It s Speedy Tuesday! As promised, something special for today! Or should I say something customized? Where there are products with fans, it is only a matter of time before the first ‘modded products will show up. Shane is one of our readers that took the liberty of creating his own version of the Speedmaster, using all original Speedmaster parts of course. Anyway, I asked Shane to do the talking.Vanilla Speedmaster 3570.50I wanted to write about a single watch, my first Speedmaster. It started out as a vanilla 3570.50 but it wouldn t stay that way, or any particular way, for long. It s a nice case study of what drives me to customize watches, of the differences that a few small parts ...
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Extreme Deep Sea Chronograph CermetDuring the SIHH 2013 exhibition in Geneva, I already put on-line some pictures of this watch on our #instagram account. However, there was no time yet to write something decent about the Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Chronograph Cermet watches. Undeserved.I love chronographs, especially vintage ones. This Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Chronograph has clearly been inspired by their 1950s Memovox Deep Sea models. Although I like the alarm complication, I rather have a chronograph watch to be honest. This Deep Sea Chronograph Cermet comes in two different models. The one pictured above and the ‘Vintage edition (pictured below). The vinta...
Golfer Rory McIlroy (we featured him here in the past) just signed up with OMEGA and left Audemars Piguet. OMEGA immediately captured him in an advertisement for the Aqua Terra collection, which they link to the golf sport. In the past, OMEGA has been sponsor of golf legend Ernie Els and during the years, added players like Greg Norman, Davis Love III, Sergio Garcia and Michelle Wie to their list of ambassadors. And now Rory McIlroy.No worries for Audemars Piguet though, they still have some golf players in their stable of ambassadors. What to think of Belen Mozo, Bud Cauley, Christie Kerr, Louis Oosthuizen, Miquel Angel Jimenez and even more. A number of big watch brands want to be associat...
Goldene Unruh 2013Every year, readers of the German Uhren Magazine and Focus magazine (a Munich based news magazine) can select a winning watch from a number of brands, in different price categories. This year, the selection process was even easier for voters using the Focus internet platform.Anyway, in total 25.246 people participated and voted for their most favorite watches amongst the 426 candidates. Voting took place between 15th of December 2012 and the 31st of January 2013. The categories of watches are as follows:Category A – up to 2500 EuroCategory B – up to 5000 EuroCategory C – up to 10.000 EuroCategory D – up to 25.000 EuroCategory E – over 25.000 Eu...
OMEGA s Co-Axial Chronometer. For some time now, OMEGA has been teasing us with beautiful images on their Facebook page. Like the one below. Beautiful. Since it is Speedy Tuesday, we selected this one, but OMEGA did a few more very interesting images.This morning, about an hour ago, OMEGA released a video about their Co-Axial Chronometer movements. The Co-Axial escapement was introduced by OMEGA to the public in 1999 in their DeVille Co-Axial watches (very limited production). In the last 13 years, OMEGA has been adopting the Co-Axial movement in all of their ranges (except for the quartz models and the original Moonwatch of course). This George Daniels invention was adopted by OMEGA a few y...
Tudor PelagosIn January, I received this Tudor Pelagos ref. 25500TN timepiece from our friends from Watchonista. They have created a wonderful page on the Tudor Pelagos on Watchonista and contains reviews written by Ariel Adams from aBlogtoWatch,?Ben Clymer from?Hodinkee?and yours truly.Tudor Stepped Out Of The ShadowAlthough Tudor is a sister company of , it has managed to become one of the most sought-after brands in recent years. Where Tudor used to be in the shadow of for decades, it has matured and became ready for the watch loving crowd. More important, the watch loving crowd showed that it is ready for Tudor as well. The on-going successful launches during the past few Baselworld ex...
Michael Clerizo, friend of the show for a long time now, already had written a beautiful book called ‘Masters of Contemporary Watchmaking‘. Clerizo (Wallstreet Journal contributor) just finished another great book – another masterpiece – called ‘George Daniels, A Master Watchmaker & His Art .Many of you will know George Daniels for his (important) work on the Co-Axial escapement. One of the – or perhaps the – most important inventions in watchmaking which has been adopted by OMEGA since 1999. However, Daniels already came up with the first co-axial escapement in 1975. After having having it tried and tested in a pocket watch first, he also applie...
It s Speedy Tuesday! Some things do not need introduction anymore and I think that Speedy Tuesday might be one of them. The number of responses to Speedy Tuesday in my mailbox is just unbelievable. Please, keep them coming! It might take a few Tuesdays, but your Speedmaster will be featured here.Today we actually have two Speedmaster watches lined up for you. One of them is the stainless steel version of the Speedmaster we featured here two weeks ago, the Apollo 11 40th anniversary edition of 2009. Two weeks ago, we had the platinum version and now we have the somewhat more affordable stainless steel version on Speedy Tuesday. Further more, we have something quite rare. A Speedmaster Profess...
Jean TodtJean Todt is no stranger to travel. He is the President of the FIA, Fe?de?ration Internationale de lAutomobile, an organisation which oversees motorsport and promotes road safety. His work takes him around the globe.Travel is nothing new for Mr Todt. He would grace television screens most weekends during the Formula One season, sat at the pitwall. His immense intelligence was successfully employed in the higher echelons of motorsport, masterminding strategy. He was instrumental in helping Scuderia Ferrari secure 14 Formula One World titles and 106 Grand Prix victories.Jean Todt during his Ferrari-period, already wearing Richard Mille timepiecesWhilst travel is often perceived as gla...
Jaeger-LeCoultre ReversoThe Reverso collection is so iconic, it almost doesn t need any further introduction. However, for those who never took the time to read about one of the most famous rectangular watches, here s a little background:The design for this reversible watch dates back to the 1930s, 1931 to be precise. Polo players were sick and tired of broken and damaged crystals on their timepieces when playing this noble game. Jaeger-LeCoultre came up with the idea of making it possible to flip the watch on your wrist, so that the crystal was protected from serious beatings. In 1931, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced (and patented) the Reverso watch. Through the decades, the Reverso developed a...
Speedmaster Professional SnoopyIt s Speedy Tuesday! This week we received one of our favorite modern Speedmaster Professional editions from one of our readers, the Speedmaster Professional Snoopy.The Speedmaster Professional Snoopy pictures have been submitted by Daniel Justin Teo. He is an enthusiastic follower of our Speedy Tuesday topic and lives in Singapore. While growing up, Daniel Justin Teo writes us, Snoopy was one of his favorite characters. This, and the Eyes on the Stars being his personal slogan, makes the OMEGA Speedmaster Professional Snoopy his favorite daily timepiece. Besides OMEGA, Daniel Justin also collects Jaeger-LeCoultre watches.OMEGA Speedmaster Professional Snoopy 3...
AskMen.com – The 2013 Watch AwardsAskMen – to which I am a regular contributor – just introduced their 2013 Watch Awards voting page.Besides the vote of a number of watch experts they also ask YOU to vote for the 2013 Watch Awards. AskMen defined a number of categories and in each category you have to vote for your favorite timepiece.These categories are:Beginner WatchesSports WatchesSpecial-Occassion WatchesWatch-Snob Approved WatchesBrand Of The YearOn the 31st of March, the results will be published on the AskMen.com website. And here on Fratellowatches of course.Click here to vote on your favorite timepieces of The 2013 Watch Awards....
Apollo 11 40th AnniversaryLast week, we had the Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz with meteorite dial, submitted to us by Darren Townend. Darren has submitted this weeks Speedmaster as well: The Speedmaster Professional Apollo 11 40th Anniversary edition in platinum. This Speedmaster weighs a whopping 248 grams!Speedmaster Professional 311.90.42.30.01.001Most of the Speedy Pro 40th Anniversary models we get to see is the stainless steel version with the silver medallion on the seconds counter. This limited edition of 69 pieces in platinum looks quite similar, but has a solid gold medallion at 9 oclock and a wonderfully engraved case back as well. The case back has a gold medallion of the...
Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver PT6248I rarely write about Maurice Lacroix watches on Fratellowatches and I actually dont know why. Back in 2008, I asked ‘What to think of Maurice Lacroix?‘ and it received quite a few interesting responses.Anyway, just recently Ive become quite intrigued by their Pontos collection. Although I have a weak spot for some of their complicated watches for a long time (especially their Masterpiece Collection, the Moonphase model) I started to like their Pontos collection.Polished Facet On The LugsI am a sucker for chronograph watches, and the Pontos collection has a number of very cool watches with this type of complication. However, some days ago I rec...
A few weeks ago, we were invited to visit the Girard-Perregaux manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The factory tour was given by Willy Schweizer, who has been working for the Girard-Perregaux company since 1986.We received an impressive ‘peek into the kitchen of this La Chaux-de-Fonds manufacture and ended the day with a product presentation. In the near future, we will post an article about the Girard-Perregaux watches that we ve seen that day. But for now, a (photo) story of our factory tour.A full report (with lots of pictures) of our Girard-Perregaux factory tour can be found here....
Apollo-Soyuz MissionSpeedy Tuesday! Today we have another Speedmaster Professional from one of our readers and avid Speedmaster fans, Darren. He submitted this limited Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz with meteorite dial. A special version from 2010 that commemorates the Apollo-Soyuz mission from 1975. The Apollo-Soyuz mission, or ASTP (Apollo-Soyuz Test Project), started at the 15th of July and they returned on the 24th of July 1975.Speedmaster Pro 311.30.42.30.99.001To commemorate this, OMEGA already had a Speedmaster Professional back in 1975, limited to 500 pieces and with the Apollo-Soyuz logo on 12 o clock. Later on, in 1995 and 2000, OMEGA again introduced a Speedmaster to commem...
With a bit of pride (I ve been a long timer reader of the German Chronos magazine) I am able to tell you that our article and photos on astronaut Reinhard Furrer and his Speedmaster has been published in Chronos magazine. The article is in German and is based on one of our most popular blog articles on 2012, about the actual astronaut s Speedmaster we ve been able to locate.You can order your copy of Chronos magazine here...
It is Speedy Tuesday! After a few weeks of recurring vintage Speedmaster topics, it is time for a modern classic. The OMEGA Speedmaster Professional X-33. Introduced in 1998 and also already in use during the Space Shuttle STS-89 mission of that year.Today we have a Speedmaster Professional X-33 reference 3990.50, also known as the 1st Generation X-33. In 2001, OMEGA introduced an updated version (reference 3991.50). This updated version had a different finish on the bezel. Also, because the 1st Generation models could have some issues with their pushers, they did an update with regards to the construction. The 1st Gen X-33 also had a unidirectional bezel where the 2nd Generation X-33 had a ...
Longines was so kind to lend us their Legend Diver Date timepiece for a while. This means that I can wear it for a while and our photographer Bert can take his time to shoot some proper photos of the watch.I have a weak spot for vintage watches, but I am not so keen on having them serviced or repaired to often. When you buy a vintage watch, you absolutely need to take into account that it will need an overhaul at some point. Also the fact that not every part might be available anymore is not very attractive to me. When a watchmaker (or factory) is out of parts, it means you are left behind with a watch with ‘issues . Trust me, I had my share of watches that needed parts that weren t ar...
Royal Oak OffshoreAudemars Piguet s most popular collection is without a doubt the Royal Oak. Even more precise, the Royal Oak Offshore collection. This more sporty version of the traditional Royal Oak watches, was introduced in 1993.The Royal Oak Offshore chronographs and Offshore diving watches are the ones we already had seen in the past and now Audemars Piguet introduced the Royal Oak Offshore masterpiece: The Royal Oak Offshore Grande Complication in 44mm. This Grande Complication features a minute repeater, perpetual calendar, split-second chronograph, hours, minutes and small seconds.Royal Oak Offshore Grande Complication in Pink Gold and TitaniumThis watch is definitely not for the w...
