This past week, the Tudor Royal had its international debut. We break it down and ask whether its a worthy consideration versus the omega Datejust with a slight twist.A few months ago, we covered the release of the new Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Blue. Despite the fact that it was just a simple color addition, it was met with rave reviews. But keen observers also noted that there was another release from the brand. Something called the Tudor Royal was shown. Unfortunately, it was only released to the Asian market until now. In this odd year, Tudor waited a few months to reveal it to the rest of the world and we actually think its a neat watch (well, some of us). But is it a worthy, less exp...
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Last Sunday we were invited to join the introduction event of TAG Heuer and their Max Verstappen 2017 Special Edition timepiece. Although Max Verstappen lives in Monaco these days, he considers The Netherlands to be his home country. The event took place in Amsterdam and for the occasion, Max Verstappen was flown in to receive the very first Formula 1 No.33 Max Verstappen 2017 Special Edition watch.Max VerstappenMax Verstappen Special Edition WatchesAbout a year ago, we saw the very first Max Verstappen special edition watch from TAG Heuer being introduced (also in Amsterdam). However, this year, and a few F1 Grand Prix richer, there is a new watch for Max Verstappen. This time, no orange el...
Yo, yo, yo. We made it to Edition 2 of WASP, the hotly-anticipated sequel to last weeks pod-column debut. The sweet hosting vibes of RB (Rob and Balazs) take over Episode 41 of Fratello on Air to bring you your weekly round-up of sports news. Today, we welcome our first phone-in guest to the show, establishing a segment, which we hope some of our dear readers will partake in one day soon!Ranting Robbie enters the smooth booth and unloads about the recent controversy surrounding Bill Belichicks legacy. Its a brutal monolog, but the riposte is worth waiting for so hang tight.The greatest podcast segment in historyThis week, were talking about great coaches and great locations to play pro sport...
The vintage Omega Constellation is the watch that basically started it all for me. The passion for watches that is. A number of relatives of mine had (and have) an Omega Constellation and it were these timepieces that got me interested in watches in the first place. I inherited a nice vintage Omega Constellation from 1968 which I truly cherish as it has been on the wrist of my grandfather for over 40 years (on a daily basis).?I also bought some Constellation watches myself as well through the years.So, it is about time I give the vintage Omega Constellation a bit of well-deserved attention here on Fratello Watches. A few months ago, we (Bert Buijsrogge and I) visited a collector of rare and ...
Wow. What a rollercoaster. There have been more back-and-forth tug-of-war contests in this World Cup than anyone saw coming. Thanks to thousands of voters, though, we now have our finalists locked and loaded and ready to roll. The Omega Speedmaster World Cup is just 7 days away from its conclusion and we need YOU to help us decide a winner.When this World Cup began, I had high hopes for the format. Sports tournaments are real annual highlights for me and, in the absence of Euro 2020, I wanted to create something similar but with watches. We settled upon Speedmasters as a team, and what a choice that turned out to be!We all had our favorites, but we didnt necessarily get to argue for them (in...
Last weekend, the 24 hours of the Nurburgring were raced and Fratellowatches was there with Jaeger-LeCoultre and Aston Martin. Besides enjoying the race and the finish of the Aston Martin team, there was also some time and room to view the Jaeger-LeCoultre collection and follow a short master class in watchmaking.Before entering the Aston Martin terrace in the Dorint Hotel at Nurburgring with the most perfect view on the racing track, I followed the short master class on watchmaking given by one of Jaeger-LeCoultres watchmakers from Le Sentier. They brought their work bench to the racing track and with the sound of super sports cars in the back ground, I tried disassembling and assembling th...
In front of us is the 11th Laureus IWC special edition in the famous blue color: the IWC Da Vinci Chronograph?Edition Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.?Lets have a look.Laureus Sport for GoodThe Laureus Sport for Good (here after: Laureus) is a charitable organization that was founded by Richemont and Daimler in 2000. The goal of Laureus is to use sports to make the world a better place, without voilence, discrimination and disadvantage. Supporting over 100 programmes in approximately 40 countries, Laureus tries to make a social change. ?Since 2005, IWC has been a partner of Laureus. Every year they create a Laureus limited edition watch, of which part of the proceeds goes to support the sp...
Omega Speedmaster Mark IIIHappy New Year everyone and Happy Speedy Tuesday We started Speedy Tuesday somewhere half-way 2012 and it has become the most popular topic here on Fratellowatches. We are very thankful for your enthusiasm and submissions This year, we will continue our Speedy Tuesdays and will have some great Omega Speedmaster related give-aways as a sign of our appreciation to you, our readers!In one of our recent Speedy Tuesday topics we asked our readers about the Speedmaster Mark III. One of our readers, Santosh, submitted a couple of photos of his much beloved Speedmaster Mark III with black dial.The Speedmaster Mark III (1971) was the successor of the Speedmaster Professional...
There wasnt much Longines news this year. After their move from Baselworld to somewhere else, it remained very silent and the somewhere else is yet to be discovered.Instead of somewhere else, we received an e-mail with some novelties: the new Master Collection. Downloading the press kit in English leaves us with a technical specification sheet in Turkish (bravo!). As I can read some German, Ive tried that one instead, and it worked. Enough with the complaining, but it just baffles me how a brand like Longines gets surpassed in professionalism by the average Kickstarter brand when it comes to these things.We received two new models, but apparently, there are quite some references available. T...
Is it the best blue in the world? I'm talking about the shade of blue IWC uses for the dials on its Le Petit Prince watches. I think it could very well be the best shade of blue; not too metallic, too light, too bright, or too dark. Anyway, IWC's signature royal blue also graces the dial of the Big Pilots Watch Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Edition Le Petit Prince. Other than its color, there's quite some other good stuff going on too on the face of this watch as the name suggests. Before going into that, lets take a look at the history behind the watchs namesake novella.Antoine de Saint-Exup ry (1900-1944) was a pilot by trade and a writer by heart. He came from an impoverished French arist...
Just recently, all German watch magazines started to cover the new beauties from Ebel: the 1911 BTR collection, based on the 1911 series. Especially the chronograph is of my personal interest I always liked the Zenith El Primero driven Ebel chronograph, as worn by Don Johnson a.k.a Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice in the 1980s. The new 1911 BTR chronograph features an in house movement by Ebel, caliber 137. The case is 44.5mm in diameter and can either be choosen with a stainless steel or rubber bezel. The 1911 BTR also comes in a GMT model (caliber 240) and a perpetual model (caliber 288). Prices start at 3500 euro for the GMT with leather strap.I think that this step could bring Ebel back into...
In their Artelier collection, Oris regularly present limited editions of watch models that are dedicated to jazz musicians. Now I would like to explore one of their latest additions to this family together with you, which is dedicated to the drummer and bandleader Art Blakey. A dress watch, providing some surprisingly creative links to drumming.To me, this watch is of particular interest because I am a drummer myself. Even though I am not playing a conventional drum set, but a Djemb , and I am playing traditional African music instead of jazz, the design of the Oris Art Blakey Limited Edition offers some details, I easily can connect with. Furthermore, as drums form the base of the vast majo...
As promised, a hands-on review of the new Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope. This new 43mm Speedmaster collection was introduced a few weeks ago in Milan, Italy. However, we've been fortunate enough to have two of these watches in our Fratello offices and were able to give them some time on the wrist.Aside from the new 43mm case size and new movement (the hand-wound caliber 9908), it also brings a new dial design to the table. One with two additional scales to the existing tachymeter scale.Did you know that the Omega Speedmaster was the first watch to have a tachymeter scale on a bezel? Before its release, watches with a tachymeter scale had it printed on the dial. In 1957, Omega decided to come...
In a recent video I recorded for Fratello, I introduced the Bvlgari Octo Roma World Timer. To date, that watch is my favorite model in the Octo Roma line because it brought a touch more visual complexity to the wearable and identifiable case shape boasted by the model line. If I thought that model was interesting, imagine my surprise when I first met the Bvlgari Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon. This is one of the most complex watch movements ever added to the fast-becoming-iconic case design that evokes the architecture of Rome and went on to inspire the perhaps more famous Bvlgari Octo Finissimo a line of watches that we have, on these very pages, extolled as one of the finest modern sports w...
A new addition to my collection is Omega Ladymatic. But this model is not the first time Ive encountered the range, of course. I wore the yellow gold version on my wrist during the photoshoot for Omega Ladies Club in New York. I'll admit, it wasn't love at first sightI never thought that such a wild and unconventional design could be for me. However, I found myself dreaming of a statement-making timepiece more than ever before. Why? There is an uncompromising sensuality to the design of the Ladymatic that I couldnt forget. In steel, more so than in gold, the strength and sensuality of the piece are apparent.Why dont more people feel this way about the Omega Ladymatic?All I wanted was a sexy ...
Woohoo The Speedmaster World Cup grand final is here The Speedmaster Calibre 321 Ed White versus the Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 45th Anniversary edition. Limited production versus limited edition, an interesting battle, for sure.Here we are, the two major players in this Speedmaster World Cup Before we go head-to-head with the finalists, we would like to express our THANKS to all of you who voted. It has been a fantastic cup, full of surprises, controversy, and glorious victories.Speedmaster World Cup FinalsIn the left corner: The Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 45th anniversary that was introduced in 2015 as a limited edition of only 1,970 pieces. A watch that made its mark in th...
We understand that it is not (always) easy or even possible for everyone to enjoy the latest novelties or see certain watches in person. Sometimes, as we are in the watch industry ourselves, we tend to forget these things a bit. Thats why we love to host events in close cooperation with brands and boutiques. This way, we can bring our readers closer to the brands and vice versa.Last weekend we co-organized an event with the Tourbillon Boutique in Baden-Baden, Germany. Tourbillon Boutique is part of Swatch Group, and has around 20 boutiques world wide. In the Tourbillon Boutiques, you will find the high-end Swatch Group brands such as Omega, Blancpain, Glash1tte Original, Breguet and Jaquet D...
It was foreseeable that Parmigiani would extend its Tonda PF line this year. After its launch in September 2021, this new watch family garnered a remarkable amount of attention. Through the Tonda PF, Parmigiani finally has earned the appreciation it deserves. Now, the Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante shall take the same path. Accordingly, the expectations are high. And you know what? You wont be disappointed!Let me clarify one thing right from the start this rattrapante is not a chronograph. While this information might dampen the enthusiasm of those who expected an extended version of Parmigianis awesome split-second chronograph from last year, it is excellent news for almost all of us. This watch ...
Its This Week in Watches for March 14, 2020 and were doing our best to keep you connected during these uncertain times.TAG Heuer ConnectedThis past week, TAG Heuer released its third generation Connected watch powered by WearOS from Google. Now in 45mm, these watches will be offered in one of three stainless versions and a black matte titanium edition. Unlike prior editions, these watches look a lot more like traditional watches. This means sculpted lugs and the option of a traditional bracelet thats more in keeping with the brands mechanical pieces.The new Connected still requires a connection with a nearby smartphone for most of its features. On the other hand, the features have improved. ...
I am an advocate for actually wearing watches, instead of just putting them in a safe or babying them. Recently I noticed that our friend and colleague at Revolution magazine Adam Craniotes using the hashtag wearyoursh*t and that's exactly how I feel. And this almost always used to be the case, until interest rates dropped below zero, that is, and people started to look elsewhere to invest their money. It is probably partly our own fault (the watch community) as we always told the others that our hobby didn't cost us money, as watches often retain value instead of losing it. The others were neighbors, friends, colleagues, etc. And hey, who could blame them for listening to us in the first p...