There s nothing like news on a Friday and today some colorful, and attractive, information hit our mailboxes with the introduction of the Breitling Navitimer Swissair Edition.? In stainless steel and 43mm (as a Navitimer should be sized), Breitling tells us that this watch is the first to come of within a capsule collection of models that will harken back to the golden age of civilian airline travel in the 60 s and 70 s.? The watches will feature the names of historic airline brands and the colors that they used.? Honestly, I think it s a relevant idea for the brand, especially since Breitling has earned its reputation as a pilot s watch.? It doesn t hurt that the first release looks so damn...
Romain Gauthier produces approximately 60 watches per year, all manufactured in-house and with hand-finished movements. We introduce to you their new Insight Micro-Rotor Lady Opal, with a production of just five pieces in total. That is right, a high-end watch for ladies only, and it is a blessing to see more watch brands introducing ladies watches with a strong focus on the mechanical movement. That said, this watch does come with a beautiful opal dial. The used opal comes from?Coober Pedy in South Australia, often described as the opal capital of the world.Now, this new Romain Gauthier Insight Micro-Rotor Lady Opal might look familiar to you, and that s correct. Two models were previously ...
I think anyone who s ever heard of Tom Hanks and is a fan of his work has seen Saving Private Ryan (1998). You can say whatever about to movie, but one thing is for certain; it has a strong opening scene. Steven Spielberg, the director, wanted realistic interpretation and he went the extra mile to achieve it. ?They shot this roughly 20-minutes scene in a course of 4 weeks. Hundreds of extras came to the set. The crew even had original vehicles that were used on that actual day in 1944. The historical event Im talking about is, of course, the Normandy Landings also known as D-Day. This operation, that happened on the 6th June 1944, was a complex one involving not only naval but airborne opera...
The mechanical watch just got a bit smarter, with this new Ressence Type 2 watch with e-Crown.?Belgium based independent watchmaking brand Ressence comes up with a new Type 2 watch, just before the SIHH 2019 will be hosted next week. It will be there where we can see and try the watch ourselves, so for now, just a few highlights of this Type 2 with a touch of magic.Ressence Type 2When you are not familiar with Ressence at all, let me suggest you take a look at some of the articles we did in the past about them, like this hands-on review of their Type 1 and Type 3 watches. Interestingly enough, Ressence is one of the very few independent watchmakers that I ve come across in the flesh a little...
This week, we had the good fortune to visit Omega in Biel for a #speedytuesday get together. For certain, the occasion will always be remembered as the world debut of the resurrected caliber 321. But there was something else that was divulged during part of the program that truly piqued my interest C the absolute truth on two of the other references that were tested by NASA when selecting what would ultimately become the Moonwatch. Yes, folks, you will read the black and white truth about two of the watches that didnt become Moonwatches.? These are the other NASA-Tested watches.Speedmaster 105.003 complete set (image via DB1983.com)The Other NASA-Tested WatchesPetros Protopapas, the Brand He...
Todays #TBT on the Venus 211 is a special one as it is the first article from a new Fratello contributor, Tomas Rosputinsky (@rosputinsky_tomas on Instagram). Tomas is from, and lives in, Slovakia and has a taste for some rather eclectic vintage watches. In the future, well see pieces on both the new and old from him, but today we start with something decidedly dated. Welcome, Tomas!I think it was after a full week with the Speedmaster 60th LE (my first Speedy ever) that I realized how often I look at my wrist searching for the date. No matter how much I enjoyed the Speedmaster, that week drew my attention to vintage date watches. But this time with a renewed curiosity, trying to understand ...
Today Id like to talk to you about a very special watch. For many reasons. To start with its a chronograph. In itself, this is not extraordinary but as you know we love chronos here. Whether its a Speedmaster, a Seiko 6139 or something completely different C like this one C we are up for it. You can call that special, I guess. It is also a vintage timepiece. Not only that but one that is coming from the 1940s, so 70+ years old. Then theres its case, which is rather larger for the 40s, at 38.4mm, 44mm from lug tip to lug tip. Finally, it is coming from a brand that is defunct, yet still alive. How can that be possible? Well, Im talking about my vintage Grana (new Certina) chronograph from th...
This is the day that I have been waiting for, for a long time. And I know that many of your Speedmaster fans out there have been waiting for this as well. That day that Omega announces that they will bring their famous column-wheel caliber 321 chronograph movement back in production. Today is the day my friends, on this 2nd Speedy Tuesday of 2019. This is big, it is a historical moment for Speedmaster enthusiasts, I would say.It is the reason that we are having a Speedy Tuesday event in Bienne today, at the headquarters of Omega, to witness the re-introduction of the caliber 321 movement. Even better, our Speedy Tuesday readers who got selected from tons of registrations are able to see the ...
The first image I ve come across from the guy we have on Fratello today was in this dedicated Speedy Tuesday Facebook group?where he showed an incredible nice composition of the first Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday (2017) and some props.These props often consist of everyday things and Lego. A lot of Lego. Space Lego to be precise. Being a kid from the 1980s, I often recognize the little figures he uses as Space Lego was my favourite as well. Recently, he started an Instagram account (@Plywoodemoji) where he shares his artwork with the rest of the world. In the meantime, he also purchased the Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday Ultraman and did some amazing compositions with this edition as well.Space, Le...
MINASE : A Japanese ManufacturerIn 1963 Minases parent company, Kyowa, opened for business manufacturing cutting and drilling tools for the watch industry.? They entered into watch manufacturing making private label watches for many world-famous brands in parallel to their tool business.? In 2006 they launched their own brand, Minase, with the goal of creating the perfect watch.MINASE FIVE WINDOWSMinase s designer, HIROKUNI YAMAMOTO: The 5 windows?breaks most of the watch design concepts I have learnt and worked with all of my life, it is a genuine piece of art.The 5 Windows uses ETA s 2824-2 movement (customized by Minase).? All 5 surrounding anti-reflective sapphire windows (crystals) give...
This will be a bit of a controversial review. In general, we re not that fond of watches with fancy names and quartz movements. So it would have?been understandable if we had passed for the Corniche Heritage Chronograph as well. But we didn t. I don t exactly know why to be honest, hopefully, the review will make it clear.Corniche Heritage ChronographFor investigation purposes, I ve done a little query on my Instagram account and asked what the first thing was people thought about when looking at a picture of this watch. The majority answered ‘Patek Philippe, reference 5170 and some said ‘Lange?1815 Flyback Chronograph . The Patek was the first watch I thought about as well when...
We reported about the Oris Movember Edition 2018 before, but our focus was mainly on the good cause it supports, not the watch. I assume you also want to know about the watch, not only the cause it supports. So we requested a Big Crown Pointer Date Movement Edition 2018 for a review, and here it is.Oris Movember Edition 2018This watch goes by the name of ‘Movember Edition 2018 , but in fact, I am looking at a Big Crown Pointer Date model with some tweaks. As I wrote in the past, compared to the ‘standard Big Crown Pointer Date in 40mm, this Movember Edition has rose gold coloured hands (4N) and a matching gilt minute track on the dial. The writing is also in this gold colour whe...
Just like every year, Swatch comes up with a special watch for Valentine s Day. For 2019, Swatch introduces the Triple Love watch. A transparent plastic 34mm case with three hearts on there, in different red and pink tones. The strap is white and has hearts all over it. The Swatch Triple Love comes in a special Valentine s Day box.This watch will be available starting January 10th in all Swatch boutiques and via their online shop.For the die-hard Swatch collector probably a must-have. In the past Swatch released many Valentine s Day specials. On Squiggly, the official vintage Swatch dealer, you can find many models from the past for sale. Especially the Chinese and Taiwanese Valentine s Day ...
Welcome to 2019 as we kick things off with a review of a vintage favorite in the Universal Geneve Polerouter. Todays #TBT comes hot on the heels of yesterdays review of a pair of dress watches, the retro-inspired Hamilton Intra-Matics with smoked dials, so were keeping on theme. The Polerouter is a far more famous name, though, and well take a look at what I think is a truly fetching example.Nearly three years ago, we went hands-on with a stainless steel Polerouter Jet, a more angular and modernized offshoot of UGs flagship line. That watch featured a faceted case, slender lugs, a simple dial, and the novel Microtor movement. Our example today is a more typical Universal Geneve Polerouter an...
Christmas is always that perfect time to wear a dress watch. Or better said, the time you realize you really need a dress watch in your collection. Last Christmas, I was actually prepared and instead of wearing my Speedmaster or Submariner, I found myself wearing a dress watch almost the entire holiday period. Of course, you don t just purchase a (dress) watch to wear it during Christmas only, but I can think of more appropriate occasions where you might prefer a more classic watch over a sports watch. Then, there are people like my younger step-brother for example, who wear a dress watch every single day of the year. It is not for me personally, although I do wear my Globemaster a lot, whic...
Again a rather complicated issue, when should one service or overhaul vintage watches in a collection? Mark sent us the following question on vintage watch maintenance.You Asked Us: Is vintage watch maintenance necessary?From: MarkSubject: Vintage watch maintenanceMessage Body:Would you recommend a maintenance schedule for vintage watches? Even if they seem to be running fine and have not been serviced for many years?I have a small collection of watches, some of which have not been serviced for 25 years but seem to be running fine. Would you suggest preventative maintenance or should I adhere to the philosophy C If it works, don t fix it?A clear question, however, not an easy one to answer.W...
Its been a while since we reported about a Speedmaster sighting by a celebrity. In the past, we have seen Russel Crowe wearing one in many of his movies. He also had a Speedmaster in his private collection until recently. He auctioned numerous personal memorabilia away, including the watch, to-well, pay for his divorce. ?Ed ONeill, the star of Modern Family, Married with Children and one of my favorite movies; The Adventures of Ford Fairlane also sports a Speedy regularly on and off screen. RJ also wrote a report about James Corden ditching is AP Royal Oak for an episode of Carpool Karaoke with Christmas Season favorite, Michael Buble. I dont follow Corden closely so Im not sure how often do...
Once the preserve of the critics and connoisseurs, independent watchmaking is becoming a thing on the horological map. It has attracted worldwide attention from those seeking fresh and exceptional discoveries off the beaten track.If you are missing out on this winning category, or its just a blur to you, fret not. We have been charting the rise of the Independents over the decade. Let me give you a quick fact.In Geneva (November 2018), the independents won 7 prizes from the 12 competing categories at the GPHG red-carpet awards ceremony, broadcast and reported across the globe.Greubel Forsey won the Mechanical Exception Watch Prize with their Grande SonnerieWhat does this mean?For the uniniti...
The Daytona Rainbow in Everose gold (reference 116595RBOW) is one of those watches that leaves me as puzzled today as it did when it was introduced last March. Although a lot of the attention of this year s releases went to their GMT Pepsi, the Deepsea?Sea-Dweller and GMT?bi-colour models, their extravagant Daytona Rainbow Everose 116595RBOW was talked about a lot as well. Daytona Rainbow Everose 116595RBOWIn 2012, introduced their Daytona Rainbow in yellow gold (116598RBOW) and white gold (116599RBOW). Extremely rare pieces that demonstrated the skills of craftsmanship for setting stones in watches. These watches are hardly seen, as they are only produced in very limited numbers. These ...
Today on #TBT, well take a brief look at what I think is an unheralded classic in the Citizen Jet Auto Dater. Most would probably take one look at this watch and dismiss it as yet another anonymous Japanese dress watch in the same way that most ignore ubiquitous three hands and a date watches from Swiss brands. But a look inside and a closer examination of the details reveal that theres a bit more to this Citizen than meets the eye. This story isnt completely about a movement, but its certainly the star of the show.Ive admitted in past articles that Im a sucker for falling into rabbit holes when searching for watches. Whether its on eBay or a certain Japanese auction site, these companies ha...
