The fact that Bernie and his girlfriend got robbed last month, is an excellent marketing tool for Hublot. Although pretty sure it was a JLC that got taken from his wrist, it now seems to be a Hublot. You can read more about the robbery here.The money making machine Bernie Ecclestone knows how to turn something negative into something positive (money).Thanks to JIFF for the tip and the original post at a Dutch car blog can be found here....
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The Atmos clock by Jaeger LeCoultre always has intrigued me. I really love the later models with a moonphase and in rhodium plated steel.These clocks do not need a power plug or a winding key. Atmos clocks get their energy from temperature changes in the environment. The following explanation is grabbed from the Atmos wikipage, as I couldnt say it better (in English at least):Its power source is a hermetically sealed capsule containing a mixture of gas and liquid ethyl chloride, which expands into an expansion chamber as the temperature rises, compressing a spiral spring; with a fall in temperature the gas condenses and the spring slackens. This motion constantly winds the mainspring. A vari...
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 the Summer Splash. 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 comments section of this article.Eight writers will choose three of their favorite summer watches this time around and pitch them to...
Again interesting matter here at You Asked Us. One of our regular readers, Jordy, sent us a question about the possible discoloring of Luminova and Super-LumiNova.You Asked Us: Will Super-LumiNova, just like Tritium, Discolor When It Ages?Heres the full text of the question:From: JordyMessage Body:Hi guys!This is a question thats been keeping me busy for quite some time now. Im relatively new to watch collecting and started my addiction when all new watches were produced with Luminova and Superluminova.We all know that the older types of lume discolor when it ages. Is this the same with Luminova and why did they introduce Superluminova? What types of lume are there? Can we expect a slight sh...
This 18 carat white gold omega Submariner ref.?116619LB is the indisputable King of the Submariner family. No one is probably ever going to take a dive with it, but they know they can if they want to. Or need to. You never know (the James Bond theme comes to mind).Dutch omega / watch collector Ryan5446 is the owner and photographer of this stunning Submariner. This watch is nick named Smurf but I am sure it has nothing to do with its size or weight, but everything with the nice blue color of the dial and Cerachrom bezel. Furthermore, it has all the specifications of the regular line-up of the Submariner watches, with the exception of the Submariner No Date ref. 14060m, which havent been repl...
A significant part of the Fratelli enjoys blue-water-view holidays at this moment, and even your trusted supplier of This Week in Watches, Michael Stockton, was out of office. So for this week, Ill try to be a good stand-in as?I had part of my summer wind-down already....
I do enjoy writing lists (and tis the season, of course, with everybodys end-of-year round-ups hitting the web), but it can be harder than it looks. I suppose it comes down to how seriously you take the task. In my recent Top Five Watch Releases Of 2021, I really thought hard about it. I was genuinely sad to leave some incredible watches by the wayside. However, that was an article tasked with appraising the entire industry. Its surely a lot easier to do a top three for just one brand, like, say, Hamilton, right? Hmm Something tells me I might have been wrongYes, of course, it is a little easier to focus on one brands output rather than attempting to produce an infallible list encompassing t...
Where were you when the MoonSwatch landed? I know where I was because the build-up to the launch promised a big bang. And it certainly delivered. As soon as the eleven Omega a Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatches touched earth, it seemed like the entire world went mad. The watch world, that is. Swatch boutiques were surrounded by hordes of watch fans young and old trying to get their hands on a Bioceramic MoonSwatch. Find out how I experienced the touch-down of the Speedmaster MoonSwatch, what I think of the watch itself, and my perception of the concept; is the hype still alive?Omega a Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch Creating turmoil worldwideSo, is the hype surrounding the MoonSwatch still going ...
The two brands Porsche Design and Porsche are often assumed to be one and the same. But only recently, the Design Studio became part of the car manufacturer. Since then, the ties between Porsche Design watches and Porsche cars have become even stronger. Although there have always been links between the two companies, Porsche Design has created an impressive portfolio of non-car-related products including watches. Lets go back and explore the history of Porsche Designs watches.The history of Porsche Design starts in 1972. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, generally known as F. A. Porsche (but also as Butzi) founded the Porsche Design Studio in Stuttgart, Germany. F. A. Porsche had been responsible...
Oh, no. Not another article praising the new Speedmaster, I hear you say, as your eyes snap to the title of my article. Without a doubt, this piece is going to talk about the current Speedy. So, if you are fed up with the topic, feel free to navigate back to the main page and look for another write-up. No hard feelings. However, let me quickly try to sum up what Id like to talk about if youve stuck with me this far.The main idea behind getting the latest Speedmaster was to check it out, of course. I wanted to see a few things up close, namely: how is it compared to a vintage piece? Does the bracelet feel as good as it looks? Can you use the bracelet on other models? Is this iteration of the ...
There is no such thing as a Grail when it comes to collecting watches. As soon as you think youve found one, the next Grail is arising. However, the Patek Philippe Nautilus is the Grail for many watch enthusiasts out there, especially those with a weak spot for Gerald Genta designs. One of our readers belongs to that category, and showed us his Patek Philipe Nautilus 3700/1A. After having his share of OMEGA, omega and Audemars Piguet watches, it seems that this stainless steel piece de resistance gives him inner peace with his watch collection. Hed like to share some of the pictures of his 1977 Nautilus 3700/1A with the readers of Fratellowatches.In the past, weve written an in-dept article ...
We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. Though most of what we write about is primarily 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. 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 are priceless, and some of them are still affordable. In this last installment of the series, we will take a look at the best A. Lange Sohne watches from the 2000s.By the turn of the mill...
Its funny how, as collectors, we so often make plans for our collections. Some people might collect specific brands; others may stick to specific models within a brands collections. For the non-hardcore brand aficionados, many collections center around having watches fit specific style categories. Theres the rough and ready dive watch, the classy dress watch, and the travelers friend with the GMT. You cant forget the chronograph, or the everyday field watch too. The final one on this list is the pilots watch. Today I am looking at one of my favorite pilots watches, the Oris Oris Big Crown ProPilot Bronze.In the modern-day, when I hear the brand name Oris I think of dive watches first and for...
When I look at the vintage time-only Omega watches that I own, I see a pattern. Most of them are from the 50s. They have a larger 35mm+ case size and a seconds sub-dial at 6. I dont know why, but Im just drawn to these timepieces like this excellent reference 2639(-14) with golden stardust dial and Dauphine hands.Todays subject is not my first 2639. Throughout the years Ive been collecting watches, I came across a good few examples. Still, I have to say; this is the most beautiful example I have ever had. There is just something special about watches with black dials. Although Im not a big fan of gold indexes and steel cases, it just works well with this 2639.Reference 2639PostThe first thin...
Here at the Fratello offices, we get a lot of questions from you, our readers. Probably the most-asked questions are centered around the topic of what to buy for different budgets. The most popular budget question is what watch to buy for under 5,000 in different watch categories. That's why we decided to set up a small series of articles focusing on the best watches that you can buy within that budget. In this installment of the series, we will look at the best two-tone watches available for under 5K. Let's see what the best options are if you want to add a bit of color to your stainless steel.The first thing that comes to mind when I think of a two-tone watch is obviously a steel-and-gold ...
Inspired by the iconic Memovox Polaris, a watch that was initially produced between 1965 and 1968 and aimed at the USA market, Jaeger-LeCoultre now introduces the Polaris Date.This watch is being launched exclusively for the US market until October 1st. Jaeger-LeCoultre speaks about a pre-launch, but I am not convinced you can talk about pre-launch when youre launching a new watch. Anyway, the watch will be available for the US market only at first, and then the rest of the world will follow. In total, there will be 800 pieces of this Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Date.Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris DateAs you can see, Jaeger-LeCoultre used beautiful tones of blue for the dial. The dial consists of mul...
Today on TBT, we'll take a look at one of the more legendary tool watches in the Glycine Airman. It's a watch that I've always desired, but, for one reason or another, never purchased until only recently. Even then, I wound up with the watch before you by accident more on that later but boy am I glad I did. The Airman is a great watch and for a piece so well known, it's still relatively easy to find and shhh it's downright affordable Let's take a look The Glycine Airman Special advertisement (photo credit: forums.watchuseek.com)History of the Glycine AirmanMuch has been written about the history of the Glycine Airman, so I won't recount the gory details. The long and short of it, th...
Yesterday Oris presented their Movember Edition of the popular original 40mm Sixty-Five Diver in The Hague Netherlands. As Official Watch Partner of the Movember Foundation, Oris herewith continues the company's Change for the Better campaign. And I was invited.Contents of the Oris Movember Edition setOris Movember EditionThe Movember Foundation was founded in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia by Adam Garone, Travis Garone, Luke Slattery, and Justin Coghlan. Meanwhile, its a multinational charity organization that aims to raise awareness for mens health in general. The foundation is active in 21 countries and has a global workforce of 130 people. It has funded more than 800 programs focusing on p...
We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. Though most of what we write about is primarily 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. 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 are priceless, and some of them are still affordable. In this installment, we will take a look at the best Panerai watches from the 1990s.This week we will continue our journey through wat...
Millennials might associate the omega Day-Date with fictive characters like Tony Soprano, but theres much more to this watch, of course. The omega Day-Date is the watch worn by Presidents, captains of industry, people from the entertainment industry, and all those who appreciate a timeless watch in precious metal.My first encounter with the omega Day-Date was relatively late. In the small village where I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, there werent many people that spend on luxury items. They were all over on tv-series and movies, though, and advertisements. omega is known to have some pretty fantastic ads, and many of them included the famous omega Day-Date, featuring people like Arnold Pal...