When Omega showed me the 39.7mm Speedmaster Calibre 321 reference 311.30.40.30.01.001, I wasnt left with much to think about. I knew I needed it. And so it happened that a year ago, I received the message that mine was ready. I picked up the Speedmaster Calibre 321, had it resized for my wrist and started wearing it. One year on, its time to assess whether what was certainly one of my easiest buying decisions was also one of my bestIve done a video about this watch and written a hands-on review, but I thought it would be interesting to have a proper look back at my ownership of this watch. Am I still as enthusiastic as I was a year ago? Do I still think it would have been nicer to have an al...
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If a job is worth doing, then its worth doing properly. At least, thats how the saying goes. It seems that Bvlgari has heeded these words of wisdom, and, at Geneva Watch Days 2021, it has made the most of the occasion by launching five new watches. Thats a lot of fresh horological goodness right there, so lets take a brief look at each of these new models in the Bvlgari Geneva Watch Days Roundup 2021!Bvlgari Octo Roma WorldtimerThe Fratello team has traveled over to Geneva from our various home bases across Europe, so it feels appropriate to start with a travel watch. Its nice that, after 18 months, we are finally seeing parts of the world open up again. I recently wrote about some of my fav...
Since 2018 (!), Omega has been introducing special watches to commemorate the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. I secured my favorite from the five Speedmaster Tokyo 2020 watches, and afterward, they also introduced a beautiful Seamaster Diver 300M, Aqua Terra, and Planet Ocean that commemorates the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Now, however, it is time to bring the big guns. Meet the 18ct gold Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Tokyo 2020.Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 sound a bit weird in 2021, but no further explanation is needed I am sure. I am looking forward to the start of the Games in these special times. Together with my daughter, I am a fan of field hockey, and since our orange teams are performing incredib...
In the statistics of this website, I can see how people came to this weblog. I can even see the words they used in Yahoo Search, Google or other searchengines. Most of the time, the search string is quite clear and logical. omega prices or Panerai straps for example. However, today I saw this one:omega explorer opinion girlNow I am curious about the question of the Googler. Was it a girl who was looking for omega Explorer opinions (for girls), or was it a guy who was curious about the opinions girls have on this watch?In either case, I will try to answer this one for the unknown visitor on this site who searched on this string.Scenario 1. You are a girl and want to know how people think abou...
Welcome back to Wrist Game or Crying Shame where you choose stop, start, or reset. This week we travel back to 1997 to look at a TAG Heuer Monaco CS2110. But firstJust when I think I know my constituency, you guys throw me for a serious loop. Such was the case with last weeks Omega De Ville Power Reserve with the epic Brick bracelet. In a nod to the Commodores, lets just say you saw this watch as a Brick House, because you let it all hang out in a 70% Nice Price win. Seriously, just when I began losing faith in humanity, you restored it by voting for tasteful exuberance. Moving on todays TAG Heuer Monaco CS2110 sports a flashy bracelet, but thats not the real significance.Back to 1997 with ...
Its Speedy Tuesday Today we have a rare breed Speedmaster from one of our readers from the Philippines. Jun Cajayon is also member and moderator of the PhilippineWatchClub forums. Jun has been a long time fan of the Speedmaster Mark series after he tried a Mark II for the first time a few years ago.As you know, the Mark series were introduced in 1969 with the ref.145.014 Speedmaster Mark II. A more modern case (for that time), but with the same hand wound movement caliber 861 as in the Moonwatch. These Mark series were in production parallel to the Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch (145.022).One of the strangest Speedmaster watches from the Mark-era is definitely this 176.0012 from Jun Caja...
Its Bvlgari time. As you can see, the most visible LVMH player on Fratello has just dropped a rash of new releases. And, boy, are we excited Ive already covered the new Octo Finissimo reference 103464 (our lead article for January 25th, 2021, in case youve yet to check it out), but this column is concerned with the latest complicated addition to the Finissimo range. The Bvlgari Octo Finissimo S Chronograph GMT reference 103467 is a vibrant and vexingly complex addition to an already stellar range.You know we (Fratello) love the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo range. We wholly believe in the concept and genuinely love the products. Thats a good basis for excitement whenever anything new hits the catal...
Welcome, one and all, to the first round proper of March Mania 2021, here on Fratello. Are you a watch maniac like we are? If so, youre sure to love our month-long feature. 96 watches reviewed last year line up for a battle royale (no Happy Meals here) like nothing thats gone before. We need your votes. We want your comments. Help us decide the champion and share in its glory Let the games commenceIn this first round proper, your task is a bit different from your task in the preliminaries. Below you will find the eight remaining timepieces of each of our Fratello competitors in four head-to-head contests of two timepieces. The seedings in the preliminaries dictate the match-ups. So its numbe...
Welcome to The Fast The Fratelli. The goal? To find the best Racing Chronograph of the past ten years. The rules? Each editor selects two watches that must be able to track elapsed time for at least one minute. The watch choices also must feature a tachymeter scale, and the movement needs to be mechanical. And most of all, each watch must be thoroughly awesome. But well leave that up to the Fratelli to decide.First up is my super high-end chronograph pick, the Richard Mille RM 50-03 Manual Winding Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph Ultra-Light McLaren F1. Unpacking that lengthy title is a task in itself, which I plan to tackle in reverse. However, for brevity, I will henceforth refer to i...
Auctions are an interesting platform to see the appetite for certain watches, or in this case, Speedmasters. We recently touched on the topic of auctions and their absurdity, but that's of course not always the case. Regardless of some of the amazing results, auctions give an indication of the popularity or unpopularity of a certain watch or reference.Antiquorum's Important Modern Vintage Timepieces Monaco auction will take place today, January 18th, 2022, at 4:00 PM local time. Nine lots out of the 178 are Omega Speedmasters. Let's have a closer look at three of the Omega Speedmasters that are on the auction block today.Speedmaster BA145.022-69 Apollo XIIve covered this watch here often, a...
Yesterday evening, I received an email from Daniel of the LondonWatchCompany.com, a specialist in selling omegaes (vintage new). Since I am on the look-out for a 1977 (my year of birth) Submariner ref.1680, I found this site to be quite interesting. In the links section, I found a website called DoubleRedSeadweller.com. This site also sounded very interesting, since I only knew about www.redwatches.com formerly known as www.redsubmariner.com. This site has been renamed after a dispute between omega claiming the name Submariner and the owner of the website.Anyway, the website describes the Double Red Sea-Dweller (here) and has a lot of information about COMEX models as well. For those who do...
Zenith has been showing a lot of love for its DEFY family over the last month or so. Weve seen some colorful new additions, all designed to show off a different side of the advanced chronographs character. Now the Swiss brand has released a new iteration of the DEFYs identity. Today we welcome the Zenith DEFY Extreme to the family!Zenith likes to be creative with the DEFY collection; just look at the DEFY 21 Felipe Pantone or the DEFY 21 Ultrablue. The Extreme name does give a pretty good indication of what the new watches entail. I saw the name before I saw the photos, and I immediately thought it would be a rugged upgrade. I was correct Think of the robust armor upgrade of the Royal Oak Ch...
Frequent readers know that, here at Fratello, we love things related to space travel. Probably ignited by the Omega Speedmaster Professional, a.k.a. the Moonwatch, however meanwhile extended to general astronautics. Of interest are space crafts like rockets, space shuttles, manned satellites, and more.The entrance of the exhibition at the Champs Elysees side of the Grand PalaisLa Lune Exhibition in ParisOur interest goes to flown objects, watches at best, but even pieces of protective foil will do. Then there are?space-related?items, like astronaut-used pens, cameras, and even space-related toys and comics. As examples, I want to mention LEGO models of the Saturn V rocket and lunar lander, a...
In our Sunday Morning Showdown, two of our writers go head-to-head in an epic showdown for the ages. Strong opinions and hysterical hyperbole are welcome (so feel free to join in with the fun in the comments section below). And dont forget to let us know which watches youd like to see torn to shreds/effusively exalted next week. Well try and feature as many of our readers choices as we can. With summer on the way, we get into the spirit by pitting two aquatic luxury sports chronographs against one another. The Patek Philippe Aquanaut Chronograph 5968A takes on the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Chronograph 26703ST.Todays Sunday Morning Showdown is all about two classical brands shu...
Breguet introduced the Marine Tourbillon quation Marchante 5887 at Baselworld 2017. Back then they did so in platinum and rose gold. Breguet has added another rose gold version to the 5887 lineup. A spectacular slate-grey dial gives this model a distinct character.For a long time, I thought Breguet watches were too classically-styled for my taste. Despite this, they keep growing on me. Every time I take a closer look at the Breguet collection, I find myself attracted to a growing number of incredible watches. I have had a soft spot for the Breguet Type XX line but I have started to appreciate more watches from the brands catalog. Maybe its an age thing? Maybe, now Ive hit my forties, Im abl...
Among the watches I have, one of them has a very special meaning to me: the Omega Constellation. For me, the passion for this model started in the 90s when Cindy Crawford inspired so many women to get a Constellation including my mom who bought one for me.For others, it all started even earlier. And that passion still burns strong. We see this regularly, as love for this watch is shared and re-shared here on Fratello or on our social media channels at a surprising rate. I find that very satisfying. I'm not afraid to admit I'm sad when I see people chasing the same type of watches designed by Genta, while there are so many concepts that deserve more attention than those more obvious choices.T...
Whether it's pedal to the metal or time for the rubber to hit the road, TAG Heuer has you covered with the new Formula 1 Special Edition in collaboration with Red Bull Racing. The brand's latest iteration of the Formula 1 chronograph comes on either a metal bracelet or a rubber strap. In the familiar colors of the Red Bull Racing livery, this is a perfect watch for all racing fans out there. TAG Heuer and Red Bull Racing celebrate the success of their partnership, which has reached new heights since its start in 2016. The team's driver Max Verstappen recently became Formula 1 world champion and went on to wear a TAG Heuer watch on the podium. Surely, that says it all!When I think of motorspo...
In what has become an increasingly divided world, it's difficult to find topics of discussion where almost all sides can come together in unanimous agreement.One such example of harmony, though, relates to opinion on the run of watches that Breitling created with Bentley since the two began partnering way back in 2003 (that's the longest running partnership between a watch brand and an automotive marque as an FYI).? If you were wondering about the flavor of said opinion, it was, in a word, awful.? The Bentley by Breitling watches were large, garish, and contained little of the elegance and prestige that the four-wheeled Bentleys so proudly exuded.? Well, today, in honor of Bentley's hundredt...
Our last special Watch Strap Review; Legendary Vintage Bracelets article was well received by you guys.Thanks for that. We thought it would be cool if we continued the series with yet another iconic accessory. This time we took a closer look at a brand most of us at Fratello has a thing for. No, it's not omega neither Seiko. It's the other brand. I'm talking about Omega of course. When it comes to George Clooney's favourite brand, we can choose from a bunch of different bracelets. One of the all-time classics were the 1171s that Omega used on both Speedmaster and Seamaster models. I'm sure we'll talk about that reference number soon. However, something more unusual, so to speak, is an earlie...
Fidel Castro smoked his cigars with a omega GMT-Master and a gold Datejust on the same wrist. Winston Churchill had a Breguet rattrapante minute repeater pocket watch close at hand. Zenith doesn't need a revolutionary or a statesman to make the cigar/watch connection, it does so all by itself. And has been doing so since 2016 when Zenith created a special El Primero Cohiba chronograph for the cigar brand's 50th anniversary. Five years later the Zenith Chronomaster Open Cohiba 55th Anniversary Edition watch debuts.The fact that cigar smokers, no matter how famous they are, wear watches is nothing to write about. What is interesting though is the fact that both high-end cigars and high horolog...