What makes an icon? What is the magic formula for a classic? And perhaps even more importantly, what, exactly, is in a name? These are questions that watch designers, manufacturers, and marketers have been asking for decades. Unfortunately, they are questions for which they are no clear-cut answers, even for the Zenith El Primero.In the end, the success of a watch, especially a famous one, may just come down to a balancing act. How well a brand balances its history with its future, and its own vision with its customers desires, could determine everything. Today, I d like to take a look at the Zenith El Primero Espada. A now mostly forgotten piece of recent Zenith history, it s an anomaly in...

You (presumably) are a person seeking a watch. Perhaps you know which watch. Perhaps it s THE watch. However, more than likely, you re at least open to options, if not openly shopping. Here we present a few curated choices a la dating profile, with watches and the owners they seek. Today, it s eligible German watches. A Stowa Marine Classic is pining for its Captain. This A. Lange & S?hne Saxonia is searching for its sugar daddy/mama. And the Sinn EZM 3 is ready to party with its adventure buddy. All they ask is to be your one and only (GADA alert!).Call these German watches GADAs (go anywhere, do anything), if you like. Indeed, the lack of water resistance or addition of diving bezels w...

Mido invited us to see the final of the 2021 Red Bull Cliff Jumping World Series. It was with the prospect of also trying out the new COSC specs Ocean Star 600 that we packed for a weekend trip to Italy.Everything was small in Polignano A Mare. Imagine a street and then divide it by two, imagine stairs so narrow that you need to step aside to pass by the person coming from the opposite direction. Imagine a door you have to bend your neck in order to avoid bumping your head. Everything was small except for one majestic cliff.The stairs on left leading to the private apartment with a cliff jumping platform built on its terrace. Image source: ctdots.euAdrenaline rushI truly hate heights, yet de...

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 Breitling watches from the 1990s.This week we will continue our journey through watch hi...

Navigating the world of luxury watches as a young and up-and-coming brand with products priced well below the radar of many luxury enthusiasts is tough. What makes things decidedly easier, though, is listening to the community that has propelled your small business to a position few could dream of reaching in such a short space of time. Forstner has done just that. The release of the new Forstner Flat Link with end-pieces specially tailored to fit the pre-2018 Omega Seamaster is a triumph of public relations. Ask and we shall deliver, cries the god of Forstner to the rapturous cheers of his followers!You all know I like Forstner. I have my favorites within the collection and the Flat Link is...

There is something attractive about exclusivity. The simple principle of: I have something that you don t have is highly attractive to many buyers. Ever too often, it s often the result of marketing meetings, resulting in fabricated scarcity. But there is also true exclusivity. One of the best examples is the stream of watches that Seiko releases for their Japanese customers. Seiko s Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) releases are renowned amongst collectors of the brand worldwide. Getting your hands on one can truly be exciting. Time to find some of the best JDM-releases the brand has released in the last 25 years.Creating a list of great Seiko JDM releases is not that difficult. It s harder to...

We announced this project on the 23rd of September. Over a week of build-up before yesterday s release, we could feel the excitement growing in the community, but we never could have anticipated the result. The Fratello NOMOS Glashtte Zrich Weltzeit The Hague Edition sold out in under ten seconds, which immediately presented us with a burning question: where do we go from here?I must admit, of the three limited-edition projects Fratello pursued this year, it was this one that held in store the fewest surprises. I suppose knowing NOMOS and the brand s way of working inside out largely accounts for that, but, in truth, I was just supremely confident that the design was not just attractive,...

If it weren t for the 50th special Watch Strap Review article, I would ve never been able to feature today s brand here. Better yet, if it weren t for the Canadian watch lover s community, this article would ve never happened. After that piece came out, many of you sent me emails and DMs about a strap maker residing in Canada responsible for the brand Terrycrafted. It turns out that Terry is not only a lovely bloke but a talented strap maker as well.TerrycraftedTerrycrafted is a one-man show - for now C that consists of Terry (duh), an investment manager and watch lover. Like many small ateliers, he started doing straps, which quickly turned into a side business. Terry s goal is to turn this...

The Chanel Monsieur. stepped into the limelight in 2016 in a beige, gold, and creamy white attire and with a very much intentional and stylish period in its name. It was the first-ever Chanel watch specifically designed for men. And to celebrate that fact it also boasted the Calibre 1, the brands first in-house movement. Five years later the Chanel Monsieur. Superleggera Edition Watch introduces himself, a sporty lightweight piece with a famous name.When petrol heads hear or read the word Superleggera, they think of an Italian coachbuilder that has been responsible for some of the most exquisite cars in the world since 1926. My favorite? The Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera Alfa Romeo Disco ...

You may have recently read my article announcing URWERK s final tribute to the successful and popular UR-105 family of watches, the UR-105 TTH Tantalum Hull. Man, that was a bittersweet article to write. On the one hand, we had a stunning new addition to the family, but on the other, it was the final chapter of the 7-year story of the UR-105.URWERK first introduced us to the iconic UR-105 all the way back in early 2014 to replace the outgoing UR-103. When it launched, the UR-105 was quite unlike anything we d ever seen before. Over the next 7 years, the UR-105 saw several stages of evolution and exploration, each with a unique personality. As a fan of the brand, it was an enjoyable journey f...

My name is Game, Wrist Game. Or is it Shame, Crying Shame? The name of this column, double agents, is up to you. Today, we reach back to a 1981 movie in celebration of a film that debuts today. I guess you know the theme, but do you know the watch? It s the Seiko 7549-7009 Golden Tuna and do I expect you to talk? No, I expect you to vote! But first…Last week, I shook you and I stirred you with the Tudor Heritage Chrono, a watch that paved the way for the brand today. Despite comments almost as ugly as Jaws, you felt that this watch is still as hot as Ursula Andress on the set of Dr. No. A full 79% voted for this watch that boasts nearly as much color as a box of Sour Patch Kids. Now, l...

TAG Heuer has produced a very special Monaco for this year s Only Watch auction. This year, the brand revives a collector s classic in an all-new, carbon-cased construction. Inspired by the fabled Monaco Dark Lord of the mid-70s, this one-off piece is sure to strike a chord in the heart of the TAG Heuer collector lucky enough to get his or her hands on it.Every two years, many of the world s greatest watch companies come together to participate in the Only Watch charity auction. The auction raises money for research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. In all, 99% of the proceeds benefit this worthy cause. With CHF 38,593,000 raised for the cause in 2019, Only Watch serves as an important way f...

Suppose you ve kept an eye on our social media and the website over the last week or so. In that case, you ll have first seen the announcement, and then the full reveal, of the NOMOS Glashtte Weltzeit The Hague Edition for Fratello. This project was the brainchild of our Managing Editor, Rob Nudds. The watch is available from the Fratello Shop right now, and it s limited to just 25 pieces. The price is $4,620, including VAT, which may differ slightly depending on your region. We include FREE worldwide shipping on all orders and the watches are ready to ship in 3-5 business days. Don t hang around as we re expecting these watches to move fast! If you ve not already, I implore you to take a r...

Although Zenith announced the ground-breaking El Primero automatic chronograph in January of 1969, it was beaten to the shelves (and ultimately the wrists of watch lovers) by the Seiko Speedtimer. By the time May 1969 rolled around, Seiko s majestic entry in the chronograph dash had arrived in shops, nosing ahead of Zenith at the last as both brands leaned for the finish line of what had been a long, arduous, and furiously contested race. Following the pair in August of the same year, was the joint effort automatic chronograph Caliber 11 by Heuer, Breitling, Buren, and Dubois-Depraz.But to be honest, I dont care that much about who was first. Historians can extol whomever they please 50 year...

I can t believe it is already two years ago that I was visiting Matera to see the set of No Time To Die. A beautiful village in Italy, where parts of the James Bond movie have been shot. It was there, where Omega showed us (I was there together with Hodinkee s Ben Clymer and Revolution s Wei Koh) the new Seamaster 300M No Time To Die edition.We were also invited to come to the set, where the crew (including Daniel Craig) were working on the scene with the Aston Martin being under fire. An incredible experience and I even ended up with some shells that were used during the opening scene (no worries, they were given to me, I didn t pick them up from the ground).It was in Matera where Omega sho...

Talk about coincidences… On the same day last week, both Fratello and our good friends at Ace Jewelers in Amsterdam announced NOMOS collaboration watches. For Fratello, it was the first attempt; for Ace, it was their sixth in five years. That s no mean feat given the notoriously exacting standards of NOMOS Glashtte collectors, but Ace has managed to pivot and push ahead in new directions with every subsequent release. So how does the ACE NOMOS Club 36 Blue Limited Edition stack up next to its five older siblings?Time really does fly when you re having fun. This five-year anniversary is actually quite special to me personally. Half a decade ago, at Baselworld 2016, I was sitting acro...

As watch enthusiasts, we love to appreciate the mechanical marvels with which we adorn our wrists. We love to appreciate their technical prowess and their visual beauty. We turn them over, and through a beautiful sapphire display caseback, we can see the movement that powers the horological contraption. It s beautiful, it s wonderful. You re likely to find a range of finishes and textures on movements of all different prices. Some are meticulously done by hand, others by machine, but I want to look at one specific type of finishing today: Geneva stripes.Geneva stripes are also known as C?tes de Geneve or even Geneva waves, and are perhaps among the best known of all the movement decorations....

We see watches go up for auction all the time. But it doesn t happen that often that we see the legendary Submariner ref. 6200 go under the hammer. Live bidding for a 1954 Submariner ref. 6200 is currently underway at the English auction website Watch Collecting. With the auction ending today, the highest bid is currently a little over 150K in British Pounds. It s a remarkable figure because the Watch comes without a bezel insert or the original bracelet. Let s have a closer look.Whenever one of the first Submariner references comes up for sale, it s usually big news within the watch bubble we live in. When a Submariner ref. 6200 shows up; that s even more special. Submariner fans know t...

Is this. The best. Combination. Ever? The Fratello NOMOS Glashtte Weltzeit The Hague Edition on a wide fit, straight-ended Forstner Komfit JB Mesh bracelet? In this writer s frenzied opinion, it might well be. You might hate it (especially at first) but read on to find out why I will defend it till the end of my days.For years I was an on-brand strap merchant. I believed in total design. The strap and/or bracelet were as unchangeable as a watch s hands. They were integral to the designer s vision. To mess with such elements was sacrilege. I believed that after-market strap companies were the devil. Somewhere along the winding road (pun intended), we all walk, that changed. After years of ...

Shots fired! Or so it may seem from that provocative title. The thing is, as much of a hater as I may sound like in proclaiming the Cellini Moonphase has the dumbest moonphase display in the industry, it actually pains me to have such an opinion. Why? Because I love the watch! Or at least, I love the idea of it.The Cellini Moonphase is exactly the type of watch I feel should have in its collection. Sure, there s no doubt the brand makes absolutely killer sports watches. But I believe having one complicated dress model to balance the offerings is honestly a great idea. It has historical precedence for the brand. It provides a classy, understated, and less hyped option for those seeking qua...