Three recent auctions show exactly why the Speedmaster X-33 matters, yet it is still relatively unloved by many Speedmaster enthusiasts.The good thing about this? For starters, you can find a great bargain on the Speedmaster X-33. A watch with proven and significant space history, but under-appreciated because of the quartz crystal and digital display. Second, the Speedmaster X-33 has some cool functions on board that have been developed together with pilots and astronauts. First together with NASA, later on, with the X-33 Skywalker version, with the European Space Agency (ESA). Below, an early prototype of the Speedmaster X-33. Very early prototypes had ‘Flightmaster printed on the s...

Shockingly, its all about to end. Yes, were several feature-length rollercoaster rides away from finding out who is finally going to park their keister on the Iron Throne (spoiler alert: It wont be Ned Stark).As the armies of Westeros prepare for battle, we thought wed help them out by selecting the finest (and most appropriate) watches for their wrists to ensure their strategies can be executed with military precision.GoT WatchesAnd because the only thing more enticing than absolute power over a sex/blood/power-mad kingdom is following the independent watchmaking industry, all of our choices come from makers who are beholden to no one or thing but their own genius.Jon SnowThis one is too ea...

Stand out from the crowd! The transition from lush deep green to darkest midnight green on the dial of this latest addition to Tutimas new Flieger series underscores the collections sportily elegant look. These newcomers continue the tradition of legendary pilots watches from the 1940s C and do so at prices that are unequalled in this class.In addition to the Grand Flieger Classic and Airport series, the Flieger family thus gains a modern entry-level model in a new design that goes perfectly with an active lifestyle.For more information visit tutima.com/watch/flieger-automatic-6105-30/The night green, anthracite or black dials accentuate the masculine note and assure a clear overview. The nu...

Today, we take a look at the Seiko SilverWave J12082, the very first dive watch from the celebrated Japanese brand.I was recently on my way back from a long Easter weekend in Bordeaux (where, surprisingly, Ill long remember the world-beating experience of ingesting crustaceans and shellfish over drinking wine), when I stumbled upon a review of the new Alpine A110 sports car on one of my favorite sites: Jalopnik.? Im used to witty, entertaining articles on the site, but this one truly struck me.? First off, the A110, from everything Ive seen and read, looks to be an outright winner and one that comes from left field as most have their eyes on the Germans or Italians when it comes to lightweig...

We show you the Top 10 Speedmaster articles in the last 12 months with the most reads.This means, of course, that more recently published articles received less ‘views than the ones that were already there 12 months ago. However, it will give a pretty good idea of what you like to read here.The Speedy Tuesday articles appear every week on Fratello, since 2012. We ve written more than 360 Speedy Tuesday articles in total, which you can all find on this page. After our first Speedy Tuesday article in May 2012, it quickly grew out to become one of our most popular items here on Fratello. Also on Instagram, the Speedy Tuesday hashtag was quickly picked up. It became a ‘thing . So mu...

The Speedmaster has the best ambassador in the world – The Moon. Since 1962 the Speedmaster has played a role in space exploration and in 1965 it became the official watch to wear during EVA. But the Speedmaster can also be seen on the wrists of many other ambassadors.Brands using ambassadors isn t exactly something from the last few years, although it sometimes does appear that way. The use of ambassadors to promote a watch or watch brand often results in very strong reactions from the crowd. Those who are not so deeply interested in watches don t care much and often gives them a way to make an association with a brand. In case of Omega, think of Cindy Crawford and the Constellation o...

Last week I was super excited to see the new gold Speedmaster Professional Apollo XI that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing.But of course, it is also a tribute to the original gold Omega Speedmaster Professional Apollo XI 1969 that was presented to President Nixon, his Vice-President Agnew and to the astronauts of Apollo missions. Michael Stockton did a nice introduction article of the new 2019 Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th anniversary and gave an overview (click here to read it) of the original BA145.022 and which numbers were given to which astronauts.I was so lucky to be in Bienne last week when the new Speedmaster Apollo 11 reference?310.60.42.50.99.001 was introdu...

Context – political, sociological and cultural. When I put on any vintage watch I try to imagine what it was like to wear that particular watch back in the time it was new and fresh. When I put on the Harvel Date-O-Graph in the morning, I just cant un-see the advert from 1943 published in LIFE magazine. In it, across half a page, there is a detailed shot of a hand holding a burning cigarette between the fingers. You can also see a bit of the shirt sleeve sticking out from beneath a sharply ironed jacket. And of course, the Harvel Date-O-Graph is there too.I instantly imagined some important or wannabe important businessman sitting on an airplane filled with smoke, with a bunch of other...

Almost 10 years ago, I wrote a comparison between the Royal Oak 15202 Jumbo and the then standard Royal Oak Date, with reference 15300. Both 39mm Royal Oak watches but with a huge difference: the movement. In 2012, this reference 15300 was succeeded by the 41mm reference 15400 and last month Audemars Piguet introduced its successor: The Royal Oak 15500. This watch is also in 41mm, but Audemars Piguet made some changes to the dial and, more importantly perhaps, installed a new in-house manufactured movement. Time for a new comparison between the Royal Oak Date reference 15500 and the iconic reference 15202 Extra-Thin or Jumbo.Royal Oak BackgroundI am not going to lie, theres only one Royal Oa...

SIHH is all about glamour. Thick carpets, free champagne and beautifully dressed people who have not a single problem in the world socializing with each other C thats what many people think about the watch exhibition hosted by the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie in cold Geneva.While it is undeniable that SIHH has a certain chic compared to Baselworld the scenario I painted above is hardly the case. Perhaps it is for some, but definitely, not for us, watch journalists. Attending SIHH is a great privilege that many mediums only wish to have, so when you do get that ticket youd like to put in the work. Go to as many presentations as you can, see and feel as many new watches as they show you an...

This is our last instalment of the SIHH 2019 recaps. It has been quite an interesting SIHH, more so than the 2018 edition, especially when it comes to the presented watches.SIHH 2019The 2019 edition of the SIHH was the last one held in the month January, as of next year, it will be right after Baselworld 2020. In the past, this was already the case, but then the SIHH decided to have theirs in January. So next year, we will have two huge shows back-to-back for about 10 days in total. I am very interested in what Audemars Piguet will do for example, but even more in what Swatch Group is planning to do. Will they stick to doing their own events as they will in 2019, or will they go back to Base...

Heres our recap of the second day of the SIHH 2019. Yesterday you could read about our first-day experience at the SIHH, and now we are already half-way. And weve now seen and tried that much talked about Code 11:59 at Audemars Piguet in the flesh, had an interesting session at Cartier and looked at the new pieces at Montblanc. We also did the photo shoot at Vacheron Constantin and A. Lange & S?hne, giving us a bit more one-on-one time with their new watches.SIHH 2019 Is CrowdedBut first things first, the SIHH has been shortened with one day compared to previous years. Yesterday and today it became very clear that this also means that the place (Palexpo) is much more crowded than it was ...

The word is out, the new caliber 321 has been introduced last week during a Speedy Tuesday event that we hosted in Biel. Last week we already published about this movement and shared some of the extra information that was not in the press release. But besides the introduction of this movement, there was also the Speedy Tuesday event in Biel. The second one, actually, as the first Speedy Tuesday event was held already in 2016. Before and in between, we did many more in different places (Dsseldorf, Amsterdam, Noordwijk, London, Munich, The Hague and in Geneva) and we will do more this year, worldwide.Speedy Tuesday Event (II) in BielLast week in Biel there were about 45 of our readers and Spe...

The craziness began already a few weeks in advance when you start to recieve all this press information under embargo. Normally, we dont really care for this rat race, but in some cases, it is also difficult to suppress your enthusiasm and you will write some articles in advance anyways. So that means you are actually doubling your workload in the period prior to SIHH. You have to write the articles for the daily dosis of watch content as well as all the extras for the SIHH in advance. Then, during SIHH, you also try to keep up with articles of things youve seen. The new Audemars Piguet Code 11:59 being an excellent example, sometimes you need to see watches in the flesh before sharing your ...

The Douglas A-1 Skyraider was one of the last few propeller driven attack aircraft to enter service. It arrived late for World War 2 and during the start of the Jet era, yet it enjoyed one of the longest careers in the US Air Force. Despite being outclassed in speed and technology by the latest jetfighters, the Skyraider held its own with a heavy payload and agility. The Skyraider served in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and it proved invaluable in providing close air support; for which jets were unsuitable.We christened our latest flieger the ‘Skyraider as it was developed around the handwound ETA 6498 movement.For more information please visit www.zeloswatches.comMuch like the ai...

It is the last day of the year, time to share with you the Top 10 best read articles on Fratello in 2018. In total, we published just over 450 posts on watches.2018 was a very important year for us, as we made a number of important decisions for the future of Fratello, which we will tell you more about soon. Also, of course, there was the release of another Speedmaster ‘Speedy Tuesday (Ultraman) which means a great deal to us. We very much enjoyed doing watch reviews (a big thank you to all brands that cooperate with us on that) and hosting watch events (another thank you to the brands and boutiques involved). We will do more events in the future, starting next week actually.For 2019,...

Today we shed our light on a brief question about ETA ebauches, sent in by Ramiro.You Asked Us: Does ETA sell their ebauches outside the Swatch Group?Here s the full text?of Ramiro s question, which is nothing short of to the point:From: Ramiro Subject: ETA ebauches (you asked us! question)Message Body:Greetings.I have a question about eta ebauches.Are they selling them outside the?Swatch group?Thank you,RamiroETA s popular caliber 2000What exactly is an ebauche?First a quick explanation of the French word ebauches [e??b???]. In general, but mainly used in the world of fine art, an ebauche means a rough or unfinished drawing or painting, more or less a sketch. Used in watchmaking, however, M...

Whats cooler than a gold Speedmaster Apollo XI from 1969? One that is complete with box and papers! The gold Speedmaster Apollo XI BA145.022-69 was one of the first special Speedmaster watches that I came across when I just started to become a Speedmaster collector. In an early stage, I was introduced to a local watchmaker and Omega collector, who happened to have one (and still has). It made a huge impression on me, and it never failed to do so from then on. In fact, I think it is one of the most beautiful Omega watches out there. Gold is not for everyone, and some purists might wonder why I dont prefer a nice CK2915 or CK2998, but to me, this BA145.022 is just magic.Speedmaster Apollo XI 1...

Last weekend this Speedmaster Alaska I Prototype fetched CHF193,750 (including the premium). But what is this watch exactly and what makes it so special? For this Speedy Tuesday feature, we try to break it down for you.Speedmaster Alaska 1 ProjectOmega was already the chronograph of choice for NASA, based on the procurement and test procedures it was qualified in 1965 for all manned space flights. So, on the wrist of the Apollo astronauts, there were already the Speedmaster 105.003, 105.12 and 145.012 references. But the story did not end there. Omega was constantly working on projects and sometimes send unsolicited packages to NASA to give a watch a try. These projects for NASA received a c...

This is what I often like to say to my fellow watch friends when they start asking the same silly questions about Cartier again.It was 1983 or 1984 when I bought my first real watch; the Cartier Santos. That was, of course, the square watch in steel with yellow gold lunette and steel bracelet with yellow gold screws. It was hot like hell and became the most copied watch. It was also that watch that made me interested in the history of the brand since the dealer told me that the design was inspired by the first mens wristwatch, launched by Cartier in 1904. So you can imagine that it did not take long before I became obsessed with watches in general, especially with Cartier.Cartier Watches Fro...