Nothing beats a nice watch GetToGether and this coming Friday there will be another one that you don t want to miss. This time in London. If you have not been to a get-together, you are in luck. Chrono24 will host their second GetToGether (read our report of the first one here) in London this Friday.Free entry and no sales talk, promised. It is about watches and the collecting community. Roger Smith also accepted the invitation of the Chrono24 Organizing team and will hold a shot presentation. Member of other watch media (print and online) will be on site, for example, Bert and Balazs from the Fratello will be there as well. The event will be a casual gathering for watch fans of different br...

Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh, to name just a few of the painters of which you can admire their work in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. One of the main attractions of Amsterdam for sure, especially if you are into art. Swatch decided to collaborate with the Rijksmuseum and comes with three watches that are available as of now. These three new watches are inspired by art from the museum and are part of the Worldhood Autumn/Winter collection from Swatch. These watches are the Swatch Dutch Skies, Swatch Pink & Versa and Swatch Lady Buzz.For the introduction of the Dutch Skies, Pink & Versa and the Lady Buzz, we have been invited to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. In all honesty, if you re a ...

A new Oris boutique opened its doors in the heart of Amsterdam. The H?lstein (Switzerland) based brand chose a historic building at Rokin 48 to be their flagship for The Netherlands.The 16th Oris BoutiqueOris, as well, was one of the brands which surprised us during last Baselworld with many interesting and attractive models. You ll find reviews of these watches here and here. And at this point, we would like to mention Oris ongoing effort to help save the oceans as well. The last initiative in this field was with the Coral Restoration Foundation, from which you ll find our report here. On to the opening. The evening started with welcome drinks and some quality snacks. Quickly the new bouti...

Its been a long time since we last reviewed a watch winder. Today we will take a closer look at the winder from a brand that slowly but steadily became a household name in the watch accessories industry; Juvo. Surely there are many different makers out there. From the $50 eBay winders to the luxury customizable products that cost more than an average high-end watch. With Juvo you get a bit of both for a very attractive price in amazingly high quality. Our review focuses on the Juvo A1, their entry level, single watch winder. Lets have a closer look at it.Juvo A1Sometimes it is very hard to choose from the mass of product offerings you come across when you search for a winder. Something has t...

And-were back with part 2 of our Summer Special: 60s Vintage Diver Shootout featuring four archetypal watches from brands that are still here today. To recap, in the first episode, we provided a rundown on the specs of our combatants while providing a little flavor on each watchs history. The frontrunners, in most minds would clearly be either the Red Submariner Date or the Omega Seamaster 300 Big Triangle, two classics that tend to find themselves at the tops of many collectors want lists. The other horses in this race may come off as long shots, but both the Doxa 300 Searambler and the Seiko 6159 Professional bring their own unique merits to the derby. Lets walk through the particulars an...

This week Andrew dropped us a line. He had read last weeks article and would like to have our thoughts about a dress watch for himself.You Asked Us: Is the Nomos Orion a good choice for a dress watch?Hello,Having just read your piece on the Oris Classic Date vs. Omega De Ville Prestige as a dress watch, I thought about posing a question that has been percolating in my mind for awhile.In terms of ‘nice watches, I currently have two that I absolutely love: MKII Hawkinge and an Omega Speedmaster Professional. While I really enjoy these two watches, I do not have a great dress watch (and I, unfortunately, will be shifting from working remotely at home to pursuing an MBA and consequent for...

Rumours couldnt be stopped, some people already knew what was coming: the Omega Speedy Tuesday 2 Ultraman. The big questions were just: how will it look and when will it be released. This is it, the ST2 Ultraman. A design inspired by the 1967 Speedmaster Ultraman (We covered it here).Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday 2 UltramanThe ST2 Ultraman is a tribute to that 1967 watch, and especially to the key character in the Ultraman series. The first Speedy Tuesday edition was inspired by the original 1978 Project Alaska III watch that landed on our desk in 2012, with the stunning radial subdials. There, we also decided not to come with an exact replica but added a reverse panda for example, amongst some...

Want to know when your watch is due for a service? The Lepsi Watch Scope measures a number of vital signs, like accuracy, beat error, amplitude etc. Below, our hands-on review of the Lepsi Watch Scope that you can use to keep track of the performance of watches in your collection.We will try to focus a bit more on stuff surrounding our beloved timepieces. Gadgets, accessories, things we like, or we use on a daily basis will all be part of this. In this article, I would like to introduce a little gadget, which hopefully will come handy to most of you. I think us watch guys all know that buying a watch is only the beginning of our relationship with that object. We have to maintain it, take car...

Believe me when I say I have one of the coolest jobs in the world. It actually doesn t feel like work, I am just occupied all day with something I am very passionate about. Fratello has been there since 2004, but it still excites me when I receive a package from A. Lange & S?hne in my office. This time, I asked them if they could provide me with their Saxonia Thin in copper blue. An A. Lange & S?hne Lange 1 would be my end-game for sure, but this Saxonia in 39?millimetres with a copper blue dial (looking very similar to aventurine glass) that they showed earlier this year in Geneva is so breath-taking, I had to have it. Even when it is for just two weeks.Saxonia Thin in Copper BlueTh...

Earlier this year, Seiko let us know that the Marinemaster 300 SBDX017 will be discontinued. And it now is. The limited edition Seiko SLA019J can be seen as successor, but it is a limited edition. We ve been raving about the Marinemaster 300 for a long time now, it is a great diver with an incredible value for money. Although it has been discontinued, you still might find them for sale at your Seiko dealer. Before they run out of stock, we suggest you seriously consider buying one if you want a diver that s close to perfect. Especially at this price point. There s a reason four out of six Fratello members have bought one. To inspire you a bit more, read Mike s review on the SBDX017 that he w...

Rodrigo is in the need of a dress watch with a brown leather strap. He noticed the Oris Classic Date that retails for under $1000, but he also has a couple of other thoughts he shared with us. He already owns the Omega De Ville Hour Vision, with a black leather strap and he likes the idea of being a one-brand guy.Finding the right classic dress watch isn t easy. I ve been struggling with this myself for a while, and also mentioned this in articles like this one. So let s see how we can help Rodrigo.You Asked Us – Oris Classic Date or an Omega De Ville Prestige?Good afternoon, dear friends at Fratello Watches,I am a young man who started collecting watches not a long time ago. I own an ...

The 130 years old retailer from?Lucerne in Switzerland collaborated with 11 different watch manufacturers to come up with their special Bucherer Blue Editions watches. This IWC Portugieser Chronograph Classic Bucherer Blue Editions in red gold is their 18th watch in this collaboration series. Previously, we reported about the Tudor that Bucherer did for this Blue Editions series, you can read it here. That watch is now well sought after by fans of the brand. Will the same thing happen to this IWC Blue Edition? Let s zoom in a bit.IWC Portugieser Chronograph Classic Bucherer Blue EditionsWith a limited run of just 88 pieces, this IWC Portugieser Chronograph Classic Bucherer Blue Editions (it ...

Most of you who want to buy a watch, select based on price and brand name. It turns out that very few are after a specific complication. But for those who do care about functionality, there are a couple of interesting propositions on the market for perpetual calendars, moon phase?watches, chronographs, divers and now an annual calendar as well. Brands like Montblanc and Frederique Constant achieved?being able to offer a perpetual calendar under 10.000 Euro not long ago. This year, Longines makes it possible for you to buy an annual calendar with their Longines Master Collection Annual Calendar watch for under 2000 Euro.Longines Master Collection Annual CalendarThis year, Longines caught us b...

Heres why my new Formex watch made my (every) dayAn unaltered customer review by Robert Block, California USA C Software executive and passionate watch nerdMy watch collection, like most I suspect, covers all the bases C the chronograph, dress watch, sports watch, the watches for work and weekends as well as some vintage pieces. For me, each watch tells more than just the time. They are my personal style, statement and represent craftsmanship, tradition and passion.?Each addition has been chosen with care and there is a story and a reason behind each timepiece I collect. As a software executive in Silicon Valley California, I spend a large part of my time solving problems with the latest har...

Farer [?fa(a)r?(r)] means traveler. Used especially in combinations like seafarer and wayfarer, however, it s the name of a young watch brand as well. Entering the market with a three hand watch, only back in 2016, Farer meanwhile offers a nice line of 4 different models.Following the three-handed watches, a GMT watch was introduced in 2017 (read about it here), which was followed in the same year by a compressor styled dive-watch (our review can be found here). The most recently introduced model is the Farer Manual Wind 37mm, from which we re reviewing the Lansdell variation now.Farer Manual Wind 37mm LansdellIt s interesting to see how form and thickness of a watch can influence the percep...

Ah summertime, its finally officially here despite the fact that its been seriously hot throughout most of northern Europe for the last couple of months. With Summer comes vacations and that means that most of us will make our way towards the beach or at least a refreshing pool. And what watch to wear? The natural response is a dive watch, that casual genre of timepiece that can handle the water just as easily as the condensation dripping from the glass of a poolside cocktail. But lets say youre a real vintage nut and the thought of wearing the same newer (read: watertight) diver for 1,2 or 3 weeks in a row sounds mundane, then we have some suggestions. In todays article, well head back 50 o...

Clash of Titans. This week one of our readers asked us why a pre-owned Vacheron Constantin Les Historiques is so much lower in price than an A. Lange & S?hne 1815 chronograph.This question puzzled us slightly as well. After a short investigation, we learned that the current versions of the two mentioned chronographs have more or less the same price tag, around $ 50k. While, indeed, prices of pre-owned ones are quite a bit apart.You Asked Us: Vacheron Constantin vs A. Lange & S?hne ChronographHi, Why is the Vacheron Constantin Les Historique (on the used market) so much more affordable than the Lange 1815 chronograph? Is it Lange s level of finish? Or market forces at play? Thank you....

If theres one modern Longines that left me with a huge impression, it is the Longines Legend Diver. Preferably the version without date, but CEO Walter von K?nel decided otherwise a few years ago and discontinued the non-date model. This year, Longines added some variation to the Legend Diver, with this all black version. Meet the Longines Legend Diver in Black.This Longines Legend Diver in Black (reference L3.774.2.50.9) is just like the other Legend Divers, part of the heritage collection. A collection that is only a small portion of Longines annual production of an estimated 1.3 million pieces. A huge number, but the number of different references from Longines is also quite impressive. T...

Being a kid in the 1980s, I can vividly remember the early Space Shuttle missions. Because one of the astronauts on board of the 1985 mission was fellow Dutchman Wubbo Ockels, it was extremely well covered in the news here at the time. And in schools, there was a lot of attention on these flights. So besides playing with my Transformers, I absorbed everything that had to do with the Space Shuttle flights at the time. Little did I know about watches, let alone the role of the Speedmaster. A few years later, when I was 12 years old or so, my dad told me that Omega (he wore a Constellation and a Geneve at the time) was the first watch worn on the Moon. It didn t really mean much to me at the ti...

Summer started and Nomos shows us two new watches: the Club and Ahoi Aqua models. Two watches in siren white and powered by the in-house developed DUW3001 movement.Club and AhoiAqua Series – Club and AhoiThe Club and Ahoi are two different collections, where Ahoi comes a bit more close to the original Nomos designs, the Club was aiming at a slightly different audience. Younger perhaps, but at least a bit sportier. The Ahoi is Nomos diver watch, or at least something you can wear near (or in) the sea. A perfect (summer) holiday watch! Where the recent Autobahn watches weren t everyone s cup of tea (nor should they be), the Aqua versions of the Nomos Club and Ahoi will probably be recei...