Sometimes, truth be told, I get a bit of stick from my peers for supporting some smaller brands. I m not a complete micro-head. Far from it. I like a select few brands that I feel do something worthwhile and I support them fervently. I m a sucker for execution and flair. Normally, for a brand to command my attention, it has to do something either very well or very wow. The watch I have here for you today is not particularly original but it is a well-made daily diver with just the right amount of watermelon freshness to catch my eye. I give you (quite literally) the Axios Flagship.I rarely do this, but I m going to start with the closed case back of this 40mm divers watch. On the back, we ha...

The moment everyone has been waiting for has come. Today we announce the winner of the competition. Firstly, wed like to thank all of you that entered our March Mania giveaway and helped to make it such a huge success. Your engagement, votes, and, of course, comments are everything to us.The person who saw this comingCzapek s Adelie is the most beautiful creature ever made by the Watch Gods, it is as simple as that, I want her, need her, and someday she will be by my side…Does that look familiar, watch fans? That s right, it is one of 60+ comments left by Ron_W throughout the March Mania tournament. In a legend-making move, Ron_W predicted the victor long before anyone else thought it ...

Ever since the Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon came out (in 2013), I ve known I would need to acquire it at some point. I am not talking about one of the recent variations, but the original one. The OG of Dark Sides. Here s my love letter to that watch.This might come a bit unexpected, because my focus is collecting Omega Speedmaster Professional watches, or at least models that are in the line of Moonwatch descendants. And yes, I do have a Mark II, Speedmaster 125, Speedmaster LCD, Speedmaster X-33, etc. that are already the odd ones in my theme. When Omega introduced the Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon in 2013, with its case diameter of 44.25mm, I was smitten by it. The all-black ceram...

Fortis is a name known equally to fans of aviation and/or watches. The Grenchen-based brand has been involved with air squadrons and space flights for decades. Today, however, it is releasing a watch that might reach beyond the ISS theoretically speaking. How come? Well, the new Fortis Official Cosmonauts Chronograph AMADEE-20 is, in a pretty direct way, part of the Mars exploration project.To be precise, it is the official timepiece of the AMADEE-20 Mars simulation mission. As such, the operation of this Fortis timepiece might directly impact and support the human race on their way to Mars.?AMADEE-20Later this year, the Austrian Space Forum will be conducting an integrated Mars analog field...

Ah, don t you love it when everything just falls neatly into place? Isn t it a joy when things that never were, suddenly appear and feel as if they ve been present all along? I love it when that happens. It is not the most seldom sensation in watchmaking, but it is one of the industry s finest. The satisfaction one feels when viewing something so tidily realized for the first time is, I would imagine, akin to an athlete s sensation of victory. It feels like it was all worth it. The hours spent hammering away at the keys, twiddling screwdrivers at the bench, and peering through shop windows longingly are at once justified. The new Patek Philippe In-Line Perpetual Calendar 5236P-001 makes me f...

Its one of the few independent luxury Maisons that plots its own course. But that doesnt mean Hermes doesnt know what s happening in the world around them. Sports watches for instance are whats happening. Their new cushion-shaped H08 in titanium is a sports watch that doesnt get lost in the crowd.Hermes H08Lets first address the elephant in the room. The all-new Hermes H08 doesnt come on a leather strap. Hermes, arguably most famous for its craftmanship and artistry in leather, didnt kit out the new H08 with a leather strap. No calf, no ostrich and no alligator. No sustainable vegan leather either. Rubber in two colors and a titanium bracelet is what you ll find on the H08. And it makes sens...

When it comes to new releases, Tudor easily sits in the top echelon for most anticipated each and every year. 2021 was no different and the brand brought some new wares to Watches and Wonders. This year, they defied all predictions and released some truly different things. The Black Bay Fifty-Eight 18K was and is still a real shock - we re here to find out what you think of this audacious release!About a week ago, Tudor put a teaser on their website proclaiming that new watches were on the way. The image showed a plume of black and red smoke. Naturally, this led many (including my buddy Spence) down the path of a Coke GMT. For good or for bad, fans of the real thing will have to quench their...

Minute repeaters represent the very pinnacle of watchmaking along with other major complications like the perpetual calendar. The idea that you can hear time as well as (or instead of) seeing it comes from a period before the first wristwatch was even a thought.Every medieval city had a clock in a church tower (or otherwise), that chimed the time to its citizens. With the new Blast Hourstriker, Ulysse Nardin is trying to upgrade this illustrious complication by combining the old idea with modern materials and technology.Blast HourstrikerUlysse Nardin s latest creation is an innovative, striking timepiece that oversteps barriers in sound technology. However, for the brand working with sound i...

We re always ready for a new MING release and today just happens to be the day. The new MING 17.09 is the last of the well-loved 17 series and it brings two colors as well as details from more expensive models. Best of all, there s a new ordering process that should help fans secure one of these pieces.The MING 17.09 is here and like some of the brand s prior releases, it comes in two flavors. It also marks the end of an era because this will be the last of the 17 series of watches. We take a brief look at these watches from afar, but don t fret because we ll go hands-on in the next month.The MING 17.09Before we begin, I should mention that the first MING I ever held was the 17.06 Slate mode...

Zenith has been showing a lot of love for its DEFY family over the last month or so. We ve seen some colorful new additions, all designed to show off a different side of the advanced chronograph s character. Now the Swiss brand has released a new iteration of the DEFY s identity. Today we welcome the Zenith DEFY Extreme to the family!Zenith likes to be creative with the DEFY collection; just look at the DEFY 21 Felipe Pantone or the DEFY 21 Ultrablue. The Extreme name does give a pretty good indication of what the new watches entail. I saw the name before I saw the photos, and I immediately thought it would be a rugged upgrade. I was correct! Think of the robust armor upgrade of the Royal Oa...

Now and then, you come across a watch that awakens the desire for a feature that is missing in your collection. That may be a particular design, a certain complication, or… or a dial color.Although a constant flow of watch news washes up Fratello s shores, I, like you, can hardly get enough of that. When I m passing shop windows of jewelers, I cannot resist checking what they currently offer. Which novelties have finally arrived in the shops? How do the watches I did not have the chance to see live before look in real life? Is there anything I missed?To the latter category belongs Girard-Perregaux‘s 2018 edition of the 1966 40mm in steel with a gradient gray dial. The brand had p...

Hublot did what Hublot does and made a splash with its colorway swathe of new releases this week. Asa devoted follower of the brand, it is my pleasure to present the Hublot Big Bang Integral Ceramic novelties, the Big Bang Integral Tourbillon Full Sapphire, and the Classic Fusion Orlinski Blue Ceramic.Let s start with what is fast becoming a bread and butter range for Hublot. What would be an absolute showstopping proposition for most brands now feels so organic coming out of Hublot s stable that it would be easy to miss the update altogether. The Big Bang Integral Ceramic line is not new. We ve seen the black version before. However, this week, that stealthy model was joining by three new o...

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. This morning, we set you the task of choosing between the same watch in different metals. The Day-Date 40 in yellow gold takes on its platinum sibling.When devising this week s Sunday Morning Showdown topic, our writers knew they wanted to feature the Day-Date. It s one of the few current models th...

There arent too many brands you could mistake Ressence for. That kind of genuine uniqueness is a very good thing in watchmaking. The only thing that is halfway irking about it is that one must describe the kind of uniqueness as genuine at all, such is the rampant overuse of that word. But Ressence deserves to have it applied to its creations as well as the ubiquitous respect of journalists and consumers the world over. Why? Because Ressence does something no other brand does. And while the movements driving the creative modules have, thus far, been relatively pedestrian, founder Benoit has always had his eyes on a goal that, until now, had remained shrouded in mystery-If you havent encounter...

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. This week we will be looking at some of the best Breitling watches from the 1960s.In the 1960s, we witnessed developments that challenged the status quo of watch design forever. While the 1950s introduced the sports watches next to the dressier timepieces people were used to, the 1960s took that trope to the extreme. The sheer amount of watches that pushed the visual bound...

Let s forget about the 60 international awards (and 7 world records) for the Octo Finissimo watches for a brief moment. That s important, especially for marketing purposes, but, in the end, it s the watch itself that counts. Today, we bring you the latest iteration of this new icon: the Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar.Bvlgari s Octo Finissimo has grown up to become emblematic of the brand in an incredibly short period. That is a true accomplishment, especially today in an era in which many brands claim to have an icon (some brands even going as far as to name their product line Aikon). But icons are special. Icons are not simply anointed as such by marketing execs drunk on wishful thinking...

On the third day of Watches and Wonders, we can make up the balance and share our favorite watches from the show. Three watches each, and a bonus watch, so we talk about 8 watches in total.Surprisingly, no watches from Patek Philippe, , or Tudor are in this overview of our favorites. Instead, with one or two exceptions, we selected pretty wild watches (at least for us). Included are A. Lange & S?hne (twice!), a Cartier, a Moser & Cie, a Louis Moinet (actually a set of 4), a Louis Vuitton, a Nomos, and a Jaeger-LeCoultre.Our Watches and Wonders Favorites This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings You can also listen to this ...

Among many novelties, revealed a few ladies releases for 2021. The new Day-Date 36 and the new Datejust 28 are hardly surprising, considering how important these two models are for the Swiss brand, but perhaps their manner of execution is. Moreover, I feel these gem-set, flashy designs feel more like something from 2001 rather than 2021. On the other hand, aren t trends about circulation? Let s find out!Like all watches, the Day-Date 36 with the Oyster case is here to stand out. The coral-colored-diamond concept is certainly something to behold.The 36mm Oyster case features a sporty design fettled by 254 brilliant-cut diamonds. Made from yellow gold, the watch highlights eccentric details...

Yes, you read the title correctly. just pulled a Kansas City Shuffle on us yesterday. While we were looking at the shiny new releases in its keynote presentation, quietly updated its configurator with some new options.The Explorer I and Explorer II updates received much of the attention, along with new unique dials for the Daytona and Datejust. Look at the love-it-or-hate-it leafy green Datejust dial! Opinion has been somewhat divided among the team, but I think its a pretty cool summer watch. However, we noticed a few additions to the configurator that went slightly under the radar.Rob noted the blue fluted dial in his article for the new unique dials for the Datejust. That tasty new add...

Back in 1854, voyaging was extremely expensive. The main form of transport was a carriage or a train and there was no luggage. Louis Vuitton exploited the full potential of the growing automotive industry and by designing the first collection of trunks with a view of customers needs. Le Voyage - is the most significant manifesto of Louis Vuitton s brand identity.Today, Nicolas Ghesquiere and Virgil Abloh shape Louis Vuitton. They not only represent more contemporary references in their collections but also mix comfort with an extreme fashion statement. I believe that so many of you are fans of bags decorated in all-over Louis Vuitton monogram, or reinvented streetwear. But what about watches...