Pilot s watches! Love em or hate em, they re one of the most popular categories within watch collections worldwide. With an interesting heritage and iconic design cues, it s hard not to eventually be won over by their bold designs and supreme legibility.So, what are, in my opinion, some of the top pilot s watches on the market right now that you can actually buy? Check out my picks, and let us know your favorite(s) in the comments at the end!IWC Big Pilot Perpetual CalendarI have to start this list off with a big one. IWC is well known for its Big Pilot collection, and for me, the Perpetual Calendar represents the very pinnacle. Now, the elephant in the room for many people will be the siz...
I ve said it before, and I ll say it again: the road to our dream watches isn t always a straight shot. Sure, sometimes it is, or at least relatively so. Acquiring my first two grails, the Tudor Black Bay and the Submariner, had simply been a matter of diligent saving and timely buying. Back in early 2018, however, the Zenith El Primero Striking 10th was proving much more difficult to procure. It was what I had deemed as my ultimate chronograph, and I would stop at absolutely nothing to own one. Or would I?In Part One of this series, I explained how I determined my perfect collection. I detailed my disappointment when, having hunted for over a year, I bought a defective Striking 10th and ha...
The diver is the new dress watch. OK, stop shouting. Yes, this is still a controversial topic for some collectors, I know. We all know the old rules of a dress watch with a white shirt and jacket, and no watch at all with a tuxedo. But a dive tool watch? God forbid, that s only for aquatic activities (though exceptions can be made for a wooly jumper or a denim shirt). Look, I am past 50, and even I know that this is an ancient way of thinking. We dont have to look any further than the Oscars to see stars suited up with a diver on the big night of tuxedos and gala dresses. A majority of suited wrists were rocking big tool watches, with slim shirts straining to contain the large weapons. Or wa...
We re down to the quarter-final stage, and there is a disturbing number of Speedmasters left in the last eight. We limited the Omega entrants to just four places, but all four of them are still standing. Today, Rob s Racing Speedy goes up against Dave s surprise package, the Fortis B-42.Rob: Well, well, well, what have we here? An Anglo-Irish showdown. The clash of Bob and Rob. A match-up nobody saw coming (except perhaps Fortis). The fact a B-42 has made it to the final eight in a competition created to find the world s best modern racing chronograph is a stunning testament to the brand s current reputation. But while Fortis is flying high, with its head so frequently above the clouds (and ...
We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. Though most of what we write about is largely 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, some of them still affordable. In this installment, we will take a look at the best watches from the 2000s.By the turn of the millennium, Switzerland had proudly reclaimed i...
In today s video Lex talks you through the Roger Dubuis brand, before getting excited about this stunning piece of Hyper Horology, as he calls it. In 2005, Roger Dubuis introduced the first Excalibur watch. The predecessor of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Eon Gold that we have with us today.The watch, named after King Arthur s sword, is extravagant, to say the least. Not only due to the impressive $153,000 price tag, but also because of its next-level execution. The Roger Dubuis Excalibur Eon Gold features skeletonized movement with a single flying tourbillon, consisting of 194 parts. Every part is finished at an incredibly high level, done by the skilled craftspeople at the Roger Dubuis manufa...
As The Fast And The Fratelli quarter-finals get underway, we see a dangerous number of Speedmasters slicing their way through the competition. Here, its Balazs s Speedmaster Ultraman, which goes toe-to-toe with Nacho s humble Hamilton Intra-Matic. But will Ultraman fall to his latest foe? Or will the Intra-Matic lose its Intra-Magic and require a tow back to pit lane? The fate of these two is in your hands! So pick wisely and may the best racing chronograph win.Well start off the Balazs s Speedmaster Ultraman, a watch very close to our hearts here at Fratello. As you all likely know, this was the second Speedy Tuesday release, paying tribute to the 1967 Speedmaster known as the Ultraman. A s...
Did you know that the red panda is not really a panda? The red panda, or lesser panda, with its chestnut fur and long, bushy, ringed tail, is not a relative of the black-and-white giant panda. Sorry to burst your bubble. But the red panda, with its happy white face, is closely related to raccoons, skunks, and weasels. And did you know that the Edox SkyDiver Automatic Limited Edition is not an ultra-rugged, oversized tool watch built to the specific needs of an elite battalion of paratroopers, but a retro-styled divers watch instead? Sure you did, but still, the name might be cause for confusion.Like so many other brands, Edox is riding the retro wave. The two latest watches meant to catch t...
High-tech materials is a bit of a buzzphrase in the watch industry. To many, its a marketing gimmick, while to others (myself included), its a fascinating look into the future of watchmaking. Materials like ceramic may seem new and high-tech, but some brands have dabbled in the dark arts of ceramic watchmaking for decades. The most famous? Rado. The Swiss brand has used ceramic in its watchmaking since 1986! Thats some pub quiz knowledge for you right there.This groundbreaking material, which had never been used in watchmaking in this way before, conquered the hearts - and wrists -? of watch enthusiasts around the world with its scratch-resistant, lightweight and skin-friendly qualities. Its...
When it comes to nearly any vintage bracelet, you will hardly find a bigger professional to take care of yours. My mind is still processing the fact that there is a man out there who has had more than 50,000 bracelets pass through his hands. ?I first got in touch with Michael Young maybe four years ago. I was thinking about what to do with a spare Breitling bracelet that came with my Chrono-Matic ref. 2110. It was so heavily worn and so loose that I could push it up to my thigh.Breitling bracelet foreplayFinding a Breitling watch fitted with an original bracelet is not very common, so I could not just throw it out. Especially when Breitling aficionado Fred Mandelbaum confirmed that this bra...
To me, the Nivada Grenchen Chronomaster will always be the Valjoux 23-powered Aviator Sea Diver. Call me old school, but that was my fav from the many Nivadas that left Grenchen back in the day. For many, however, a watch without a date just won t cut it. I hear you, and so did Nivada. The Chronoking was supposed to fill that void. It s only fair then that we get a re-edition of the vintage classic. That s the watch we are going to talk about today.I have been lucky enough to see every new Nivada that has come out to date. When the brand was ready to launch the Chronoking series, I instantly received a model for review. This is, however, not just any model. The very watch you see in the phot...
As we head well into the race stint, the competition heats up. Twenty-four watches have DNF d from The Fast And The Fratelli. The final eight prove themselves worthy of the best racing chronograph watches of the past ten years. But there can be only one winner. The winning watch may even be amongst the choices today. From Ben s side of the grid is the Daytona reference 116520. On RJ s side is the Omega Speedmaster Calibre 321. This is the titanic battle of iconic chronographs we were hoping to have! But we wouldn t have gotten there without your votes and voices of encouragement. You now hold the power to select the best racing chronograph. And by commenting, you have the chance to win a Tr...
Well, it took me a while to buy into the idea of having my very own Apple Watch. But I ve finally decided to bite the bullet and I ve gone and ordered one. Luckily, Fluco furnished me with a bunch of tasty leather straps to try on a loaned Apple watch so I had a chance to test them out before mine lands in my mailbox.I ve never been against wearable technology. I ve just never been for it. To be honest, for a man my age, I regard myself as particularly technophobic. That might seem odd for someone that earns their living at a keyboard. To be plain, though, I d be just as happy (if not happier) were I pounding the keys of a typewriter on a daily basis.Crazy Horse in WhiskeyAs such, the notion...
A little while back, I had the distinct pleasure of recording a video with my partner in crime, Franziska. As an industry professional herself, she s no stranger to the pages of Fratello, having contributed articles of her own in the past. However, it is our shared association with NOMOS Glashtte that not only brought us together but also inspired this video. In it, we discuss how watches so often perceived for one gender can just as easily be worn by another, if only one is able to step away from the new-old-fashioned ideas of what constitutes a men s watch, a women s watch, and everything in between.What do I mean by new-old-fashioned? Well, we take it for granted that men s watches are g...
Ah, anOrdain. You make my heart sing. Genuine hand-crafted goodness, a peerless amiability about the company and all those who sail in her, and rich, delicious textures that bring even the flattest wrist to life. The two new 39.5mm anOrdain Model 2 watches for OT in Australia are absolutely stunning and put the brand s signature enamel and the depth of that material s beauty right at the fore.There s nothing wrong with having a flat wrist, by the way. I just assume that flat wrists are less likely to catch the eye than knobbly wrists. However, however flat or knobbly your wrist may be, it will be transformed into a multi-dimensional beauty by this limited production anOrdain. Each piece will...
Those of you familiar with CODE41 will know that the brand has never been afraid of innovating. Since its founding in 2016, Claudio DAmore has strived to walk the path less traveled - an ambitious affair, and one that has so far produced some incredible mechanical creations. The latest is the CODE41 Mecascape. Divisive as they are ambitious and innovative, CODE41s creations have always built upon the wristwatch form factor. Now, however, the brand has broken the mold, bringing to life an idea dating back to 2009. CODE41 now presents something truly new.Clocks have been around since before wristwatches, and they come in many shapes, sizes, and designs. From the cuckoo clock to the grandfather...
Things are certainly moving in the right direction for Norqain. The Biel-based brand is laying down some serious roots in its home country of Switzerland by establishing its very first vertical (mono-brand) boutique in the beautiful alpine town of Zermatt, home to the famous Matterhorn mountain, which, if you hadn t noticed already, is the inspiration for the brand s peaked logo.For some brands, it just seems easy. The truth is, it never is. Some brands have advantages over others, sure. Some brands can rely on a deep, generational level of experience in the watchmaking industry and the connections that kind of time served brings with it; others cannot. However, whatever your starting point,...
If you are a vintage chronograph person, I don t need to tell you much about Excelsior Park. The company created some of the most iconic chronograph calibers back in the day. Aside from its self-branded timepieces, you could find its movements in some Gallet, Girard-Perregaux, as well as Zenith chronographs. Like many, Excelsior Park fell victim to the quartz crisis and the overall declining demand, and the brand closed up shop somewhere around the mid- 80s. In 2020, the brand hinted at a comeback, and today, the preorder opens for the first neo-vintage Excelsior Park chronographs.Inspiration for the first five models came from some of the heavy hitters of EP s past - stylish, elegant, dual-...
The final lap of the shootouts brings a lug-to-lug fight between two extremely individualistic competitors. It s the Yema Speedgraf against the Omega Speedmaster Apollo 8, and if it wasnt for their chronographs and tachymeter scales, it would be hard to find common ground between these two racers. Who will make it through? You decide!The Omega Speedmaster Apollo 8 won a close race, defeating the Breitling Chronomat Frecce Tricolori. It s going up against the Yema Speedgraf, which, surprisingly, left the legendary Yema Rallye Andretti in its rearview mirror. Betting odds are much more in favor of the Swiss Omega today, but the French Yema proved in the last round that it doesnt give up easily...
The more I see them, touch them, and wear them, the more I like the Glashtte Original Senator Observer and Senator Excellence watches. Both watches have a familiar look, but with the right amount of (Glashtte) original details to catch the eye. Its the shape of the hands and the GO logo that functions as a counterweight on the central seconds of the Senator Excellence. It s the Ab and Auf on the Senator Observer, and the words Glashtte I/SA which help lure you in. One thing s for sure: they helped me take the bait.Not that long ago, I tried on the Senator Chronograph Panorama that came on a new strap - a nylon strap in a delightful and subtle sand-like color, outfitted with a high-end dep...
