Roll up, roll up The summer has hit The Hague, and Fratello is keen to celebrate. After the fizzing success of March Mania, we are back with a new knock-out competition conceived to find the very best summer watch out there, according to YOU, the Fratelli. And guess what? You can win prizes No, there wont be a watch available this time, but there WILL be some of the finest water-firing weapons money can buy: the Spyra 2 water cannon is reputedly the strongest of its kind ever made. Fancy getting your hands on one? Read on and take part in the poll and comments section of the Summer Splash.Eight Fratelli editors will choose three of their favorite summer watches and pitch them to you this tim...
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Fortuna in New York is hosting their April Exchange auction on April 11th. 15 watch lots included!Auctions are fun to follow, live or online, to see what certain watches will do on the market and what will happen if two bidders cant stop. Fortuna is an auction house based in New York and started with jewellery only. Today, you will also find watches at their auctions. Lets have a look at three watches that will be auctioned tomorrow by them.1966 omega GMT-Master ref. 1675I have a weak spot for the GMT-Master and owned several, including two reference 1675 models. It is the watch by omega that gave them a name in aviation, as the GMT-Master is forever linked to the Pan Am days. Pan Am needed ...
One of my first encounters with Ulysse Nardin was in 1999, when Gerard showed me his?Ulysse Nardin GMT ? Perpetual watch. He wrote about it recently in detail, on Christmas day (find it here). At the time, Gerards watch shop in The Hague was official retailer for Ulysse Nardin, so once in a while when I visited his store (more often than he probably liked) I had the opportunity to have a closer look at these watches.At some point, when he didnt carry Ulysse Nardin anymore in his shop, I didnt come across them much. Until I started to write about watches on this website. Somehow I lost interest in the brand, especially when the brand from Le Locle came up with things like this Chairman phon...
During the Space Shuttle STS-128 mission, Swedish ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang was not only wearing his trusty old Omega Speedmaster Professional X-33 watch but on his other wrist, he was wearing an at that time ?unfamiliar?watch, the Halda Space Discovery watch. Developed with the help of astronauts aboard of the STS-128, Swedish watch manufacturer Halda was able to fine-tune their Halda Space Discovery watch and finish the production of this timepiece. They are limiting the number of timepieces to 128,?referring?to the flight number of the NASA Space Shuttle mission in 2009.Whether the Halda Space Watch will eventually replace the Speedmaster Professional (X-33) remains uncertain, but...
Fratello has some nice give aways coming up, and this Mario Paci MP XVIII strap is one of them Together with TC Straps and ViaPaneristi, long time friends of FratelloWatches, I can offer you this great give away for your Panerai time piece.Leave a comment with your name and a valid e-mail address, and a winner will be picked on the 15th of July. You will be contacted in order to ask you what colour strap and which size you prefer. The following sizes are available (width at the lug buckle and long part length short part length):24/24 115/7524/24 125/8024/24 130/8526/26 125/80The MP XVIII strap will be available in the following colours: Camel, Cappuccino and Nero (as seen below).Thanks to ...
Now that I think of it, it has been almost 8 years since I have this watch. And finally, completed A few weeks back I noticed this reference 1039 bracelet for sale, which belongs to this type of Speedmaster. According to most sources that is, you are never sure with those vintage Omega watches. My watch left the Omega factory in 1968 (October 22nd to be exact) on a journey to Norway. The reference 1039 was used on this model in 1968 according to information by Omega. However, I have also seen them on earlier models as well. 1968 is also the year that the reference 1171 bracelet got introduced for its successor, the Speedmaster Pro with caliber 861 movement. Earlier models of the Speedmaster,...
Omega Gen ve Dynamic watches from the '70s are fun, exciting and still very much under the radar.Mind you; it's not an easy task to search for Omega Dynamics on the web. The brand released various models at a different point in time, all under the name; Dynamic. Most of you probably remember the latest Dynamics (III) that first came out around 1995. It went on to a few years with the last model (a Targa Florio edition) coming out in 1999 if I'm correct. You had time-only and chronograph version, with large pump pushers and vintage-style dials. They came in a capsule; collectors often refer to as the tin can. I have to say, while those watches are not everyone's favourite, they represent exc...
The first omega Cosmograph Daytona was introduced in 1963, which leads into this 50th anniversary of this highly sought-after chronograph. Both new and pre-loved. Although omega did not came up with the limited or special anniversary edition that many people expected, they did introduce for the first time a platinum version of their omega Cosmograph Daytona and have it reference number 116506.omega Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 116506When I first saw (and tried) the watch during the Baselworld exhibition, I was impressed by the rather high weight (286 grams) due to the use of platinum, but the colours (ice blue dial and brown ceramic bezel) didnt do it for me at this first encounter.The omega Da...
In this podcast, I talk with OMEGAs Mr. Andreas Hobmeier, Vice President of Production and Procurement, about Master Chronometer and the role of METAS. We speak about all the facets of Master Chronometer, and why precision and anti-magnetism is such an important topic.I recently had a wonderful conversation with Mr. Ansdreas Hobmeier, to which you can listen below, or use one of the many platforms out there. Our Fratello on Air podcast is available via Buzzsprout, Soundcloud, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Deezer,? Stitcher, and Spotify. Below, you can also find an overview of what Master Chronometer is about, and the role METAS plays.Podcast with Andreas HobmeierMr. Andreas Hobmeier, Omegas...
King Willem-Alexander And His Omega Speedmaster ProIts Speedy Tuesday By coincidence I came across the photo below, where you can see Dutch King Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Mexima on the stand?cheering for the Dutch national soccer team during the World Championship of 2010 in South-Africa. You can see Queen Mexima wearing her omega, which has been covered elsewhere in the past, but my eyes were drawn to the wrist of King Willem-Alexander. Although the resolution of this published ANP photo is too low to study the watch in detail, my nose for Speedmaster?spotting?is rarely off. It was time to investigate.Most of our readers probably know that we are based in The Netherlands. Only few...
All jokes and stereotypes aside, we all know Sinn as the go-to brand for those looking for no-nonsense, bomb-proof, functional tool watches. This is a brand that is not afraid to err on the side of utility. However, it's not all deadpan, business-only, no fun allowed. More and more, Sinn has started tentatively bending its knees up and down to the beat, shaking its hips, and even swinging its elbows from side to side in the corner of the disco. The Sinn U50 S mother-of-pearl serves as a clear example of this newfound bravery and desire to get groovy. If the brand keeps this up, they'll be dancing like Travolta on the colorful dance floor of watchmaking before we have time to say Perlmuttziff...
A lot of times, Vacheron Constantins Overseas watches are mentioned in the same sentence as Audemars Piguets Royal Oak, Patek Philippes Nautilus and the IWC Ingenieur SL watches. It was actually believed by a former CEO of Vacheron Constantin, that G rald Genta was involved in the design of the 222, predecessor of the Overseas, as he stated in an interview with The Purists. We now know, that it was Jorg Hysek who influenced the design of the 222 time piece that evolved to the current Overseas line of watches.I guess it is a compliment for both designers, Hysek and Genta, that people are confused about who designed what. The Overseas models are just as iconic as the Royal Oak and Nautilus des...
Welcome back to Wrist Game or Crying Shame, the weekly must-read event that has become the internets Clash of the Keyboard Warriors This week, well have some fun with the Patek Philippe 5524G and see if its worth spending your frequent flier miles. But firstLast week, I showed you what has to be the most polarizing Speedmaster Limited Edition to date with the Apollo XVII 40th Anniversary model. Polarizing means that you like it or not. Or, in the case of sunglasses, it means you cant see sh*t on your heads-up display. And folks, you did not see or like this watch. This Speedy was routed in an 85% Crying Shame loss.Yes, Ive embraced schadenfreudeMe? I enjoyed giving Gerard youll recall that ...
Cartier made huge progress with their own calibers during the last 9 years.?Complication after complication was presented at the SIHH in Geneva and I think I am right in saying that with the launch of the new Cl de Cartier watch powered by?their new automatic 1847MC movement the total amount of Made by Cartier calibers reaches over 40 now.Cartier?has since the beginning of 1900 a beautiful collection of watch cases, of which many are still in production. Most of them however, were rectangle or square shaped and since more and more calibers with complications are being developed by Cartier, the need?for round mens cases, to house these calibers, became more urgent. Besides that, men in gen...
Its a crying shame that dive watches were replaced by dive computers way back when. What could dive watches have become had we relied on them solely for measuring depth and timing how fast our body absorbs gasses before we simply run out of air and have to make an emergency ascent? Lets not go there. Theres some technology that we should be thankful for and computerized diving equipment is one of them. Luckily though, dive watches are still just as stylish and collectible today as they were before dive computers even came onto the scene and attempted to deliver a near-death blow to these wristwatches altogether.Whats more, despite a heavily saturated market, we haven't forgotten those blasts...
In 2021, Omega updated the iconic Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch with the caliber 3861 movement. A very good reason to update our Speedmaster Buyers Guide as well!This guide dates all the way back to 2014, and since then, a lot happened. Not only did we have our own way with Omega and the two Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday watches (in 2017 and 2018), Omega also introduced a number of interesting Speedmaster watches to the collection. What about the Speedmaster Calibre 321 from 2020, or the new Moonwatch Master Chronometer models in gold? Time for us to update this Speedmaster Buyers Guide.In this Speedmaster Buyers Guide, we give you an overview of the most important references of the Speedm...
Desiring a steel sports watch from omega, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, or Vacheron Constantin is a challenge. It requires either an almost unhealthy relationship with the local dealer, an XL bank account, or the patience of a Zen master. The luxury dilemma of paying the price or playing the watch waiting game is a reality that gets harsher every day. And because of that, it has a direct influence on how people are experiencing watches. Some people have turned away from brands with multi-page waitlists, while others just pay (way) more than list price because they can afford it. For those people, there also must be a big fear of missing out involved, but what exactly theyre missing out on...
Last week we held our 6th Speedy Tuesday Event this year, this time in the city that never sleeps: New York.Different from the previous editions were the topics we had for the guests of the New York City Speedy Tuesday event. We added the platinum Speedmaster with caliber 321 to the presentation given by Omegas VP Head of Product Management Gregory Kissling, but we also talked about a watch we havent touched before during the events: the Speedmaster X-33.We thought it would be an interesting topic, as the special guest of the New York City Speedmaster Tuesday Event happened to be astronaut Terry Virts. He is a former Space Shuttle astronaut and International Space Station commander, who spic...
Just recently, someone over at the Dutch omega Forum mentioned the omega Bubble Back Club. A site dedicated to these (small) vintage beauties for collectors and enthusiasts who are a bit tired of the ever ongoing vintage sports omega discussions. Or just for the collector who wants to try something different for a change ??The owner of the site also has omega watches for sale. Bubble Backs and other omegaes. Click here to go to the Bubble Back Club website....
Seiko Spacewalk A short introductionBefore I start writing about the Seiko Spacewalk as a daily watch, lets do an introduction first. On the Seiko SpaceWalk but also on Seiko and Space in general.Richard GarriotIn 2008, Seiko introduced the Spacewalk Spring Drive watch during BaselWorld. It was made for astronaut Richard Garriot. Garriot, who?started developing video games in the 1980s together with his brother, sold his company to Electronic Arts in 1992. In 1997, he designed one of the most famous RPG games ever: Ultima Online.Anyway, his father was an astronaut (Owen Garriot) and all his life he dreamt about traveling to space. In 2008, this became reality. He was the sixth citizen to tr...