There are some articles that come easier than others. Sometimes the words just flow. This was not one of those times. Understandably, I found myself wondering why? After spending more than a month with the Baltic Aquascaphe GMT on and off my wrist on both the supplied bracelet and the spare rubber strap (my preference), I think I figured out why.Some releases are loud; some releases are quiet. While brands make varying amounts of noise themselves, it is the product that dictates the decibel level. Some releases are designed to send a sonic boom peeling through the industry. Others - and this is the case with the Baltic Aquascaphe GMT - are most certainly not.Baltic has done a stand-up job of...

There s always been a bit of hostility between smartwatches and watch aficionados.? And yet, although I call myself a watch lover, I don t experience this negative feeling. And so it wasn t too much of an effort to wear the TAG Heuer Connected for a few weeks daily. Mostly, I enjoyed using it as a regular watch and as a stopwatch for cooking purposes. But using it as an activity tracker as well, and as a notification center was an interesting experience. I d like to share my thoughts on that below.Who would have thought that the TAG Heuer connected would have made it to its 3rd generation? TAG Heuer first tested the water in 2015, becoming one of the first major luxury brands to dive into th...

If you like smartly designed, highly unusual watches with a Scandi vibe, you re in luck. Anders Brandt, a co-founder of Danish brand Arcanaut, sat down with Rob Nudds to explain the thinking behind one of the most culturally interesting watches out there.Rob Nudds: Hi Anders, thanks for sitting down with us at Fratellowatches.com.Can you tell us where your watchmaking journey began? Does it run in your family? Were you exposed to it from a young age? Did you fall into the trade by accident?Anders Brandt: Well, I stumbled into all of this by pure accident. I cannot brag about my great grandfather leaving me a Trench watch from the war or starting to collect watches at the age of ten C I just ...

If there is something that drives Breitling collectors nuts, its all the online listings where sellers claim that Sicura was a sub-brand of Breitling. Or, more controversial still, that Sicura watches were produced by Breitling or even that a Sicura watch is effectively a Breitling watch in disguise. Lets make it clear once and for all. To help us, let s focus on the witty Sicura Rally GT with an unusual bezel.The problem mentioned above is endemic. If you go online, you will find many Sicura watches listed incorrectly. And it doesnt only happen on eBay, but you can even see it at auction houses. Why is there so much confusion? Is it just an unfortunate misunderstanding or is it the delibera...

Wrist Game or Crying Shame is here with a look at yet another Omega. This time, we put the Omega Dynamic III to the test. But first…It was tough sledding for last week s TAG Heuer Kirium Formula 1. The neo-vintage ana-digi chronograph took a vintage Mike Tyson style beating with 73% voting this one to the scrap pile. The comments were absolutely savage and many of you recalled the days of fragrances such as Drakkar Noir and Davidoff (no, not those guys) Cool Water. I m going to go out on a limb and guess that today s Omega Dynamic III will fare much better. Whether it wins the Fratelli s favor, will be up to you.The Omega Dynamic IIIThe Omega Dynamic series of watches have normally bee...

Norqain does not waste any time when it comes to releasing new watches. The fruits of the Kenissi relationship have resulted in a string of interesting new releases powered by Norqain s proprietary movements. I had a chance to go hands-on with the Norqain Freedom 60 39mm watches. The recently introduced Norqain Caliber NN20 powers both three-handers. Let s find out what works better, bronze or steel?For a brand that has only been around for only two years, Norqain has been taking big steps. And I have to say I like that. I had my first taste of Norqain this summer when I reviewed the Norqain Freedom 60 Chronograph. And as I explained in my review, I like that watch quite a bit. After I let g...

When it comes to Grand Seikos headline release of the 2020 calendar, theres a lot to discuss. Caliber 9SA5 is an entirely new movement released in time to mark the commencement of Grand Seikos second 60-year cycle. It hammers home the point (as if anyone had forgotten) that the Grand Seiko mission statement is, and always has been, that the best can always be bettered.For six decades, the Japanese juggernaut has stuck to its founding principles. In the hearts and minds of Grand Seikos chief engineers and designers, even the idea of excellence can stagnate if allowed to stand still. As such, they set about designing a brand new caliber from the ground up. And rather than save time, money, and...

Woohoo! The Speedmaster World Cup grand final is here! The Speedmaster Calibre 321 Ed White versus the Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 45th Anniversary edition. Limited production versus limited edition, an interesting battle, for sure.Here we are, the two major players in this Speedmaster World Cup! Before we go head-to-head with the finalists, we would like to express our THANKS to all of you who voted. It has been a fantastic cup, full of surprises, controversy, and glorious victories.Speedmaster World Cup FinalsIn the left corner: The Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 45th anniversary that was introduced in 2015 as a limited edition of only 1,970 pieces. A watch that made its mark in...

Finally, the time has come to announce the winner of our 2020 Fratello Watch On Your Wrist Instagram photo contest. It s been a long and fun ride, and we are happy, so many of you joined us. However, there could only be one winner…Those of you who follow us weekly might know the results by now. But before I jump to that, let s talk about the past seven months.Watch on Your Wrist 2020Yes, it s been seven months since we started this photo contest as a way to show everyone that our community is incredible. Many of you follow us, tag us with your fabulous photos every week, and inspire each other and us to create better content - for social media and general. We needed to find a way to br...

I look back upon the vintage Japanese watches that entered the collection during 2020. Spoiler alert: this is one seriously eclectic mix!On team Fratello, most of us focus on some unique niche within the watch continuum. For certain, we cross over in areas such as Omega and , but there are definite areas of divergence. Balazs, for example, has a particular passion for Angelus while Tomas delights in the downright different. I dabble in all sorts of things, but my absolute adoration falls towards vintage Japanese watches.Vintage Japanese watches are my bagI ve written at length here on our site about many vintage Japanese watches with Seiko as a primary focus. In recent years, though, I ve br...

As Christmas is getting closer every day, the annual rush to find a great present is about to begin. Of course, I buy a lot of socks (classic) but since I recently got into watches, I figured that my beloved husband deserves something classier than boring old stockings. No, this year, I have my heart set on a watch for him; not any watch but a watch that expresses appropriately how I feel about him. The only problem? He wants an Apple Watch…So, I am wondering if an Apple Watch can do the job of an emotionally loaded timepiece that symbolizes eternity, love, belonging, and family? Imagine him in about 50 years, in 2080, giving his grandchild a rather exceptional present for a birthday: ...

Under the haze of dusk, Oris snuck in a Divers Sixty-Five in October. No fanfare or press release that usually accompanies a new configuration. Instead, just a quiet assurance that this watch was available by listing it on the website. But dont think this smooth criminal will get away with its stealthy strike. The sunset gradient brown dial has rekindled my interest in the Sixty-Five range, and Im here to tell you why.Before I backtrack, let me jump straight to the action. New for 2020 is the 40mm Divers Sixty-Five with what Oris calls the Brown dial. For me, this sells it short as the gradient from the black aluminum bezel to the golden center takes you on a journey of color. It reminds me ...

2020 is finally coming to an end. However, I have one more watch to talk about before. In the past, when I spoke about Certina, it was either about a sport or a vintage watch. Rarely do we see a classy, vintage-inspired timepiece from the brand. The DS Chronograph Automatic is filling this void, though.If you need affordable Swiss Made sports to watch, prominently divers, Certina is a brand you definitely should check out. But they have a rich history that includes classy pieces,?chronographs, and other models as well. And don t even make me start talking about?Grana. Certina watches of the pastThere are brands we talk a lot about, Certina included, but we mainly focus on their?current colle...

Over the last year or two, Glashtte Original has slowly been expanding the SeaQ family of watches in a careful and well-executed manner. The original model has since had slightly new dial designs, diamond bezels, and now it has grown in size, had a larger panorama date complication and received the precious metal treatment. It is these larger, panorama models I am taking a look at today.Before I start, I want to say that I like the basic SeaQ looks. I think it is a handsome heritage design (originally known as the Spezimatic) and, with the current industry trend showing the popularity of reissues, an obvious choice to focus on for the brands dive watch offerings. According to the Glashtte ...

Ho, ho, ho, what a year it s been for Hamilton! Overall, the Swatch Group has had a surprisingly impressive 2020. Despite challenges that no one saw coming and several circumstances beyond anyone s control, SG brands have been turning out the goods on a regular basis. Hamilton has had a particularly strong 12 months, as you can see from the festive selection below…Fratello is a broad church. We like all kinds of watches. We enjoy covering extremely high-end horology just as much as we love covering new and exciting microbrands. But above all, we like well-made, reasonably priced steel sports watches. There is room for an all-gold piece in anyone s collection, of course, but, if you re ...

Balazs and Mike make good on their promise to come back with frequency! On this episode we give recommendations for the upcoming Holiday Season and then we talk about our favorite bracelets.Our Fratello on Air podcast is available via?Buzzsprout,?Soundcloud,?Apple Podcast,?Google Podcast,?Deezer, Stitcher, and?Spotify. This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings The Handgelenk KontrolleFirst, it s a Handgelenk Kontrolle and Mike is wearing a vintage Meylan Chronograph while Balazs is sporting his Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical with a Kill Hubris NATO.The FratellorisThen, we talk about the Fratelloris Fratello x Oris Big Crown Bronz...

It s always good when we get a few interesting bits fall into the inbox. Some weeks are slower than others, but I found plenty to keep me interested this week! Delightful dials aplenty and more!Time+Tide released their first collaboration, Minase and Laurent Ferrier work their magic with stunning dials, and ArtyA goes up in my estimations. Let s dig in…Minase Divido Deep Blue Urushi Silver Maki-e DialToday is not the first time I ve covered news and releases from Minase. There s a good reason for that: I like the Japanese brand s watches - especially the Divido family, which we see here today. Mike wrote a hands-on article about the Minase Divido last year. It s worth giving this a qui...

Well, we finally made it to the last weekend of the Omega Speedmaster World Cup. What a ride it s been. We ve seen surprise winners, remarkable comebacks, our fair share of voter fraud, and worthy watches left languishing in the group stages. The two watches that fell one step short, the Tintin and Snoopy III, now duke it out for your approval.We ve seen brutal character assassinations, indulged in well-worded arguments, and recoiled in disbelief as Mike failed three consecutive dope tests. Still, despite running the most sophisticated doping program since Lance Armstrong s USP team, Mikey couldn t propel his mighty Tintin into the Final. Instead, that pesky pooch from 2015 has marched on to...

Wow. What a rollercoaster. There have been more back-and-forth tug-of-war contests in this World Cup than anyone saw coming. Thanks to thousands of voters, though, we now have our finalists locked and loaded and ready to roll. The Omega Speedmaster World Cup is just 7 days away from its conclusion and we need YOU to help us decide a winner.When this World Cup began, I had high hopes for the format. Sports tournaments are real annual highlights for me and, in the absence of Euro 2020, I wanted to create something similar but with watches. We settled upon Speedmasters as a team, and what a choice that turned out to be!We all had our favorites, but we didn t necessarily get to argue for them (i...

A Datejust ref.1600 was actually my first . I still have it, and although that watch became a bit obsolete in my collection, I do cherish it. It is a classic and especially on a Jubilee bracelet, an incredibly comfortable watch to wear.Later on, I added a Datejust 16200 and even an OysterQuartz Datejust 17013. The Datejust 16200 didn t add much to the Datejust 1600 in my opinion, so it had to go, but I regret selling the 17013 a bit. That is an awesome watch, despite horological purists are known to throw a bit up in their mouth when hearing the word quartz or battery.I selected a few different Datejusts for this article, pre-owned models, that I think are interesting to consider. Perhaps...