There are some Omega Speedmaster watches that I missed out on in the past. As a Speedmaster enthusiast and collector, that sometimes hurt. But you can t have it all, I guess.In this article, I will share with you the five Speedmaster watches that I missed. Either during its introduction or just because I only realized later on that I need it. Of course, you can still add it later on, and in some cases I did.Five Speedmaster Watches I Missed Out OnThis overview is about the watches that I missed from the start, so not those Speedmasters that were introduced before I got into collecting them. Otherwise, the list would be very long. Very long. A borderline pick would be the 2003 Speedmaster Sno...

Tockr landed on my radar with its incredible Tockr Air-Defender Lume series of watches. A single sight of that series tells you everything you need to know about this brand. Tockr is not restricted by conventional boundaries. And I like that. As long as the brand can keep coming up with remarkable, eye-catching, and fun ideas, you can count me among the interested. I had a chance to find out whether the Tockr C47 Skeleton Black is just as impressive and eye-catching as the Air Defender series.Austin, Texas is high on my list as places to visit once we finally get a chance to travel without restrictions. The Texas state capital is the home to the SXSW festival, houses some of the best BBQ pla...

We re back with another look at a vintage Seiko. Today, we ve brought an early pair of sporty watches known as the Seiko Champion J13040 to the party…By now, you ve hopefully come to expect a regular dose of vintage Japanese goodness here on Fratello. Well, today is no exception and we bring you the Seiko Champion J13040. Like so many late 50s and early 60s Japanese watches, these examples exude simplicity. However, they bring in just enough detail to make them memorable. Thanks to those little things, this pair made it to my collection.Nomenclature and suchJust a few short weeks ago, I showed you the Seiko Dolphin J13035. That watch added a touch of water resistance to an otherwise ...

That s it. It s over. After a strange few months, the 2020/21 season has come to a stunningly normal conclusion. If Tom Brady keeps this up, he ll be in the market for extra fingers before we know it. With his seventh ring and fifth Super Bowl MVP award in the bag, there is not much left to be said about a career that could be broken in half, viewed sideways, with one eye closed, while standing on your head and still be worthy of a first-ballot induction to the Hall of Fame. Instead, we re turning our attention toward one of the most worn watches of the event. The new Breitling Chronomat.In all honesty, I am still bitter about the whole 2020/21 season. As a die-hard Broncos fan since the Joh...

Among many ladies releases from last year, perhaps the most bittersweet was Pateks minimalistic manchette-styled Twenty~4. Considering what modern women demand from a watch, it fell just short. My heart went out to the rectangular design but not to the movement. Almost as if Patek heard my cry, the brand has decided to start this year in a big way. Im thrilled that two of the three ladies novelties, feature the in-house Caliber 324 S C self-winding movement.Patek Twenty~4 AutomaticMany of you know that I adore ladies watches. They are sophisticated and many of them have a touch of flair that I love. Even without diamonds, they are attention-grabbers. Unfortunately, very few of them have a ...

This article was supposed to start off as a like-for-like comparison piece between the the unlikely foes, Urwerk and . Rob tasked me with going to town and making a crazy comparison between two totally different brands, occupying two totally different market sectors. I am always up for a challenge (unless it involves running - I hate running), but I hit a blank as I sat down to write this.I mean, sure, I could compare the market spaces that?Urwerk and occupy, the construction materials, their respective histories, or maybe even the mass production versus the small batch production. There is technically plenty that could be said, but it just didn t feel right. I m sure I ll get some haters h...

When the press release from British independent watchmaker, Garrick, dropped into our press inbox last week, it didn t take long for me to get excited by what I saw. From just one glance at the pictures included in the email, I knew this was a real doozy.As a Brit, I am a big fan of British watchmakers. I guess it s a sort of patriotic pride, not that I would usually describe myself as particularly patriotic in the traditional sense of the word. God save the queen and all that. We Brits are quite fortunate to have had some great watchmakers in our history. John Harrison, George Daniels, and Roger Smith are just a few notable examples. Still, Garrick is a small independent brand that genuinel...

I finally did it. I have entered the world of a 21st-century journalist and referenced a meme in the title of an article. Just as this might become a new habit of mine, so too does it seem producing compelling value propositions has become a (welcome) habit of RZE. Just last week I shared with you my hands-on experiences with the RZE Resolute. Now it is time to discuss the latest model in this young brand s catalog: the RZE Endeavour.If you haven t read my thoughts on the RZE Resolute, I would encourage you to check out that article. It goes into detail on why I am thrilled to see such an unusual case shape from RZE. This whole brand project has, right from the get-go, been riddled with smar...

In our Sunday Morning Showdown, two of our writers go head-to-head in an epic showdown for the ages. Strong opinions and hysterical hyperbole are welcome (so feel free to join in with the fun in the comments section below). And dont forget to let us know which watches youd like to see torn to shreds/effusively exalted next week. Well try and feature as many of our readers choices as we can. In this week s showdown, the Everose gold Daytona faces off against the new Sedna gold Omega Speedmaster.It s not a first that the high-ranking champions of iconic chronographs square up against each other. Nor even is it the first scuffle between the two in our Sunday Morning Showdown series. The Speedy...

We love tool watches on Fratello. A huge number of our articles are dedicated to dive and sports watches that are capable of accompanying us on our daily adventures. Many of those watches are made from stainless steel, but we also love titanium as a material for tool timepieces. Within our team, we have several titanium fanatics. I ve never been one of them. For years, I sat squarely on the fence. I love the color. I love the feel of it against my skin. And yet, I was never convinced by the weight. Thankfully, I was intrigued enough by the ambitious case shape of the RZE Resolute to shelve my misgivings and give this one a whirl…Forget about the case material for a second. What I reall...

Hanging out with friends is fun. Hanging out with friends on a Podcast when the friend in question happens to be James Thompson, AKA Black Badger? That s a whole lotta awesome. Join us, as we pollute your airwaves with some top quality jive, touching on lume, Fordite, and our shared sporting tragedies…The Black Badger brand is one of the best-known non-watch brands in the watch industry. James has been beavering (or badgering?) away up in Gothenberg for the past couple of decades since he fled his native Canada because he may or may not have been being pursued by the KGB (listen to the podcast if you want to find out why that seems possible/likely): This podcast player is blocked becau...

We were pleased to get our hands on one of just 200 pieces of the Laco Mnchen Pilot Chronograph. With an authentic instrument look, Laco pays tribute to the historical observation watches from the 1940s. It is, pleasingly, a watch with the classic Laco Flieger appearance and with the bonus functionality of a chronograph.Laco introduced this exclusive chronograph model at end of 2020. It was initially made available to the brand s existing customers during a special pre-sale period. Watches ordered during this period were entitled to a free overhaul service within five years of purchasing. I haven t seen this kind of premium before, but I think it is a really nice gesture to make to loyal cu...

You guys seem to enjoy our list articles, so we thought it would be interesting to do another one. But instead of one writer explaining his favorites, we teamed up and created a Fratello editorial team selection. This time it s all about our favorite watches from independent brands. Our editors got one choice and one choice only. Lets see what theyd spend their money on-I love lists, I love compiling them, and I love reading them. And not just when it comes to watches. Especially when it comes to my second passion in life: music. Musical lists are a great way to find new artists, discover new styles and stumble upon your favorite songs. It is also why I love compiling these lists with my fel...

It s 2021. The world has become so accustomed to having been turned on its head by the relentless pandemic that began sweeping the globe more than a year ago that it seems the world s ears have sprouted feet of their own. That s right: this is the new normal. Brands are getting more and more creative. Some are looking within themselves for answers, digging through their archives and searching their true souls for messages their followers desperately need to hear. Meanwhile, TAG Heuer and Porsche decided to turn their attention outward and, incidentally, toward one another. As such, I m pleased to announce the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 02 Porsche special edition watch.Values make brands what ...

Some watches are impossible to overlook due to their cult status. Others due to massive value appreciation achieved thanks to massive exposure and popularity among collectors. Lets not forget the watches you might have only seen once before and are forever etched on your memory. Lets take a look at some of the most striking vintage dial designs. As the design is a matter of personal taste at the end of the day, we might be treading through dangerous territory today. Well, Ive decided to go for it anyway! It might sound unusual to try to separate the dial design from the case shape, the bezel, or the hand style, but I believe it is a worthwhile exercise. To narrow down the shortlist, I listed...

In this article, we review the vintage Seiko Sportsman Dolphin J13035 and come away more than pleased. This may have been an entry-level watch, but it still impresses.Whenever I write an article about some obscure or unheralded Japanese watch, I get some kidding/not kidding comments about creating a pricing surge on the market. If this is truly the case then apologies are in order, but I can assure you that today s Seiko Sportsman Dolphin J13035 won t suffer an inflationary fate. It s not a sports watch and it s quite simple. As we ll see, though, that doesn t stop it from being an incredibly satisfying watch.Vintage Japanese manual wind watchesMost of the vintage Japanese watches you read a...

The Omega Seamaster Calendar ref. 2627 is such an exciting and historically significant watch. Yet, aside from the hardcore Omega fans, it seems as though it mostly flies under the radar for the average vintage collector. Nevertheless, this 1950s beauty deserves a lot more attention. In this article, we ll try to give the watch just that.Reference 2627 is not a huge watch, nor was it made in endless executions. However, the Seamaster Calendar was a technologically advanced piece for its time. So much so that even today, one can wear it proudly and enjoy its useful features.History Of The DateThe brand introduced the earliest Seamaster watches in 1948, just a few years after the end of WW2. D...

Recently on Fratello, we ve been talking a lot about the importance of dial texture. It is something that has been on my mind personally for quite some time. I ve been keen to see more mainstream brands experiment with different finishes and materials on the faces of their watches for years, but, all too often, this charge falls to the novel, more liberal brands to advance. This week, we re taking a look at another such brand, this time, from Melbourne, Australia. The John Robert Archetype is a new line of watches soon to hit Kickstarter with a range of handsome, linen-dialed watches. Read on to learn more…It is fascinating to examine brands from all corners of the globe. Historically,...

I ve always been a fan of Bvlgari, but in the last year, my fandom has changed significantly. Once upon a time, I was attracted to this roguish Roman revolutionary because of the fashion-first aesthetic. The watches were loud. The watches were proud. Crucially, however, they were cool. That was enough for me. In the past five years, Bvlgari s investment in manufacturing techniques has snowballed. Consequently, show-stoppers like the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo, which we ve covered extensively on Fratello have become the norm. But all this research and development got me thinking……where could this lead? It would seem that Bvlgari s potential is now limitless. The brand always had the s...

Welcome back to another Fratello on Air Podcast. This time, Balazs and Mike talk about their favorite vintage chronographs.Balazs and Mike love vintage chronographs and are keen to share the top three favorite pieces within their collections. It s a discussion of timers that spans the decades. This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Our Fratello on Air podcast is also available via Buzzsprout,?Soundcloud,?Apple Podcast,?Google Podcast,?Deezer,??Stitcher, and?Spotify.The Handgelenk Kontrolle and some newsBefore focusing on the main topic, though, it s time for a Handgelenk Kontrolle and a fair bit of news. During this recording, ...