I always thought that I had relatively small wrists at around 17cm. After all, there are quite some popular watches out there that I find are too big for my wrist. For example, the Explorer II, Omega Seamaster 300M, and almost any watch in IWC s lineup. But actually, according to what I could find online, I have a very average wrist size. So why is it, then, that some major brands tend to launch their flagship pieces with a size way above 40mm?All right, one of the online sources was a poll on the Dutch Horloge Forum from 2021. Admittedly, that might not be the most scientific source of information, and I think the majority of respondents are men. But out of the 518 participants, the larges...

Which would you pick - the unorthodox lume design on the Favre Leuba Daymatic Waterdeep or a simply structured Citizen dial? Choose your favorite!?In the last #TBT story, I introduced the Juvenia Architect Protractor, which has been sitting on my wishlist for quite some time. I don t know if it was a side effect of the weather, but I slowed down a bit last week. Nostalgia hit me, and I got back to things that I hadn t thought about for months or years. That included reopening my vintage watch inspiration list that I hadn t updated for quite some time. As I scrolled through this list, I bumped into a few timepieces that I completely forgot I added to it. Since I am not sure if I will ever man...

The finishing quality of a watch is one of the major determining factors in how that watch looks and feels. The term is thrown around all the time but seldom explored. Prices are often justified or criticized on the basis of finishing quality. I am talking about case finishing in particular here - the way the surfaces are polished, brushed, and beveled. If you have not had the privilege of handling a lot of watches, you may not have an intuitive feel for what that actually means. So in this article, lets have a closer look at case finishing.I will try to cover some of the challenges brands encounter and some of the techniques that they use. I will also aim to share some examples of case fini...

I have written many stories on Linde Werdelin and its hewn-from-granite Nordic design language. But this time, no, its not a round retro 38mm field watch. The Oktopus Moon 3DP Black Ink is more of the same, yet different. And that is the clue to Linde Werdelin persisting in its niche space of futurist tool watches in a world of retrospective wristwear. For fear of repeating myself, I love LW s single-minded design philosophy.Therein lies the magic of this small brand, because the main shapes of its Oktopus, Spido, and 3-Timer watches have been around for 20 years. In 2022, they are still recognizably LW and continue to confound me with newfound twists to their tool-watch recipe. Across the r...

Seiko offers professional dive watches all over the price spectrum, ranging from around $550 to over six grand. But is the best of them necessarily the most high-end, or can we find the sweet spot somewhere in the middle? Today, we ll look at the Marinemaster line, from the very first reference to today s Prospex SLA021J1. Priced at $3,200 / US$3,100, I believe the current model offers Seiko s most attractive qualities in a very competitive package. Indeed, it may be the only Seiko to rule them all!I bought my first Seiko watch back in 2014 after I had already been into watches for many years. Thats right; I d never owned a Seiko before then, other than a random ladies model that my roommat...

Our taste in watches evolves constantly. One day, we may like dressy watches and the next day, sporty ones. We may prefer large cases that make us feel the watch is sitting confidently on our wrist, or we may get tired of that and opt for smaller, lighter timepieces. I am not immune to changing tastes, and recently, I realized that I naturally gravitate toward fixed-bezel sports watches with angular cases. They just speak to me. I like them for their versatility (fixed bezel), visual interest (the angles on the case), and sturdiness (they generally come with great specs). We must wear what we are attracted to and embrace our changing tastes.?Following my train of thought, I would argue that ...

When something or someone gets a nickname, there must be love involved. After all, why go through the efforts of coming up with something creative and catchy for something you dont like? And thats why the headline reads Hands-On With The Full-Metal CasiOak Watches and not Hands-On With The Casio G-Shock GM-B2100; sorry about that, Casio. The three new models, in three colors with a steel case and matching bracelet, must be some of the most anticipated watches of 2022. Lets see if they can live up to the expectations.While writing the intro and typing in the word nickname, I realized I had no clue where the word comes from. I was pretty sure Nick has nothing to do with it, but that was it. Lu...

Take a classic dive watch from 1977. Combine it with a modern movement and all the specs you might come to expect from a contemporary diver. Now, make the case titanium, and keep the price well under $1,000. Sound too good to be true? Well, it isnt - the Citizen Promaster Mechanical Diver 200m (also known as the NB6021-17E) ticks all of those boxes. I had a chance to spend some quality time with the watch, and today Ill tell you all about how it fares on the wrist. Spoiler alert: its good. Actually, its more than good. All things considered, this watch is damn near the best thing you can get at its price point. Sure, titanium isnt for everyone, but if you love a lightweight sports watch as m...

In 2022, we are finally catching up with our Speedy Tuesday Events. After an unwanted two-year period of no events, we restarted earlier this year in Biel. We continued in Milan and then last week at the European Space Agency (ESA) in the Netherlands. This time, though, it wasn t only a get-together of Speedmaster enthusiasts. It also included the introduction of a new Speedmaster X-33, explained by two scientists and an ESA astronaut.This video is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Speedy Tuesday Event at ESAWe received an incredible number of sign-ups for this Speedy Tuesday Event, but we could only have 50 guests. This had to do with the logi...

Kristin Harila is doing something no human has ever done before. She s getting close to having climbed all of the fourteen peaks above 8,000 meters on our planet within six months. With this amazing feat, she is set to beat the previous record (six months and six days) set by Nirmal Nims Purja, which was chronicled in the Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible. Nothing is stopping Kristin Harila, who is a Bremont Ambassador, from achieving the impossible. Well actually, thats not true. Theres one thing, and it has nothing to do with the mountains, the weather conditions, or injury.We have to be honest with you. Here at Fratello, we have trouble getting up and down the stairs fou...

One can only look at watches for so long before the obsession requires other inputs. Recommended by my father, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel ended up being exactly the watch-adjacent content I was looking for. It s a book about ingenuity, dedication, betrayal, eventual triumph, and a great deal of hard-earned money. John Harrison is the father of marine chronometers, the precise timing instruments that allowed ships from the 1700s into the 1900s to navigate by longitude. Without Harrison and his chronometers, Great Britain would not have had the success it did in establishing and maintaining its empire, making ...

My well-publicized love affair with URWERK continues today as the brand launches a brand-new model to the collection. The URWERK UR-120 is an evolution of the discontinued UR-110 with a whole host of new tricks up its sleeve. Nicknamed the Spock, this may give you a slight hint as to the watch s coolest new feature. Since when did a watch display the time using the Vulcan salute? Wondering what on Earth I m on about? Well, read on!I m sure we re all familiar with the classic Vulcan salute. I knew how to do it before I knew what it was. Seeing people in school trying to hold their hands up and part their fingers between the ring and middle fingers to form a V shape. Not everyone I know can do...

Today Seiko announced the release of its latest limited release. The Seiko 5 Sports 55th Anniversary Ultraseven Limited Edition pays tribute to five and a half decades since the first broadcast of the popular spinoff in the Ultraman series. This late-1960s cult tokusatsu show reigned supreme for two decades and heavily influenced Japanese pop culture. With many characters and sequels to the original that introduced new characters and storylines, it s a classic that continues to inspire. Today, Seiko looks back fondly and taps into the incredibly cool and unique aesthetic of the show for its latest creation. A watch worthy of the Ultra Guard, this Seiko 5 is undeniably cool, whether or not yo...

For the diehards, there s probably only one Speedmaster - the Moonwatch. However, other Speedmaster variations are available, and this has always been the case since 1969. Whereas the first variations were indicated with Mark 2, 3, 4, or 5 (and even 4.5), later on, we saw Speedmaster Day-Dates, Speedmaster Moonphase watches, and even a (very limited) Speedmaster Perpetual Calendar for the Japanese market. Today, however, we re looking at the latest Speedmaster 57 in blue.Omega Speedmaster 57The Speedmaster 57 is a nod to that first chronograph with an external tachymeter bezel, the reference CK2915. The original was Speedmaster with a steel bezel, straight lugs, broad arrow hands, and the...

Fratello On Air returns once again! Balazs and Mike are together after a three-week break due to heavy travel. It s a lighthearted show full of observations and head-scratching. We talk about the Omega X-33 Marstimer, the Apple Watch, and even luggage. This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Yes, it s been a while, but the boys are back in town again. Balazs has been all over Europe while Mike has been in three time zones within the USA. We focus on the craziness that seems to surround collecting anything today and then dip into some discussion around the Omega Speedmaster X-33 Marstimer. It s two friends getting back together a...

In my previous article, How Cartier Turns Custom Watch Dreams Into Reality, I detailed the process of ordering a Special Order Cartier timepiece. For many collectors, the available possibilities are more than enough to create a custom timepiece that they would really like to have. But some sincerely wondered whether the exclusivity of such a watch could be guaranteed. Of course, 100% exclusivity is something that is impossible to ask for, especially when we consider that most Special Order watches are only distinguished through a different color dial, another color of gold for the case, and/or a different type of hands. Thats why we now go a little deeper into the technique of Metiers dArt.I...

Breguets Classique Calendrier 7337 traces its roots to the heritage brands own pocket watches from two centuries ago. In the latest iteration, the emblematic timepiece dons a clean-cut dial to transform its classic design into modern elegance. With a new aesthetic for its moonphase and calendar complications, the Classique Calendrier 7337 comes in two variations in white gold and rose gold.The legacyFor anyone to keep alive the legacy of Abraham-Louis Breguet is a tall order. After all, he was a high-profile watchmaker, a gifted inventor, as well as an astute entrepreneur who gave the name to the house of Breguet in 1775. This influencer of his time also broke the trend of baroque styles and...

Last week Mhle-Glashtte invited us over to the north of Germany to celebrate their 20-year partnership with the German Maritime Search and Rescue Society (DGzRS). And what do you do as a watch brand to celebrate such an anniversary? That s right, you launch a new watch! But not before we went on a trip with two rescue vessels of the DGzRS. After that the Mhle family presented us with the all-new S.A.R. Mission-Timer TITAN. A modernized titanium version of their iconic search and rescue toolwatch.But before we go to the watch, let me tell you a little bit about the Mhle family history. The company was founded in 1869 by Robert Mhle. At that time they manufactured measuring instruments fo...

Following last week s launch of the Norqain Wild ONE - an event that I made the journey to Zermatt to witness - it s time to take a closer look at the watches. Reading a press release with a handful of renders and images of a watch is one thing. Holding it in your hand and strapping it to your wrist, however, is something else. And it s a different thing altogether to strap it to your wrist for a two-and-a-half-hour e-mountain bike ride up to the Zmutt Glacier at the foot of the Matterhorn and back down in time for dinner. Especially when a brand claims that its latest creation is the ultimate modern sports watch, it s worth testing it in a suitably demanding manner. And though it didn t hap...

The MoonSwatch has put Swatch at the center of attention in 2022. But as the legend goes, Swatch single-handedly rescued the Swiss watch industry in the 1980s. Swatch offered affordable quartz-powered watches, intended as disposable and fun accessories to spice up your look. When Swatch hit the scene in 1983, the Swiss watch industry was in terrible condition compared to just a decade before.Swatch was introduced in a decade that brings back great memories for me - waking up very early on Saturday mornings to quietly watch and enjoy Transformers, M.A.S.K., and G.I. Joe; playing endlessly with space LEGOs, and riding BMX bikes with my friends. TV shows like The A-Team, Airwolf, and Knight Rid...