When renowned wristwatch veteran William Massena partners up with Unimatic watches, you get hot news that doesnt need a leaflet to tell its story. Allow me to introduce the Unimatic Modello Uno U1-ML6.I didnt even manage to blink an eye before seeing the iconic 6538 in the new Modello Uno U1-ML6. It was a lightning-fast call from my heart. And the more I look at the new Unimatic?Massena LAB piece, the more I like it. You dont need to read much about the watch, you just need to look at it long enough to understand it.The busy low budget segmentI swear, if I was in the habit of buying every entry-level watch I liked, Id be buying a new piece every two weeks. There s just so much great stuff c...

Could there be a better place than Dubai to launch a new dazzling watch created especially for Women? Absolutely not! There was magic in the air that night… The presentation of this new diamond pave timepiece during LVMH Watch Week had an almost?One Thousand and One Nights feel. Seeing as the Defy family has become Zeniths signature design of recent years, the ladies version might be considered as a risk-free move these days, but that wouldn t always have been the case. A less elegant silhouette that has an edginess not often seen in women s watches of the last century, this is most definitely a piece for now. But lets see if the new model is what we (the wearers) want from a contempo...

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the Antarctic continent (in 1820) and the 50th anniversary of the first production of the Soviet Raketa Polar watch (in 1970), the Raketa Watch Factory is relaunching the production of this historic watch model. This re-edition will be limited to 200 watches. Technical drawings that were found in the archives of the Factory were used to recreate the original design.A watch for Soviet polar explorersThis watch model was specially produced in 1970 for the polar explorers of the 16th Soviet Antarctic expedition. They needed a robust watch on which they could rely. They were journeying to the harshest place on Earth where temperatures an go...

In this Sunday morning column, 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 dont forget to let us know which watches youd like to see torn to shreds/effusively exalted next week. Well try and feature as many of our readers choices as we can. This week the famous Grand Seiko Snowflake dials are being debated. Prepare yourself for some ice-cold cruelty and white-hot barbs…Last week, RJ and Ben squared off. The object of their affections/rejections? The Daytona reference 116500LN. Understandably, RJ, who positioned himself on the hate-fuel...

MINASE - A new vision of watchmakingNestled in the mountains of Akita Prefecture, Minase is a small village in the heights of Yuzawa, some 450 km north of Tokyo. Minase was founded in 2005 by its parent company Kyowa. A renowned tool manufacturer that has been in business since 1963, Kyowa specializes in step drills. The company also supplies of high-end watch components. ?Minase was exclusively sold in Japan until 2017.As one of the smallest watch manufactures in Japan, Minase relies on highly refined technical processes to meet production needs.? Minase combines modern technology and old school watchmaking. The result? Time-telling machines that are unequaled in both design and precision. ...

Twenty-eight and one. In grim times, influenced by the Coronavirus, we ll try to cheer you up with some good news on this bissextile day. Amidst cancellations of Time To Move, the Grand Seiko Summit, Watches & Wonders, and the latest victim Baselworld, we delve deep to help the watch industry survive. Here s what we picked up for you this week.Urwerk UR-111C Two-ToneOne of the most conceptually adventurous watches on the market, the Urwerk UR-111C, now comes in a striking two-tone, black physical vapor deposition?(PVD) and brushed steel. The UR-111C TT comes with three innovative constructions in watchmaking. 1) A?retrograde linear minute display, with?numerals set in a 30 diagonal slan...

No, dont worry: Youre not in a time warp. Yes, Timex has just released the Timex M79 Automatic, and yes we know that this is not that model. This is last years Q Timex. Its ready to be reviewed after spending several weeks (in total) on my wrist. And you know what? Its not half bad-Lets get this out of the way fast: The Q Timex is a quartz watch, not a mechanical watch. For those of you that dont care for quartz, I urge you to stay your clicking finger for just a few minutes more. While I too am rarely one for crystal-regulated heathens, I occasionally make exceptions when the shoe fits. I own (and adore) a Breitling Aerospace. A mechanical version would be pure sacrilege, so Im aware that f...

Believe it or not, this Alpina 8-day mantle clock gives me as much joy as any of my wristwatches. Actually, this Alpina mantle clock with an 8-day power reserve gives me more pleasure than 98% of my wristwatches. If your collection exceeds a certain number, most of the watches just end up seeing the darkness of your safe or drawer. This Alpina 8 Days proudly sits on my bedside table. Which means I look at it every single day. Thats a luxury that none of my other vintage watches ever experienced. None of my wristwatches runs constantly. They dont have to. This Alpina is one of the two clocks in our flat, both with 8 days power reserve, that runs constantly throughout the year.Alpina is specia...

The Fears Watch Company has become a partner of the GREAT Britain campaign. Following the 2016 revival after production ceased in 1976, Fears has gone from strength to strength. Now, as the company approaches its half-decade, it is being recognized as one of the best British brands out there.The Britain is GREAT slogan began appearing shortly after David Cameron was elected and in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics. With a broad spectrum - from industry and education to media and culture - the goal is to inspire growth and interest, nationally and internationally.Fears Brunswick Blue release in 2019In tandem is the confirmation that February marks the final month a quartz movement will p...

If this Tissot Navigator chronograph looks familiar, it s no coincidence.Last year, Tissot released a new watch that took inspiration from this slice of 1970s awesomeness. I reviewed it soon after it came out. To be honest, I bought this watch for that review. I was browsing eBay, this example came up, and I thought it would be nice to buy it and compare it to the modern version. However, it needed some care, so right after I got it, I sent it off to my watchmaker. Little did I know that he d experience some health issues and would not be able to work on my watch for months. By the time it came back, the reedition article already had to be published. So, I kept the watch and decided to use i...

I have been attending watch get-togethers and gatherings for many years, and I truly love them. They were never very different from the ones we organize or attend today, but times are changing. If theres one thing that Ive noticed in recent years, it is the constant talk about investment potential and/or value appreciation during these get-togethers or events.Ive seen the increase of interest in mechanical watches from the 1990s till today. Of course, not everyone starts to collect watches for the same reason, but the investment aspect has become a very unhealthy one in my opinion. Let me elaborate.I am a member of several watch related groups on Facebook as well as an avid Instagram user. I...

You may love the one-hand concept, you may hate it. But beyond MeisterSinger s traditional mode of time-telling lies a handsome collection of watches. One of the catalog s stalwarts - the MeisterSinger Perigraph - receives a welcome update, and looks fantastic in its new livery.You could write a book on the philosophy behind single-hand watches. In fact, over the course of its history, MeisterSinger has written enough words on this subject to produce a definitive tome. Ultimately, though, it can be broken down to a very simple, very American mantra: Don t sweat the small stuff.We have Robert S. Eliot, MD, to thank for that slice of wisdom, and the late Richard Carlson to thank for bringing i...

Wrist Game or Crying Shame soldiers on this week with a look at the Eberhard Aviograf 31032. We give you the opportunity to get naughty with this chronograph from the noughties. But first…I want to thank Rob for stepping in last week on Wrist Game while I stepped out onto the ocean blue. I ll have you know that I spent a lot of time chatting with Isaac during my sojourn on the seas, but now I m back! While I was off galavanting, Rob presented you with a real layup in the Datejust 16014.? You guys complain when we feature , but I m calling that whining a case of peeing down my back and telling me it s raining! Case in point, the DJ walked away with a storming 87% Wrist Game win. Let s ...

I started Watch Strap Review six years ago, soon after I joined Fratello.I felt that we talk about watches a lot (duh) but some of the accessories surrounding them often do not get enough attention. We featured your occasional watch winder or a roll here and there. However, I thought that the most important accessory a watch should have is a great quality leather strap. We can all agree on the fact that a strap can make or break the look of a watch. Pair your steel sports watch with a quality leather strap and it will soften the look. Perhaps even make it dressier. Attach a sports strap to it and eventually, the piece you previously only paired with formalwear might turn into a casual watch....

And it is awesome. It may sound like it has a slightly anachronistic name, but rest assured - its origins are savory. Famed for its starring role on the cover of Manfred R?ssler s book, The Zenith A3818 Cover Girl with its identifiable minuterie is a stone-cold classic that s been given a red hot makeover.I say makeover, but it s really more like necromancy. The Revolution Zenith A3818 Cover Girl watch became part of brand lore when it was featured on the cover of R?ssler s retrospective. As one of the best watchmaking books ever written (seriously, it contains a wealth of interesting brand information), the famous facade fell into legend almost immediately.Vintage vibeThe model s case, wh...

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission. It is perhaps the most talked-about mission besides the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The mission that had a rough start, to begin with, and almost ended with a fatal accident in space.The Speedmaster didn t fix the issue onboard the Apollo 13 service module at approximately 200,000 miles distance from Earth, but it did play an important role in the safe return of astronauts Haise, Swigert, and Lovell. You can read all about it in the article explaining why there s a Snoopy on the dial that I wrote a few years back.Omega was awarded NASA s Silver Snoopy Award in October 1970 for the role played by the Speedmaster during the Apollo 13 m...

Last year, I picked up an interesting watch from a micro-brand making a fair bit of noise. The Lytt Labs Inception Prodigy is another one of those fringe timepieces that could easily never have hit my radar. But having had a little bit of time to analyze the build-quality now seems like a good time to share it with you.Square watches are a tough sell. Massive square watches? Even more so. Lytt Labs is a Singapore-based brand that already has several models based around the same case silhouette in the catalog. If you haven t heard of the brand, don t worry. I ll break down the good and bad of the Inception Prodigy, which should provide you with a decent overview of the whole range. The dial d...

As some of you may know, my horological life began some 25 years ago with an Omega Speedmaster Professional. Of course, it wasn t my first watch. Although my very first watch was a mechanical one, quite a lot of quartz and digital watches - like Casio G-Shock, Citizen, and many many Swatches - had been on my wrist already.?But it must have been beginning of the 90s that a friend of mine bought a Speedmaster. It didn t take more than a month before I had one on my wrist as well.Omega Speedmaster Professional ref 3570.50.00That was not only the start of an ever-growing watch collection, but it also spurred a career change. My interest in these kinds of watches felt so natural that it was an e...

Glashtte Original has released a Limited Edition PanoMatic Luna. It s a thoughtful and beautifully designed watch. Whether you feel the romantic vibes of February or not, the German brand is doing its best to tug on your heartstrings.The new Glashtte Original PanoMatic Luna incorporates the GO DNA in an extremely feminine model. Inspired by symbols and colors of love, the round watch has a seductive appeal with a sparkling touch. A highly-polished stainless steel case is topped with an anti-reflective sapphire crystal. Also, the bezel, set with 64 brilliant-cut diamonds, gives an extravagant touch to the 39.4mm case.A softened case that exudes femininity from edge-to-edge.It seems that the...

I didn t see this coming. I was wholly prepared to hate this poor man s Ploprof - I was almost looking forward to it. But then something happened. Something I hadn t expected. The Spinnaker Dumas, for all its patent weirdness, charmed me into submission.I m still a bit annoyed about it, to be honest. Although it s true that I never tire of being surprised, I don t much like being wrong. And I was really wrong about this one. This is by no means a perfect watch, and it s not likely to dislodge my stalwart Omegas, Breitlings, Laventures, or Aquadives from my wrist, but it is something worthwhile. It is most definitely not the dead-ended avenue I thought it was when I first saw it. Why? Because...