Green is the color of money, right? If so, shouldnt green also be the most expensive color? Well, it isnt at Hublot. The new Hublot Big Bang Unico Dark Green Ceramic 42mm costs $5,800 less than the same watch in orange. Hublot explained why during Watches and Wonders, but that story didnt make me change my mind when deciding between the two novelties. I never thought I would label a fully colored Big Bang chic, but I might just do that by the end of this article.When I wrote the introduction article about three new Hublot Big Bang Unico creations, I thought the monochromatic, online-exclusive Ice Bang would be the most interesting, with the bright Orange Ceramic version in second place and t...

Sometimes viewed as a low point in watch design, the late 90s and early 00s saw some great watch designs emerge. Today, a select handful offer huge bargains in the pre-owned market and neo-vintage luxury for small sums.As long as you don t mind the odd over-scratched or over-polished piece, the value of watches like the Zenith El Primero, Cartier Pasha, and many more stand out today for two reasons. The engineering quality sometimes out-punches today s offerings, while sizes are now seemingly perfect for our retro tastes. Call them neo-vintage or millennial cool, but here are five great examples from big brands.Image: WatchUSeek (geoffm62)Girard-Perregaux F300The Girard-Perregaux brand has...

IFL Watches keeps surprising us with creative new dial variations for its releases. This time, the Stockhlom-based brand delves into the Disney archives and celebrates the joyous spirit of Mickey Mouse. To be more exact, the brand celebrates the Disney classic Steamboat Willie coming into the public domain. This animated short film is known as the first public appearance of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. IFLW decided to take old-school-style Mickey from Steamboat Willie and put him on the Moon for this 150-piece Free Willie limited edition. Let s find out more!Over the past few years, IFL Watches has shown that the inspiration for creating standout dials is endless. Besides the wonderful, abstract...

I have talked about hidden gems from the 1990s in several articles over the past year. Based on that coverage, I received a message from a Dutch watch collector who focuses on Breitling watches from the 1990s. Curious about his Breitling collection and motivation, we invited him to the Fratello office to listen to his story and look at his marvelous collection.Our reader s Breitling collectionDuring our conversation with this Dutch Breitling collector, we mainly discussed the following models (as pictured above) - the white gold Breitling Emergency J56321, Chronomat Frecce Tricolori A13050.1 (LE 4,000 pieces), Chronomat Red Arrows A13050.1 (LE 1,965 pieces), Chronomat 50 years U.S. Air Force...

It s Sunday morning, so it s time for another Sunday Morning Showdown. After two battles featuring and Tudor, it s time to move on to something else. This week, we put two classic dress watches up against each other. Both came out at Watches and Wonders, and both impressed journalists and watch fans alike. Robert-Jan s pick is the Chopard L.U.C XPS Forest Green, which was much talked-about as one of the most stylish releases of the show. Jorg s pick is the Grand Seiko SLGW003 Birch Bark with a stunning new manual-winding movement. Which watch will triumph in this week s battle? You get to pick your favorite, so let s find out.In the first few weeks after Watches and Wonders, you will find a...

Atelier Wen was present in Geneva at the Beau-Rivage Hotel during Watches and Wonders 2024. However, the brand wasn t content with a small booth and a handful of watches on display. Master Cheng, the only master guillocher in Asia, made the trip and was accompanied by one of his rose engines. The young brand also announced a bold upcoming watch made entirely of tantalum.It s no surprise that the folks from Atelier Wen were in Geneva earlier this month. Indeed, several independent brands exhibit their wares within the Beau-Rivage Hotel at an event running parallel to Watches and Wonders. The fact that Atelier Wen brought a 450kg rose engine by plane from China, though, was a shocker. The inte...

For many of us, that special watch is something we may have bought to mark an occasion. Perhaps it was a gift. For Tom Place, his special Submariner is out there, somewhere, at the bottom of a lake in the United States. He is hell-bent on recovering it one day.Some people like wearing their watch in tough conditions and sharing all of life s adventures with it. The upside to this is the memories you can make with that watch strapped to your wrist. The downside, as we have seen before here on Fratello with a lost and a watch collection made entirely of lost watches, is that said watch can somehow find itself detached from your wrist. For those of us who have had this experience, we no doubt...

The dust has barely settled, but this years Watches and Wonders was already labeled lukewarm. Some even called the releases disappointing or underwhelming. I am not sure I agree. Granted, there wasn t an earth-shocking release that we will all add to our collections, no further questions asked. But should there be? Are we perhaps setting ourselves up for disappointment with all our predictions and expectations?The question is: should we expect radical new watches every year? Multiple times per year, even? I would argue this expectation goes against the grain of what is actually enjoyable about our shared passion.Icons arent built in a yearFor starters, watch enthusiasts tend to lean toward s...

As a watch writer, I sometimes run into something truly special and different from everything else. It doesn t happen too often, but when it does, I know immediately. When we received the timepieces from the Chinese high-horology brand Celadon, I had that feeling as soon as I unwrapped them. After seeing the dials, it was apparent that incredible amounts of time and skill went into creating them. But upon turning the watches around, I got the next surprise. Gloriously displayed through the case backs are the brand s CH1 and CH5 movements, created and finished by AHCI master watchmaker Lin Yong Hua exclusively for Celadon Haute Horlogerie. As you will understand, I was intrigued to learn more...

My Speedmaster Ed White, 10 years older than my car, made the trip almost untouched. I can t say the same about my Land Rover, which left me behind three times due to fuel-delivery issues. Otherwise, it was one beautiful trip full of dust, off-the-grid gravel roads, majestic views, jokes on walkie-talkies, dreaming in the forest, and sleeping under the stars.Last year I bought a small country house just next to the forest. It s the kind of property I always dreamed about. The road ends there. Well, calling it a road would be an overstatement. The house sits on a tiny hill on the edge of a huge, sloping meadow with forests on two sides. It s my weekend escape from meetings and the busy city.T...

Proving the world can still be a good place, Nomos Glashtte has decided to contribute three special-edition watches to benefit Swiss-based Aviations Sans Frontieres (ASF). On Wednesday, June 18th, 2025, Artcurial will hold a charity auction for ASF near Paris. Three Nomos watches with the case number AF001 will be auctioned to support the association s humanitarian missions. These particular Zrich Worldtimer, Minimatik, and Orion 33 watches were the first pieces in a limited-edition series that Nomos made for Air France in 2023. Until now, they were kept safe in the brands headquarters, but now theyre out to do some good.The proceeds of the Nomos Zrich Worldtimer, Minimatik, and Orion 33 ...

The Seiko Presage Classic Series Craftsmanship pairs attainable Japanese watchmaking with impressive traditional crafts. We recently saw the introduction of a version with an enamel dial and another with an unglazed porcelain dial. Today, we see yet another version, this time with a dial featuring urushi lacquer. This is the SPB499.The new Seiko Presage Classic Series Craftsmanship SPB499(J1) is a non-limited edition and available for pre-order now. Delivery is scheduled to commence in July of this year. The urushi-dial Presage costs $1,750 / US$1,650. Lets have a closer look!Urushi lacquerLets start with the highlight of the show, the SPB499s dial and its urushi () lacquer. Urushi is a nat...

Back in 2019, I reviewed a purple-dialed Minase Divido. The watch was, and still is, different from anything I ve ever worn. The insane level of case finishing blew me away. The bracelet construction was just as impressive with its intricate links. So perhaps it s only appropriate, with my evolving appreciation for vintage rectangular watches, to cover an update to the brand s decidedly different take on the form - the 7 Windows Steel 2.0.Yes, the original Divido wowed me like few other watches have. If it weren t for the slightly large case size, I can almost guarantee that one would be in my collection. Minase makes such boldly different watches compared to other brands, and I m impressed ...

Every year, I tell myself Ill resist the urge to make another list. And yet, here we are again. A fresh calendar year always seems to bring with it a fresh batch of watch cravings - some new, some old, and some Ive come close to buying before but never quite pulled the trigger on. If youve followed my past wish lists, youll recognize a familiar face or two, but I promise this isnt just a copy-and-paste job. My collecting tastes have shifted slightly over the past 12 months, and 2025 is shaping up to be the year I tighten my focus.This time around, its less about hype and more about substance. The watches on this list all speak to me in very specific ways. Theyre smart, characterful, and in m...

With summer quickly approaching for many of us, it s time to start thinking about your watch for the long summer days. Some of us will swap a bracelet for a colorful strap, while others will make it their mission to find a new timepiece for the season. We picked five of our recently released favorites that we would take on our summer holidays. Most are colorful tool watches you could take for a swim and wear to an informal dinner at night. While plenty of regular watches are perfectly suited for both, a nice touch of color will make a summer watch stand out from your other timepieces. So let s find out what our top five picks are for summer watches in 2025.As always with these lists, there i...

Almost exactly one year ago, J&Berg, a new Finnish brand, launched with its debut model, the B2. The watches were met with near-universal praise due to their looks, materials, and specifications. A clean, modern design that could only be described as Nordic seemed to be a crowd-pleaser. After the success of the initial references, the brand is back with two new variations on the theme, which should prove just as popular.J&Berg released its first set of B2 watches last year, comprising a series of three limited-edition models. We went hands-on with them and were impressed with the fit, quality, and cost. Readers echoed our enthusiasm in the comments section, and some of them placed or...

Tudor s Black Bay line has become the foundational building block for the modern brand. The Black Bay 54 Lagoon Blue brings the summer vibes in the form of a 37mm dive watch. Let s take a look.Tudor was once a more affordable entry point into the stable, sharing many parts, including cases, crowns, and bracelets, while utilizing third-party movements to keep prices down. The formula was reasonably effective for decades. When the brand released the original Black Bay in 2012, it marked a shift to a new design language (riffing off the old with a mix of 1950s, 60s, and 70s styling traits) that became a hit. Tudor has recently put quite a lot of energy into its tool-oriented Pelagos line, to...

Farer released the initial Aqua Compressor series back in 2017. This made it one of the earliest model lines for the brand, which was founded in 2015. Mysteriously, the model disappeared from the catalog for a brief period, but it has returned in three colorways. Why did it temporarily vanish? Improvements were desired along with a new movement.London-based Farer has been on an exciting journey since 2015. I remember the initial releases, and while they were fun and colorful, they also all had quartz movements. A lot has changed since then, and the brand lists 16 (!!) model lines on its website. Guess what: all are mechanical! Still, the focus on vivid, exciting colors hasn t changed, and va...

Please dont call it a size reduction; its a completely reworked design to get perfectly balanced proportions. Introducing two new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique 38mm models for women. Yes, Blancpain tells us explicitly that these new FF models are for women only. Thats not very 2025, but in the brands defense, these watches pay tribute to the women taking action as part of the Blancpain Ocean Commitment, through the Ocean Photographer of the Year competition, and more particularly, the Female Fifty Fathoms Award. So, thats settled, but lets look at the watches again. That 38mm case size is perfect for men, too!Okay, the new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique 38mm with the shiny pink be...

Following up on its 2024 inaugural collaboration watch, Oracle Time releases its sophomore effort, the Ball Engineer II Dazzle. Last years wonderful Christopher Ward Dune Shoreline was so successful that Christopher Ward spun off the 100-piece limited edition into a bona fide collection. With the wind in its sails, Oracle Time now jazzes up the railroad-inspired Ball watch with a dazzling dial. Can the new collaboration recapture the magic of the previous years smash hit? Lets find out.Ball watches are typically revered for their chronometer accuracy bred from the history of railroad timekeeping standards. A later signature development is the radioactive H3 tritium gas tubes residing on the ...