In the past, I have found my gold Omega on the wrist of a stuffed animal. And for a long time, there was a Seiko on my daughters nightstand. Can you guess the reason why? Because it was so pretty in the dark. Of course, there s no one to blame for that but me. My daughter has no idea about the value of these things. It means, however, that I need to take care that my watches are not easy for my daughter to grab. An expensive mechanical watch is no toy for a child.Owning and wearing a precious watch comes with a responsibility - the responsibility of taking care of a valuable item. Theres a reason why parents dont gift their daughter or son a costly watch before they have reached a certain ag...

Fratello On Air returns and this week, Mike talks to Martin Klocke from Sherpa Watches. If you re a watch lover and want to hear a tale about an incredible passion project, this episode is definitely for you! This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Martin Klocke is someone I met well over a year ago via Instagram. He had aired his intentions to bring back highly faithful yet modern renditions of vintage Enicar models. Sherpa Watches was born and, now, production of the Sherpa OPS and Ultradive models is about to begin.Handgelenks KontrolleMartin is from Germany, so you ll get to hear Handgelenks Kontrolle pronounced correctly! M...

Collecting watches, in general, is serious business. When you spend large amounts of money, you obviously want to spend it wisely. The specs should be on point, the looks should be exactly right, and the price should reflect the product perfectly. But spending money wisely doesn t always mean a watch has to be serious. That s why I wanted to take the opportunity to look at some less obvious picks for around $1,000. They might not be the first watches that come to mind at this price point. But these affordable watches stand out because they are cool and unique. These timepieces bring something different to the table than the standard list of specs we tend to look at. Let s see where the real ...

You know that feeling when you leave a watch alone for too long? That relentless sting of guilt when a piece whimpers to be worn? Well, if you have a large collection, maybe your watches are just watches, and unequal or no wrist time may be a fact of life. But for some of us with tight-knit, personal collections, that s something we actively try to avoid. Neglecting a particular watch for too long tends to make me feel guilty. On the flip side, it can also be a great opportunity to rediscover a piece that has stuck around for a reason. This is what I ve been doing over the past ten days with my Stowa Flieger Blue. And to be completely honest, I don t want it to end.Since publishing my articl...

Once every six weeks or so, I get a parcel from Nivada containing its latest and greatest releases. If you are a fan of the brand, you might have seen my articles on the Chronomaster, the Paul Newman limited edition, or recently, on the Super Antarctic. I thoroughly enjoyed each watch, but I must admit that the brand s latest timepiece was a real treat. The Nivada Grenchen Chronomaster Big Eye is a funky twist on the classic Chronomaster design. Oh, and did I mention that it comes with a Valjoux 23?Yes, the new Big Eye, just like the Paul Newman edition, houses a NOS Valjoux 23 movement. But thats not the only reason I fell in love with the watch. Let me spell out all the ways this watch lit...

Everybody wants to be unique. Thats why everybody wants to wear a . With an annual production of close to one million watches, is a paradox of luxury. Yes, the brand produces exclusive watches, but it does so in very large numbers. They re not enough to satisfy the market, but weve touched upon that subject in many other stories already. And to use a trusty cliche, all watches look the same. But that can literally be changed. You can change the Jubilee bracelet for a NATO strap, but you can also have a professional watch tuner make your into a unique piece. Customizing Seiko watches and G-Shock models is way less controversial, and altering Omega watches is also a thing. Even Patek Philip...

You know by now that Schofield founder Giles Ellis and I are friends. I m a long-time follower of the brand and (quite recently) became a Schofield owner. But our relationship extends beyond that of consumer and vendor. That isn t always the way that professional relationships evolve, but when you work in a small, passion-driven industry, it isn t so hard to imagine why two guys who see value in the same things would get along. And so, it was in that capacity as his friend that I told him exactly what I thought of his latest creation, the SWC SWC, or, should I say, the Schofield Watch Company Small Wall Clock. I told him, in no uncertain terms, that he had finally lost the plot. Here s why&#...

Pitching this series of stories to our Managing Editor came naturally to me, as I am contrarian by nature. Im not saying that I feel in any way better or more worthy than rappers or rock stars. And I don t know if I am correct or just old, but surely, social media shouldnt dictate our taste in watches, right? This is probably a dumb rather than rhetorical question, as some influencers are rich for a reason. Consider this series, The Unusual Suspects, my attempt to shed some light on some unsung heroes hidden in plain sight. And the Patek Philippe Calatrava Pilot Travel Time ref. 7234G-001 is a perfect example of what you ll find once you look outside of Instagram.In my role as a watch journa...

Some of my fellow Fratello editors have seemingly requested (demanded?) the return of vintage models to their chosen brand s current catalogs. I m all for this too, but there is a slight catch. Solely relying on a nostalgic kick is fraught with danger. I enjoy a vintage reinterpretation but prefer a watch taking what it needs from the past while still moving forward. That method is essentially what has been doing for the last 30 years and it seems to be working well. My request for a watch model I d like to see return is one that was recent yet short-lived. Like a moonflower vine that blooms two months in the year and only at night, sometimes beauty passes us by. That s the case with the Ja...

You re deep in the Amazon rainforest. Towering trees filter all sunlight so that the ground is just a dim, vibrant green. You re trying to make your way through, but the undergrowth is too thick. You know have no idea what time it is. Just then, you remember, you were supposed to bring a dessert to your boss s dinner party. It starts at 7:00. If you could just find out what time it is, you could figure out how much time you have to get out of the jungle, back to your apartment, bake a pie, and make it to your boss s house. If only there was a way!I am what I consider to be a hypothetical survivalist. I can consider what I would hypothetically need to do to survive and get back to civilizatio...

We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. Though most of what we write about is primarily focused on the most recent releases and developments, for many of us, a lot of the fun can be found in the sometimes weird and often wonderful world of vintage watches. It s a world full of history, remarkable watches, incredible stories, and quirky details. It inspired us to come up with a series of articles focusing on the best watches per decade from a select group of brands. Some of them are priceless, and some of them are still affordable. In this installment, we will take a look at the best Panerai watches from the 2000s.By the turn of the millennium, Switzerland had pr...

Some brands get all the attention. Others must patiently line the sidelines of your mind, waiting for the attention they deserve while getting down to some serious work. When it comes to high-end luxury watches, were used to hearing the same old names thrown around. But forget Patek Philippe, forget Vacheron, forget Cartier. Put them back on the shelf. Today, Ive got the Breguet 5717 Hora Mundi in my hands and I want to tell you why it, and the Breguet brand in general, should never be far away from the top of your wish list.This is what you come here for. Today Im spending time with the Breguet 5717 Hora Mundi in rose gold. Despite its classic design, it s a bit of a beast. Its heftier in r...

Breitling unveils its latest special edition in the expanding Top Time collection. The year 2021 gave us the classic US muscle-car collabs in the Corvette, Mustang, and Shelby editions. Coming out of the gates this year is Breitlings first co-branded watch with British motorcycle manufacture Triumph. I go hands-on with the new Top Time and share my thoughts following a visit to the Hinckley Triumph factory.On a sunny morning in London, I find myself in the waiting lounge of a heliport. Trust me, the job of writing about watches is not always this glamourous. At that very moment, I found myself wondering how lucky it was to be in this position. That was until a VVVIP client glided through the...

Here at the Fratello offices, we get a lot of questions from you, our readers. Probably the most-asked questions are centered around the topic of what to buy for different budgets. The most popular budget question is what watch to buy for under $5,000 in different watch categories. Thats why we decided to set up a small series of articles focusing on the best watches that you can buy within that budget. In this installment of the series, we will look at the best modern dive watches available for under $5K. Lets find out what some of your potential best modern dive watches are.Dive watches are by far the most popular watch genre nowadays, and that s not just something we see hear our readers....

Tissot is one of those brands that you cant help but respect. With a rich history dating back to 1853, Tissot has built a reputation for offering excellent-quality watchmaking and affordable prices. It s a brand for the people. You wont find high-end haute horology here, but thats OK. The industry desperately needs brands like Tissot. With that in mind, lets take a look at the five best Tissot watches as of 2022.Tissots collection comprises something for everyone. There are dive watches, dress watches, and sporty chronographs. There are quartz watches, automatic watches, and classical hand-crankers. Tissot prides itself on helping both new and long-time watch enthusiasts enjoy this hobby reg...

The NOMOS Glashtte Tangente is an industry classic. It has, in its 35mm form, been around, almost unchanged, for 30 years this year. It was launched in 1992 as part of the brand s debut collection, two years after NOMOS was founded in 1990 shortly after the fall of the Berlin wall in 89. And for the past three decades, the Tangente has weathered all comers. Formerly, it was an affordable out-of-house creation that brought quality components together in a high-brow design at a reasonable cost. Today, it has become a trend-setting game-changer, always on the front line of the brand s latest developments. And yet, it is still the same loveable cutey we ve always known.Today, NOMOS Glashtte i...

There are people who wear watches strictly for themselves. The calm and introverted types who, unaffected by hype and trends, go their own way. They buy watches that go completely unnoticed. Kudos to them. But there are also people - many more people, I dare say - who want their watch to send a message. A clear message, even, of status, prestige, or wealth. But their watches can also be an expression of personal style and taste, and an exuberant person will proudly wear a watch with the same characteristics. The right watch will get you noticed in real and virtual life for all kinds of reasons. Buying status, visibility, and likes for less than $5K is possible. And guess what? You dont need ...

Brycen is swimming against the stream with the 26mm LeCoultre Baron on his wrist. If you don t care what other people think about your wristwatch of choice, a modestly-sized watch can bring unexpected gratification. I know how Brycen feels. My Mido Radiotime is only 23mm wide, but I wear it more proudly than I wear my GMT-Master 1675. As much as I like the GMT-Master, there are so many people out there that love it as well. Not only does that make prices for the GMT-Master go higher, but it also makes sporting it a bit of a status game which spoils watch collecting for me. I find wearing a small and often impossible-to-recognize, whatever-style-you-like watch the highest level of watch coll...

When I was asked to write my article about my grail watch, I didn t answer immediately. The reason for that was personal but simple. Working as a watch journalist allows one to check out incredible timepieces up close. But the reality is that a great number of them are so expensive that the thought of wanting them doesn t even arise. Call it Dutch level-headedness or maybe a Weppelink family trait because I recognize the tendency to be very down to earth in both of my parents. But there is one brand that passionately fights that family gene, and that s A. Lange & S?hne. The brand s 1815 Rattrapante Honeygold Homage to F. A. Lange feeds into the dream of lusting after something I will mos...

If youve read my first-ever story on Fratello, you already know this by now. But in the first two years of my collecting journey, I was on the run. I m not sure what I was running from exactly, but I was buying watches fast. And when you go fast, you dont always make the best decisions. Thats how I ended up with a 1974 Datejust. It was a 1603 with a beautiful blue pie-pan dial and pretty yellow tritium lume pips. But it was also attached to a very worn-out Jubilee bracelet. To cut a long story short, it didnt give me the butterflies when I was wearing it, so I ended up selling it after a few months.?That Datejust was supposed to be the star of my collection at that moment. It s an icon so ...