Well, its come to a close in perhaps the most fitting fashion, but rather than reflect on the stunning silver screen conclusion to the Daniel Craig era (for fear of spoiling it for those of you yet to watch it) its time to appreciate the generous helping of wrist candy we were treated to over the past 16 years. Since 1995s Goldeneye, Omega has furnished our super spy with watches aplenty, but how do the watches seen on Craigs wrist since his 2006 debut stack up against one another? Here are my top five Omega watches of Daniel Craigs James Bond era in reverse order.As always, Im sure this will stir up some controversy, so let me have it in the comments section. Feel free to bring in compariso...

Buckle up, folks! You re in for a ride. Somewhat out of the blue, we woke up today to the news that Patek Phillippe had dropped three new complicated chronographs. Patek is well-known for its mastery of the humble chronograph. So, what better way to cement that legacy than with variations of three of its most celebrated chronograph movements? The Manufacture is expanding its vast selection of chronograph watches by unveiling three new variations of the 5204, 5905, and 5930 models.Patek Philippe Reference 5204R-011: Split-seconds chronograph and perpetual calendarFirst up is Reference 5204R-011. The Patek Philippe Reference 5204 has lived in the brand s collection since 2016. It comes in two ...

There are some watch brands out there that stick to the formula. These brands have found what works for them, and they stick to it. I wont name names (and dont necessarily think that theres anything wrong with following that path), but, every now and then, life calls for something a little more, shall we say, out there. Thats where ArtyA comes into the picture. The ambitious Swiss brand is unafraid to innovate and keep things interesting. With its latest creation, the ArtyA Multicolored Shams Crystal, the brand throws caution to the wind in favor of making a statement.The statement brings together some pretty serious watchmaking techniques and materials to create a unique timepiece in every ...

Bund-strap haters beware, theres a new sheriff in town! The new Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic Chronograph takes the rugged good looks of the brands beloved field watch and transforms them into a beefy Flieger-style chronograph offering. Hamilton has quite literally dared to go big in this latest offering in their Khaki Field lineup. But is this a watch that flies too close to the sun, or is it a bulls eye? As one of the few Fratello proponents for a bund strap, I was given a special mission to strap this one on and head to the front lines to see if this truly was a watch worthy of the leather it sits on.Size does matterBefore I get started, theres something you should know about me and my c...

Only in the watch community could a podcast started by members of the community for fun gain as much momentum as the Scottish Watches Podcast has. With its origins in a joke comment made on Instagram in late 2018, it has been the pleasure of many of us to see the growth and development of Rikki Daman and David Sharps podcast over the past three years. David and Rikki have been joined by some incredible guests, such as Max Busser, Jean Claude Diver, George Bamford, and more. Now, in celebrating their 300th episode (a first in the world of watch podcasts) they will host Alexia and Evelyne Genta for a very special show.The chart-topping show has become a staple of watch enthusiasts podcast fee...

The year isn t over yet, but Grand Seiko has been treating us very nicely so far with a number of beautiful watches. Just recently, during our Fratello Grand Seiko Paris event, I came across a watch that definitely took the top position on my wishlist. To structure my thoughts a bit, I went through all the new Grand Seiko watches in 2021, and realized they actually have more cool offerings than is realistically good for me (and for my bank account).Grand Seiko started 2021 on the right foot with the SLGH005 White Birch model, which received a big cheer from the crowd. Recently, we saw two beautiful Grand Seiko limited editions for the European market popping up: the SBGW267 Asakage and the...

The husband and wife team of Lorier Watches has taken the big step, from running their microbrand as a Side-Gig to Full-Time horology. Both moved across the US, leaving their Texas teaching jobs for New York, with what is now an established brand on the scene. So while you might have read my first part on How To Start A Microbrand and are sketching up your first design, this transition takes a giant leap of faith and, well, guts. Lets find out how they managed the shift from hobby brand to Full-Time watch design and sales. Lorier Watches managed this without funding on Kickstarter, instead Self-Financing their first batches of production. Lauren and Lorenzo s recipe for success is as simple ...

I remember the first time my wife ever had a root beer. We were on our first trip back to my hometown in the U.S. from my new home in Japan. After being away for almost two years, my longest stint ever to that point, I was excited to eat and drink all the things that didn t exist in Japan - ranch dressing, Reese s Peanut Butter Cups, cake that didn t taste like air, and yes, root beer! My wife (then-girlfriend) and I swung into the convenience store, and with an enormous adolescent grin on my face, I bought an A&W. I cracked that sucker open and took a swig. Breathing a satisfying sigh of nostalgia, I passed my Japanese partner the bottle, exclaiming You gotta try this! Excitedly, she to...

Here at Fratello, we love Casio. Some would say we love the brand too much. Those people would be wrong. Very wrong indeed… Today, I m talking to three of my teammates, and avid Casio collectors, to the smooth booth to discuss their shared love and long-held obsessions with the Japanese Juggernaut that blessed the world with the G-Shock watch family.First up is G2. As the elder statesman of the team, the G-Father was actually an adult when G-Shock first appeared in the early eighties. This gives him a unique perspective within the team as the rest of the gang were either in their teens, nappies, or fathers eyes when Casio first unveiled the model that would go on the redefine the quar...

Here on Fratello, weve covered just about every vintage diver from one of our favorite brands: Seiko. The 6215, the 62MAS, the Grandfather Tuna, and each of the 6105s has been documented, just to name a few. So, imagine my surprise upon seeing that the Seiko 6159-7000 and its -7001 companion have never been treated to a full feature here. It was time to end that.Perhaps the Seiko 6159-7000 needs a little introduction, but I think it deserves one. Things officially kicked off in 1965 with the Seiko 62MAS, a 150-meter diver. From there, Seiko went in two directions. They decided to serve both the professional and recreational set with unique dive watches for each. The sporting crowd received t...

No less than 7 different variations of the recently introduced 43mm Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope can be found in the Omega catalog. I had the opportunity to have some hands-on time with the Speedmaster Chronoscope in Bronze Gold last week, the watch with reference 329.92.43.51.10.001. As I already did an in-depth overview of the steel models, you won t find many differences in terms of functionality and dimensions, but this model provides quite a different wearing experience. Plus, the looks alone make the Bronze Gold Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope worth talking about!Speedmaster Chronoscope in Bronze GoldThe Speedmaster Chronoscope is not the first watch that Omega has introduced in this sp...

Our friends from down under have today launched a new collaboration with Zenith. The Aussies announced the collaboration over the weekend with a slickly produced teaser video. Said video indicated we were looking at something from the Defy range, but the finer details were well obscured. Today, we get to see the Time+Tide Zenith Defy Classic Skeleton Night Surfer in all its glory!It didn t take a super sleuth to work out that we were getting a new Defy model. The case was quite evident in the teaser video, but that was just enough to pique our interest and keeping us guessing until the full reveal today.Enter the Night SurferSeeing the fully lit images gave me a welcome surprise. The Time+...

The Portugieser debuted in 1939. IWC built it at the request of two Portuguese businessmen, who requested a wristwatch that was as accurate as a marine chronometer. Pragmatically as watchmakers are in Schaffhausen, IWC put a marginally altered hand-wound Calibre 74 pocket watch movement in a 41.5mm case, put a leather strap on it and the Portugieser was born. It wasnt until 1998 that the IWC Portugieser Chronograph was introduced. The current model still looks like the one from 23 years ago and has proven to be a modern-day brand icon. Does that strike you as laziness on IWC s part or sound boring? Why change a winning formula, you could riposte.The first Portugieser bears the reference 325....

Today, finding a great vintage watch for an equally attractive price can be a real chore. The word has been out for several years now with few secret corners to discover when it comes to either models or places to look for them. Sometimes, though, a bit of patience and luck converge, and that old magic feeling returns. Todays Technos Sky Diver is a perfect example.After something like seven years of writing for Fratello, its hard not to become reflective and somewhat sentimental. I look back at my older articles from time to time and the watches often define a point in time.? For example, I can recall buying the watches, where they were from, and how it felt when I finally saw them for the f...

The watch world spins around quite fast. As I struggled to find time to write about the Marlin California, Timex has introduced another two exciting new watches. Get your wallet ready. Or perhaps you d better hide it? If you are susceptible to temptation, read on at your own risk.Rob recently wrote a?fascinating piece that digs deeper into controversy about so-called California dials. In this absolute must-read, you will explore that there is much more behind the term coined for a half-Arabic half-Roman dial design. To most ‘California Dial means ‘fake dial , Rob wrote, quoting Jeff Hess. In the 1980s many customers used to sent their badly worn watches to a dial refinisher in C...

The Ulysse Nardin Freak X Razzle Dazzle is an easy-to-spot watch. Its disruptive black and white attire is definitely not something you often see in the world of watches. The watch might remind you of a zebra, or of the WWI Dazzle paint job on ships. But does a wildly striped pattern camouflage beast and objects alike, or does it make them very confusingly conspicuous? What a razzle dazzle livery does without a doubt is to make you almost forget to mention the stunning flying carousel movement that normally would be at the center of attention.So, what is razzle dazzle and what does it do? Interestingly the razzle dazzle pattern is about being conspicuous rather than invisible. So strictly sp...

Happy Monday, dear Fratelli (or good day to you, whenever you re reading this)! Today, I d like to talk about a pair of words that I sometimes see misused among watch enthusiasts - carat and karat. As an American, I come from a country where both spellings are widely used in jewelry and watch-related media. And as the son of a jewelry-loving mother, I was fortunate enough to learn the uses of these terms very early on. Because of this, the difference between a carat and a karat always seemed clear-cut and super obvious to me, well into my early adulthood.As I got older, however, I noticed other Americans misusing these words in print. Additionally, I saw both native and non-native English sp...

Welcome back to a Brief History of Time. Today, we bring you the fourth installment in our series on the complete history of . Though I swore at the end of Part Three that this would be the last installment, the analytics don t lie - you guys love -related content! So, in a multi-faceted strategy to both give you what you want and preserve my own sanity, this one is going to be a bit shorter than the previous chapters.To recap, when we left off in 1988, had just released the first major update to the Daytona in 16 years, the reference 16520. Not only did it feature a new look, but it also housed a new movement, the El Primero-based 4030. Indeed, throughout the 1970 and 80s, several of the...

When we think of watches, we probably dont immediately think of the small nations worldwide. Likely we think of Switzerland, Japan and maybe Germany? Of course, in reality, the world of watchmaking expands across the entire globe. Much of the actual manufacturing indeed takes place in those countries, and China too, of course. That said, Its not just the usual suspects that have all the fun in terms of watch design. Today I want to look at a few of what I consider to be the best brands from European small nations, the homegrown heroes if you will! I imagine at least one of the names on this list will be familiar to you, but what about the others?So, where will we be traveling to in todays ge...

We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. While the daily routine is largely focused on the most recent developments in the world of watches, the most fun for many of us lies 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 G-Shock watches from the 1990s.While the 1970s were a decade filled with tremendous change in the watch...