Watch Report is a Dutch magazine about watches and their fourth edition has just appeared in the stores. Watch Report has nice cover stories and their coverage on novelties is quite actual for a magazine on paper. One of the subjects in the latest copy is a top 3 of all time favorite watches, given by Watch Report readers. The result is no surprise, but personally I would have thought that place 1 and 2 would be vice-versa.So, here it goes, the Top 3 of watches (of all time) by Watch Report:1. The Omega Speedmaster Professional. Watch Report pictured a ref.105.002-62, caliber 321 model. However, since I don t have one, here is a picture of my own 145.022-67 caliber 321, on a ref.1039 bracele...

The Fratellowatches regulars probably know that I am more into sports watches than classic watches, which – almost – naturally results in a bit more coverage on sports models here. However, I just got a note from Grieb & Benzinger about their Blue Wave time piece. It is a unique and one time only time piece and for 87.500 euro it could be yours. Aside from the price tag, this is a classic looking time piece that could be the one of my choice.In the Blue Wave watch ticks a vintage movement by Minerva which dates back to approximately 1920-1925. Grieb & Benzinger completely disassembled this movement and restored it bit by bit. The base plate of the movement has been skelet...

Launched in 1992, Bell & Ross was founded by Bruno Belamich and Carlos Rosillo. The first Bell & Ross models were very similar to those of Sinn Spezialuhren and officially, this collaboration lasted till 2002 (although Bell & Ross made their own models long before that year). Most people who started their interest in watches just recently, probably know the BR Instrument watches best.In 2005, the first BR instrument was introduced and Bell & Ross clearly have been inspired ever since. They have been introducing various models based on the famous flight panel instruments, including the BR 03-92 that s now being featured on Fratellowatches. A 42mm glass bead blasted steel case ...

It seems that every Monday, visitors of the German Forum (www.r-l-x.de) who are fortunate enough to own a Oyster Day-Date, should post a picture of their precious time piece. In the meanwhile, Monday has been replaced by every day. Although it is not an everyday watch of course.Although the original Day-Date is only 36mm in diameter, I still prefer it over a Day-Date II (which is 41mm). To me, the Day-Date is the classic wrist watch in precious metal (available in gold or platinum) that you can t go wrong with.Enjoy some of the Day-Date photos sent in by visitors of R-L-X.Photo by HannesPhoto by Savoy TrufflePhoto by KurtPhoto by KurtPhoto by RO.lexThe Day-Date models were introduced in 19...

To continue the give aways here at Fratellowatches, I present to you the Di Modell Rallye Wapro strap, offered to you by our sponsor UK Watch Strap. Di Modell, famous for their high quality straps from Germany, are also seen on Sinn? Spezialuhren for example.The Di Modell Rallye strap is a classic ‘racing driver strap, like the one on the recently introduced TAG Heuer Monaco 55 Porsche Club of America edition, limited to 55 pieces (read about it here). It is a padded black calf leather sports watch strap, with sporty looking perforated design. It will make your Speedmaster, Monaco or even vintage Submariner look amazing!(The strap above is not a Di Modell strap, same style though.....

After I graduated in 2002, I bought this Sea-Dweller from my first (few) salaries. A used 1997 model with tritium dial (boy, did I want the Super Luminova model back then) with just minor scratches from every day use by its previous owner. In December 2007, I decided this watch needed a complete overhaul since it was 10 years old already and I had been wearing it almost on a daily basis for years. Schaap ~ Citroen is the local dealer here in The Hague (they have 8 stores in The Netherlands) so I brought the watch with me and asked for a complete overhaul. The sapphire crystal needed replacement (scratched), a new bezel inlay was required and a fresh brush on the bracelet and case.After a f...

One of my favorite watches is the GMT-Master. With the introduction of the 116710LN and 116713LN models, I feel that the classic GMT-Master has been phased out by . The new updated model with its bulky lugs and ceramic bezel surely is a nice timepiece and probably suits all modern requirements, but it cleary stands further away from the original 1954 model than its more recent predecessors (i.e. 16710, 16760, 16700).The first GMT-Master (ref.6542) was introduced in 1954, in the same year as Pan Am took the Boeing 707 in operation. Since the Boeing 707 was demanding the highest of Pan Am s pilots in terms of psychological well being. Pan Am thought that at least a time piece that could show ...

This Sea-Dweller ref.1665 wasn t owned by Steve McQueen and neither did James Bond wear it during one of his missions. According to the seller of this 180,000 USD Sea-Dweller from 1967,???? it is:The first version of the Double Red Sea Dweller was produced in 1967. It is said that approximately 50 to 100 early versions were sent to dealers for promotional use. The existence of the Double Red Sea Dweller starts with the helium valve, it had been developed and the patent had been applied, but had not yet received final approval. Therefore, these watches were engraved on the case back with the words Patent Pending.This watch comes without box and papers, which makes me wonder what the price wo...

Today, it is the press day for BaselWorld 2010. However, tomorrow the doors are opening for everyone who d like to attend the biggest watch expo in the world. I will be there, together with Ernie Romers of WatchUseek and Frank of Monochrome.Soon, we will know if there will be a new Explorer or a new Submariner in stainless steel! ??Please keep an eye on my own forum over at WatchUseek, where I will be posting daily blogs, stories, pictures, movies etc of this superb event!...

When the first Royal Oak was introduced in 1972, nobody could have guessed how popular the design would be in the 21st century. Based on that original design, Audemars Piguet introduced the Royal Oak Offshore collection 20 years after the first Royal Oak. At least here in The Netherlands, the Royal Oak Offshore is very popular and in my humble opinion, it is one of the watches that caused the end of the hype around the stainless steel Daytona (given the fact that it is widely available again and that they are going for list price).However, given the fact that I am the proud owner of the Royal Oak model that comes closest to the original of 1972, how does this Offshore compare to its ancesto...

Today, my Wednesday Watch article over at MotoringExposure has been published. After writing an article about $1000 watches, I thought it was time to stretch it up to $2000.-Since $2000 opens a lot of horological doors, I narrowed the list of possible doors down by using the following restrictions (based on my own thoughts):1. It should be a well-known/respected brand2. A mechanical movement (Swiss/German origin)3. No plastic parts on the outside (excludes Swatch)4. Stainless steel case and a leather strap5. Sapphire crystal6. NEW! (= excluding vintage) However, we don?????t care for list prices. Do you?I selected three watches and the Nomos Club pictured above is one of them. Curious abo...

Last weekend, I was able to try a Milgauss with a Diamond-like Carbon (DLC) finish. Watch-Site had both this Milgauss and the Deepsea Sea-Dweller DLC ed, where the Milgauss is ready for sale and the Deepsea needed to be assembled again. I took some pictures of the Deepsea to show the difference in color with the DLC Milgauss and to show how thick the crystal is, since the bezel was not re-attached yet.When the the new Milgauss ref. 116400(GV) just came out in 2007, I was very impressed with it (as you can read here) but noticed that the watch didn t get picked-up as I thought it would be (as I wrote here). Along the way, this watch really grew on me and I already decided that this new Milg...

Note: Pictures might not display well in some versions of Internet Explorer. Get FireFox instead.The successor of the first WATCH event (in 2008) has been held in the weekend of the 14th and 15th of December 2009. Ernie Romers of WatchUseek and Marcel Mathijssen of WATCH Experience organized the second edition of this great event at the same location as in 2008, castle De Hoogenweerth in Maastricht. The line up of exhibitors was at least as impressive as in 2008, including:Anonimo, Archimede, Arctos, Aristo, Azimuth, Benzinger, Blancier, Christiaan van der Klaauw, Defakto, D. Dornbl?e?oth & Sohn, Favre-Leuba, Genesis, Glycine, Limes, Linde Werdelin, LIP, Meistersinger, Montres de Luxe Mi...

When I borrowed the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Rubber Clad from Watch-Site, I got the AP Royal Oak 15300 as well. Just to?get some look & feel?about this watch. Not too long ago, I was a bit reluctant on this particular model, since there was only one Royal Oak, and that was the Royal Oak Jumbo, also known as the ref.15202ST. I have written many times on this Jumbo by Audemars Piguet, saying it was my dream watch or number 1 or 2 (this position changes back and forth with the PP Nautilus 5711/1A) watch that I need to have somewhere in life. ??Friends of mine have the 15202 and are quite clear on the 15300. A no-brainer, because of the second hand with the ‘wing on the shor...

In 1983, Casio introduced the G-Shock. As the name suggests, this watch is able to take a few serious blows. This ref.DW5000 watch was in those days (for me) the coolest of the coolest. Ofcourse, being a little guy (only 7 years old), it was way too big for my wrists, so I (or my parents) settled for a much smaller digital Casio watch, that I still have somewhere.Anyway, 20 years later, in 2003, there was this Project Team Tough-model (DW5000SP) to celebrate the first DW5000 G-Shock. It was only available in Japan (officially) and came in a very nice giftbox. I ordered one right away via eBay and was amazed by the nostalgic feeling that this watch gave me. Although I wear it seldomly (and ju...

Sometimes, I notice that I don t look anymore at certain < 1000 USD (or 750 Euro) watches. Not that I think they aren t properly made or that these watches are inferior to what is in my collection already, but I just overlook them. Aside from being in the credit crisis and bonuses aren t being spend on expensive watches, I think some of these < 1000 USD watches can be mighty interesting. For both the starting and the advanced collector.Like one of my watch friends recently said, it is very easy to be critical (or negative) towards the quality of cheaper watches, but look at it this way: it is quite charming to get a watch that you know of that it could be done better, but not for this ...

Fake WatchesExactly two weeks ago, I was dining with a friend and we were sitting outside (one of the first days with nice weather here in The Netherlands) and next to us, there was a table with three guys. One of them was wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus in red gold. Although, that is what I thought it was at first glance. In the evening dusk, and without my glasses it was hard to identify it correctly the first time. However, giving it a better try, I noticed this was a replica version of the Nautilus in red gold on leather strap. The edges were way too round, the strap was crappy and the bezel was too thick. Furthermore, the dial was far from refined as Patek Philippe makes them. Even th...

Nick Blum, CEO & Founder of BlumLux watches says it is time for men to adopt diamond watches. His large 55x45x10mm Louie Quattro watch is studded with 46 black diamonds and 4 black diamonds on te dial, in total good for 0.70 carat. To keep it horologically justified, the watch has a elaborated and decorated automatic movement, based on an ETA 2892-A2 with Cotes de Geneve finish.The sapphire crystal on the font and back is curved and the strap has this double folding buckle attached. Price for this black diamond watch called ‘Strength , 5000 USD. Visit https://www.blumlux.com for more information....

(by Elizabeth Doerr, Freelance Journalist for Watches)(left to right): Leonid Khankin (owner and creative director Ernst Benz), Elizabeth Doerr and Philippe Dufour enjoy the Baselworld party on March 27, 2009.A book like this one has really never been seen before in the world of watchmaking: a non-commercial opus focusing on art on three fronts: the artistry of independent mechanical watchmaking with little or no commercial background, the artistry of creating an eminently enjoyable text with no marketing behind it, and the artistry of visuals created to express the rare stories of twelve unique watchmakers.The atmospheric look and feel of 12 FACES OF TIME: HOROLOGICAL VIRTUOSOS will delight...

Thanks to Dutch on-line dealer Watch-Site, I was able to photograph a few nice Audemars Piguet watches this weekend. One of them is the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph a.k.a The Rubber Clad a.k.a ref. 25940SK.OO.D002CA.01. So in short, the Rubber Clad.At least here in The Netherlands, the Offshore models by Audemars Piguet are the new Daytonas. All the football players, TV personalities etc. have one. Even when you think you are only about to become famous in the (near) future, you ll need one of these. ??On a more serious note, these Rubber Clads are a hype. It seems that large watches are here to stay in 2009 as well, as this Offshore Chronograph measures 44mm in diameter. ...