About a month ago, during the annual SIHH exhibition in Geneva, Omega introduced a new Speedmaster with moonphase indicator. We wrote about that new caliber 9904 Speedmaster Moonphase here. Besides this new Speedmaster Moonphase Chronometer that will be shown in a few weeks from now in Basel, there is a Speedmaster Professional with Moonphase available as well. It has been in the collection non-stop?since 2003?actually (click here to see this watch on the official Omega website).That particular Speedmaster Professional has roots that go back to 1985. In that year, Omega introduced no less than 3 different Speedmaster Moonphase models. All three had this caliber 866 – Lemania based R...
Did you ever wonder what goes into the construction of a watch case and in particular a watch case made of high tech materials like carbon fiber? We got deeper insights into the Hublot carbon case manufacturing workshop in Gland, Switzerland to find out. We will follow the fabrication of one of the parts of the watch case from its arrival as a raw form, through its cutting, polishing and final assembly into the case. Our visit allows us to see the many hand steps, some of which resemble assembly of a watch movement, to create the complex Hublot Big Bang case. This includes a demonstration of Hublots unique strap attachment system that allows the change of strap with a simple push of a button...
Last week I received an e-mail from Bob about his Omega Speedmaster Professional 105.012-65 blue dial watch. A rarity, as we wrote back in December 2014 when we discussed the blue dial Speedmaster Pro 145.012 from the Omega Museum. During our Speedmaster GTG in Dsseldorf last year (click here for the report), we ve seen another blue dial Speedmaster from one of the guests.Bob is offering his Speedmaster Professional 105.012-65 blue dial on eBay and the current bid is already on $7,400.- USD. Why is this watch so special? There is not much to explain about these watches to be honest.?These blue dial Omega Speedmaster watches were delivered from the factory this way, not because of a hard lif...
If you dont live under a rock you probably heard about the Denver Broncos beating the Carolina Panthers a few weeks ago at Super Bowl 50. It was a two worlds collide kinda thing; the Broncos are one of the oldest teams in the NFL (established in 1960) and the Panthers are a pretty young squad (established in 1993). The Broncos have three Super Bowl championships; the Panthers have zero so far. Denver has a veteran quarterback to lead them, from one of the most prestigious football families, Payton Manning. On the other hand the Carolina leader is a young and ambitious guy by the name of Cam Newton, who has only spent 5 seasons in the league. So, all odds were on Denvers side. Sure enough the...
Top five vintage sports chronographs: sounds audacious, doesn t it?? This week, on #TBT, Ill take a breather from reviewing an individual watch. Instead, Id like to C hopefully C entertain you with some thoughts on building a nice collection of vintage 1960s, and maybe some 1950s and 1970s, chronographs. We all see these #sexpile shots and while theyre often comprised of come as you are watches, you have those out there who think its a good idea to focus on a specific genre or direction within ones collection. Ill play along with the latter, although I actually enjoy a lot of variety. Heres how it will work; I set some rules for this article and essentially boiled it down to five seminal pie...
In the mid-1990 s, when my love for mechanical watches really took off, I bought as many magazines and watch books I could possibly find as information on the internet was rather difficult to find and not so common as it is now. In a couple of these generic watch books, giving the reader an overview of different watch brands and their models, I always had a couple of favorite brands I d like to read about. One of them was Audemars Piguet. Not only their octagonal Royal Oak models that I seem to have been appreciating from the first moment on (which is not a common thing to do) but I also studied their round and vintage models with complications with great interest. Although I d like to think...
German Military TimepiecesIt is obvious that whenever we need to research about our watch C or anything else for that matter- we reach for our smartphone, tablet or laptop. If you are one of these guys and only use a book as a doorstop or level the table leg please stop reading now!If you are still here it means you love and use books often. It is true that nowadays most information you find in books is available on the Internet-all you need to do is find it. The problem with searching online is that most of the data needs to be collected form many places. We, vintage lovers, tend to rely on the good old way of doing research when it comes to an interesting piece and that is; picking a book ...
Years ago, even before I started Fratello Watches, I visited this Omega dealer?near the place where my parents lived. I think I might already have my first Speedmaster that I bought in October 1999, so probably around 2000/2001.?The sales person showed me this – then – new Omega Speedmaster Rattrapante Chronometer reference 3540.50. At the time, a futuristic looking watch with a carbon fibre dial and 3 rectangular pushers. A pusher to start/stop the movement, one to reset the chronograph hands and one (at 10 o clock) to operate the split-seconds.The stainless steel case (42.25mm) showed a lot of resemblance with the – in 1998 – introduced Speedmaster Professional X-33...
Its been roughly three months since our last Vintage Market update, so its high time for another. Its the middle of winter for most of our readership and it also coincides with a relatively dead spot in the calendar, so why not kick back and read a little bit about whats been happening and what may come? In this installment of the Vintage Market update, Ill cover some relatively recent phenomena while doing my best to highlight some relatively available opportunities. Lets jump in-Pieces like this Vulcain were once plentiful on the market – not anymoreThe market for vintage sports watches was hot a year ago and its only reached more of a boil since that time. To provide a little bit of...
The last time I reviewed a Yema, the Daytona as its nicknamed, I came away with a rather lukewarm feeling. The watch was nice, but I likened it to a lookalike product; its close to the real deal, but somehow lacking in the details. Today, though, we focus on a different model, the Yema Rallye, and Im delighted to tell you that this watch is far more worthy of praise. Furthermore, the model, in a slightly different format, has a real motorsports connection. #TBT returns from its recent travels to the distant lands of gold plating and smaller sized watches to bring you something a bit more customary. Now, lets go check out that Yema-The proportions of the Yema Rallye, with its nearly 39mm of d...
Earlier this morning, had you awoken very early and jet-lagged in Tokyo, you might have joined other annoying Western tourists in going to the seafood market to watch C and likely get in the way of C the auctioning of the mighty Bluefin tunas. If actually living in this amazing city and throwing a lavish dinner party, perhaps youd choose to buy 10 lbs of this delectable fish for your cherished guests and find yourself parting with something on the order of $3,000 C 3,500. However, had you decided to sleep in, get dressed, ensure your trusty credit card was packed in your wallet, and then go on a leisurely stroll, you might have found a far more surprising way to spend a few thousand. Yes, th...
Last week the new owners of Eza came down to the Fratello Watches HQ in The Hague and showed us their Eza Sealander. Needless to say that we always like to have watch people over in our office to ramble about watches over a coffee, we love it when we get to see a new watch or new collection?that has not been launched yet.If you are into vintage watch collecting, you might recognize Eza as the brand from Pforzheim, Germany. That s correct. Pforzheim was long time one of those cities that was associated with watchmaking, and even today you will find a couple of brands and suppliers in this German city. Eza?has roots that go back to 1921, founded by Hermann Becker and specialized in manufacturi...
With only a few hours to go, there is still a chance to own that flown Speedmaster watch. Russian cosmonaut?Sergei Zalyotin (53) received this Omega Speedmaster Professional X-33 from the?Russian Federal Space Agency in 2000 and used it during missions?to both the Mir and International Space Stations. Even though he has been connected with the Fortis Cosmonaut Chronograph watch, he wore the X-33 on the Soyuz TM-30 mission in 2000 and the Soyuz TMA-1 mission in 2002.Christie s estimates this watch between $10,000 USD and $20,000 USD and currently it is at $16,000 USD. That is a lot of money for a Speedmaster X-33 that usually sells around $2,500 USD, but the fact that it flew on the wrist of ...
The name Senfine is perhaps giving too much hope, meaning eternally in Esperanto, but this concept watch by Parmigiani is already showing some promising results when it comes to power reserve. Where your average mechanical watch has probably a power reserve of somewhere between 40 hours and 10-days (there are some exceptions, like the Rebellion T-1000), Parmigiani strives to get the power reserve for their Senfine up to 90 days. Without using barrels the size of a hockey puck of course. However,??Parmigiani isn t there yet…As written above, the Parmigiani Senfine is still in a development stage and will be at least until 2018. Ever since 2008, Parmigiani is working on this concept that...
Only a few months ago, Christie s had their Omega Speedmaster 50 Auction held in New York City with a 100% selling rate. This time, Christie s is having an online auction (that still runs for almost 3 more days) with some incredibly nice Omega watches. Not only Speedmaster pieces, also Seamaster and Constellation pieces for example. There are 26 lots in total, that you can find here, I am not sure why all of them are considered to be rare Omega watches, as some of them can be fairly easy found on eBay and Chrono24. However, some of them are very interesting and in some cases even unique, definitely worth a look.Although one of them is even a flown Speedmaster, a X-33 model?previously owned b...
What is the difference between a tourbillon and a carrousel? Gain exclusive insights into the workshop of the oldest watch brand in the world! Blancpain is unique in the world of watchmaking as it is the only house which has mastered the art of placing a carrousel in a wristwatch. Carrousels were originally conceived to defy gravity and the associated rate errors when the watch is in a vertical position. In this way, carrousels are like tourbillons. But watch connoisseurs often get confused in trying to understand how carrousels and tourbillons are different from each other. Fortunately, Blancpain has created two watches that are perfect vehicles for understanding the similarities and differ...
Clebar is apparently slang in French for wet dog. I suppose thats better than a cat, but its still not overly flattering. Then, we have Robert-Jans colorful take on the word C he thinks it sounds like an ill-gotten malady that would often require a shot of penicillin. Either way, Clebar is also the name of a watch brand and a certain chronograph model is the subject of todays #TBT.?? Ive had this watch for roughly a year now and its a study in mystery no matter how you slice it. Information is scarce and the design is confounding. Theres one thing that easy to explain, though, and thats the beauty and condition of this watch. Furthermore, it contains a fantastic movement not often seen outsi...
With all the stress of the watch shows like SIHH and BaselWorld in our mailbox, we are unable to answer all Speedmaster related questions we get in a timely matter. However, a lot of them concern questions about authenticity and originality. Super-LumiNova or a modern bezel on a 1960 s or 1970 s Speedmaster is an example of the obvious ones, but some times it is difficult to tell whether a watch left the manufactory in Biel with a certain set of hands or case back or bracelet or .. [fill in] or that it has been replaced afterwards. Don t forget that watches needed to be serviced in the 1960 s and 1970 s as well, so some parts might have been replaced long time ago already. Also, we know that...
Are you looking to buy an Omega Speedmaster but don t know where to start? We re here to help! Over the past 65+ years, Omega has created many variations of one of the world s most famous chronographs. The classic 42mm Moonwatch has been in the collection since 1965, and to the novice eye, little has changed since then. But if you look a bit closer, you will find that the Speedmaster evolved quite a bit in the decades that followed.In this Speedmaster guide, we ll give you an overview of the most important references of the Speedmaster (Professional) and some of its variations. Although this article isn t meant as a pricing guide, we will give some hints, of course. If you re already a knowl...
Before we enter the next story about color I would like to say something about the past period of Watches & Pencils on Fratello Watches. It all started pretty small with a quick sketch and a few lines (view the very first post about the Bullhead here). After the launch W&P quickly evolved to a feature with long intense stories accompanied by complex artwork. The Sandwich-post or the previous post about the Submariner for example. To maintain focus, quality and give the cartoons and stories the attention they deserve, weve decided to split up those two ‘types of content. Expect one cartoon with a few lines and one longer?story / review with photos from now on. That said, lets m...
