Enamel dials are, to some degree, the darlings of the watch industry. A famously fussy material that takes great skill to work with and master. We sit up and listen when we see brands launching watches using enamel dials. Why? Because when done well, enamel dials look absolutely incredible, adding a level of depth and visual appeal quite unlike any other material. So, what are some of the best enamel dials in the business? Let s take a look.??AnOrdainAs a Brit, I have to start this list off with a British company. At Fratello, we re also quite fond of anOrdain as they ve made waves over the last few years with a range of stunning enamel-dialed watches. The Scottish brand uses vitreous, or Gr...

I considered underplaying the importance of case material when it comes to a brand known for its iconic silhouettes but I quickly decided I was being ridiculous. The conversation of what makes any Casio feel truly great on the wrist cannot ignore something as integral to that experience as the case material. And acting like the memorable aesthetics of the models we ve come to adore over the past 40 years or so aren t radically transformed by the material in which they re brought to life is just as foolhardy an endeavor. Therefore, if you find yourself trying to decide between a classic resin-cased Casioak GA-2100 and its recently birthed metal counterpart, the GM-2100, read on.In the grand s...

Rob and Lex are lucky boys! Wrapping up what looked like an absolutely killer week at Geneva Watch Days, the two of them got a chance to visit F.P. Journe. There, the debonair duo got hands-on with four of the master s greatest works. A tad more thrilling than my view from a cubicle at the public library, I d imagine. Biblical levels of envy aside, it s my pleasure to give you a quick look at the fruits of their adventure. The first timepiece on the docket is the Chronometre Optimum.This watch represents F.P. Journe s quest for the ultimate in chronometric precision. While many brands are content to nab a chronometer certificate and call it good, Journe doesn t take the easy way out. The mov...

You could call the Certina DS Powermatic 80 in its new gold attire a dress watch. You would be selling the watch short, however. Change the light brown leather strap for a more adventurous color and in a different type of leather, or even a multicolor NATO strap, and you ll witness a complete transformation. I tried on the yellow gold PVD version with a matching gold-colored dial that came on a light brown strap with a folding clasp. Let me tell you how we got along.The suit you wear only looks good when the shoes are of at least the same level. Wearing a virgin wool Kiton suit - the jacket alone is entirely hand-cut and sewn by around 25 master craftspeople in Naples who create an architect...

An impressive full-sapphire case allows the double-barrel flying tourbillon movement inside to shine. ArtyA has achieved transparency to the highest degree in the Purity Tourbillon, not only in its use of the clear material but also in skeletonizing the movements mainplate and bridges. The result is a space-age display of top-tier watchmaking. The case and movement are impressive both technically and architecturally, and the flying tourbillon is actually one of the biggest in a watch out there. Its 17mm diameter makes for an imposing visual display. This is not just a conversation piece - it s a watch worth talking about.The world of Haute Horlogerie has seen sapphire cases cropping up over ...

WASP 9.91 sees the guys go to two decimal places for the first time, much to the confusion of everyone else. Less confusing, however, is the duo s shared love of a very special Omega Speedmaster created for the Olympics, but that s not the only Olympic watch to feature… Far from it…For the first time ever, an on-air purchase occurs as Rob stumbles across his all-time favorite Swatch available on eBay for a stunning price (box and papers included). Additionally, Fridge and Freezer discuss Balazs s recent purchases (lovers of vintage Angelus be sure to tune in) and Rob s burgeoning collection of caps that had a sudden injection of volume thanks to the chance discovery of an old for...

Hopefully, you enjoyed my slightly tongue-in-cheek mea culpa from yesterday. But the time for masking my corruption with light-hearted nonsense is passed. It s time for things to get serious. In the first of four quarter-finals scheduled over the following week, Sexy Lexy takes on Bobsled Bobby (whose heart of ice is melting in this late summer heat) for a place in the last four. Their champions? Stolk commands a low-key cool Sinn chronograph while Nudds marshals his NON-LIMITED Bathyscaphe in this round. Let splishy, splashy battle commence.Let s kick things off with my, Bobsled Bobby s, offering: an incredibly misleading image of a limited, sold-out watch that ISN T ACTUALLY WHAT I M TALKI...

Welcome back to A Brief History Of Time. Today, we present the second installment in our multi-part series on the history of . If you missed Part One, you can check it out here.When we left off in 1945, had just celebrated its 40th anniversary. It had marked the occasion with the introduction of the Datejust, the first automatic watch with a date window. The now-famous Jubilee bracelet had also made its debut on that very model, and s post-war recovery was off to a great start. Whether founder Hans Wilsdorf had any idea just how important the next 15 years would be for the company is up to speculation. Nevertheless, these years would mark not only a series of impressive technological advan...

It s been a long and intense week packed full of expectedly unexpected twists and turns a fair can throw at a team of intrepid watch journalists navigating their first major event in a year. We met with pretty much every brand on the calendar, made it to the Geneva Watch Days tent every night (if only for a quick hello/goodbye on Thursday), and set some exciting projects in motion.You can t beat the face-to-face interaction you re confronted with every day at Geneva Watch Days. It makes such a difference to once more see our friends and colleagues after such a long absence, and those relationships that have deepened in different ways due to the pandemic suddenly seem injected with the kind o...

It s been a ropey two weeks for the integrity of the internet s favorite summer watch competition, with wild controversies, heated disagreements, and heinous incompetence on display over the first fortnight. Despite this (or perhaps because of it), it s been a roaring success, with articles catching fire the moment they go live and several votes running very closely! Let s take a moment now, before the quarter-finals commence, to reflect on the happenings of the contest so far.I thought the rules were simple. It seems, however, I was wrong. While I m not trying to shirk responsibility for my gross incompetence as the head steward of this event (I will do later, but not right now), the concep...

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. Its 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 Zenith watches from the 1980s.While the 1970s were a decade filled with tremendous change i...

With Geneva Watch Days 2021 coming to an end, it s time to line up the best releases we have seen this week. We will be covering more of the releases in-depth here at Fratello in the upcoming days and weeks. But for now, we have lined up the most spectacular ten watches of the Geneva Watch Days. The selection criteria? It s simple, really: the wow factor!Gerald Genta Arena Retro Mickey Mouse DisneyTalk about the wow factor! The Gerald Genta Arena Retro Mickey Mouse Disney made me smile the moment I saw it. It brings back memories to my own childhood and the 1980s and 1990s when Gerald Genta surprised us with a series of Disney character watches. One of his creations in the 90s was a Mickey ...

The Grand Seiko SBGY007 Omiwatari was presented to you in June, so its about time for a hands-on review of this classic-looking Grand Seiko. As I wrote in an introduction article last month, the Grand Seiko SBGY007 is part of the Elegance Collection. A Spring Drive powered dress watch whose dial pays tribute to the frozen waters of Lake Suwa. I explained the origin story of the Omiwatari in this article, so make sure to read that if you want to know more. This hands-on review of the Grand Seiko SBGY007 article is about the watch itself. No storytelling, just the watch as it is.Grand Seiko SBGY007 OmiwatariGrand Seiko has been on a roll this year, first showing us the White Birch, but also th...

All jokes and stereotypes aside, we all know Sinn as the go-to brand for those looking for no-nonsense, bomb-proof, functional tool watches. This is a brand that is not afraid to err on the side of utility. However, its not all deadpan, business-only, no fun allowed. More and more, Sinn has started tentatively bending its knees up and down to the beat, shaking its hips, and even swinging its elbows from side to side in the corner of the disco. The Sinn U50 S mother-of-pearl serves as a clear example of this newfound bravery and desire to get groovy. If the brand keeps this up, theyll be dancing like Travolta on the colorful dance floor of watchmaking before we have time to say Perlmuttziffer...

Its the 25th anniversary of Parmigiani Fleurier, and the Val-de-Travers independent is celebrating in a big way. A total of seven new watches are being introduced, including three models in two different materials and a very special limited edition split-seconds chronograph. Variety is key here, as Parmigiani has all bases covered with these new releases. Starting with an ultra-thin two-hand time watch with a simple date complication and a micro-rotor movement. The brand is also launching a chronograph and an annual calendar. All four new models come on a nicely constructed integrated bracelet and feature a number of dial colors and textures.The Tonda family receives a whole new line of watc...

Since 2006, IWC has released a watch to mark its support of Laureus Sport for Good, a foundation that helps bring the power of sports to underprivileged children and teens. This year, we get a very different type of release. Let s take a hands-on look at the new IWC Blue Ceramic Pilot s Watch.IWC is a global partner of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. As a result, fans of the brand get to look forward to a new limited edition watch each and every year. I looked back on some of these releases and an interesting aspect is that the releases have touched most of the product line. One never knows which watch will be in focus. What is a constant is the color blue, which happens to be the fou...

After no longer being able to add any more things to his Audi S4, Chris Culver got into watches as a way to keep hunting for more Audi stuff. Since landing his first Audi watch more than five years ago, Chris has grown his collection significantly and has some pretty fascinating pieces.Last summer I?shared the story about a very special quartz Audi watch, that Ive owned since 2004. I was a magazine car tester back then and I got it as a present from Audi when they introduced the A6 to the market. I liked it and I wore it a?lot back then. When I?found it in a?box a few years ago, it brought back tons of wonderful memories. So I?put it in a?more visible place in my safe. Although I?do not wear...

Sinn SpezialUhren has been around for 60 years and it s celebrating! How? By releasing a limited edition version of their most iconic watch: the Sinn 103. They call it the Sinn 103 Classic 12, referring to the second time zone bezel.During Geneva Watch Days, Sinn exhibited at the location in the city where the Baselworld organization had its little platform to promote its return to the watch industry. Whether or not that was a success is a different topic, but Sinn at least had a place where it could put its new watches, including the Sinn 103 Classic 12, on display. And to be quite honest with you, it turned out to be one of the coolest pieces I saw during the Geneva Watch Days in the more ...

When I think about cartoon characters and watches, nothing stands out quite like Mickey Mouse. Over the past 90 years, he s been featured on the dial of countless numbers of watches. From high-end pieces to inexpensive quartz souvenirs, Disney s most popular character transcends culture. Today s Gerald Genta Arena Retrograde Smiling Mickey Mouse definitely falls on the exotic side of things, but it scored well with our team.The Gerald Genta Retrograde has been with us since 1996 under the Arena name. It s a watch that Genta developed and it continued even after Bvlgari bought the brand in 2000. It has come in many different forms, case materials, and designs. Regardless of the exact variant,...

Roll up, roll up! The summer has hit The Hague, and Fratello is keen to celebrate. After the fizzing success of March Mania, we are back with a new knock-out competition conceived to find the very best summer watch out there, according to YOU, the Fratelli. And guess what? You can win prizes! No, there won t be a watch available this time, but there WILL be some of the finest water-firing weapons money can buy: the Spyra 2 water cannon is reputedly the strongest of its kind ever made. Fancy getting your hands on one? Read on and take part in the poll and comments section of the Summer Splash.Eight Fratelli editors will choose three of their favorite summer watches and pitch them to you this ...