Hey there team, its time for a little bit of Wrist Game or Crying Shame. This week, we travel back to the days before 007 donned an Omega. Appropriately enough, this weeks watch is the Omega Seamaster Pre Bond Automatic. Whether or not this one leaves you either shaken or stirred remains to be seen. But first-Last week, I took you on a trip down memory lane to El Paso, Texas with a story on the Panerai Luminor Marina PVD Destro. This limited-edition model from 2008 wasnt minty fresh, but that didnt stop it from bringing home a refreshing 59% Wrist Game win. Im starting to get the feeling that Panerai is making a comeback C and I like it! Todays Omega Seamaster Pre Bond Automatic tones it dow...

Let me start by saying Ive always admired the Reverso. Its one of the few watches that fully deserves the unofficial and often too easily bestowed title of icon. Most icons are evergreens at best in my book, but the reversible watch is more famous than the producer of it, Jaeger-LeCoultre. And thats not a controversial statement from yours truly, but something Stephane Belmont, Patrimony Director of the Maison Jaeger-LeCoultre, once told me during lunch in Le Sentier. I loved the Reverso from a distance though because on the wrist it never felt right. But that couldnt be right, right? So I engaged in a very personal experiment with a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso to see if the watch had a differe...

URWERK will not be a strange name to the readers of Fratello. The Swiss brand is a personal favorite of mine, and I have enjoyed writing about its launches on more than one occasion. Today s launch is somewhat bittersweet, though, as it marks the final release in the UR-105 family. Why is that bittersweet? Well, where one thing comes to an end, it paves the way for something new to rise from the ashes!Early on in its conception, URWERK decided it wanted to remain staunchly independent at all costs. This meant limiting growth and production despite much advice to the contrary. To stay true to that mantra, it only produces less than 150 watches every year. Urwerk s co-founder, Felix Baumgartne...

Nothing to see here people, please move along. No, wait! Those straps are new! Indeed, the strapping Prospex 1965 and 1970 Divers Modern Re-interpretation watches are outfitted with brand-new artisanal straps. Four colors in total are made by using Seichu, a traditional Japanese braiding technique that results in very strong and striking fabric straps.The Prospex 1965 Divers Modern Re-interpretation SPB239 looks familiar, doesnt it? Thats because Seiko introduced quite a few versions on the 1965 theme already. Theres the SPB149J1 with its special 55th-anniversary blue-gray dial and steel bracelet, for instance, or the SPB147J1 with a chocolate brown dial, gold-colored hands, and silicone str...

Collecting watches is also about sharing this passion with others. There s little or no fun in just collecting without talking about (your) watches with other like-minded people, right? Last year we brought you a number of collectors stories from Speedmaster enthusiasts. Today we have Kelvin who wants to share his story on the new Speedmaster Professional.Kelvin started collecting watches in 2012. Not with an Omega Speedmaster, but with a pre-owned Sea-Dweller Deepsea. Today, he has a number of watches, including the new Omega Speedmaster Professional Master Chronometer. It isn t Kelvin s first Speedmaster watch though. It is his third, and - hopefully - this one will stay in his collectio...

The whispers have been doing the rounds recently. We knew it was coming. The first major post-WAW release has just dropped and it s come from Tudor. The hotly anticipated release promised big things. History hyped our hopes. The present day has not necessarily disappointed me, but it has left me shocked. The new Tudor Black Bay Ceramic dive watch seems to me like the industry equivalent of throwing a 99-yard Hail Mary with your eyes closed…A no-look score is cool to see. When it goes for points, that is. Messing up that kind of reckless play is sure to leave you looking foolish. So what do we make of this ballsy, certainly unexpected move from Tudor? Smart? Daring? Brazenly reckless? A...

Are you ready? I cant hear you! I said, are you ready?!? The temperatures are climbing, doors are opening, and planes are starting to fly. Summer is on the way and theres nothing better than an inexpensive watch match-up to set the scene! This time, we step away from dive watches and focus on military inspired watches. Its the Timex MK1 Mechanical versus a longstanding favorite in the Seiko 5 SNK805.I love these throwdown articles! In fact, one of my earliest Summer Special articles sat around as a Fratello favorite for quite some time. That article showed the venerable Seiko SKX007 alongside the equally beloved Citizen NY0040. Today, we switch up the brands a bit, but only a bit. Seiko ente...

Global warming. Whether its from us humans heating things up by what we do and/or mother nature having hot flashes, its a thing. A big thing. Just ask the exhausted polar bears who have to swim for many more miles to reach the ice they need to hunt for seals. And when polar bears are struggling on the North Pole, life on the South Pole must also be in dire straits. The Seiko Prospex Save The Ocean Special Edition Divers Antarctica watches hint that the Japanese manufacturer keeps a watchful eye on the coldest, windiest, and (weirdly) driest continent on Earth. The tiny penguin footsteps on the dial are proof of that.Antarctica is the worlds largest marine sanctuary. The frozen continent is a...

We all like the three, differently colored sub-dials on a Zenith chronograph, dont we? Its a distinct look for sure. And it stands for something; it clearly says In know my chronographs. But that connoisseur-approved look can also be very present. What if you want something a bit more understated. The distinguished Zenith El Primero 36,000vph Chronograph 42mm with its black dial could just be the chronograph for you.I dont want to step on anyones toes so Im not going to make a ranking based on qualities, but I think the unofficial chronograph Top 3 must include the Daytona, the Omega Speedmaster, and a Zenith El Primero-powered model. But which El Primero? Is it going to be the El Primero A...

Hello and welcome to another issue of my Independent Insights column! I wanted to thank those who have reached out in the comments, and by email, to say that you re enjoying these columns. I enjoy putting them together, and it s always cool to unearth awesome new projects! This week I have a few microbrand projects and one featuring a musician that helped define my guitar-playing years growing up! Without further ado…Maen Greenwich 38 GMTDon t you just love it when something particularly cool finds its way onto your radar? That s kind of how I found out about the upcoming Greenwich 38 GMT from Dutch microbrand Maen Watches. One morning, I checked my inbox and found a forwarded email fr...

I knew this was going to be fun. What would you do if the boss gave you 1.5k to spend on a watch of your choice? That was the question RJ (not Bruce Springsteen) posed me the other day. But wait until you hear this sneaky rule: I couldnt look for a nice vintage watch. It had to be new. As such, I have spent many hours trying to compose my virtual list. Yes, I searched catalogs, magazines, websites, and social media looking for watches I could buy with my set budget AND would actually wear. Not virtually, but actually. So, what five watches did Lex (that s me) pick for $1,500?Splurging $1,500 on a new watch is good fun. Because a good splurge will cheer up anybody, right? And also because in ...

The original IWC Big Pilots Watch is a classic. But its also an XL heavyweight that youre constantly aware of. It practically takes a giant to wear the 46.2mm original inconspicuously. The new smaller version of the BP comes in a more practical size L. And, although I dont want to give it all away already, flying on auto with the slimmed-down IWC Big Pilot s Watch 43 is possible. Youre only aware of the watch when you want to be and that is a massive upgrade.The new steel Big Pilot s Watch 43 comes with either a traditional black dial or a more fashionable and contemporary blue variant. The big box we received at Fratello HQ contained the blue-dialed version and came with a brown and a very,...

Catering to all tastes is nearly impossible, says Tom van Wijlick, CEO of Lebois & Co. And that s something I can attest to as well, looking back on some of the collaborations we did ourselves with brands.Some people will love it. Others? Well, not so much. Yet the Dutch-owned Swiss Lebois & Co brand is now asking their fans to help decide on the looks of its latest model.A unique new heritage chronographLebois & Co is not the first watch brand looking for input from its (future) clients. Similar projects have been run in the past, mainly by smaller, independent brands. Yet I also remember TAG Heuer asking collectors for input back in 2017 with regards to the Autavia. In my opini...

Welcome to Episode 61 of Fratello on Air, otherwise known as WASP 9.3. After spending the last three weeks rummaging around in our mailbag, were returning to the world of sports to provide you with a quick whizz around the American sports leagues to keep you abreast of news and developments in the NBA, NHL, MLB, and NFL. This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Find us on Instagram?@robnudds?and?@ferenczibazs....

In our Sunday Morning Showdown, two of our writers go head-to-head in an epic showdown for the ages. Strong opinions and hysterical hyperbole are welcome (so feel free to join in with the fun in the comments section below). And don t forget to let us know which watches you d like to see torn to shreds/effusively exalted next week. We ll try and feature as many of our readers choices as we can. With summer on the way, we get into the spirit by pitting two aquatic luxury sports chronographs against one another. The Patek Philippe Aquanaut Chronograph 5968A takes on the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Chronograph 26703ST.Today s Sunday Morning Showdown is all about two classical brand...

RJ chats with the guiding IWC into the next phase of its development, who, coincidentally, also happens to be the same man that designed IWC s current manufacturing headquarters…Some people have all the talent… This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings...

You may recall seeing me mention the CYRUS Klepcys GMT Retrograde in one of my recent Independent Insights columns. In that article, I said that it was a brand that I don t see a lot of press for, and I wondered why. My first introduction to the brand was on the streets of Manchester about 4 or 5 years ago. One of the many watch shops in the city had a few watches from this brand that I d never seen or heard of before. That brand turned out to be CYRUS. Since then, I ve only seen fleeting glances online or on social media.You can understand why the brand was not exactly on my radar when all of a sudden, an email lands in my Fratello inbox with details of the Klepcys GMT Retrograde. Boom! Wha...

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 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 priceless, some of them still affordable. In this installment, we will take a look at the best Omega watches from the 1970s.In the 1960s, we witnessed developments that challenged the status quo of watch design forever. The sheer amount of...

I?cant help myself. Anytime I?see an original vintage watch bezel Ive never seen before, I?am intrigued and amused. A?witty, surprising, or unusual bezel gives any?watch a hard-to-beat attitude. The best news is that it doesnt necessarily have to be an expensive watch.No grails today. Just a?selection of random brands, some of which you might have never heard of. Just sheer originality and creative bezel freedom. Some designs might look crazy, but you cant argue that each of them is fascinating in its own way. Get ready.Image source: IG @chronyves79Orator Automatic DiverDespite no striking colors, this is anything but a typical bezel for an otherwise pretty standard skin diver watch. It land...

TAG Heuer is on a roll at the moment. The Swiss brands last two green-dialed beauties (a Carrera and a Monaco, both limited to 500pcs each) sold out super fast, and quite rightly too. TAG Heuer seems to come in for a lot of criticism in the watch collecting community; Im not totally sure why or if its warranted, really. Nevertheless, the brand has some fantastic models, a really cool history, and the propensity to release some excellent watches. Whats not to like?The TAG Heuer Monaco Titan(ium)Today, we see TAG Heuer dropping another new watch, this time circling back round to the Monaco again. Will it be as much of a hit as the green-dialed one? Who knows, but I must say its equally as hand...