When I first heard the concept for this series - the best watches under $3,000 - I thought the assignment would be super easy. But upon closer inspection, you will find that most big brands have moved out of this price bracket over the past years. For example, the Tudor Black Bay 36 immediately sprung to my mind. But nope, it is no longer sub-$3K. Still, $3,000 is a large amount of money for most people, and it feels like it should buy you a very serious watch. So what would I buy if I were spending it myself?As you have seen from previous entries by my fellow writers, we get to pick three new watches and one vintage/pre-owned bonus. Now, without further ado, lets get into my picks under $3,...

We re back with a new episode of Fratello On Air. This week, we touch on a couple of recent topics, including the gray market and some associated troubles. We also discuss a newly released homage watch and the light controversy that it brought. As always, we enjoyed ourselves and hope that you ll do the same! This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings It s another week, and that means another installment of our Fratello On Air podcast. Mike is still sweating it out in Atlanta, which explains the tinnier-than-normal sound of his voice (no fancy microphone in tow). Balazs is enjoying the rain in Germany - not really! This week, it s ...

In May of this year, Seiko introduced two new references within its King Seiko collection, the SJE089 and SJE091. The most important new features were the use of the slim-line 6L35 movement and the case dimensions. The cases measure 38.6mm in diameter, but most importantly, at 10.7mm, they re thinner than any other modern King Seiko watch. And whenever Seiko introduces a new model, you can be sure that a limited edition will soon follow in its tracks. So let me introduce you to the King Seiko SJE095.If you ve been keeping up with limited-edition watches from the Japanese watchmaker, you know that seasons and flowers are often sources of inspiration. Well, this King Seiko SJE095 limited editi...

This article has been brewing with me for some time now, coinciding with my taste for diversity. I will admit to being too preachy about small-cased wonders. Yes, a 37C38mm watch will almost always wear better and less noticeably than a big 42C44mm bruiser. But there is a time, a season, and a trip for everything, including big watches and these comfortable beasts. Yes, they do exist.I don t mean the kind of trip where you get hypnotized by your fume dial after one Negroni too many. I mean a summer trip, one where you explore the local woodlands, climb the odd mountain, and visit places where a big, tough, legible tool watch is the right one for the job without it sitting on your wrist like ...

When Parmigiani presented the Tonda PF during the 2021 edition of the Geneva Watch Days, I kept silent. It seemed that the brand not just presented me with an alternative to the usual Haute Horlogerie suspects-those with a luxury sports watch with an integrated bracelet in their catalogs. Instead, Parmigiani presented me with a watch that outshone all current offerings in that prestigious watch segment in every way. From both an aesthetic end technical standpoint. Now, two years later, the Tonda PF Sport Automatic debuts. It now has three hands instead of two, but there are way more differences that are worth mentioning. Is this the Tonda weve all been waiting for?It took me two glasses of e...

Back in 2019, when Casio launched the G-Shock GA-2100, no one could have predicted quite how popular it would become. Now one of the brand s most recognizable models, it didn t take long for the watch to become the coolest G-Shock available. It earned the nickname CasiOak due to its eight-sided bezel, loosely resembling that of the AP Royal Oak. The CasiOak also became a perfect canvas for bespoke and colorful customizations from the capable hands of the IFL Watches Team. Today I m looking at the brand s latest creation, the G-Shock CasiOak Deep Sea Diver.Until now, most of those customized pieces have seen a colorful blast of abstract patterned dials or enhancement concentrated solely on th...

The term is certainly thrown around a bit too liberally, but some watches have truly become iconic within our enthusiast bubble-some even beyond that. Having iconic watches in the catalog is any watch brands dream, but managing them properly is a big challenge. And it is a challenge that brands approach in very different ways. Lets have a closer look!When I speak of iconic watches, I specifically mean the products that have become brand heroes, like the Big Mac is to McDonalds or the 911 to Porsche. In the watch world, many brands have such heroes that have reached cult status. The art is to maintain that status, keeping desirability high while keeping the watch up-to-date. It is interesting...

For fans of the classic allure of a matte black dial and clean tool watch design, a blue alternative might be the first dip into the enticing waters of colorful dials. A deep blue dial works exceedingly well at accentuating polished details on a steel case and can turn a rugged sports watch into an elegant wrist companion when a more formal occasion calls for it. In the world of dive watches, the blue depths of the ocean are often echoed in the dial. Who knows? The dark abyss might even spark a real sense of adventure for an otherwise deeply rooted desk diver like myself.Yes, this is a very subjective (and slightly rule-bending) roundup, but for me, these watches feature some of the best dee...

Welcome to another edition of Sunday Morning Showdown. Today, our editors go toe-to-toe with two watches of a similar persuasion. Expect no holds barred as these writers vie for your votes to be crowned the winner. In this fight, we have a duel between gold/bronze dive watches; the Omega Seamaster 300 Bronze Gold and the recently introduced Sinn T50 Goldbronze. The Omega comes with a Bronze Gold case, while the new Sinn comes with a Goldbronze case. The gold and bronze names may be reversed UNO-card style, but there s more to it than that. The clash of styles showcases the endless possibilities of the familiar dive watch configuration. But which watch will take the crown? Our writers are rea...

Last night, part of the Fratello team made its way up to Amsterdam to join the opening celebration of the new Swatch boutique. Located at 42 P.C. Hoofstraat, the 100m2 retail space sits in the heart of Amsterdam s luxury retail street. This is Swatch s fourth retail space in the Netherlands. The boutique opened on the 29th of July and has already welcomed hundreds of customers, drawn in by the vast, colorful lobby and selection of equally bold timepieces on display. This first area of the boutique prominently features a piece of art called Stargazer s Canal. Designed by Enzo Peres-Labourdette, it s comprised of sixteen 3D-printed ceramic canal houses. Their roofs made of clouds are decorated...

Breitling s Endurance Pro keeps going from strength to strength. Despite the radical design and somewhat antithetical approach to luxury watchmaking, the Endurance Pro has found favor amongst the enthusiasts and consumer market. Adding 1 millimeter to an established diameter in the online watch community can instigate a feverish debate. Yet, when Breitling went as non-traditional as possible, the Endurance Pro became celebrated for its ability to offer something different in luxury. More importantly, the Endurance Pro s namesake durability proves adaptable to extreme sports and activities. This is why these two new limited editions celebrate and continue the partnership with the IRONMAN 70.3...

Another Friday, another Top 5! After two movie-related lists, it s time to return to watches-skin divers, to be precise. We have seen some tremendous modern skin-diver-inspired watches come out lately. With a history dating back to the 1950s, the skin divers are a style of watch with plenty of history. On top of that, their style is among the most recognizable in the watch industry.? That s why we picked a list of five modern skin divers that celebrate the classic style in contemporary fashion.For today s Top 5, we go back to the 1950s. It was when the first skin divers appeared along with the rise of the popularity of diving. There was something very utilitarian about watches that were crea...

When Nacho first told me about this challenge, I thought it would be an easy one. There are so many watches in the sub-$3,000 price range. But of course, you don t want to overlap too much with the Fratello Favorites we ve published at a lower price point. And, as it s a challenge with a twist, the picks shouldn t be too obvious. After a little bit of research, though, I did come up with a nice mix of options. So here are my three brand-new (and one pre-owned) picks for when you re shopping for watches under $3,000.Lex already kicked off this series with a lot of great options. Not all his picks were on my list, but brand-wise, we re very much aligned. For the sake of giving you some more va...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is a statement often used to definitively end any debate about aesthetics. It seems we subconsciously agree that objective beauty does not exist. Broadly shared preferences for specific watches, in that spirit, are merely cultural constructs. You like a certain watch because you have been told to, time and again. And because you see it on people whom you consider connoisseurs or of great taste. Somehow, that idea doesnt sit well with me. Is there perhaps such a thing as objective beauty in watches?This idea took root in my mind during the design process of my own watch. My designer, Max Resnick, repeatedly and reliably predicted which of several optio...

Rallying a classic car across the country is as brutal as joyous a task. It was a tough week. Driving 12 hours a day through dusty gravel road in a noisy car with the heating turned on almost half the time was so exhausting that we fell asleep every day right after we pitched our tent, had some food, and took care of the inevitable maintenance of the car. All that, with just one watch on my wrist. As you might imagine, it was not an easy decision. But in the end, the Fratello Oris Divers Sixty-Five was a worthy companion.I consider myself a fast-thinking and decisive person. Despite that, I could not decide what watch would be the best companion for a classic car endurance rally. I blame t...

We ve covered the resurrection of Lebois & Co from the start here on Fratello. The Lebois & Co brand and Airain subbrand have been in the hands of the Van Wijlick family in The Netherlands since 2014, managing it very actively from the start. In previous articles, we have covered the process of developing watches, allowing the watch community to influence design decisions, etc. Now it s time to review the result, or one of the results, as the Lebois & Co Heritage Chronograph has become available in four different versions.Lebois & Co sent us the Heritage Chronograph ref 324.497, the variant with a cream dial and multicolored scales. All versions have the same retail price of ...

Normally, writing an article about a vintage watch is a pleasurable experience for me. Today s epistle on the Seiko 7006-8030 is bittersweet, though, because it coincides with a goodbye story. Still, reuniting a friend with a special watch seems like a fitting way to depart. This is the story of a friend s father s vintage Seiko wristwatch, its troublesome restoration process, and everything that went into it.After more than 12 years, we re leaving Frankfurt, Germany. We re heading to London, which is extremely exciting. However, leaving means saying goodbye to some really good friends. In particular, one of my best friends here in Germany is a gentleman by the name of Antony. He also happen...

One of the most recurring topics discussed lately in the office is that of so-called neo-vintage watches. Watches that were produced anywhere between the 1980s and the early 2000s. There s no unambiguous definition (yet), so we go with this roughly 20-25 year time span starting in 1980. Some neglected but fascinating watches are to be discovered from this specific era. These pieces have slipped through the cracks of hype and popularity, still offering much value today. Nacho, Morgan, and RJ talk about these neo-vintage watches in this podcast episode of Fratello Talks.This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Wrist checkOnly one o...

I already have the Cartier Santos Galbee XL in my collection, and I m not too fond of blacked-out watches. So I thought I had nothing to fear from the stainless steel Cartier Santos-Dumont with its black lacquer dial and case finish. Well, I couldn t have been any more wrong because this watch is a true black beauty. On paper, it looked like a watch that was trying too hard, but in person, it totally won me over. Let s take a look at how that happened.A friend of the show already came to the Fratello offices earlier this year to proudly show us his rose gold Cartier Santos-Dumont with the creme lacquer finish. I liked the size, and the lacquer finish on the case looked a lot better than I ex...

When Omega introduced the Aqua Terra Shades in 2022, the response was- Well, lukewarm at best. The range of colors was considered a little too on-trend after s colorful Oyster Perpetual models. And the frameless date window certainly caught some flack. Availability was also compromised. Now, though, Omega has fixed the date window and supply issues. And the colored dials hype has quietened down a bit. So how does the new Aqua Terra Shades collection fare in 2023?I have spent time with all five of the 38mm variants. After my encounter with the white-dialed regular Omega Aqua Terra last year, I was eager to see if the Shades can resolve my few remaining doubts. Lets jump in and find out!Nine S...