Tissot introduced the PRX Powermatic 80 35mm just last June, to a roaring round of applause from the fans. The 35 automatic completed the collection that already existed of 40mm quartz and automatic and 35mm quartz versions. Reading the comments under my introduction article, I saw many of you had been waiting for this watch. There were also plenty of you, however, who wanted the ice blue version in 35mm automatic. Well-here you go!Today, Tissot introduces the PRX Powermatic 80 35mm in ice blue and in full yellow gold PVD coating. Lets have a look.PRX Powermatic 80 35mm in ice blueTissot likes to drop a few new colors every now and then. It is a proven strategy for keeping interest in a watc...

The Christopher Ward C63 Sealander collection was a game changer for small-wristed people. With case diameters not exceeding 40mm, the brand offers a wide range of complications, colors, and styles. From everyday automatic models to GMTs and chronometer-certified badass field watches. I reviewed a few Sealanders over the past two years and liked them all. In good Christopher Ward fashion, the brand just announced two additions to the ever-expanding Sealander family: the 36mm Automatic Mulberry Red and 39mm GMT Dragonfly Blue. And the icing on the cake: a brand new bracelet called the Consort (more on that at the end of the article.) The Base Models for The Two AdditionsThe two new Christop...

It has been a while, but we re happy to announce the first Speedy Tuesday (ԩ`ǥ`ǩ`) event of 2023! It will be held in Tokyo, Japan, just like we did in 2019. On September 26, we will bring together the Speedmaster community once more with a fantastic event to celebrate all things Speedmaster. It s the chance to gather with other passionate Speedmaster collectors, meet team members at Fratello and Omega, and get a hands-on look at Speedmaster highlights from the present and the past.You can now register for our Speedy Tuesday Event in Tokyo, Japan. It will be held on the 26th of September, so if you would like to join in on the action, make sure to sign up fast! Places will be limited for...

Heres $3K, they said. Do with it what you want, they said. But you can only spend it on watches, they said. Pick three watches under $3,000 in the current collection and one old timepiece, be it vintage, neo-vintage, or relatively new but pre-owned. Challenge accepted! And you know what? Though it was called a challenge, it didnt take me all that long to come up with my three + one list.With the search for three + one watches under $3,000 fresh in mind, the first one I thought of was a watch that was once in my possession. I thought of my Nomos Club. It was a hand-wound watch with subtle color details on a shell cordovan leather strap. A lovely piece, but also not really my watch, if you kno...

We re back at Fratello On Air after a two-week break. Mike is moving to London and Balazs is busy with all sorts of Summer activities. But here we are and we re ready to talk about vintage Seiko, buckles, and Speedy bracelets. We think today s episode flows quite well and we hope that you enjoy the ride!This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings For this episode, your friendly hosts came together on a Friday evening with Mike traveling in Atlanta and Balazs back in the heimat. We get into vintage Seiko on this episode and then talk about buckles and Speedy bracelets. This was a really fun episode to record, so we hope you enjoy it ...

I have a confession I need to get off my chest. It s been too long since I ve carried around a guilty conscience, and you ll let me have it in the comments if I deserve it. I am coming up to my second anniversary in a couple of months-two years of being a Fratello Editor without a Speedmaster. But, Moonwatch or not, I m still looking at Omegas and might have found the one that fits me. Spoiler: It isn t a sports watch or even a chronograph.Wearing a Speedmaster is not part of the Fratello contract, but I miss the #speedytuesday kinship, and its not the first time Ive written about this, either. Am I procrastinating for a reason, or am I just too picky? Maybe I should ask RJ to draw a referen...

Sinn is consistently praised for its ultra-functional timepieces. Watches are developed to serve a function first, and the form must serve that function. But there is no denying that Sinn has also developed an instantly recognizable style in that quest for functional excellence. A style that many people, including myself, love. With the new T50 line, Sinn introduces the titanium brother of the brand s U50 range. Besides a different material, the aesthetic has a significantly more toned-down feel. It makes this new T50 the brand s potentially best modern daily diver.When I first saw the new titanium Sinn T50, the watch felt familiar. Maybe even a bit too familiar. But put it next to its Goldb...

Do you know what they call a sporty, chic, steel Tudor with yellow gold accents in Switzerland? No. What do they call it? A Royal with cheese. If you ve ever watched Quentin Tarantinos legendary movie Pulp Fiction, you will get this loose paraphrase of a famous dialog between Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega. Need me to refresh your memory? The scene in the car in which Vincent, who had to lie low in Holland and France, told his partner in crime Jules about the peculiarities of the European countries with the metric system after returning to the job in LA. Anyway, I got my hands on the latest 34mm Tudor Royal with its 18ct yellow gold bezel that looks as tasty as Gouda cheese and sank my tee...

Blancpain is a brand with a rich and complicated history. Founded in 1735, it revolutionized the dive watch and reached sales of 100,000 watches per year by the late 1950s. The brand disappeared in the 70s to be revived in the 80s. The watches from that early revival era are now surprisingly affordable. Something we should probably have a closer look at-I speak specifically of the 1990s, and 2000s neo-vintage watches from the fabled house. Lets see how these watches fit in with the larger Blancpain story and what you may be able to find at unexpected prices.The Fifty Fathoms-What Blancpain is best know forThe Blancpain revivalYou may have heard of SSIH (Societe Suisse pour l Industrie Horlog...

Swiss watchmaker Rado, known for its use of high-tech materials, has a rich back catalogue of diverse designs, including the funky spaceship-shaped DiaStar 1 from 1962. Today, the modern incarnation has been outfitted with an open-worked dial and a Ceramos bezel, resulting in the DiaStar Original Skeleton. This new model lays bare a variant of the R808 automatic calibre, now entirely coated in an anthracite hue for aesthetic enhancement.It might be interesting to note that the boom in UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) sightings, which captured the Western world s imagination, also began in the 1960s. Perhaps it s no pure coincidence that the original DiaStar s unusual case shape resembled tho...

Cuervo y Sobrinos does a fantastic job of bringing back the charm and spirit of a pre-communist Cuba. You probably all know the stories about how Havana was the lively capital of the Caribbean region. One of the city s most famous inhabitants in the 1940s and 50s was American novelist and journalist Ernest Hemingway. On top of that, the Nobel Prize-winner was a regular visitor of the Cuervo y Sobrinos boutique in those days. To celebrate his writing achievements and enjoyment of the islands easygoing lifestyle, the brand has released two limited edition Historiador Hemingway Icnico Models. Time to go hands-on with these stylish pointer date models.It s been only a week since the review of t...

Close your eyes and imagine a watch; what do you see? Chances are it probably has a few general characteristics: its round, worn on the wrist, and fairly monochromatic. Many of us might think of something like a Submariner or a pilots watch (I think of something close to my IWC Mark XV when I perform this mental exercise). But few would probably think of a Doxa dive watch like the Army model when performing this mental exercise. The diving watch brand has a unique design aesthetic at a market point that sits beneath Tudor and Omega. However, the brand s history matches that of those brands in terms of interest and richness. This makes Doxa somewhat of a black sheep in the market today, and ...

This is the battle you knew that was coming. Both RJ and Daan fell in love with Breguet at a get-together late last year. It only took them a few months to add the watches they admired to their collection. And now that they ve had the time to wear them for a little while, it s time to put them up against each other. Today s Sunday Morning Showdown is probably more a matter of taste than anything else. And we know RJ has a big following here on Fratello. But let s see if Daan can persuade some of you to vote for his Breguet Classique, reference 5907, and not for RJ s Breguet Classique 7027.That s right; this story is about how two watch enthusiasts fell into a large pot of Breguet magic potio...

Enthusiasm for mechanical watches has exploded in recent years. While many have predicted the demise of the mechanical watch, passion for these types of watches has flourished. It hasn t always been easy, and the entire industry has had to survive the quartz crisis and the smartwatch revolution. Much like any hobby with devout enthusiasts, increased awareness and interest in mechanical watches have allowed a new ecosystem to develop: the small, independent brand. These brands share a passion for horology and work to create something unique to leave their mark on the watch world.Awake is one such example, and we have featured them multiple times on Fratello. Founded in 2019 by Lilian Thibault...

Since its rebirth in 2019, Formex hasnt ceased to impress the independent horological community. Its initial new release was the Essence 43mm in 2019, closely followed by a 39mm version the year after. Since then, the Essence collection has grown a lot, with dials made of meteorite, malachite, and mother-of-sky. Furthermore, the Leggera sub-family made a splash (pun intended), given its forged carbon and ceramic case. In other words, lightweight and durable materials make the Leggera the perfect sporty-yet elegant-companion.It was only a matter of time before Formex would release a more playful iteration of the Essence, displaying bold, ultra-summery colors. Thats what we are taking a look a...

I enjoyed a little road trip from Holland to Tuscany with my better half and son last month. We spent some quality time in Florence. Of course, we visited the Piazza San Giovanni, home to the Cathedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. My fiance and son were gazing in amazement at the massive green and white structure. I was staring in the exact opposite direction. There has been a Panerai boutique right there since the late 1800s, and that is what caught my eye.I have long been infatuated with Panerai, so this was a bit of a pilgrimage for me. Sooner or later, I will add a Radiomir to my collection. This is a topic of much debate here at Fratello because which one should I get? It also triggered a...

Last week, Fratello s very own no.1 Barbie fan, Thor, created a list of watches with hot pink dials. Not salmon, but loud, in-your-face pink. His fun list was inspired by the worldwide release of Greta Gerwig s Barbie movie. This week, we continue the topic of combining movies and watches. It s been roughly a month since the fifth and last Indiana Jones movie, ‘The Dial Of Destiny, came out. While reactions to the movie have been lukewarm, the movie does mean the end of an era. An era we discussed more than once at the Fratello offices. Part of those talks were also Indy s watches. Is there space in Dr. Jones watch box for more than the official Hamilton Boulton you see in the last m...

It is the start of the 1980s, and the executives of Swatch are deciding whether to launch their first watch in a square or round case. In a photo of Swatchs prototypes from 1981, we can make out a square option being considered. But in the end, they chose to focus on the more common round watch face designs. Swatch went on to have a massive influence on the history of Swiss watchmaking. But today, the brand looks back and considers the alternative. Today it introduces the Swatch bioceramic WHAT IF? collection.Swatch has now released this new?collection to riff off the design path that the watchmaker may have gone down if history had gone a different way. Even Swatchs video advertising of the...

Dial colors are always contentious, trust me. While I certainly understand the versatility and legibility of a matte black dial with big lume plots, it also makes me feel a little depressed. But there is a perfect middle ground inhabited by chameleon-like darker colors, and the new Fears Brunswick Boutique Editions might hit the sweet spot better than most.Exclusive colors and boutique editions usually come with a price tag and a real-or-created time pressure, building up on the collectors FOMO. But Fears Managing Director Nicholas Bowman-Scargill plays the magnanimous card with these two, with no premium or limited numbers. But what exactly does Mallard Green bring to the table?First Impre...

One of the most coveted Swatch models is the famous 1992 Grand Prix reference SCJ101. Unlike Nacho (who bought several of them), I have never found one in good condition and for a reasonable price. A NOS example will easily fetch $800 or more, which I find too much for a disposable watch. Because when its broken, its probably unrepairable. You can find examples for half of the mentioned amount, but often with a little defect or significant damage to the case. Lets also not forget that the plastic straps of the time dont age well and will break at some point.The lucky guy himself is wearing his original Swatch Grand Prix SCJ101The 1992 Swatch Grand Prix SCJ101The Swatch Grand Prix SCJ101 and ...