When I saw that another Fratello Collector s Week was coming up, I realized that it was perfect timing. You see, recently, I ve reached a state of reflection and calm about my watch-buying habits. After being a blatant watch hoarder for a little over two years, I feel like I m getting better and better at finding the watches that match my style and taste. As such, I ve become more of a satisfied possessor, enjoying the watches I own without constantly thinking about what should leave or enter the watch box. Let me tell you how I got here, and let s also take a glance at what s ahead.I find it hard to believe, but it has only been two-and-a-half years since I bought my first mechanical watch....
The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Complete Calendar combines the best of both worlds - the underwater world and the world of complications. The result is an accomplished diver with a calendar that goes into great detail and even keeps an eye on the moon. But does combining the robust, no-nonsense qualities of a tool watch with the refined characteristics of a traditional Haute Horlogerie complication make any sense? Lets find out in this hands-on with the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Complete Calendar in gold and titanium.The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Complete Calendar is what happens when a standard Fifty Fathoms and a Villeret Quantieme Complet 6654 crash into each o...
I have talked about how I got into watches on multiple platforms in the past. I think we even covered the topic in one of our Fratello On Air podcast episodes. Sadly, there is nothing romantic about it. I cannot tell you how an heirloom piece sparked my interest, or how saving up for and buying a particular watch caused my enthusiasm to explode. Nope, nothing like that. Instead, I think Ive always been interested in watches. For me, a watch is the only piece of jewelry that a man should definitely wear aside from a wedding ring. But if I had to mark the time I actively started to look into watches, Id say it was around high school. Then I put the topic on hold until college.Thats when I expl...
Not too long ago, I was driving for many hours on the German Autobahn on my home to the Netherlands from Austria. When even I had had enough of all the schlager music on the radio, I tuned into AFN Eagle. Its a radio station for those stationed at the American Army bases in Germany. At one point, they were discussing the ugliest cars that can be seen on the road. AFN Eagle held a poll on social media, and the two cars that won were the Chrysler PT Cruiser and the Fiat Multipla (no surprises there). Anyway, it made me think of checking with my colleagues about what they think are the ugliest watches out there.And yes, I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there are certainly watche...
This week is Fratello Collector s Week version 2.0! We re going to see a lot of content about personal collections, approaches to collecting, and other things multiple-watch-related. This article is about watch collections in a way as well, except here, the focus is on watches that could serve as one-watch collections. I m talking about GADA (Go Anywhere, Do Anything) watches, a cult genre of watch feverishly pursued by many a watch enthusiast (myself included). Today, I m focusing on watches that truly can go anywhere (including formal occasions and along the progression of the owner s life) and can truly serve as one-and-done choices. To me, that necessitates a certain luxury that other, m...
For Fratello Collector s Week 2.0, our editors are sharing their collecting philosophies. Its my turn, and not by coincidence, its a Tuesday. I collect watches, and my core collection is made up of Omega Speedmaster and Constellation models. Let me tell you about my collecting journey, the mistakes I made, and the golden rules I (try to) respect.Ive been a hoarder/collector all my life. As a kid, I collected comic books, resulting in boxes full of them that still need to join me every time I move houses. With comics, it was very straightforward. I just collected (all) the albums of my favorite series. Although I know of some collectors who collect all series of a certain brand, this is not a...
The Fortis Marinemaster M-44 is big, bold, and beautiful. And the beauty is also functional, as you would expect from Fortis. There are three new colors available for the Marinemaster M-44 - Woodpecker Green, Ocean Blue, and Black Resin. Technically speaking, black is not a color but a shade, but when you add an 18k yellow gold bezel, as Fortis did with the Black Resin Gold Limited Edition version, it certainly presents itself with a lustrous hue. Fortis takes the tool-watch theme very seriously but, at the same time, doesnt forget to have fun during the work break in style.Last year, Fortis introduced the all-new Marinemaster in two sizes - 40 and 44mm. In particular, the latter has all the...
Do you think this Bvlgari Octo looks chubbier than usual? And wait, arent they all called Finissimo? That s a question that many younger enthusiasts will be asking themselves after this introduction, so let me enlighten you. The original Bvlgari Octo made its debut in 2012 and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The Finissimo, however, debuted in 2014 with a rather delicious tourbillon. These days, the OG Bvlgari Octo can be found pre-loved for between 3,000 and 4,000 euros. Does it even matter that it s no Finissimo?The enigmatic shape started with the Gerald Genta Octo, the achingly cool Bi-Retro from the mid-2000s being a prime example. After co-branding the Octo models for a f...
Ladies and gentlemen, that s a wrap! After exactly seven days of availability, we have stopped taking orders for the Fratello Minase 2022 Exclusive Edition! Thank you to each and every one of the supporters of this exciting project. This is the first time (but not the last time) that Fratello will pursue this sales strategy. Why? Because our community spoke, and we re doing our best to listen. If this isn t what you want to see, let us know in the comments below or get in touch directly. We are sure its limited window of availability will mark it as a very special, community-centric edition for years to come.The Fratello Minase M-3 Very Peri project presented something of a learning curv...
Time has passed, the seasons have changed, and though it has not yet been a full year, Fratello Collector s Week is back! You might remember that in the early days of February this year, we celebrated our very first Fratello Collector s Week (FCW). The response from the Fratelli was overwhelming. The vast majority of you wholeheartedly enjoyed following along with our editors collecting journeys, hearing their advice, and learning from their mistakes. With that in mind, we decided to celebrate collectors once again this year. So today, we kick off Fratello Collector s Week 2.0 - one more week all about collectors and collecting - with stories and advice from a handful of your favorite Frate...
Any vintage-watch nerd remembers the Orator Sportsman. I guess it s partially because of the vigorous diamonds bezel that would make it a perfect watch not only for divers but poker players too.When I shortlisted it among the top 7 vintage watch bezels that would never be made today, I had no idea it was in the making already. Technically, it s done today, but it is just a reinterpretation of the famous predecessor. When I got a message a few months ago from Christian Schmitt, one of the brand s refounders who decided to raise Orator from the ashes, I was instantly in. Christian sent me prototypes for both versions of the revived Orator Sportsman, one with a blue dial and another in full-bla...
Last Friday, I took part in a podcast recording for the Dutch newspaper Parool. I spoke with crime reporter and author Wouter Laumans. The topic? Watch robbers.By coincidence, right after I got home from the interview in Amsterdam, I received this video of a guy getting robbed of his Daytona in a city north of there called Purmerend.Violent robbery in Amsterdam ends in chaosBut lets go back in time a bit. It was July 5th, and I was in Milan for the Speedy Tuesday event when my phone rang. It was Wouter Laumans, a crime reporter for the Dutch newspaper Parool. He asked me if I had heard about the watch robbery that took place the weekend before on a full terrace in Amsterdam. I had indeed, ...
Face it, summers over, and it s time to get back to business. And what better way to restart your work rhythm than with Fratello s Coffee Corner Watch Talk: Business Edition? It s Monday morning, and were ready to crunch some numbers and have a look at the worlds watch market. On top of that, there are two different Air-King references to talk about - one to wear and one to have. So grab a coffee, have a read, and also have a look.According to Mercury Project, a Swiss-based consulting company focusing on the watch and jewelry retail industry, the first half of 2022 has been a superb watch year. Groups like LVMH (Bvlgari, Zenith, TAG Heuer, Hublot), Richemont (Cartier, IWC, Panerai, Vacheron...
Fresh off the boat is the Citizen Promaster Mechanical Diver 200M in two variants. This debut series of NB6021 models is the revival of a 45-year-old mechanical dive watch in the Japanese giants archives. The modern interpretation focuses on technical updates while preserving the look of the original design. The retro-inspired Promaster Mechanical Diver is crafted in Citizens proprietary Super Titanium, and it comes in both blue and black versions.Citizen says it has kept the new model s design entirely faithful to that of the 1977 Challenge Diver. Of course, not many of us can travel to the companys museum in Tokyo to see for ourselves. Luckily, our resident vintage-collector extraordinaire...
Professional dive watches are ten a penny these days. With dive watch history spanning over half a century, it s difficult for brands to offer something new in the field. Thinking about genuinely useful features for active divers is more than simply bumping the water resistance and adding a helium escape valve. While Delma s new Quattro covers you with both of those features, the ingenuity of an additional feature makes it worth a look for professional and recreational divers alike. Yes, it has 500m of water resistance and the obligatory HEV, but this watch offers more than many comparable pieces.What is this new and ingenuous feature I m speaking of? Well, it s remarkably simple, really, an...
And make the new Airflight at least as colorful as today s rare blue, red, and gray example. When you make the new Gruen Airflight slightly bigger - let s say somewhere around 38mm - it s bound to be an instant hit.It s one of the most popular watch posts I have ever put on my Instagram. The video presenting this watch s amusing complication (which I often gladly refer to as watch simplification) has more than 300,000 views. I even got buy-out offers from the US to the UAE. But no matter how many people tried to get me to sell it, the Gruen Airflight still sits in my collection. And until it s inevitable, it will never leave.Gruen, Mido and SperinaThose familiar with my collection know that ...
Welcome back to Sunday Morning Showdown. You know the drill! On Sunday mornings, we pick two watches to battle it out for the win. Who decides the winner? You do! So make sure to read both editors arguments and cast your vote for the winner. Today, Jorg and I want to find out which of these two affordable integrated-bracelet steel sports watches you feel deserves the SMS crown. Both the Tissot PRX and the Citizen NJ0150 are fairly recent releases that have revolutionized the affordable price point. Previously, integrated bracelet designs were only to be had for several thousand euros, and now for a few hundred, you can call one of these two yours. But will it be Switzerland or Japan that tak...
Today I will tell you about the Seiko Baby Alpinist SPB159/SDBC119. There are certain watches we feel connected to because of the model s history. I would bet that more people buy a Explorer because they are interested in its heritage than those who buy a Submariner for that same reason. There is something about the history of the Explorer that is romantic and induces dreams of exploration, of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbing Mount Everest, or even Ian Fleming sitting in front of a typewriter creating the stories of James Bond. While the Explorer is a fabulous watch for exploration, it is out of reach for some of us watch nerds because it costs more than $6,500 new, and its a...
It almost looks like it s becoming a tradition now. For the third consecutive year, Seiko is launching a limited edition of the Prospex Alpinist. And again, it ll be exclusive to the European market. It certainly seems like there s a strong fanbase here for Seiko s adventure watch. This year, it features a gray textured dial and blue accents all around. Let s take a quick first look at the 2022 Seiko Prospex Alpinist SPB355J1, which the brand has nicknamed the Rock Face.To be completely honest, I could never really understand why there are so many fans of the modern version of the Seiko Alpinist. To me, it always seemed like there were too many things going on. Those two crowns so close to e...
Iconic chronographs. For most of us, a list of five or six watches immediately pops into our minds when thinking about them. Chronographs have become culturally significant ambassadors of this watch world and have helped shape it into what it is today. In this article, we dive into what we feel are the must-haves if you re serious about building a full chronograph collection or if you d just like to own one of the most iconic watches in the genre. Either way, we hope it ll help you find the right chronograph for you.When we started thinking about this list, so many thoughts sprung to mind, and not just the specific watches that should be on it. Though those alone can lead to a whole lot of d...
