When Baume & Mercier s CEO Alain Zimmerman introduced the new Clifton collection as affordable luxury to us at the SIHH in 2013, I was happy to learn that some brands still understood the importance of creating affordable timepieces. The Clifton collection started at approximately CHF 2500 Swiss Francs but due to the annual price increases and the CHF/Euro disconnect earlier this year, the Clifton collection now starts at $ 2800 Euro for the gents models.As expected, Baume & Mercier quickly created a number of Clifton models with (and without) complications. This review is about the?Baume & Mercier Clifton Complete Calendar that I had on my wrist for a couple of weeks.Baume &...

Innovation is an oft-used word. Companies use it when talking about new technology or new ideas and while innovation allows us to progress, were constantly reminded of the fact that innovation often doesnt work or can take some time to develop into something user friendly and effective. Consumer electronics, especially in former times, were classic examples of this and I can remember how bad my first MP3 player was in its functionality and user interface but these items have obviously improved. After a few discussions and some online research, I have yet to decide whether the innovations found in todays #TBT subject were truly positive or not, but they are discussion worthy and, best of all,...

Omega was so nice to ship us their new Omega Seamaster 300 Spectre limited edition for a hands-on review. Now, I am more a Speedmaster kinda guy, but the Seamaster 300 made a very good impression on me from the start. This might have to do with the roots of both watch collections, that are so close and go back to 1957. Omega introduced the Seamaster 300 CK2913, Railmaster CK2914 and Speedmaster CK2915 that year, all with the same type of watch case, broad arrow hands and purpose (professional use).Spectre will be the 24th James Bond movie and a lot of watches have been used since the first adventure of 007 on screen (Dr. No). Since 1995, Omega has been the proud supplier of James Bond s time...

Roland Murphy from the RGM Watch Company contributes to rebuilding the Mount Joy playground that was set on fire in September 2012. The fire destroyed the playground and ever since there were plans to rebuild it for the kids from that area. There are several initiatives where the community tries to raise funds to cover all the rebuild expenses. RGM chipped in by donating a watch to fund some more money for the new playground.For rebuilding the playground (Kids Joy Land) there is a need for volunteers, tools and of course, money. Their goal is to raise $225,000.- USD and due to gifts and initiatives like RGM s donation of a watch (for auction) the required amount is almost there. You can help...

Last month Cartier presented the new ‘Ronde Cruise Collection in the US, the?new sporty watch for the man on the hunt, for a not too classic looking watch, with a more sporty look. The watch will be on the market?in the rest of the world, this Autumn.?But the ‘Ronde Cruise Collection , that was presented in three different versions, was not the only thing ‘La Maison ?had in reserve.Surprise number two this Summer, is the new Tank MC, that arrived quite unexpectedly in the Boutiques last week, with a stunning dark blue guilloche dial!New Tank MCYes Cartier, famous for its off white or creamy guilloche dials, is back with ?another watch, with a coloured dial, a feature that ...

My partner in crime, Blaise, introduced the fantastic strap reviews on Fratello Watches and it has really led me to look into strap makers as well. As you know, I really favor vintage pieces and one of my favorite things to do is to match a vintage watch with a perfectly appropriate strap. Its really like buying a knockout suit and having the right shoes. In any case, we pick up a lot of recommendations on strap makers via word of mouth, reading about them on forums, and sometimes they contact us. More recently, though, weve come across certain strap makers on Instagram. There are a lot of strap makers out there and while I admire all of them C I certainly couldnt make one C many straps have...

When we draw a relation between watches and space the first brand comes to readers minds is Omega and the legendary Moonwatch the Speedmaster. We all know the story, I dont want to bore you with the details. As we could read about it recently on our fellow bloggers very educative site NASA still uses the Speedmaster as a backup instrument for astronauts. However NASA is not the only key player in this game. Their – once – arch-nemesis ROSCOSMOS (Russian Federal Space Agency) also uses a Swiss company to produce them watches that they can issue to their astronauts. This relationship is not as old as Omegas but still stretches out just over 20 years having delivered the first watch...

Omega?Speedmaster 57 Ref. 331.10.42.51.01.002Omega is going large this year with their Speedmaster collection. Not only did they show us the new ceramic Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon models (we covered all of them here), White Side of the Moon models (review coming up), Speedmaster Snoopy II (covered it here) but also this new Omega Speedmaster 57 Caliber 9300 model. In the past, we already reviewed the Omega Speedmaster 57 Caliber 9300 watch (here) and compared it to the original Speedmaster CK2915 and the later 1997 re-edition. However, that was the model introduced in 2013 and even though it showed some similarities with the original CK2915 reference, it lacked proper broad arrow h...

Just months before the new James Bond movies premier (Spectre will be shown for the first time in London on 5th November) Omega C and action movie C fans are not left without some cool watch sighting of their favorite brand on the silver screen. In the newest addition to the Transporter saga, The Transporter Refueled, Frank Martin (Ed Skrein) can be seen running around in the usual slim fit black suit and big black Audi wearing an Omega Speedmaster Professional on the wrist. During the first scene we come across Frank Martin a bunch of thugs get into a fight with him in a hall garage, where else. Right before he knocks out the last thug le looks at his watch and makes a remark that he does n...

What is a service, why is it needed and how often? And most important of all: What are the costs? In this article we show you what the watch manufacturers do, per watch type / model and what they will charge for this.A mechanical watch needs periodical servicing, like your car. Your car needs a service every year where they will change the oil, do checks with regards to the brakes, steering, gearbox, tires and so on. Replace what needs to be replaced or repaired. The same goes for your mechanical watch, it needs an oil change every once in a while and some parts need to be checked for wear and tear (think about the wear on those little gear trains for example). The good thing about a watch s...

The one and only recurring section dealing with accessories on Fratello Watches is the Watch Strap Review, which we publish roughly once per month. In this section, I usually introduce a craftsman to the readers of Fratello Watches, a brand worth considering when thinking about new shoes for your watches. Of course, accessories in the watch world does not only mean straps or your occasional watch rolls. We try to bring you some of the more interesting companies of custom-made safes like Stockinger, cool watch winders like Barrington or budget brands like Dapper Watch Winder. This article will have 2 parts. In this one we will look at something every watch guy should have at home who has an e...

Pilots watches have been present in the cockpit since the very beginning of aviation. Most pilots used to navigate with the help of pocket watches, because wristwatches specially designed for flying were a rare occurrence.A legend is bornThe first pilot watch built by Hanhart in 1938 was the one-button chronograph Calibre 40 with black dial, luminous numerals and the small distance between hands and dial in order to guarantee quick and unimpaired reading of time in bright lighting as well as in the dark. Followed by the legendary models Tachy Tele and Calibre 41 in 1939, these watches came with a rotating bezel, luminescent hands and numerals, and red painted button with asymmetric position ...

As a die-hard watch freak, and gadget addict as well, of course I couldn t allow the Apple Watch to pass by. So two months ago I bought the 42 mm Space Grey aluminum Sports version with the black rubber strap. The watch hardly hasn t been off my wrist ever since. I now dare to say that I m able to substantively write something about it.Apple Watch ReviewFirst I want to clear that I don t think the Apple Watch is a watch. It s a device worn on a wrist which can be described as a communicator or informer. In fact it s probably best described as a remote display of your iPhone. And so, just like your iPhone, it tells the time and much more information as well. By telling the time additionally t...

A Swatch? Really? You come to Fratello Watches and read about exciting new watches and the weekly piece on vintage-and youre presented with a piece that was available in every department store. And even worse, this piece isnt the bloggers darling, the Sistem 51. No, I thought Id talk about a watch that was my first adult mechanical watch and really influenced me going forward. This watch doesnt get a lot of press, which is a bit of a shame, because there was a fair amount of ingenuity involved and, Swatch being Swatch, loads of variety and design creativity. #TBT goes back to the era of Trans-Ams and Aqua Net hairspray with the original Swatch Automatic.Most people are familiar with the Swat...

On August 25 I flew from Amsterdam to Dresden, to be in time for the inauguration of the new Lange building in Glashtte the next day. I wondered why they needed this new building, is there need for a higher production volume of these high-end Glashtte watches? When I arrived in the hotel in Dresden, I sat down with Arnd Einhorn of A. Lange & S?hne,?Director of Press and Public Relations, to get some back ground on Lange s history on the production of watches.How it all startedThere are letters – together about 500 pages – from Ferdinand Adolph Lange to the government and vice versa that discuss the possibility and financing of a new watchmaking company. These letters are da...

In search for a new classic, next to its long time (since 1986) popular SBB Swiss Railways watch, at the end of last year Mondaine introduced its Helvetica line.A clever step to use Helvetica, which may be the name of the most ubiquitous font around, as the name of a watch collection. It s said that Helvetica is a font of such practicality and beauty that it is both ubiquitous and something of a cult. And Helvetica, Latin for Swiss, is linked to this Alpine country almost as firmly as the SBB Swiss Railways.It was up to designer Martin Drechsel to translate the Helvetica font into the watch design. This resulted in an incredibly simple design at first glance, but which has little quirks that...

When I receive a watch for review, I always ask friends and colleagues their opinion about the watch. Its always good to ask watch lovers as well as casual observers for their thoughts because the latter, who are often difficult to impress, really let on when the watch is something special. Ive reviewed some fantastic watches thus far, both new and old, but never before have I reviewed a watch that turned heads like the piece Ill discuss today. The Omega Speedmaster Grey Side of the Moon, or GSotM, stopped all comers in their tracks and youll see what I mean when I say all.The Omega GSotM…is ceramic here to stay?Tantalum, aluminum, titanium, brass, PVD and ceramic; these are all semi-e...

A few years ago, when I was still in banking, I noticed that IWC became the new for many colleagues. Where the Submariners, Datejusts, Day-Dates and – of course – Daytonas were part of the appearance?of many colleagues for many years, there was a clear shift going on to IWC watches. My explanation for this would be that IWC changed its direction a bit from being a manufacturer of tool watches to being the manufacturer of watches for a wide(r) audience. Understandable. At that time I?also??decided to buy an IWC; an Ingenieur ref. 3227-01. Based on the heritage of a pure tool watch, but with the finish and elegance of a modern wearable mechanical timepiece.A watch I wore a lot an...

This week has been an interesting one on eBay. Yesterday, we covered the sale of an interesting panda Heuer Autavia and today well talk about the sale of an equally rare Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Before we do that, though, Ill use this article to give an overall opinion on something: eBay. I have contacts that are reluctant to buy on eBay and while I dont disagree with their concerns, it is, by far, the largest marketplace for vintage watches. Like any marketplace, its fraught with con artists and schemers, but there are loads of honest sellers. In addition, there are also those sellers who are clearing estates and have no idea about what theyre posting. This is typically where the deals come...

SevenFriday introduces their new collection of timepieces, the V-Series. Clearly inspired by engines and industrial design, the SevenFriday V-Series will shake up the entry market of mechanical timepieces once again. We had our worries, that the new collection would become ‘too expensive and therefore competing in a totally different league of watch manufacturers, but the price of the V-Series is more than comforting.Both V-Series watches, the V1/01 and V2/01, are priced at just below $1000 Euro (~ CHF1055 Swiss Francs). For this, you will get a unique designed watch by SevenFriday, powered by a mechanical movement made in Japan (Miyota 82S7). There is more than price and movement of ...