After several years of not meeting with Bell & Ross, we sat down with the brand at Baselworld 2019 and we found a winner in the new Bell & Ross Bellytanker Bronze chronograph.I could say Bellytanker all day long – it s simply that fun.? That being said, the word belly just doesn t come to the forefront of watch-related names, but here we are with the Bell & Ross Bellytanker Bronze chronograph and in our brief time with it, we came away impressed.The New Bell & Ross Bellytanker BronzeThe Bellytanker name used in the?Bell & Ross Bellytanker Bronze stems from emergency fuel tanks hanging from the bottoms of older fighter planes.? As B&R s website also tells us, the...

British watch brand Christopher Ward asked us to review one of their new C65 Trident Automatic, vintage-inspired, diver s watches. An updated model from the manual winding version which had been available for some time already, and which is one of their best selling products. Not only mechanically updated with an automatic movement and date function, but the dial of the C65 Trident Automatic also became more sophisticated with raised circular indexes.Christopher Ward C65 Trident Automatic?on a 25-day journeyWhile the below $ 1.000,= segment of vintage-inspired?diver s watches gets pretty crowded nowadays, we see a high interest in it from our readers as well. So, of course, we were happy?to ...

Killer movement for your next GTGSome people put it on their list of the most useless watch complications of all times. What are we talking about this week? The dead beat seconds aka ‘seconde morte or also known as jumping seconds aka ‘seconde sautante .Foreword on dead secondsYou look down at the dial and instead of a sweeping, continuous motion, the hand jumps! Sixty precise leaps per minute of the central second hand. To illustrate, imagine a highly possible scenario of your first encounter with this movement in the real, offline world: you just met a collector, taking a quick look at his wrist. You think you are looking at a quartz watch. Basically, youre not very impressed....

Limited to 100 pieces in white gold (and another 700 in titanium), Citizen brings us their ‘Caliber 0100 (marketed as ‘The Citizen in Japan) with an accuracy of just +/- 1 second per year, without relying on data from satellites or being radio controlled.This year, Citizen took us by surprise and introduced something ‘high-end to us. And not even mechanical, but a quartz powered watch. Although the world of watch enthusiasts mainly revolves about mechanical watches, there s also an audience that aims for the best accuracy possible. Even quartz watches have to deal with a deviation, which is where radio controlled and GPS connected watches come in place, to correct the ti...

Zenith kicked off the 50th anniversary of the El Primero with a trio of watches first shown during, but not at, SIHH in January.? At Baselworld 2019, the celebration continued with additional pieces the brand that the brand has named Zenith El Primero A386 Revival.It was only a couple months ago that we first laid eyes upon Zeniths 50 Years of El Primero Anniversary Set.? It was a set offering three different expressions of the famous movement that first debuted in 1969.? A futuristic Defy, a modern Chronomaster, and a re-edition of the original A386 were included in this run of 50 sets for 50,000 CHF.? We liked the notion, but most of us vintage grouches were really hoping for either a limi...

NOMOS comes out strong this year, with a new ‘Duo collection for ladies but also with their Sports watches. Meet the NOMOS Tangente Sport neomatik?42 date.NOMOS is not the watch brand you ll associate with sports, although their Ahoi is certainly up to the task. This year, NOMOS showed us the new Sports collection that consists of the Tangente Sport and Club Sport models. We focus our ‘Hot Take on the NOMOS Tangente Sport neomatik 42 Date.The steel bracelet on this NOMOS reminded me a bit about those Fix-o-Flex bracelets from the past, but upon closer inspection, these are entirely different for sure. NOMOS s bracelet feels solid and very supple, as it consists of many links th...

At Baselworld 2019, after years of seeing many new releases from the brand, the TAG Heuer Autavia Isograph was the primary focus.That s right, we walked into the TAG Heuer booth, sat down in the conference room and aside from seeing a digital presentation of a new Golf watch, we physically saw one watch. Ok, that s not exactly true. We saw a handful of different variants of the same watch and that ought to tell you how important the new TAG Heuer Autavia Isograph is to the brand. And what s more, this new piece kicks off a new lineup with more models to come. A new chronograph will be announced later this year and in a case that differs from the current retro Heuer Heritage Autavia that is o...

Recently, multiple brands released their ‘salmon . I mean a dial with the colour which is described as salmon. Or named ‘salmon by the watch crowd. To commit to this I thought it was time to create my own ‘true salmon dial:Why do I say ‘true ? Well, there has been some discussion going on this new Audemars Piguet (reference 15202BC). Is it a salmon dial or not? Audemars Piguet describes it as pink-gold. Some watch collectors say it s salmon. Confusion everywhere. How can you verify this?Salmon dial or not?See It Yourself!Although most professional photographers can get the colours right, it s often the device of the viewer (and the settings) which makes it look less...

The Yacht-Master was introduced in 1992, so only a relatively new member of the Oyster family. Now, 27 years later, they introduce something big, bold and in white gold.Although a bit underwhelmed at first based on the press images, the new Yacht-Master 42 with reference 226659 did not disappoint. I feel kinda old realizing that I vividly remember the introduction of the Yacht-Master reference 16622. When the Yacht-Master was introduced in 1992, it was only in yellow gold. A watch that wasn t meant as a divers watch, with its bi-directional bezel and water resistance of ‘just 100 meters. It was meant and still is, as a lifestyle piece rather than a tool watch.There s also a Yacht-M...

We ve received a flurry of requests to see the new Seiko SLA033 vs 6105-8110, the latter being the 1970 s inspiration.We reviewed the new-for-Baselworld 2019 Seiko SLA033 1970 Diver yesterday.? Unfortunately, I had the original on my hand when I was detained by Swiss Customs and missed taking it into the show to compare with the new piece.? But, in an act of sincere kindness, Joe Kirk and the Seiko USA team met with us to give me (and some more of our team members who were happy to see the new watches again) a look.? Bert had the opportunity to shoot several pics of both old and new side by side.? We ve got a handful of great images, so let s take at the Seiko SLA033 vs 6105-8110.When lookin...

The Seiko Presage collection won the hearts of many enthusiasts with their attractively priced mechanical watches. For those who are able to stretch their budget a bit, there are the Presage models with handcrafted dials.We ve often covered the Seiko Presage collection and recently brought them to your attention because of their special dials. What to think of the blue enamel dial Seiko Presage SPB069 or the Seiko Presage Urushi Byakudan-nuri?reference SPB085. Today it is time to bring their latest to your attention, the Seiko Presage Arita Porcelain Dial reference?SPB093.Before I continue this article on that Arita Porcelain watch, let me tell you that I own a Presage watch for a few months...

The Day-Date is the watch that speaks to the?imagination more than any other model from their collection. It is the watch worn by Presidents, CEOs, actors, sports people and so on.By owning a Day-Date yourself (if you don t fall into one of the categories above), you might be able to think (or fantasize) that you are in a great company. Besides everything that relates to the image of the Day-Date, it is just one heck of a watch. Wonderful design, only available in precious metals (yeah yeah, they did a few protos in steel) and with a wide variation of dial configurations. Although also introduced it in 41mm – discontinued in the meantime – and in 40mm, the Day-Date was and st...

Remember the Sinn 203? Or even the Sinn 203 Arktis? Well, that was 20 years ago and now Sinn introduces its successor, the 206 Arktis II. Here s our hot take on it.The Sinn 203 chronograph was a very popular watch so no way Sinn would have just discontinued it without a proper follow-up. So Sinn replaces their 203 and 203 Arktis with the 206 St Ar and 206 Arktis II.Sinn 206 Arktis IIWe will soon write a proper hands-on review on the Sinn 206 Arktis II, but let s have quick look at it first to give some explanation about this update of the 203.?I will focus on the Sinn 206 Arktis II, which has two advantages over the regular 206 (St Ar).First, the main advantage is the fact that the Sinn 206 ...

Today, we sat down to take a look at the new Seiko Sumo Prospex Diver at Baselworld 2019: an update to a fan favorite.Sitting down to take a look at all the new models within the Seiko portfolio takes some serious concentration.? The number of introductions can be hard to keep up with and there s a lot of detail to remember.? When we sit down, we go through Grand Seiko, all of the re-editions, the special editions, the limited models, the models supporting some sort of organization, and it truly goes on.? Trust us, we love it that Seiko brings so much to Baselworld each and every year, but sometimes we crave some good, honest pieces without a story.? Today s introduction is such an example i...

At Baselworld 2019, the new Seiko SLA033 1970 Diver debuted: a modern, yet faithful reinterpretation of the collectible 6105-8110/9.We live in decent times where Seiko brings us a wide range of new models each and every year at Baselworld.? They ve also now set a trend of reissuing modernized, but true re-editions of divers from their back catalog.? Two years ago, it was the SLA017 in celebration of the legendary 62MAS and last year we saw the SLA025 in the form of the hi-beat 6159-7000.? This year, we re fortunate to see a watch in the mold of the 6105-8110/9 (otherwise known as the Captain Willard from its place on the arm of actor Martin Sheen in?Apocalypse Now)?called the Seiko SLA033 19...

This classic is considered to be the mother of all modern wristwatches, and every collector at least needs to have one or have tried it.The Datejust was actually my first . I got it in 2002 when I finished university and went straight for the Datejust in 36mm with a white gold fluted bezel and Jubilee bracelet. It is basically one of the watches I respect most and this year we see an updated version of that classic. Let s forget about the Sea-Dweller in gold & steel for a moment (that Michael covered here) or the new GMT-Master II Batman with Jubilee that I wrote about earlier yesterday. The Datejust release is less controversial, very safe even, and that s what I feel is best at. Do ...

The story of the Speedmaster began in 1957, when OMEGA s Claude Baillod designed the watch for his manager, Head of Creation Pierre Moinat. The first few models (CK2915 and CK2998) had a symmetrical shape and were replaced by the a-symmetrical case as we happen to know it now, in 1963. When the Speedmaster was chosen by NASA to become part of the astronaut s equipment, OMEGA added the wording ‘Professional on the dial in 1965. The rest is history and has been discussed and documented by many, including here at Fratellowatches.Besides the Moonwatch, OMEGA developed and produced a number of Speedmaster watches that were not part of the Professional series. We would say that the Speedmas...

Chances are small that you ve heard about Peter Roberts before, unless you belong to the inner circles of England s south-eastern watch enthusiasts. Although he has quite a resume, he does not seem to be the guy that is all over the web or actually wants to be all over the web. With 45 years of experience in the watch industry though, you could say he s a watch vet.Being the first WOSTEP student from the UK, having worked at IWC and in Switzerland and being the head of repairs at one of the high-end jewellers in London is certainly impressive, but you probably don t know Peter Roberts from that part of his resume as well. You might know him being the Technical Director of the Bremont Watch ...

Here is a short review of my Ingenieur ref.3227 after exactly 3 months of ownership.I don t think it s necessary to give background information on this watch, as I have done this in the past (here and here) and you can read all about the vintage Ingenieurs (including the 1976s SL) on this page by Larry Seiden, Marco Schoenenberger and David ter Molen.Although this purchase might seemed as an impulse three months ago, I always had a weak spot for the IWC Ingenieur. The packaging and the manuals that come with this watch are very nice. The black box with its leather interior keeps the watch in place perfectly. However, who is going to use it anyway once you put the watch around your wrist? The...

I am enjoying a blue periodPablo Picasso, the iconic Spanish painter created a series of paintings between 1901 – 1904 referred as his, blue period. This epoch of the artists life was reflected in sombre paintings employing predominantly blue or blue-green hues.Picasso was said to be suffering depression during this period and his choice of subject matter included images of beggars, prostitutes and drunks. Picasso was disturbed by the death of his friend, Carlos Casagemas.The pictures painted during the blue period were not popular at the time. Their cheerless depiction of dolent aspects of life, did not find favour with the public or buyers.Today, like many of Picasso pictures they ar...