So, here we are in the first week of 2018 and Fratello Watches kicks off #TBT with a look at a vintage Timex Marlin. Weve never featured a Timex on our site, so why are we showing a watch from a brand thats known as an affordable (read: cheap) maker of utilitarian and reliable timepieces? Well, it isnt entirely due to the much-ballyhooed recent re-release of a 1960 s handwound Marlin, but it certainly means that interest in Timex is at a relative high and that the collector watch world may be more open to hearing about older variants. As mentioned, though, theres a stronger reason for featuring this watch, so lets continue.The Reissued Timex Marlin (image from timex.com)The Timex Marlin Reis...
One of my first encounters with Ulysse Nardin was in 1999, when Gerard showed me his?Ulysse Nardin GMT Perpetual watch. He wrote about it recently in detail, on Christmas day (find it here). At the time, Gerard s watch shop in The Hague was official retailer for Ulysse Nardin, so once in a while when I visited his store (more often than he probably liked) I had the opportunity to have a closer look at these watches.At some point, when he didn t carry Ulysse Nardin anymore in his shop, I didn t come across them much. Until I started to write about watches on this website. Somehow I lost interest in the brand, especially when the brand from Le Locle came up with things like this Chairman pho...
Happy New Year! Let s kick off this first Speedy Tuesday feature with some awesome photos done by our very own Bert Buijsrogge. We received the Speedmaster Co-Axial Master Chronometer Moonphase Blue Side of the Moon recently, and we thought it would be fun to show you some details.Blue Side of the MoonIt started with the Dark Side of the Moon in 2013, an awesome and surprising piece coming from Omega at the time. Using their in-house developed chronograph movement (caliber 9300) in a full ceramic watch. The success was amazing. Not only did it sell very well, it was also very much appreciated by the collector s community. A tough crowd, as you know.? What happened next is that Omega started ...
A new year, a newly introduced watch! Recently Seiko added two new designs to their ‘Cocktail Time line. I had a hard time choosing but went with the Seiko Presage Sakura Fubuki.The Seiko Presage Sakura Fubuki, SRPC03, on my wristSeiko Presage Sakura Fubuki ref. SRPC03Ever since Seiko introduced them in 2010 in Japan, Cocktail Time models proofed to be very popular. And I think the four new models introduced lately will be no exception. Both new designs, the blue dialed ‘Starlight and the ‘Sakura Fubuki with white dial, come in two variations. My choice of model was quite clear from the beginning.Caliber 4R35 or 4R57?Time only or power reserve as an extra. Exactly becaus...
2017 is over, so welcome 2018! 2017 was a big year for us at Fratello Watches. Reader traffic grew and our team is stronger and more excited than ever to bring you unique content. Regarding that notion, lets take a look at?our least worn watches of 2017 – from most of the team that is – and, why not, well talk about what graced our wrists most because that seems to be a popular thing to do this year.? There are some surprising picks!Balazs Ferenczi s PicksBalazs – he s often known as Blaise because his name can be tricky to pronounce (seriously, ever been to Hungary?).? But, in 2017 we all learned how to say his name correctly – you can even hear him give some lessons...
Since the early 2000s, a special project team (Advanced Research Department) within the Patek Philippe manufacture is occupied with the future of (haute) horlogerie. In 2017, their effort resulted in two major innovations: the new Spiromax(R) balance spring made of Silinvar(R) and a new solution to set a second time zone in timezone watches.To welcome these innovations, the manufacture is launching the sporty and elegant Aquanaut Travel Time Ref. 5650 Patek Philippe Advanced Research in a limited edition of 500 watches, the first ones to be endowed with both of the avant-garde developments.Aquanaut Travel Time Ref. 5650GThe Patek Philippe Aquanaut celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2017. The...
For all friends of Pilot watches ARCHIMEDE presents now in-house fabricated Blued-Steel Watch Hands for their Pilot 42 A & H.For a few years now, ARCHIMEDE has offered their in-house fabricated blued-steel watch hands solely in their DeckWatch and a number of special editions. ARCHIMEDE now announce that their facilities have developed these high-quality watch hands for the Pilot models as well. The new heat blued steel hands will initially be offered in the Pilot 42 A & H models. Through their unique fabrication process, the steel watch hands can be offered in an elegant, homogeneous blue colour.All ARCHIMEDE Pilot watches have clear dials and reliable Swiss Eta automatic movement 2...
Last October, I was invited to a Bvlgari event in Rome, Italy. Together with a group of journalists from other watch media, I had a diner with the CEO (Jean-Christophe Babin). During this diner, listening to Babin talk about the (Italian) DNA of Bvlgari and discussing the Bvlgari Octo design, it became clear to me, that watches aren t some side project for Bvlgari, known for its precious jewelry pieces, fragrances and accessories. Heck, there are even Bvlgari hotels.I don t want to give you a full trip down memory lane, but Bvlgari was founded in 1884 already, in Italy of course. So it is quite an old company with a lot of history, but mainly on jewelry. History on their watch production is ...
Seiko is introducing a limited edition ‘Black Series for their Prospex collection. Prospex, referring to ‘professional specification , consists of a wide collection of watches for divers, pilots and adventurers. For their diving collection, Seiko created three models with black coated cases. A quartz chronograph (SSC673P1), a quartz three-hand model (SNE493P1) and an automatic three-hands watch (SRPC49K1).Seiko claims to be inspired by the world of night diving for these new limited edition Black Series, but our guess is that there is simply a good market for black watches. They have proven not to be a fad, so many brands have included black coated watches in their collection, i...
A funny thing happened as I was looking for my Baltic Chronograph Bicompax 001. I thought I had left it in a drawer and, lo and behold, when I went to look, it was seemingly gone. After a fleeting moment of panic C I rarely lose anything and unfortunately keep everything C I recalled that the watch had arrived a few weeks back and at the same time as a few other vintage chronographs that our resident watchmaker Paul had just serviced. You know Paul, the one who has a bespoke watchmakers bench covered in Louis Vuitton Monogram canvas? Yes, him. But I digress; I found that the Baltic had made its way into a watch roll next to an old Mulco chronograph, a Chronomat and another vintage specimen.?...
Sweden is the land of Ikea, Volvo, Saab, Nils Holgersson but also of a few watch companies, including Bravur. Based in the capital Stockholm, Bravur was founded in 2011 by Johan Sahlin and Magnus??ppelryd. Two industrial designers by trade, who wanted to design and create a watch that stands out from the crowd, have a great price-quality ratio and targets on an audience that can t identify themselves with the pilot, divers and racing watches that are out there in large numbers.According to themselves, they wanted to create a watch with the urban fashionable audience in mind. To be honest, that almost made me cringe a bit. But, I also understand you need to have some mission statements or pri...
This 52Mondayz episode is more or less on a Sunday, it s Christmas! However as the calendar indicates that Christmas is on a Monday this year, here we are. The last 52Mondayz of 2017, it had to be a special one. And as next week Monday will be January 1st 2018, I want to wear a perpetual calendar to see all that happen. The Ulysse Nardin GMT Perpetual is my weapon of choice.The Ulysse Nardin GMT Perpetual on my wrist.Ulysse Nardin GMT Perpetual in 18k rose goldIn 1999 the Ulysse Nardin GMT Perpetual was the successor of the Perpetual Ludwig, which was introduced in 1996. The Perpetual Ludwig was a totally new type of perpetual calendar watch. While perpetual calendars at that time we...
The Patek Philippe reference 5960 annual calendar in stainless steel stirred BaselWorld during its introduction in 2014. Today, we find the reference 5960 available in platinum, rose gold, white gold and stainless steel.In the video below, you will find Thierry Stern s explanation of how Patek Philippe deals with creations like the reference 5960 for example.This video is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings Reference 5960 in Stainless SteelThe Ref. 5960/1 self-winding Flyback chronograph with Annual Calendar in stainless steel unites two extremely popular Patek Philippe complications and is available with an ebony black opaline dial and a silvery...
With the new Phara LIMES offers again an automatic ladies watch, which is the successor of the beautiful Artemisia, manufactured from 2006 to 2012. The feminine, elegant timepiece is available in two dial versions, with fine leather straps in black, brown, pink and light blue and a smooth steel bracelet.The silky natural Mother of Pearl dial is decorated with 8 genuine diamonds and shimmers according to the lighting conditions in various shades. Each dial is a bit different to the other. So, every Phara mother of pearl is a unique timepiece with beautiful play of colors – no matter what time of day.The LIMES Phara is also available with a noble silver or two-tone Guilloch dial. The nic...
We selected three interesting watches from recent Catawiki auctions: an IWC Mark XII, a Longines Legend Diver and a GMT-Master II.As always, let me start by saying that before you bid on a watch, you should have done your homework. Especially when it concerns vintage watches. Some brands can help you identifying them, but most of the time it might take some more effort. From this week s brands for example, Longines is known to have a great museum and archive that can help you to authenticate a watch. IWC has a small museum in Schaffhausen and should be able to give you some help as well. With , it will be difficult to get some official help from their offices in Geneva, but there is so much...
During one of the get-togethers we organized, we came across this very special Omega Constellation that one of the guests brought in. Now, I have to admit that I have a weak spot for the Constellation. Not only the Constellation pie-pan models from the 1950 s or the recent Constellation Globemaster, but I also happen to like the Constellation Manhattan and Constellation 95. Some call this a guilty pleasure, but I don t feel uncomfortable at all to admit this. Actually, I even own a Constellation 95 in gold & stainless steel.Constellation ManhattanThis type of Constellation, that is still in production today and referred to as the Constellation Manhattan, celebrates its 35th anniversary t...
Are you buying watches on-line or rather do it the old school way? Just over a month ago, I visited the Dubai Watch Week (here s my report) and one of the panel discussions was about e-commerce. The title was E-commerce – Perfect storm or the silver lining. At first, I could not believe that this is still topic of discussion in 2017. Already in 2000 this was the topic of a panel discussion during the BaselWorld show, where our editor Gerard was actually one of the speakers (click here). Now, the sad thing is, that we are still having the same discussion 17 years later. The good thing is, that a lot of brands adapted to the world of on-line business. A lot of smaller brands (Linde Werde...
Apollo 17 was the last mission to the Moon. The decision to cancel Apollo 18 and 19 missions was already done in 1971 and based on budget cuts. Apollo 20 was already cancelled before (in 1969). The Apollo 17 mission, while being the last one to go to the Moon, was the first to have a night launch on December 7th 1972. It put the first geologist on the Moon (Harrison Schmitt) and they brought back 110.4KG of samples. The Apollo 17 mission took 12 days and the three astronauts (Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrisson Smith) returned safely on Earth again on December 19th, 1972. Exactly 45 years ago today.The total surface EVA time was 22 hours and 2 minutes. Enough time to collect the 110.4K...
This is 52Mondayz week #51. The penultimate week of the year already! One way or the other, towards the end of the year I tend to wear more gold watches than in any other period. To get smoothly used to the change in material, I started this year with a Day-Date in 18-carat white gold. Day-Date in white gold on President braceletThe Day-Date I m wearing this week was supplied new in the US in 2001. It bears the reference 18239, which tells us it s a Day-Date with a fluted bezel, made of 18-carat white gold.Double Quick-set Caliber 3155The reference number indicates as well that the movement used in this watch,? caliber 3155, has a double-quick-set feature. I.e. the day and the date can be ...
If you re visiting Sthrling‘s Brooklyn-based headquarters, odds are you re there to talk watches. And if you re there to talk watches, sooner or later the conversation?will?turn to dive watches- a brand staple.Like most every brand s dive watches, Sthrlings flagship Regatta 842 features design cues that bring to mind.? At the same time, the brands founder Henry Fischer has no problem telling you that, though Sthrling?didn t introduce the core dive watch design to the world, they?did?introduce the world to a dive watch for serious dive fans to add to their collections, without having to sell off the rest of their watches (or body parts).TAKING IT FORWARD INSTEAD OF TAKING IT EASY ?A...
