I dont know about you, but Im not a fan of dark autumn and winter days. The darkness darkens my mood. I need light and lightness, and also a bit of color would help lift my spirit when way over fifty shades of gray surround me. It s Casio to the rescue with a new G-Shock that cuts through darkness like a samurai sword through a nashi (a type of Japanese pear) with a watch that boasts a multilayer, multicolor carbon bezel that will light(en) up your life for sure. The dark days of winter are coming and thats precisely why you need a Casio G-Shock MTG-B2000XMG.Doing things randomly is usually not a proven way towards success. But it does work in the case of the Casio G-Shock MTG-B2000XMG. The ...
Easily busted, next, please! The statement that there are no complicated watches in the modern catalog, is evidently wrong. Sorry about my bluntness, I will obviously delve deeper into the matter, including the mere perception of what constitutes a complicated watch. We all have different standards, and while for some this means a sapphire-cased, Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar, Wikipedia puts it quite succinctly in their definition:?In horology, a complication is any feature of a mechanical timepiece beyond the display of hours, minutes, and seconds. A timepiece indicating only hours, minutes, and seconds is known as a simple movement. Common complications include the date or day-of-the-wee...
Yes, believe it or not, we re barreling into the festive season once more. With Halloween in the books, attention shifts towards the gift-giving portion of the calendar. Hamilton has kindly provided us with some decidedly joyous images of the brand s big hitters for your consideration. In this holiday run-down we have some of our favorite pieces released in recent times. Including the Hamilton American Classic Intra-Matic Chronograph H, the American Classic PSR Digital Quartz, and the Khaki Field Mechanical Bronze among others.While it s rare that yours truly receives a watch from my friends or family, I am a fanatical giver of the ticking marvels that occupy my life and mind. I enjoy sharin...
Wrist Game or Crying Shame is back after a lengthy hiatus with the Submariner 16613 Silver Serti. Yes, another , but it was time to review one of these dials. Before we do…When we last met, I gave you plenty of James Bond references when I brought out the Seiko 7549-7009 Golden Tuna. I love that watch, but the real reason I wrote the article was to pick on, On Her Majesty s Secre…zzzzzzzz. Oh, sorry, I m up now and so were you because you gave the Seiko a 66% blessing. Well done! Now, today s Submariner 16613 Silver Serti promises to bring real pandemonium in our comments section. Will it garner supporting votes? Has it reached a level of kitsch that has become cool? Let s see&...
The ever-charming Antoine Pin of Bvlgari fame sits down with Rob to chat about his life in the industry, how his experience has shaped his approach to watch design and story-telling, and what possibilities might lie in store for Bvlgari in the future.In an energetic chat, Pin explains how he became bewitched by the industry and never managed to stay away from it for long. The fusion of passion, talent, and manual skill enthralls him on a daily basis at Bvlgari, and his guiding why not principle has led him to many happy design discoveries. This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings He touches also on his perception of the effects t...
Kurono (subtitled Bunkyo Tokyo) is a young brand, typifying the allure of Japanese independent watchmaking. The watches have the rare quality of being budget-friendly while touched by a master. There is a tiered ordering process that gives you the feeling of being part of a small Japanese family, something few brands master. But then Kurono is not your normal run-of-the-mill microbrand. Kurono opens a back door to Haute Horlogerie perfection with a great price point, as a sub-brand of the Japanese master of Art Deco cool, Hajime Asaoka.A selfish brand?I went as far as proclaiming Hajime Asaoka to be our eye-opener into the quiet world of Japanese high-end independent watchmakers, and Im stic...
Only Watch auctions have seen impressive growth in results ever since the start in 2005. The first edition offered 34 lots that fetched $ 1,907,000 in total. This year s 2021 edition brought us 53 lots totaling $28,210,000. Adding up, the Only Watch initiative, in nine editions, raised almost $100,000,000 for research against Duchenne muscular dystrophy. An extraordinary achievement indeed!Only Watch 9th edition Auction ResultsOf course, Patek Philippe didn t disappoint; they ve been the star of almost every Only Watch auction so far. This year s entry, lot #41, a complicated desk clock, outclassed its C rather misplaced C estimate of max CHF 500,000 by CHF 9,000,000 and fetched CHF 9,500,00...
Koen Simon is a 26-year old reader of Fratello, and he has been a fan of watches from an early age. When he was 12 years old, he noticed his uncle wearing a mechanical watch, an IWC from the 1960s. The smooth sweep of the second hand fascinated Koen and triggered him to learn more about watches.Just recently, Koen Simon came to the Fratello office to show some of his collection. One of these watches he brought is an IWC caliber 61 in a Hermet case. Truth to be told, I had never previously heard of this watch, but Koen explained to me in detail what it was all about. We decided that it would be fun to have him feature his story on the IWC Hermet case with caliber 61 on Fratello, so we re here...
In mid-September, Oris arranged an event, which, at first glance, seemed to celebrate their Dat Watt Limited Edition watch. It is not unusual for watch brands to have partnerships with organizations outside the watch world to stage events that associate their products with these organizations. As we are talking luxury products here, these events commonly exhale a rather luxurious spirit. But the event I m going to report on here delivered a completely different message.If you don t remember Oris‘s Dat Watt watch, take a look at Balazs s article on it. Oris dedicated this watch to the Wadden Sea, the world s largest tidal flat system that extends across 500km along the coasts of Denmark...
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, some of them still affordable. In this installment, we will take a look at the best IWC watches from the 1990s.This week we will continue our journey through watch history ...
When a watch feels at home at work, at a wedding, in a bar, on a hike, and on a vacation, you might think it lacks character. You could also imagine that a watch thats able to pull off something like that has tons of personality and qualities, enabling it to stand tall everywhere you take it. Lets go hands-on with the Tissot Gentleman Powermatic 80 Silicium in three configurations to find out if this is the watch equivalent of a chameleon.The Tissot Gentleman Powermatic 80 Silicium is a discrete watch. Too discrete? Well, I opened the box holding the three executions of the watch, it didnt send lightning bolts through my brain. But when I got the version with a black dial and a brown strap w...
Now that Halloween is done and dusted, it is only natural that attentions might turn toward the upcoming gift-giving season. Although that would infuriate my dear old dad who would complain on an annual basis that Christmas celebrations were stretching further and further into fall, he a) doesnt read Fratello because his Casio F-91W from 97 is still fine, thank you very much, and b) is a miserable grinch who needs to have a serious word with himself. For the rest of us, the idea of getting presents bought nice and early so we can get back to browsing Chrono24 (for ourselves), I thought Id run down my favorite Forstner straps currently available in case you want to gift one to a loved one thi...
Yes, you are right, THE toughest Blancpain tool is still the no holds barred, grenade pin-in-mouth Fifty Fathoms X Fathoms. But the X is like Arnold in full combat gear, inside the giant robotic Mech monster from Robocop. Its an instrument, nay weapon more than a tool, and not usable in normal situations. And that is even without using the term desk diver. The Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe in Grade 23 Titanium, however, is pure functionality, with added lightness in its titanium armor.Where does it fit in the Fifty Fathoms family?I come fresh from the Oslo Watch Fair last week where I did enjoy the Blancpain stand and a long chat with Philippe Conte on the family tree of the Fifty Fathoms. What ...
case backs invoke both recognition and frustration. Why? They are austere and blank. Or perhaps they re gloriously-finished masterpieces? Well, maybe not, but I sincerely feel that for the price they are too plain. I do enjoy cool minimalist tool watches and lately, and have had a love affair with a Seiko SLA023. But even its tool-tastic monobloc case has an engraving. Isnt that half the charm of turning a watch around after becoming lost in the dial? Me, I am a dyed-in-the-wool dial addict, but the back is equally exciting. Whether it s a wide sapphire crystal offering a lesson in micro-mechanics or even just a stamped-logo steel lid. But come on, even microbrands can have deep-engraved ar...
Designing a bracelet for watches is one of the most difficult things to do. I didn t just make that up, instead, this was said to me on multiple occasions by different designers and product developers. I am not a designer myself, but I can definitely judge a bracelet after having tried and seen so many watches in the last 20+ years.I ve done an article on the best watch bracelets before, but I thought it was time for an update. Taste changes, but I ve also seen and tried some bracelets that were new to me (Moser certainly comes to mind), and immediately loved them. One is from a brand (Bvlgari) where their designer was one of the guys that told me it is one of the toughest challenges: design...
Thats right ladies and gentlemen! Its that time of the year again. No, not time to start rummaging through the attic for your Christmas decorations, please do yourself the favor and leave that until at least the end of November. What Im talking about is the Oscars of the watch world, the Grand Prix DHorlogerie De Geneve (GPHG). This year, a total of 84 watches were selected, with six different watches going head-to-head in 14 different categories with a total of 19 different prizes up for grabs. In case you didn t know, the event has just taken place - if you re reading this, you missed it! But not to worry, here at Fratello we ve put together a list of all the winners along with the officia...
I?intentionally left the watch sitting on my desk in the office for a few days. Almost everyone who passed by and saw it froze and asked me the same bewildered question: What is that?! This ladies and gentlemen is the utterly crazy Orient All Weather Type II quartz watch.Quartz watches do not hold strong positions in watch collectors minds. They find it really hard to sneak into someones collection. And if they do, they have to be really special. Today I?will try to explain why the Toyota Orient Puma Weather Type II is a?hot candidate for your next unplanned quartz watch purchase.My lighting soft spotI?have stopped counting how many watches were brought to my attention by fellow collectors. ...
Romaric s latest collaboration with Nivada Grenchen only confirms that we can hardly ever get bored with his creations. Meet a blue queen of the oceans, the Nivada Grenchen seconde/seconde/ Jellyfish Depthmaster.It has been almost two years since I?got to know Romaric Andre. I?instantly fell in love with his strictly limited runs of daringly creative and carefully manufactured watch hands he installs in vintage classics. We already had the chance to review one of them, the Omega Seamaster 2759-7SC 2761 from 1956 with a replaced second hand in the shape and color of the Cousteau cap. From vintage to modernI was sure it would only be a matter of time before Romaric and his company seconde/se...
Christopher Ward has long been a British staple brand for collectors looking for a well-made and well-designed watch that offers serious value for money. Over the last few years, the brand has released a multitude of watches that built its serious reputation and allowed it to explore the concept of an in-house movement. In 2014 it first launched the Calibre SH21 movement, an in-house British-designed movement made in Switzerland. Its this beautiful caliber that powers a new model released today: the rather exciting-looking Christopher Ward C60 Concept.When Christopher Ward launched the Calibre SH21 back in 2014, it was the first commercially viable movement designed by a British watch brand ...
Buying your grail watch. Something that some would say can only happen once. But others, myself included, would say can happen as many times as you want it to. As we progress into the world of watch ownership we are constantly redefining terms. Most of us will be able to look back to a fairly humble first most expensive watch we ever bought. A term that is typically redefined by your latest purchase. At some point, those lucky enough to take the leap will find themselves owning a true luxury watch. Would I have ever thought, way back when I bought my first mechanical watch, that just three years down the line Id have a Speedmaster to call my own? Probably not. I didnt even think it three day...
