep that in mind should the figures appear intimidating. With a little bit of digging and patience, you could find a real gem for under $500. That said, the three watc...
Dutch watch brand Christiaan van der Klaauw welcomed master watchmaker Pim Koeslag as a new owner and technical director last year. The first model to mark his stewardship is an evolution of the Ariadne, a core collection of the 48-year-old artisan brand. The resulting Ariadne Reijersen Collector s Edition is exclusively produced for Reijersen Juweliers in the Netherlands. This 40mm steel chronograph boasts a moonphase indicator and a triple calendar, and it is available with either a turquoise or salmon-pink dial. Each dial version is a limited run of 50 pieces.Dutch Haute HorlogerieChristiaan van der Klaauw, or CVDK for short, is renowned for its specialty of hand-crafted astronomical watc...
The Longines ref. 3240, nicknamed the Super Solo, is a masterclass in, well, class. Today, I will try to break it down in detail to see if the Super Solo could stand a chance in 2023.There are some watches I loved 10 years ago that I don t like anymore. Or let s say that I don t like them that much now. The Longines Super Solo, however, is one of a few watches that have magnetized me for years. The Super Solo has something that other watches don t. I believe it deserves a reissue, and here s why.Image source: Discreetpeacock.comThe caseA rectangular case, by definition, indicates elegance. Long, clean case lines go along perfectly with the idea of a calm and well-dressed gentleman. On a roun...
Im trying hard to follow Sebastien Reichenbach (33) on a descent. The former Swiss champion was French cycling hope Thibaut Pinots trusted lieutenant, but now Reichenbach is with the Tudor Pro Cycling Team as a captain. He descends smoothly and fluidly, seemingly without touching the brakes. It would be foolish to think I can do the same, so the distance between us grows steadily. How did I get here? Well, the Tudor Pro Cycling Team has invited a small group of journalists to learn about the motivation, philosophy, and goals of Tudor Pro Cycling and to meet and talk to the riders and staff as well. Thats why Im in Altea, Spain. Im riding a Swiss bike with Swiss wheels while wearing Swiss kit...
Bonjour! This Sunday Morning Showdown should actually be between Thomas and Gerard as Thomas has just bought the Merci Instruments LMM-01 Nationale, and Gerard has just added the Baltic HMS 002 in silver to his collection. But Gerard is on one of his trips to Spain again, so I offered to take his place to defend the Baltic against the Merci. And yes, these two watches are quite similar. Both are great options if you re looking for a more affordable field watch. But when you look at them a little bit closer, there are still more than enough differences that might make you choose one over the other.The idea for this battle arose when we saw both watches lying next to each other at the Fratello...
Even though I ve loved watches since I was a small boy and have now been writing about them for four years, I still get excited about new releases. Increasingly, events are focused on the important markets far south and east of Europe, but does it matter? After all, we are digital now, and many of us buy most of our watches online, including me. The 2023 LVMH Watch Week might have taken place in Singapore, but through the art of HD images, the notion of always being there to try on wristwear in person seems wholly unrealistic in 2023.LVMH Watch Week is always the first event of the year, and though it is limited to the four main brands of the luxury group, it sets the tone for the year. With...
I was recently brushing up on my knowledge and understanding of chronographs when the news popped up: Yema is releasing new color variants of its popular Rallygraf Meca-Quartz. This super-vintage-inspired chronograph now comes in five color variations and is powered by the Seiko VK64 movement. Being a meca-quartz watch means it will be rather affordable and easy to wear. Indeed, it retails for $369 and has a case diameter of 39mm. But more on that later!?I recently wrote about Yemas Navygraf Chrono, which utilizes the iconic Valjoux 7750 caliber. Fratello has also published several articles about the French brand in the past few years, including an interesting faceoff between two Yema chrono...
It s always cool to write about a brand that s never been featured on Fratello before. But this time, it s even cooler, literally speaking, because Chronotechna is launching its signature SeaQuest Dive in a Frozen Deep limited edition. The brand does so as its ambassador and freediver David Vencl will try to achieve the impossible. He will attempt something that no one has ever done before. And that is to reach a significant depth below a frozen surface while wearing only a swimsuit, and taking just one deep breath. Let s take a closer look at this Czech brand and its daredevil ambassador.The Chronotechna brand name dates back to 1946. At that time, until the Velvet Revolution at the end of ...
When I started collecting watches, it was incredibly hard to get some accessories as simple as a proper replacement strap. For a long time, we played with the idea of opening up the Fratello Shop as well to offer straps and accessories to our readers. But we also realized that if we did it, we would need to do it properly. That means fast shipping, good customer support, and a nice selection of good-quality products that make sense.Last year, we hired Laurits, the dedicated e-com guy in our Fratello office. Together with the rest of the Fratello team, he works hard to get the best products for our webshop, takes care of all logistics, and is there for you when there s something to ask or com...
