Here s a nice surprise that won t last long. The Oak & Oscar Jackson Big Eye Chronograph brings back a popular model from the Chicago-based brand with some thoughtful tweaks.It was all the way back in October of 2017 that we first shared news of the Oak & Oscar Jackson Chronograph. It was an audacious watch for Chase Fancher, the founder of the brand, for several reasons. Firstly, it was the marque s first-ever chronograph. Second, it brought a new manual wind column wheel movement from Eterna called the 3916M with a flyback complication. Finally, and unsurprisingly, the Jackson brought Oak & Oscar into a different price realm. Did it work? Absolutely and there are currently 400 ...

The Octo Finissimo, Royal Oak, and Nautilus have made it onto my list of five of the best steel sports watches of all time. Would they make it onto yours?If youve experienced any measure of success in life, youre bound to have considered owning a luxury sports watch as a means of commemorating those achievements. Reaching such a milestone in the first place, however, takes considerable perseverance, determination, and, of course, a fraction of knowledge about the luxury watch industry itself. Which steel sports watch appeals to you the most?How much should the heritage of a brand influence the direction your heart wants to follow when choosing one? The answer to those questions may be influe...

Aside from the 2007 OmegaMania auction, the auction results on Speedmasters have gone up tremendously in recent years. On the one hand, I hate it when one of my favorite watches (read: favorite) is becoming so expensive, on the other hand, you can also interpret it as the recognition it deserves. In this article, I show you the five most expensive Speedmasters auctioned.The good thing about the Speedmaster is though, that you can still buy that standard Moonwatch for a very decent price. Especially compared to the competition out there, the Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch is quite an accessible watch. Until you go vintage, of course, of which you will find some extremes in this overview o...

A G-Shock G-STEEL you can wear as a contemporary dress watch? I know it sounds hard to believe, but hear me out. New to the line-up is a model with a steel case, black dial, and resin strap - a steel bracelet is also available, and then the watch is called the GST-B400D-1AER C that measures only 12.9mm in height. Because of its slimness and understated analog look and colors, its quite an introverted G-Shock despite its 46.6mm case diameter. So, what kind of watch is the Casio G-Shock G-STEEL GST-B400-1AER really?How dare I call a 46.612.9mm watch with a lug-to-lug length of 49.6mm a dress watch? A multifunctional quartz watch, no less! Well, I dare because its slim enough to slip under the...

There is something magical about the Caribbean that has universal appeal. It s hard to deny the colorful appeal of both the scenery and the spirit of the Caribbean. The Swiss brand with Cuban roots, Cuervo y Sobrinos, tries to capture that spirit with every watch it releases. The brand s latest timepiece is the Buceador Caribe. It s a colorful diver made for exploring the beautiful deep Caribbean waters. I had a chance to test the waters and find out more about the brand new Buceador Caribe.The roots of Cuervo y Sobrinos are firmly planted in Havana, Cuba. The brand was established in 1882 in the Cuban capital when it was a completely different place than it is now. As a result, it was a cha...

When Doxa released a new Sub 300 line earlier this year, I was immediately intrigued by them. First of all, these new models came in forged carbon cases. The brand had introduced this concept to us last year with the Sub 300 Carbon Aqua Lung US Divers. But this release was something different. These new Sub 300s have an array of colors to choose from. I got the Sub 300 Carbon Divingstar, and I must say the watch did not disappoint me at all.Aside from the classic Doxa colors like orange (Professional), yellow (Divingstar), black (Sharkhunter), and gray (Searambler), the lucky owners can now choose from turquoise or navy blue. While I would have loved to wear one of those for a while, I was d...

How do you like your chronograph? Bi-compax horizontal or maybe vertical? Three-counter Speedmaster or maybe Lemania 5501 style? And what about a single subdial at 12 for the hours and minutes? The agony of choice. And to make things even more complicated, there are the various Spring Drive SBGC model chronographs from Japan with their original layout. And now theres a new version: the Grand Seiko Spring Drive Chronograph SBGC240 C the chrono to end all chronos? Lets try and find an answer to that question.Responsible for the unusual dial layout of the Grand Seiko Spring Drive Chronograph SBGC240 is the Spring Drive Caliber 9R86. Seiko claims that this movement, that debuted in 2007, is by f...

Englands Auld Enemy has gone. Theyve checked out. Theyve been dismissed in a cruel fashion. Yes, Scotland, as harsh as it seems for a team that laid it all on the line, is out of the European Championship. The Scots were a compelling competitor, led by their inspiring captain Andy Robertson, but a couple of flat performances (interjected by a towering effort against England) have put paid to their hopes of a somewhat Grecian run to the cup. But with one rival gone, another ancient foe steps into the fray…As it happens, we have a very tasty last sixteen tie lined up for tomorrow evening. Thats right, England will play Germany in the last sixteen, in what promises to be an absolute rolle...

You all know I m a fan of the NOMOS Glashtte brand. I worked for the company for three years in the sales team. Thanks to NOMOS, I was able to meet hundreds of fascinating watch lovers around the Northern Hemisphere. Sharing our opinions on the watches within the catalog (and those that had sadly departed it) was something I really enjoyed.I was always resolutely honest in my assessment of the brand s watches, even when most employers (and probably NOMOS too, at times) would prefer their staff to adopt an entirely diplomatic position regarding pieces that didn t so much tickle their fancy. But the truth is, I disagree so strongly with that strategy I simply refused to adopt it. Why? Good br...

After coming down from the interview with World Number One Primo? Rogli? last week, Fridge and Freezer are back in the Smooth Booth, foraging around in a bulging mailbag. This week, the boys select two very watch-centric questions for one another. This podcast player is blocked because you did not accept marketing cookies. Change cookie settings This week, the terrible twosome tackle questions about dress watches (the best ones and the very definition of the genre), which watches one should buy to commemorate achieving the PADI diving certification, why they collect watches and sports memorabilia, and Rob fields the easiest watchmaking he s ever been asked: which watches would you recomm...

If I said to you, Men are strong and do all the hard work would you agree? What about Girls are not as good at sport as men? Or Men are messy and unclean?? Wed like to think stereotyping has no place in todays society, right? So why, when we strike up a conversation with someone about watches, do we suddenly fall into a bad habit? Youre wearing a pilots watch, so you must be a qualified pilot? Theres one! If we think about it long enough, the statement feels about as substantial as saying all divers need a dive watch.Of course, its not a true statement. Professional divers have access to a whole host of computerized equipment to help them navigate the big blue. In the same vein, a pilots con...

Let s talk about the Crown! is, without a doubt the most divisive brand amongst our readers. We have seen an increasing number of people turn their back on for the way it conducts its business. The steady unavailability of their watches at authorized dealers and skyrocketing grey market prices have become a reason for many to say goodbye to the Geneva brand. But there are still plenty of watch enthusiasts that love the brand for its rich history and for creating great products. So we decided to put down some of the reasons why you do and don t need a in writing. The final question is simple: what camp are you in? Let us know your thoughts.We have some very passionate readers that are very...

Ask any watch enthusiast who has known me for more than a day, and they will tell you of my love for Zenith. Its true. My favorite watch in my humble collection is the 2010 El Primero Striking 10th, and I am an unabashed fan of the brand. Now, I wouldnt exactly say Im a fanboy. Not every release makes my heart palpitate, and there have been some in the last decade that were just plain hideous (48mm Tribute to Rolling Stones Pilot, anyone?).These days, however, I do greatly appreciate the overall direction in which the brand is heading. From Elite to Chronomaster and Pilot to Defy, Zeniths current offerings cater to a wide range of classical, sporty, romantic, and futuristic tastes, all while...

We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. While the daily routine is largely focused on the most recent developments in the world of watches, the most fun for many of us lies in the world of vintage watches. Its a world full of history, remarkable watches, incredible stories, and quirky details. It inspired us to come up with a series of articles focusing on the best watches per decade from a select group of brands. Some of them priceless, some of them still affordable. In this installment, we will take a look at the best Zenith watches from the 1970s.In the 1960s, we witnessed developments that challenged the status quo of watch design forever. The sheer amount o...

With the UEFA EURO 2020 European Championship football full swing underway, we see all kinds of watches on the wrists of famous European football players. Most of them are from the same brands, though. , Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and Richard Mille are kings in the land of football. No surprises there, really. Neither are the models of those brands. But we have tried to spot some less common timepieces. At the same time, they might still be part of the usual brands. Some of them may be less expected. Or maybe there is an interesting story. So let find out what has been on the wrists of some of the prominent players and managers of the UEFA EURO 2020 European Championships.Where there i...

We should have seen this coming. But we didnt. Ever since Tudor announced their cooperation with the French Marine Nationale, weve been waiting for a special navy version of the Pelagos. In vain. But instead, we got a METAS-certified black ceramic Black Bay and now, after a gold and silver version of the BB58, theres a bronze version. As I said, we should have seen this coming. Read about my first session with the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Bronze Boutique Edition…After gold, comes silver, and in third place you get bronze. That order is set in stone, in sports anyway. But is 18K better than .925 Sterling Silver or bronze when were talking watches? Now that weve seen, worn, and experi...

The world needs fun watches! I m sure we ve all seen that guy who s become part of internet meme legend, the guy with a sign? I feel that my first sentence would fit nicely on one of his signs. It s true, though. While I love this industry dearly, sometimes it does like to take itself a bit too seriously, and we need fun watches to bring things back down to Earth. Well, how about this for one such fun watch? Introducing the new Bamford Revolution GMT Joe Cool!Who is Joe Cool? And why is Snoopy on the dial?Well, my eagle-eyed readers, you are correct that it is Snoopy on the dial. The cartoon beagle we all know and love so well. For fans of the Peanuts comic strips, you may well know that J...

Size doesnt matter. Really, it doesnt. Not to me, anyway. I care more about proportions, shape, and weight. Oh, and please, take your mind out of the gutter, Im talking about watches. Putting the 46mm the Citizen Promaster Mechanical Diver 200m on the wrist was not a challenge when it came to the sheer size of the watch. No, its bulky appearance didnt scare me off at all. Mostly, I was curious how this XL creation would behave on a daily basis. And I found out.Im ready to put the Citizen Promaster Mechanical Diver 200m with the black strap made of urethane - a polymer elastomer - on my wrist. Furthermore, Im looking at a typical accordion-style divers strap with some nice touches. For instan...

One of the few watches that I feel really guilty about not wearing often enough is the Eberhard Fiat. Just a few hours after strapping it on the wrist, I am reminded exactly why I bought it in the first place. I have a publishing plan for #TBT watches for three months ahead. That means I always have 10 to 12 watches shortlisted and lined up for specific dates. Usually, that is. Sometimes I break the pattern with a creative desire to write about a watch I spontaneously choose from the safe. This choice is sometimes so visceral that it brings an uncontrollable flow of ideas I want to share. Thats what happened today with the Eberhard Fiat.An unexpected choice: the Eberhard FiatYesterday I wore...

Collaborations happen often, quite possibly too often. Crucial for a good collaboration is two brands that are a good fit. Today Monochrome and Habring2 introduce the Habring2 Monochrome Montre de Souscription 1. It is a perfect example of two brands that are a great match.? As a result, the watch tells a great story of the shared love for independent watchmaking. Time to take a closer look at Monochrome s first collaboration timepiece, the Habring2 x Monochrome Montre de Souscription 1.Ever since the start of Monochrome in 2006, founder Frank Geelen and his team have always expressed a great passion for independent watchmaking. Frank and I had several animated conversations, when I first ...