On this very first Speedy Tuesday of 2020, we have some exciting news to share with you. It took Omega exactly one year from the introduction of the new caliber 321 to the introduction of the first steel Speedmaster with this movement. On this very day, one year ago, Speedy Tuesday fans were invited to Biel to witness the re-introduction of this column-wheel chronograph movement, and the guessing began.Only a few out there guessed it right, and in hindsight, it is easy to tell you that the big give-away was the watch that was used as the subject for their tomography process to get the exact version of the caliber 321 that was used in Gene Cernan s watch, a Speedmaster 105.003.It was the topi...

Last October, Chopard introduced their Alpine Eagle, a new watch with a familiar face. We decided to use our hands-on experience with the Chopard Alpine Eagle for an episode of our 52Mondayz feature.To be honest, I was a bit surprised to see the return of Chopard s 1980s model called St. Moritz. The Chopard St. Moritz was a watch designed by the then 22-year old Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, now CEO of Chopard. A sporty luxury watch aimed at a new type of clientele at the time, young and successful men and women who enjoyed a somewhat jet set-ish lifestyle. A bit like how St. Moritz is, a luxury alpine resort town which was (in 2014) the second most expensive place in the world for tourist and b...

With watch collectors, the old adage absence makes the heart grow fonder could hardly be more true.? We take a look at 6 Discontinued Seiko pieces that are as hot today as they were during their production run.A Discontinued Seiko Doesn t Always Equal RareWe ve watched Seiko change quite a bit over the past several years as they ve made more of a concerted effort to market themselves globally instead of focusing on Japan and casting some odds and ends to the rest of the world.? In accordance that change, the Japanese brand has more rigorously subdivided its collection into lines such as Prospex, Premier, Presage, Astron, and Seiko 5.? The feeling is that placing pieces into these sub-collect...

Happy New Year and Welcome to This Week in Watches for January 4, 2020.? We re glad to be back for our second decade and to bring you some news that just might help you break that New Year s resolution to stop buying watches.? Ha, good luck with that!Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer DateFirst up on This Week in Watches is a piece that actually came to us a few weeks back.? But, it s been a busy time since then and we figured it was a fun watch to kick off the new year.? Oris sent us news of a new hue for its 40mm Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date.? Up until now, we ve had the dark green version that s called the 80th Anniversary piece and one doofus (that s me) who threw an oxblood dial on his to m...

This week, we have three wristwatches from Ebel, Panerai, and Omega for you, and one Atmos clock from Jaeger-LeCoultre. We also had included a GMT-Master II 16710, but that one got sold before we could publish this article. Is it safe to assume the hype for is still ongoing in 2020?Happy New Year! In 2020 we continue our Pre-Owned Picks series in collaboration with the largest watch market platform in the world. Chrono24, based in Karlsruhe, Berlin, New York, and Hong Kong. The weekly picks are from our editorial team, Chrono24 ensures we receive images from the mentioned offers in a good resolution and without their watermark(s).Pre-Owned Picks Of Week 1This week is kinda special. I decid...

Creating a best-of list is always a nice challenge, especially when making a list of affordable mechanical watches. The number of watches that could be on the list is enormous, so we have set up a list of 11 of the best watches under 1000 Euros currently available.We made a Top-13? list in 2016 that you can find here and a lot has changed since then. Several new brands have popped up that have made some serious watches within the 1000 Euros price bracket and some of the top watches on our previous list have gone on to have list prices that are now above the 1000 Euros mark. So we had the chance to update the list to give you an idea of the many options that are out there under 1000 Euros. Th...

The dressiest diver you can get. Limited edition Christopher Ward C65 Trident with an in-house movement that runs for five days. It looks as impressive on pictures as it does when reading the specs. Impressive enough to make me ask the Christopher Ward representatives to send us one of the 150 limited edition pieces for a hands-on review. They did send one and after 2 weeks on the wrist, I am just as impressed.Christopher Ward C65 with a power reserveSince I can remember Ive been fascinated by the power reserve complication. Yes, some might consider the complication a bit fancy and/or superficial. Some question its relevance in an automatic movement. I too have phases where I forget about my...

Often overlooked by collectors, but never lacking respect from them either. Cartier: One of the most influential brands when it comes to the history of the wristwatch.When a friend writes a book on a subject he s so passionate about, it is very difficult to write something about it. What if the book isn t very good, or not worth spending your money on? Well, I can be very short about this: the book that George Cramer wrote on Cartier watches is actually the only book you need to have on the subject. Only if your interest goes very deep, it might be interesting to explore some other Cartier books that might go more in-depth on certain topics (the Cartier – The Tank Watch book comes to m...

Weve been following EZA ever since their re-launch a few years ago. Whenever we have the chance, we catch up while enjoying a beer (or two) in my hometown Rotterdam or in Switzerland. Last week we had one of those moments and they had something exciting to share. While catching up they opened a watch roll on the bar (labelled Monday to Friday) and pulled out their new model, the EZA 1972.EZA 1972The EZA 1972 is a completely new model which follows the Sealander and Airfighter models. Weve covered those in the past and for those who arent familiar with them, make sure to check our earlier write-ups about EZA. This new 1972 brings EZA back to its roots. Where the first models merely carry the ...

Genteel Handmades top priority is to make the small things unforgettable. Being inspired by the attention to detail that is involved in the making of an Omega timepiece, they created a unique strap that perfectly fits your Omega Deployant.Genteel Handmade offers you the freedom to design a truly unique strap. When designing an Omega-Style Deployant Strap, you can choose the leather, thread, lining leather, dimensions, strap width and more. The personalization goes even further by offering the possibility of embossing initials or other meaningful words on the back of the strap. The only limit is imagination.The Omega-Style Deployant strap dimensions are custom-made, specifically for an Omega ...

2019 was an amazing ‘Speedmaster year, not only because of the 50th anniversary of Apollo XI and the Speedmasters celebrating this, or the re-introduction of the famous caliber 321 but also because of the many Speedy Tuesday events we were able to organize.Together with Omega, we hosted 8 events from January 2019 till December 2019. We visited Japan, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong to meet with you and celebrate our passion for the Speedmaster. It was amazing to meet many of you during these events, and it felt heartwarming every single time, even in places where we ve never been before. Thank you for that. I also would like to thank all people...

Velle Alexander might be a young brand, but they have a clear vision and determination that will take them a long way in the business.Lets have a look at some of the most notable names coming from Minnesota. To start, we have legendary American fiction writer and novelist F Scott Fitzgerald, who was born in the state. The Los Angeles Lakers from the NBA were once called Minneapolis Lakers C the name finally makes sense if we look at the map of Minneapolis with its 13 lakes. The state is not team-less, but the Timberwolves dont have the success the Lakers had while still in Minnesota (5 championships). Lastly, the topic of todays Watch Strap Review, an up and coming brand, is among the 5.6 mi...

What good can come out of sending a vintage watch nerd to interview a modern independent artisan?There are not many international watch events in Slovakia, where I am based. None, actually. This changed, however, when ArtyA organized an introduction event in Bratislava as they will be officially represented in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Austria. I was asked to join this event and I immediately said yes. If Yvan Arpa decided to pay a visit to Slovakia, least I could do was show up. You dont meet a former Hublot executive every day. I had no clear expectations or particular feelings towards the ArtyA brand, just a notion that I was going to meet an interesting character and...

It may seem a little early to talk about news of Baselworld 2020. But news has been breaking from the organiser and from major brands lately, and we dont want you to miss out.A while ago, Fratello has been informed by Grand Seiko and Seiko that the brands have cancelled their presence at Baselworld 2020. Instead, they will be staging their own GS Summit in Tokyo in early March.After exhibiting for 30 years, Seiko has cited the dates of the 2020 event as the official reason for its departure. Scheduled for 30th April C 5th May, the fair is too late for the manufacturer because it conflicts with the Golden Week (a major holiday in Japan).Following suit, Casio, maker of G-Shock, has also announ...

After all the violence last two weeks of Pre-Owned Picks, we will go a bit into another direction with watches from Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe in the selection of this week.Not picking the obvious pre-owned Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo and Patek Philippe Nautilus (Jumbo), but something a bit more under the radar with this 26300ST Royal Oak chronograph and a Calatrava 5096J. But, we also did a few picks that are more wallet-friendly (and yes, this is also relative) for you. In any case, all are watches that I admire. Two of them (actually three) used to be in my collection but had to make room for something else. In close collaboration with the world s leading watch market place C...

In their Artelier collection, Oris regularly present limited editions of watch models that are dedicated to jazz musicians. Now I would like to explore one of their latest additions to this family together with you, which is dedicated to the drummer and bandleader Art Blakey. A dress watch, providing some surprisingly creative links to drumming.To me, this watch is of particular interest because I am a drummer myself. Even though I am not playing a conventional drum set, but a Djembe, and I am playing traditional African music instead of jazz, the design of the Oris Art Blakey Limited Edition offers some details, I easily can connect with. Furthermore, as drums form the base of the vast majo...

Happy Boxing Day! We take another look at the Seiko 5 Sports and give some opinion on where it fits within Seiko s diver lineage.I was admittedly pretty tough on the Seiko 5 Sports line when it debuted this Summer.? I was sitting poolside in Cyprus when the news hit and I decided to pen an article while I sat next to that very same pool.? With 27 different models, it all at once felt like a real chance to satisfy the modders out there who love to doctor their Seiko s, but at the same time seemed like a move towards taking on competition from the fashion watch set.? After all, the watches look like real divers, but they lack a screw-down crown and come in with less water resistance (100 meter...

We choose our 10 favorite vintage pieces from this year s #TBT feature.Scrolling through the articles from this years #TBT brings me a satisfying smile. Here and there I stop for a while and recollect the memories connected to the shooting or research. Well, all watches and their stories rightly deserved to be featured, but we can shortlist just a few of them. We welcome you to see our selection of best pieces and reasons, why we picked it up. If some of them slipped your attention during the year, here is your chance to catch up on the best vintage pieces published in 2019.Top 10 Vintage Watches From #TBTOmega Seamaster 300 CK2913It doesnt happen often such a grail watch re-surface in such ...

Its time for our annual Fratello Christmas Special, where we take a long look at a special watch.? This year, we choose two with the Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary in gold and the Breitling Navitimer ref.806 1959 Re-Edition.Were well aware that both the Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 and the Breitling Navitimer have been reviewed ad nauseam during 2019, so why have we returned to such a well-trodden subject?? Thats an easy one to answer because we happen to have both side by side and your author has worn both extensively for well over a month.? Consider it a chance to hear the specs once more, if only briefly, but to hear more about what its like to live with either of these immen...

Well, this is an interesting one. A few months earlier, I received the press release about the C then-new C Tissot Alpine On Board Automatic Chronograph.I must say I was a bit surprised. Is Alpine still in business? Like most men, I like cars. As a matter of fact, I probably know more about them than the average, but Im by no means an expert. Ive also had my fair share or racing events in the past, whether it was a WEC race (like this one or this one) DTM or GT Masters. Though I never saw any Alpines in the pit. This out of the blue Tissot collaboration was new to me. Renault didnt only bring back Alpine they also secured a deal with Tissot. Sounds interesting, I must say. So, when I was off...