Lume, or luminescent material, is something I mentioned in the first photo book article. It is something that has fascinated me from the very first steps of my photography journey. It is hard to capture, which makes it an interesting challenge. But the challenge maketh the man. Always set the bar high and push your limits. The experience will follow.Long exposureWith limited knowledge back in the days, I simply started doing long exposure shots. At the time it wasn t so much about the esthetics and creating an appealing image. Yet is was simply capturing the beauty of my watches and occasionally those of others. So from doing near black images where only the lume was clearly visible (as you ...
A new addition to the German brands Pilot line, the sub-dial-sporting Laco Wrzburg makes full use of the ETA 6498.1 base calibers attributes beating away inside its 42.5mm case.I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Pilots watches. There are some, like the Zenith Extra Special Pilots (time-only) series that I love. There are others that leave me cold. Lacos output falls somewhere in between these two camps and isnt averse from switching sides on what seems like a release-by-release basis.Ill start off with the good - the very good. There is only one brand in the world - in watchmaking and all other industries - that I will tolerate pre-aged goods from. That brand is Laco. Its pre-age...
Dress watches are on the rise. While sports watches from the likes of Tudor, Omega and Seiko are perpetually generating interest, bubbling away in the background is a resurgence of clean and classic watches. Take, for example, this Longines 1946. As pared back as a watch can be, yet our Fratello readers flocked to learn more. To broaden our coverage of dress watches, I looked to none other than the masters of elegantly refined design: Hermes.There is a stigma surrounding luxury fashion brands that turn their hand to traditional watchmaking. It s not without virtue, however. For the uninitiated, it is a reasonable assumption that a luxury brand s quality is consistent across all products. Arm...
Have you heard about the quick release titanium bracelet Christopher Ward introduced along with the C60 Elite? If you hadn t already, you just have. You re welcome. Trust me: It s going to make your life better.Its easy to get lost in the C60 divers watch range by Christopher Ward, but Im here to help. Unless youre a hardcore fan, I bet you wont be able to recollect half of the brand s C60 offering. As of now, there are 13 C60 models available online. 13 models ready to enchant your underwater soul. A GMT, a bronze, an 8-day power reserve, hand-etched or blacked-out dials, COSC specs, aluminum or ceramic bezels, even a quartz chronograph movement. You hardly could imagine a diver being so d...
Timex is enjoying something of a renaissance. After last year s run of unexpected throwbacks, the American-born brand returns with an old school automatic buddy for the Q Timex - the Timex M79 Automatic.You ve heard of flippers, right? No, not the dolphin. Those people that buy that they plan on re-selling. Often, they ll have a deal in place before their purchase has even arrived at their door. Competing against ultra-vigilant flippers can be a real headache for genuine collectors. With wild eyes craving for a quick profit, they are famously short on scruples. Regrettably, this kind of behavior is becoming ever more commonplace. You might well expect greedy speculators attempting to order s...
You can t beat a good t-shirt. The ability to turn your torso into a walking billboard is one of life s simple pleasures. In the past, watchmaking t-shirts were pretty hard to come by. Thankfully, there are a few companies dedicated to changing that. One that deserves your attention is Art of Horology, a Britain-based husband and wife duo taking the watch world by storm.The primary fare of The Art of Horology is high-quality art prints. The clothing line generally takes a popular model already available as a print and replicates it so it can be worn. But the most recent release from this talented pair is something different. Not only different but also very special for Fratello fanatics. Tha...
has a rich history of advertising built for decades. The brand has produced some of the most remarkable ads ever created by a watch brand. In this recurring series, we take a look at the most iconic ads has created over the years.One of the most exciting and fun things to do when diving into the history of a watch brand is to look at their advertising.? has always been a brand that has created some of the most remarkable ads in the industry, not least because they are connected to outstanding achievements and famous people. Some of the advertisements are stylish, some of them are thought-provoking, and some are blessed with an excellent sense of humor. All of them represent a certain time,...
I read about this complication a few years ago, but never stumbled upon it. Until last summer, when I accidentally found a Buler in a Royal Oak-styled case.Its early 2020 and most of us are refusing to accept the fact that Christmas is over. So I thought I might take it easy on you and offer a bit of vintage fun. To cheer you up before getting ready to dive back into your daily job routines. Flipping through my archive, I stumbled upon a really unique mechanical piece. Its not the movement, its the idea again that amused me so much. Twice a minute, or 120 times in an hour, the dial is visible for a few seconds only, otherwise clouded in darkness. Maybe its too daring call it a complication, ...
The best watches of 2019 according to our editorial team, an overview of over 30 different watches!We re looking back at a very successful year for Fratello. We grew tremendously, not only in reach but also in the quality and quantity of our content as well as the number of contributors to Fratello. We hired a head of operations, Daniel, who s responsible for almost everything besides the content you see here (yet we asked him to chip in as well for this article, as he is a watch guy after all), we did a total redesign of our online magazine, we started with our podcast series, we opened our shop, we started to have our articles translated in other languages (live early 2020) and we are abou...
Four years after our first review of ColaReb straps, we have decided to take another look at their new pieces, including a pair of 100% Vegan straps.As Balazs wrote in this last Watch Strap Review, we do not review straps for money. We either review straps we bought previously and considered them interesting enough to be introduced to you, or we select straps from manufacturers that approached us proactively, and we found their straps to be interesting enough. Todays review of selected ColaReb straps is a combination of both.ColaRebA year-long ColaReb temptationI made my first order from ColaReb a year ago. I liked their straps so much that I made another order a few months later. If youve e...
The 206 St Ar is historically linked to the 203 St and 203 Ti Ar, in which Ar-Dehumidifying Technology was first used in 1995. Optimum readability is ensured by a black dial, which also gives the watch a mechanical and instrumental look. To remain as true to the original of the 203 St as possible in other respects, we have also kept the screw push-piece look. Thanks to our D3-System, however, screwable push-pieces are no longer required in the 206 St Ar. This makes the chronograph functions easily accessible and easy to operate. Model 206 St Ar therefore represents a contemporary take on the traditional 203 series, which is reflected in a new diameter of 43 mm rather than 41 mm.Case made of ...
BALTIC Watches was launched via Kickstarter in 2017 with our two ?rst watches : The Bicompax & HMS, both inspired by the 40s step-cases watches. The idea to make vintage inspired watches didnt come from anywhere. Nothing would happen with a family story that made this possible.The founder Etienne Malec has inherited a collection of watches from his father that he didnt had the chance to know. His father extensively recorded his watches in a journal, keeping track of every one that passed through, with price paid, price for selling, what he traded it for. Being immersed in this journal and this collection was the beginning of a passion story that started more than 15 years ago and has bee...
We hope you enjoyed yesterday s Holiday Gift Guide 2019: The Watches.? Today, we re back with a look at everything else we enjoy here at team Fratello.? From watch-related gifts, to travel, to everyday living, and some fun…here we go!Watch-Related GiftsOriginal and Colourful Pastiche Patches (80 EUR)In case you missed it, we give you another opportunity to look at a summer piece from Balazs, who dug deeper into the story behind this college side-business idea that became one of the coolest watch accessory brands on the internet. A bunch of great iron-on patches could be purchased individually or as a pack of all 22 designs. The top seller is by far the Submariner patch followed by the ...
Welcome to the Fratello Holiday Gift Guide 2019: The Watches!? We have a cool assortment for you that includes both classics and new watches…enjoy and Happy Holidays!Over 5.000 Euro (or USD or GBP)Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 (9.100 Euro)Well, you knew a gift guide form Fratello would be thick with Speedmasters, so here is our first of two to make the guide: the Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8.? I wasn t sure about this one when it debuted at Baselworld 2018, but then I saw it months later on the wrist of Roy Davidoff…and I loved it (RJ called it the best of the DSotM collection).? What amazes me on this watch is the impressive dial detail that s crafted to loo...
We have decided to make the ‘Ads From The Past a recurring series of articles where we find the best in watch advertising. In the second article of the series, it s now time to look at some Omega ads and see what remarkable things we can find. We have selected eleven ads from the past to find out what makes them iconic, funny, or strange.Omega has a rich tradition in advertising that goes back to the beginning of the 20th century, so there was a lot to chose from when we selected ‘just eleven ads for this article. Some of the advertisements are real works of art, and others are very technical and factual to emphasise the features of the watch.11 Omega ads from the pastIt is fun...
As the holidays approach, this year do yourself a favor and get ahead of the rush. Whether looking for something for yourself or the perfect gift for someone else, we believe we found the ultimate source to satisfy your needs!One thing watch lovers like to do when traveling is to take some of their collection with them besides the one on the wrist, so this is when a Watch Box or Roll comes into play.We have featured the folks from Atelier Del Sur before with great success and just now that they have introduced their new line of travel and storage watch accessories we want to share it with you.There are dozens of watch boxes out there, most of them made in high bulk production and using suppl...
It is not every day you get to meet a world-record making explorer. Victor Vescovo is the first human who has climbed the highest mountains, skied to both the North and South poles, and now?reached the deepest depths of the planet.Vescovo has just returned from the Five Deeps Expedition, the unprecedented endeavour to reach the bottom of all five oceans in a manned submersible. His ship is passing through our straits and docking in London for two days.On board is the man himself, his expedition team, and the submersible that made the historic dives. On its external robotic arm, strapped the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional timepiece that descended together.Ultra DeepOmega...
What happens if you put together ten Fratello Magazine editors from around the world on a late evening team call? Besides a lot of jokes, you get a lot of ideas for new features on Fratello. Welcome to one that made the cut – Fratello s Time Travel.We have decided to do the dirty job of looking more closely at often overlooked categories of watches for all the enthusiasts out there. All watches will be anywhere between 1980 and 2000. Embarking upon the quest of digging deeper into our archives, forgotten drawers, or watch-sleeves, we will sift through old catalogs, booklets, and ads with this new challenge in mind. The idea is to shed light on watches from that specific era, where you ...
Millennials might associate the Day-Date with fictive characters like Tony Soprano, but there s much more to this watch, of course. The Day-Date is the watch worn by Presidents, captains of industry, people from the entertainment industry, and all those who appreciate a timeless watch in precious metal.My first encounter with the Day-Date was relatively late. In the small village where I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, there weren t many people that spend on luxury items. They were all over on tv-series and movies, though, and advertisements. is known to have some pretty fantastic ads, and many of them included the famous Day-Date, featuring people like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Pla...
I aimed to make two vintage watches that I have, a bit fresh again. When the Swiss LUGS company contacted me to have a look at their straps, I went for their ‘Dandy collection to see if I could find something cool for a vintage Datejust 1600 and an Omega Constellation 168.029.Two vintage watches that deserve to see some daylight (again), but I wanted them to be on the right type of strap. Not something vintage looking, with the famous two stitches near the lugs, or too much contrasting stitching in general. A grained strap with matching stitching would be perfect for the gold-capped Omega Constellation. Classic, with a twist. Not too classic, like a glossy alligator, for example. I s...
