The watch industry, like many, is known for pushing the envelope when it comes to materials used in its products. Just think of silicon balance springs or dials decorated with flower petals, cigar leaves, or crystallized gold. And what about, well, Swiss cheese? All jokes aside, we felt that it would be fun if we took a closer look at watch cases and the astonishing materials they come in these days. So, I collected the Top 5 watch case materials that will blow your mind.?Needless to say, watch cases are not the only components with which brands like to experiment. You will find surprising materials all over watches! Still, this is the most prominent or visible part of a timepiece. Venturing...

We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. Where 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. But all of them are remarkable watches. In this second installment, we will take a look at the best Omega watches from the 1950s.The best Omega watches from the 1950s? What does that actually mean?...

Welcome, one and all, to the preliminary round of March Mania 2021, here on Fratello. Are you a watch maniac like we are? If so, youre sure to love our month-long feature. 96 watches reviewed last year line up for a battle royale like nothing thats gone before. We need your votes. We want your comments. Help us decide the champion and share in its glory! Let the games commence-In this round, your task is simple: vote for your favorite watch. Below you will find a selection of 12 timepieces that we covered here on Fratello throughout 2020. Why not refresh your memory by clicking the links and reading those eruditely penned odes to wrist-wear? Once you ve made your selection, vote using the po...

Besides a chronograph or GMT, there are only a very few mechanical complications one would need. Purists can debate whether a tourbillon is a complication, but it s one of those examples of a complication that has little use today. It s just there to admire and enjoy.A perpetual calendar is somewhere in the middle. Having a calendar on your wrist that shows the day, date, month, leap-year, and moon phase, is simply pretty cool. It might come in handy, but it s mainly there to show the craftsmanship of Swiss watchmakers who are able to program a calendar for the coming centuries.Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42The first word that comes to mind when putting this watch on the wrist is impressi...

The only shortcoming of this otherwise perfect watch story is the fact that it was not my grandpa. The injured Gallet Commander was posted on Facebook by the grandson of a Mexican man that won the watch from an American soldier in a saloon-based poker game. Thats what I call a bad-ass cool granddad!Its not entirely impossible to find a Gallet Commander, but many online listings look very inconsistent and, frankly, too suspicious. Over-polished, relumed, even redialed, the OG crown long lost, you name it. Patience is, to a watch collectors life, as important as following the condition, condition, condition rule. As Gallet was very popular in the US (thanks to distributor Jules Racine), I beli...

A few weeks ago, Sinn announced the new R500 Titanium Chronograph. The announcement came via an online presentation, which I attended. Oftentimes, I find it quite difficult to stay laser-focused on virtual show-and-tells, but Sinn did a good job of keeping me glued to the screen. Why? The unusual and wholly unexpected form of the R500 Titanium Chronograph had me hopping from forum to forum and chat group to chat group, discussing with my colleagues exactly how and when we could get one of these on the wrist to test it out. As it happens, the answers to those questions were: by asking, and, right now.I am a Sinn fan and a long-time Sinn owner. My favorite Sinn products are its dive and tool w...

Welcome, one and all, to the preliminary round of March Mania 2021, here on Fratello. Are you a watch maniac like we are? If so, you re sure to love our month-long feature. 96 watches reviewed last year line up for a battle royale like nothing that s gone before. We need your votes. We want your comments. Help us decide the champion and share in its glory! Let the games commence…In this round, your task is simple: vote for your favorite watch. Below you will find a selection of 12 timepieces that we covered here on Fratello throughout 2020. Why not refresh your memory by clicking the links and reading those eruditely penned odes to wrist-wear? Once you ve made your selection, vote usin...

I am not a G-Shock collector like Gerard is, but I do have my share of them in my watch collection. G-Shock is gaining quite a bit of popularity amongst our readers, and we can surely imagine why. There s a lot of value for money, and they re also just fun to collect and wear.The first G-Shock I bought was a 2003 20th anniversary model of the original watch. A few more followed, in all sorts of shapes and colors, but mostly made of resin. This new G-Shock MTG-B2000PH Blue Phoenix is made of metal and resin. Most important though is the motif on the case. A rainbow ion plating on the case and bezel of the MTG-B2000PH.MTG-B2000PHThe G-Shock that is now introduced, is clearly something special....

From March 6th till March 15th, the 36th edition of the America s Cup will take place. Just recently, Omega introduced its Seamaster Divers 300M Chronograph America s Cup edition, with chrono lock. We wrote about it here. But last year, Omega debuted a very handsome Seamaster Planet Ocean America s Cup Limited Edition, to celebrate the 36th race. We had the chance to go hands-on with it not so long ago and thought it would be nice to give it some attention right before the start of this year s America s Cup.Planet Ocean America s CupOmega s Seamaster family consists of many members. We have the famous 300M, the heritage-inspired 300, the versatile Aqua Terra, the not-so-versatile PloProf, th...

We re back - and on time - with Wrist Game or Crying Shame. This week, we offer a look at the charming Vacheron Constantin Chronograph 47101. Let s see if you have the courage to go out on your own or if those influencers will pull you back into the fold. Before we get to that…Last week, I served up a dinner plate full of IWC with the Portuguese Vintage. An astounding 69% of you arrived hungry and ready to dine on this massive manual wind throwback and sent it on to a great Wrist Game win. I enjoy seeing IWC up to some positive behavior, so well done on that. This week, we touch on another brand that escapes fawning praise from the collective doofuses that make up the hip crowd on soci...

Last week we wrote a detailed hands-on article about the new Omega Speedmaster Master Chronometer in Sedna gold. This week, we re bringing you a video in which Karina and I talk about the Speedmaster Sedna versus the Daytona Everose.In this new video, we re presenting the Speedmaster Professional Master Chronometer in Sedna gold, Omega s own rose gold alloy. Instead of silver, the brand uses use a specific amount of palladium in the composition. This ensures an enduring rose gold color. has a similar alloy for its rose gold watches, and calls it Everose. We compare the Speedmaster Sedna and the Daytona Everose and tell you why we think the Speedmaster is a better pick.Speedmaster Sedna vers...

Welcome, one and all, to the preliminary round of March Mania 2021, here on Fratello. Are you a watch maniac like we are? If so, you re sure to love our month-long feature. 96 watches reviewed last year line up for a battle royale like nothing that s gone before. We need your votes. We want your comments. Help us decide the champion and share in its glory! Let the games commence…In this round, your task is simple: vote for your favorite watch. Below you will find a selection of 12 timepieces that we covered here on Fratello throughout 2020. Why not refresh your memory by clicking the links and reading those eruditely penned odes to wrist-wear? Once you ve made your selection, vote usin...

With so much Alpinist talk these days, I felt it was high time to take a look at what I think is the finest model in the model s history. Feast your eyes on the Seiko Champion Alpinist J13043 and devour a few words while you re at it.Just last week, we took a look at a couple of new Seiko Alpinist models that take their cues from the original 1959 Laurel model. I actually own that original and somewhat rare reference 14041 in black. It was and is a rather unique Seiko, especially when one considers the era. However, the second generation of Alpinist models was far more original and dynamic. These fell under the Champion line of watches and, as was normal for Seiko, designs changed yearly. Ou...

Brand definition has seldom been more important than it is in 2021. Following a year of lockdown, brands are becoming more cognizant of the new challenges they must face. Bridging the divide between products and customers has never been harder. The brands that will meet with the most success in this vein are those with a strong story, an identifiable aesthetic, and a memorable character that can transcend the need to hold an object before committing to its purchase. As such, William Wood looks well-equipped to weather the current storm, and its new Triumph collection, released earlier today.If you re unfamiliar with the William Wood brand, we ve got you covered. Please take a look at our pre...

Welcome, one and all, to the preliminary round of March Mania 2021, here on Fratello. Are you a watch maniac like we are? If so, you re sure to love our month-long feature. 96 watches reviewed last year line up for a battle royale like nothing that s gone before. We need your votes. We want your comments. Help us decide the champion and share in its glory! Let the games commence…In this round, your task is simple: vote for your favorite watch. Below you will find a selection of 12 timepieces that we covered here on Fratello throughout 2020. Why not refresh your memory by clicking the links and reading those eruditely penned odes to wrist-wear? Once you ve made your selection, vote usin...

2021 marks the 220th anniversary of the tourbillon. On June 26th, 1801, Abraham-Louis Breguet obtained the patent for his invention called tourbillon. The tourbillon itself is a little bit older, as it took Breguet about six years to develop it. But who was Abraham-Louis Breguet exactly, and why is the tourbillon such an interesting mechanism?Breguet Marine Tourbillon E?quation MarchanteAbraham-Louis Breguet was born in 1747 in Neuchatel, Switzerland. As an apprentice of a watchmaker, he traveled to France on his 15th birthday to continue his apprenticeship there. He wasn t only a watchmaker; he also had a strong background in mathematics and physics. In today s world, we would probably call...

Just like the seasons change, so too do our desires. Who wants to look at the same old watch strap day in, day out? A new strap can completely transform a watch s character and, with it, your mood while wearing it. While darker colors make sense throughout the winter months, a fresh injection of energy feels perfectly on point whenever springtime rolls around. As such, Genteel Handmade has conceived a new range of spring-inspired straps that we ve decided to shine a light on this week.With the dark days of 2020 behind us, the time is ripe to bring a bit of color to our lives. And as many of us blow through our houses, dispensing with cobwebs and unwanted possessions, why not freshen up the w...

It took me a long time to really buy-in to the value of a good strap maker. For years, every watch in my collection sat proudly on its original strap or bracelet. I was convinced that there could be no better pairing than that which was originally intended by the watch head s designer. But I was wrong. As you might have gleaned from my previous articles on after-market straps and bracelets, there is a huge amount of fun to be had and joy to be found in experimenting with the bands of specialists. LIC Leather from Belgium is one such specialist I would, after wearing its products for a while, heartily recommend.For this review, I selected four quite different straps. I wanted to see a variati...

The Edox Delfin name goes all the way back to the 1960s. A watch that could withstand a pressure of 30 BAR (300 meters) and using innovations like a double O-ring system and a reinforced case back.Today, the Edox Delfin Mecano looks slightly different but is made with the same spirit as sixty years ago. This modern sports watch is water-resistant up to 200 meters, thanks to the double O-ring system, and screw-down crown, in a very modern design. Even though it looks like a completely different watch than the 1961 Delfin, there are some ingredients from the past.Edox DiversIn the 1960s and 1970s, Edox has a number of dive watches, the Delfin was probably its most famous model. The Delfin, int...

Welcome one and all to our new Sunday afternoon Pod-Column, Watching Sports (Or WASP, for short).To celebrate this new Fratello feature, host Rob Nudds welcomes fellow sports fanatic Balazs to the virtual booth. This week, the despicable duo look back on Super Bowl LV and the remarkable achievements of 43-year old Tom Brady, as he guided the Buccs to their second championship while picking up his seventh (seventh) in the process.We talk about team building, Brady s place in both NFL and general sports history, and why the heck the GOAT is wearing an IWC these days?We ll be indulging one of our favorite pastimes and picking the perfect watch for several of the league s biggest stars. What wou...