Welcome to This Week in Watches for December 21, 2019!? As youll see, this weeks news already has us looking forward to next year in certain parts of? the world.? Lets get to itTissot T-Race MotoGP Limited Edition WatchesTissot sent us word of a couple limited edition watches in support of their MotoGP 2020 sponsorship.? First up is a 45mm automatic chronograph that appears to be powered by a 7750.? Its a stainless piece with a leather and rubber strap that will be made in an edition of 3,333 pieces.? Pricing will come in at 1,240 Euros.The next piece is similar but quartz-powered.? Its similarly sized, also good for 100 meters of water resistance, but will be produced in an edition of 4,999...
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Steve S shows his 5970 in white gold on the Paneristi Forum.Congrats on the watch Steve!...
Chris Mann, founder of? Time4A Pint is giving you the opportunity to win his Oris Diver 65 Movember Edition. In this article, Chris will explain about Movember and how you can support this great cause (and win a watch). Without further ado.Like my Oris Diver 65 Movember Edition? Want the chance to win it? ?Grab a ticket for the Time 4A Pint Movember 2019 raffle?, and you just might!What's the Story?In 2017, during a visit to the Nomad Barbershop, in London, I got roped into an Oris endorsed shave off for Movember where the prize for the Mo Bro who raised the most cash, was a freshly launched, Oris Diver 65 Movember edition of their very own.Thanks to the wonderful attendees of Time 4A Pint,...
This week Vacheron Constantin will present a number of interesting new timepieces, but their focus is on their new collection by the name of FIFTYSIX. Of course, referring to the year 1956 in which they released their iconic reference 6073 watch. A stunning 35mm timepiece with the automatic winding caliber 1019/1 movement, a silver matte dial with applied gold numerals? and dauphine shaped hands. A stunning timepiece from a period in which they made? beautiful dress watches.Vacheron Constantin refers to the 1950s as the golden age for round watches. Theres little to bring up against that. Below, an image of this reference 6073 that was auctioned by Christies over five years ago during their ...
Since the early 2000s, a special project team (Advanced Research Department) within the Patek Philippe manufacture is occupied with the future of (haute) horlogerie. In 2017, their effort resulted in two major innovations: the new Spiromax(R) balance spring made of Silinvar(R) and a new solution to set a second time zone in timezone watches.To welcome these innovations, the manufacture is launching the sporty and elegant Aquanaut Travel Time Ref. 5650 Patek Philippe Advanced Research in a limited edition of 500 watches, the first ones to be endowed with both of the avant-garde developments.Aquanaut Travel Time Ref. 5650GThe Patek Philippe Aquanaut celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2017. The...
As you can probably imagine, last week was a very exciting week at Fratello HQ. We were lucky enough to receive a special package from Omega, jam-packed with some of the brands tastiest novelties of the season. We divvied up the watches among the team and set to work. By complete chance (and a happy one at that), the Omega Seamaster 300 with a rich blue dial landing on my plate.The cynic might ask how many times a brand can keep reissuing or redesigning the same concept while remaining interesting. I dont have an answer for you, but I can tell you this: Omega hasnt reached that cut-off point yet. In fact, the brand is far from it if this new diver is anything to go by.Inspired by the very fi...
The Pasha de Cartier is a bit of a mystery. Is the original Pasha the water-resistant watch Cartier made for the Pasha of Marrakesh who commissioned it in 1931? Or is it the Pasha former Cartier CEO Alain Dominique Perrin commissioned G rald Genta to design in 1985? Since the first watch is nowhere to be found (and it was a one-off), I would say that the original Pasha is the watch that debuted in the mid-eighties. And we can now go clubbing back to the 80s with the two-tone Pasha de Cartier 41mm watch, the latest incarnation of a creation that ruled the night(clubs) three decades ago.The late 80s and early 90s were times when carefree optimism, bold exuberance, and lavish expressions of lif...
The first Speedmaster watch, the CK2915, is up for auction at Dr H Crott auctions on the 11th of May. Together with a lot of Patek Philippe and omega watches, they have this 1958 Speedy CK2915-2 listed in very nice condition. It has been serviced in 2011 at Omega in Switzerland, but theyve managed to keep it as original as possible in my opinion.This particular Speedmaster was produced in 1958 by Lemania, which was owned by Omega at that time and were licensed to do so, and shipped to Argentina. The picture above shows the beautiful symmetrical case (39mm) with straight lugs and the lack of crown guards that theyve added to the Speedy a few years later (starting with reference 105.012).Aucti...
I've had the privilege of handling many rare timepieces in the past; some of them make more of an impression than others, for various reasons. The Gronefeld One Hertz is one of these but for a very different reason. Built by brothers Bart and Tim Gronefeld, the One Hertz is actually the least complicated watch they have built previously of Renaud et Papi, they also completed the GTM-06 tourbillon minute repeater.The watch ticks, in one-second increments like a (gasp) quartz watch. Flip it over, though, and it's clear that something much more special powers the hands of course an entirely mechanical caliber, developed in house.The rest of this post will be a concise but admittedly s...
Welcome to This Week in Watches for February 8, 2020.? Lets get into some news!Chronoswiss Regulator Blue SteelFirst up on This Week in Watches is the Chronoswiss Regulator Blue Steel. Here, we have a blue PVD-treated steel watch in 41mm thats meant to evoke the dashboard of a car. After all, the brands C295 automatic does things in regulator style with separate hands for the hours, minutes and seconds. A hand dyed Louisiana alligator strap keeps this wild watch strapped to your wrist. Surprisingly, I like this funky colored case, but realize its not for everyone. The new Chronoswiss retails for CHF 4,950/4,850/$4,400 and can be found on the companys official site.Longines HydroConquest in G...
After his recent triumph in the 2020 championship, Lewis Hamiltons name is the one on most peoples lips these days when it comes to Formula One. After all, he is now the most decorated driver to ever get behind the wheel.His latest win ties him with Schumachers 7 World Titles. Hamilton also holds the outright records for the most wins (94), pole positions (97), podium finishes (163), points finishes (227), career points (3,738), and points in a season (413). Pretty impressive stuff. That said, to many people, theres another great who tragically left us long before his time. That man is the Brazilian racing legend, Ayrton Senna. In certain circles, he is still considered the greatest racing d...
OMEGA Novelties At BaselWorldTo our surprise, Jean Claude Monachon (Head of Product Development) of OMEGA showed us not only the new Speedmaster 9300 line-up (Dark Side of the Moon and 57 editions) and Aqua Terra 15.000 Gauss, but also a new OMEGA Seamaster Bullhead. If you are following us on instagram, you probably have seen our quick snaps of these watches already. However, here are the pictures we took during the presentation with a decent camera.OMEGA Speedmaster 9300 Dark Side Of The MoonThere was already some buzzin around just before Baselworld, perhaps OMEGA did that on purpose, perhaps not. The new caliber 9300 Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon is made out of one block of ceramics....
Oris has been making big steps over these last twelve months. Obviously, we were delighted to work with the brand on our Fratello a Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date. Next to that, the brand released its new Calibre 400 to much critical acclaim. And we have seen a string of new releases, the latest being the Carl Brashear Cal. 401 Limited Edition. Now Oris is back with a new release for its Change for the Better campaign. The new Whale Shark Limited Edition might just be the best in the series yet. I had a chance to check it out.Back in August of last year, I had the pleasure of trying out the Oris Aquis Hangang Limited Edition. It was a nice break from most of the watches released in the s...
You have to draw the line somewhere. And I draw the line at cheese. Anything beyond cheese is a step too far for me. I'm talking cheese as a building material for watches of course, not cheese as food. Cement, granite, wood, and marble are highly debatable, but at least you can't eat the stuff. Anyway, after looking at all kinds of metals in the first part of this How Watches Work, I'm leaving alloys behind and will proceed to look at some of the more exotic offerings out there.Let's start with getting some of the more unusual, maybe I should say ridiculous, materials brands make watch cases from out of the way. H. Moser Cie. used Vacherin Mont-dOr cheese to make a point regarding the Swiss...
Often overlooked by collectors, but never lacking respect from them either. Cartier: One of the most influential brands when it comes to the history of the wristwatch.When a friend writes a book on a subject hes so passionate about, it is very difficult to write something about it. What if the book isnt very good, or not worth spending your money on? Well, I can be very short about this: the book that George Cramer wrote on Cartier watches is actually the only book you need to have on the subject. Only if your interest goes very deep, it might be interesting to explore some other Cartier books that might go more in-depth on certain topics (the Cartier The Tank Watch book comes to mind). Geo...
There is no question that Cartier is hot property at the moment. In the last two years especially, things have gotten rather crazy. And rightfully so If you look at the sheer number of great Cartier releases, you can see why there are many fans of the brand. In all honesty, though, I wasnt one until this year. Dont get me wrong. I have great respect for Cartier, and I love what the brand stands for. But up until recently, my respect never turned into a great love for one of the brands timepieces, no matter how much I wanted it to. But during Watches And Wonders 2022, that changed. The new Cartier Tank Louis Cartier in yellow gold and black represents all I love about Cartier captured in one ...
We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. Though most of what we write about is largely focused on the most recent releases and developments, for many of us, a lot of the fun can be found in the sometimes weird and often wonderful world of vintage watches. It's 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 are priceless, some of them still affordable. In this installment, we will take a look at the best IWC watches from the 1980s.While the 1970s were a decade filled with tremendous change in ...
Date displays are one of those complications that divide the community. Some people swear by them; others hate them. Im in the former camp, and I find myself at a bit of a loss without a date indicator at times. I find myself often looking down at my watch to check the date, only to come up short. So, today Im looking at some of my favorite types of date displays: what works best and what leaves me out in the cold?There are, of course, several different methods that watch brands use to display the date on watches. Some are more suited to certain watch styles, and others are more easily legible at a glance. That said, they still all have their uses. Still, I definitely seem to prefer some ove...
Some people may be surprised to hear that reviewing watches isnt always a walk in a park. Its not a binary process Is this watch good? Yes/No. Theres more to it than that. Watchmaking and design is an art form, which you have to consider when reviewing a watch. Just because you dont inherently love a watch, it doesnt make it wrong. Art is meant to evoke some kind of emotion or discussion, so if a watch does that, then surely its a success? This philosophical question was very much at the fore of my mind when I spent some time with the Rado True Square Designer Collection watches.Obviously, I will look at the raw details of these pieces, as thats always a must when trying to describe watches ...
Aurel Bacs Livia Russo in association with Phillips auction house are back for their seventh Geneva watch auction together. In addition, they assembled a special omega Daytona thematic auction they have dubbed The Daytona Ultimatum.Although it is Mr. Bacs' second Daytona thematic auction (Lesson One at Christie's in 2013), it will be the first one for Phillips and is set to be their most successful thematic sale to date.The Geneva Watch Auction: Seven also packs quite a punch with some interesting, stunning and rare timepieces from a variety of brands. Many of these have important provenance and it was fascinating to research several of these.I was excited to get an early preview last week ...