Everyone here at Fratello returned from their Summer holidays, so we thought it would be fun to ask the team which watch got most wrist time.We seem to have a solid mix of vintage and new watches, but what s more interesting to see is that most of us feel the urge to select a divers watch. While most of us will only take a dip in the pool, Andreas is the only one who actually will dive with his watches. Where some of us just took one or two watches as their companion this Summer, others wore several watches from different brands. Without further ado.Gerard, Seiko SRP777 TurtlePartly due to the nature of work I do for Fratello, I change watches very often. Probably not as often as my socks (w...
When I just met my current wife, then girlfriend, I gifted her a TAG Heuer Aquaracer. She once showed me the watch in a display at a jeweller, and I kept it in mind.It was probably after our first year when I bought her this watch for her birthday. It made perfect sense because (unlike me) she s sporty and slim and she picked a watch that fits her style. I never actually considered the TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300M for myself, although I like the style of the watch.TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300MI am not a diver, on the contrary, my swimming skills are far below average, and even my six-year-old daughter shows a cleaner dive than I could ever perform. But I guess that these watches are more about the st...
I have kept the Ball brand in active focus since 2015 when I first read about their Trainmaster Kelvin. The classy old-school shaped gold case with a black dial was the thing that got me. By that thing, I dont mean the disturbing date aperture that cuts halfway through the first index, but the temperature arc scale above six. With the Trainmaster Kelvin, Ball disrupted the usual set of mechanical complications with a simple bimetallic coil-based temperature reading. Maybe not so useful in the end, but honestly, how many of us use chronographs daily, right? For me, it is one of those watches that hold a consistent level of coolness. We all know the struggle: the flair of certain watches fades...
It s This Week in Watches for September 7, 2019.Bonjour, collectionneur de montres!? This Week in Watches is back with another action-packed look at what went down over the past 7 days or so.? We actually have a lot to cover here, so I ll skip my rant and get right down to it…MING 17.06 WatchesMING sent us word of two new watches that will become available for order on the 19th of September via their official site.? Both watches are 38mm (43.9 lug to lug) stainless pieces powered by an ETA 2824-2 automatic that s been modified for two crown positions and adjusted to five positions.? Both are water resistant to 100 meters and feature a new case where the bezel is affixed to the case by ...
The popular phrase the Oscars of- isnt an exaggeration?in the case of the?Grand Prix?dHorlogerie?de Geneve?(GPHG).?Created in 2001 as a celebration of the very best in watchmaking, the awards are the most prestigious?accolades. They honour?those considered to be the most outstanding?examples of their craft.And you know what is less celebrated but rather interesting? Unlike many other arenas in the watch?industry, GPHG is an even playing field for both established names and independents.Independent brands?have a significant presence every year?winning nominations and awards, as official records show. (Well, thanks to my team Skolorr who enjoy the menial digging and tracking.)If the news escap...
My initial thought of the new Certina DS Action Day-Date Powermatic 80 was that its a well-balanced watch. Design-wise.Lets address the elephant in the room; the DS Action Day-Date (from now on this is how Ill refer to it) looks a bit like the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra. Whether its the long triangle indexes or the shape of the hands, perhaps both, I dont know. Since Omega and Certina both belong to the Swatch Group, the similarity is not that uncanny. Also, the watches are by two different brands and are selling in different price categories. It will be boring if I keep referring to these timepieces as affordable, yet it is very much the case with this model too. But lets talk about the pri...
Oris just unveiled their new Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115 in Shanghai. Our own Bert Buijsrogge is there on location to shoot the watch and join the unveiling, but we are happy to already show you some images.The new Oris Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115 is their latest masterpiece and shows what they are capable of. With this watch, Oris wants to show what all of their other watches have lead to so far. They also took their earlier introduced caliber 110 movement and fully skeletonised it for this special Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115. Nothing is actually hidden, everything is being shown to the wearer of the watch.Oris Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115Interesting to see is that the sk...
The chronograph that isn t a chronograph but works like one. A bit confusing, right? But how fun!How to start. The Timex Southampton is anything but an ordinary watch. Pop open a case back, and you won t be sure what are you looking at. There are a few ‘you have never seen these kinds of long levers fixed on a simple construction that looks like a fake watch from a Turkish flee market. Very similar to that disheartened feeling when your eyes desperately gaze at empty vegetable stands in the supermarket right before Christmas Day. There is only one question on your mind: Where the hell has the movement gone?!Timex SouthamptonA look inside is very similar to that disheartened feeling wh...
Wrist Game or Crying Shame gets classy with the Submariner 16803.After our debut article of Wrist Game or Crying Shame a couple weeks back, where a colorful Omega Speedmaster got trounced, it seems you weren t sure if you wanted to shake off those Smugglers Blues to give last weeks contestant, the Ebel 1911 Chronograph, a Wrist Game win.? In what I d call a ridiculous set of circumstances, the voting ended in a dead heat at the time of publishing.? Really, it s 50/50.? Apparently, the opportunity to own a true 1980s style icon that houses an equally legendary El Primero movement for under $2K didn t prove to be tempting enough for more than 50% to swing your (Jan) Hammer down on the buying ...
When the Omega Globemaster was introduced in 2015, I was super excited. Not only because it was a great new addition for the Constellation collection, but also because it was the first Omega watch with the Master Chronometer certification. That year was Silver Snoopy and James Bond, which made the Globemaster disappear to the background a bit.Not only that, the delivery of the Omega Globemaster watches to the boutiques and authorised dealers took a very long time. I would say that the momentum was gone at some point. In the last months, or perhaps last year even, I would say that I see that the Omega Globemaster is finally receiving some credits from collectors and enthusiasts. On Instagram ...
Fall approaches and everyone returns from their much-deserved summer holidays, the watch industry is slowly starting to speed up as well - time to reflect and share my top 5 chronographs of 2019, so far.September will bring us a bunch of events that will go on until early December and the holiday season. Of course, not only events will occur but possibly a bunch of new releases too. One of the forerunners was the drop of Hamiltons new Khaki Pilot Pioneer Mechanical an excellent timepiece for under $1.000,-. However, before the news starts to hit us, lets look back at some of the more exciting releases of this year. Well, interesting to me. I tried to gather watches from different brands and ...
For today s Speedy Tuesday article, we have a contribution from Nick Gould. Nick is a watch spotter and contributes to several watch magazines and blogs regularly.We love spotting watches on people, including those who are famous, as long as it s genuine. In this case, Nick spotted a watch on the wrist of an actor that has discussed his share of watches on Mr Porter s online journal. His most precious watch is a Seiko he received from his father. One he bought in Saigon in 1968, on his first of two tours in Vietnam. That s a story (and watch) difficult to beat, by any brand ambassador, you could say. Milo Ventimiglia isn t an official watch brand ambassador, and he seems to be enjoying diffe...
Just recently, we found our way to Hamburg, which is the 2nd largest city in Germany and home of the third-largest port in Europe. With an invite from Certina in our pocket, we travelled there for an exclusive event, the launch of something big for this small Swatch Group brand.?The Certina DS-1 Big Date 60th anniversary with Nivachron hairspring.Upon arrival, we are welcomed at the event location in the center of the city. After some drinks with our colleagues in the business, the official program kicks off. Adrian Bosshard, CEO of Certina, introduces us to the brand and its history. How the brand has developed through the years, and their strongest selling points. How their logo has been a...
What would you buy if you would not be considering a , Omega, Patek Phillippe or Audemars Piguet? It s a question that watch lovers all around the world know how to answer.They know there is more out there and they have preferences based on overall brand appeal, history, looks, reliability and technical innovation. But as long as I have been interested in watches and have had many great conversations on a whole variety of topics, the industry leaders keep logically popping up as references. It has always triggered the question I have on how a great number of watch brands that are not amongst the commonly mentioned ones, think they are able to stay relevant. Especially in a quickly changing c...
Its This Week in Watches for August 31, 2019 and we have loads of news today!Well, if last weeks This Week in Watches got you down due to the dearth of news, then this week just might overload your senses.? It seems summer is truly over and the watch companies have responded by opening the flood dams.? Or, more likely, its been six months since Basel. ??Ok, lets step into some new watch news!Timex Navi XLFirst up on This Week in Watches is a new one from Timex, the Navi XL.? Inspired by the brands first diver-style watch, the Navi XL is a 41mm quartz-powered watch with a rotating bezel.? Its water-resistant to 100 meters, but has a snap case back, so this really is more of a sports watch tha...
The Grand Seiko Snowflake is a huge success, and it seems to be the collector s darling for a while now. But there s a new hero since this year, the Grand Seiko SBGA407 Skyflake.Of course, Skyflake is not the official name for this Grand Seiko, but enthusiasts used their creativity to come up with something in line with the original Snowflake. When I was in the market for a Grand Seiko watch, I decided against the Snowflake, for two reasons: the use of titanium and the case shape. I wrote about this struggle in this lengthy article. Instead, I went with the stainless steel Grand Seiko GMT ‘Mt. Iwate with 44GS inspired case and hi-beat movement. Up to this day, I don t regret my decisi...
Maen was founded by two Dutchmen, with an interest in storytelling and watches. This new Maen is no different when it comes to storytelling, as it is inspired by the first transatlantic flight between Amsterdam and New York City, on May 21st, 1946.The Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) used the Douglas DC-4 Skymaster aircraft to operate this flight to New York City. Enough reason for Maen to pick it up and use it as a tribute for their latest watch: The Maen Skymaster 38 Automatic Chronograph. We like Dutch history for obvious reasons, but we are perhaps even more interested in the watch itself. It will be available in five different dial versions, and Maen sent us two of them: the Skymaster 38 Auto...
Hamilton is releasing a new military-inspired piece, the Khaki Pilot Pioneer Mechanical, after the remarkable success of the Khaki Field Mechanical.That watch took the industry by storm for its originality and price. The Khaki Field Mechanical looked almost exactly as its vintage counterpart and this was a huge chunk of the charm. The other favorable factor was the hand-wound movement inside and last not but least, the super affordable price tag. Today we have a look at the evolution of this model. Yet another re-edition, yet another military watch. But you don t hear us complaining. The Hamilton Khaki Pilot Pioneer Mechanical is the modern reinterpretation of the legendary Hamilton W10. You...
I wanted to call it a poor man s Richard Mille at first. After a week spent on my wrist though, I changed my mind. I would now call it a cool man s Richard Mille. After all, there were only 600 pieces ever produced.Richard Mille did it!It was truly glorious when Richard Mille signed Rafael Nadal, someone who always refused to wear a watch. It had never even occurred to him to wear one while playing. Nadal was reluctant, so Richard Mille had a lot of convincing to do before they sealed the deal. Debuted at the 2010 French Open, the RM 27 Rafael Nadal Tourbillon weighed a mere 18 grams. Since then, two more models were introduced C the RM 27-02 in 2015, followed by the current RM 27-03 model r...
Wrist Game or Crying Shame returns with a look at an Ebel 1911 Chronograph.Back in 98, I was a fresh young face in the workforce, but a bit of hard work didn t stop me from partaking in a bit of high-rolling high jinks.? It was during a long weekend that I packed my bag and made my way to the airport in the 216, aka Cleveland.? My buddy flew out of the mean streets of Newark and we met in Sin City.? Vegas.? Now, back in 98, you could actually play black jack for $5 a hand on the Strip and stay at a hotel on that very street for a fair deal.? Nowadays, good luck with that as those prime location casinos are full of fancy pants partygoers and tattooed goofballs who make it rain with $100 s f...
