We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. While the daily routine is largely focused on the most recent developments in the world of watches, the most fun for many of us lies in the world of yesteryear. 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 priceless; some of them still affordable. But all of them are remarkable watches. In this third installment, we will take a look at the best Breitling watches from the 1950s.The best Breitling watches from the 1950s? What does that actually me...
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Richard Mille struck gold when they teamed up with former World Champion, Yohan The Beast?Blake. But now, the Richard Mille RM 61-01 will be the last of its kind.Yohan Blake burst onto the scene as Usain Bolt's charming teammate, winning legions of fans through his affable persona, ferocious alter-ego, and blistering performances on the track. He announced himself on the world stage, winning the 2011 world title in Bolts absence. A year after that promising win in Daegu, he buddied-up with Richard Mille. For the London 2012 Olympics, he donned a prototype model while the brand developed its first piece for mass consumption.A sleek and stylish reinterpretationThe RM 59-01 tourbillon was relea...
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, you're sure to love our month-long feature. 96 watches reviewed last year line up for a battle royale (and extra fries) like nothing that's gone before. We need your votes. We want your comments. Help us decide the champion and share in its glory Let the games commence?-In 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 it's numb...
Rob and Balazs scoot through five major sports leagues (and touch on a sixth) as they seek out the very best on-field threads available right now. Pairing each jersey/team with a watch model or brand, is, of course, their secondary task.Weve got lots of omega, Breitling, Lange, and other heavy hitters, wild creations like Hublot, Artya, and HYT, fun stuff like Neff and Casio, and loads more watchmaking wonders to discuss. Jump in and enjoy, and let us know your favorite jerseys in the comments section. Today, were touching on the MLB (baseball), NHL (ice hockey), NFL (football), NBA (basketball), and the EPL (soccer). If were not talking about your favorite sport, make sure to let us know ab...
Roger Dubuis let us know it is the(ir) year of the Astral Skeleton and comes with a range of new pieces. One of the Roger Dubuis watches we saw here at the SIHH in Geneva that we love best is their Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon.The impressive case of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider is only 45mm, but definitely looks (and wears) bigger on the wrist. This watch is not for the faint hearted. However, the most important feature of this watch is of course that it has been skeletonized which allows you to see all of the in-house manufactured hand-wound caliber RD505SQ movement.Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying TourbillonBut lets get back to the case of this Excalibur Sp...
What I have learned from your Speedmaster stories so far, is that theres often more involved than just buying a watch. Sure, there are people collecting Speedmasters for no other reason than love for this chronograph. But so far, the stories weve received are also about emotional reasons to buy a Speedmaster.This week, we have a story from Rosier about his Speedmaster From The Moon to Mars to commemorate his 25th anniversary at work, but also a story from Kirk and why he bought his Speedmaster. A heartbreaking story, yet Kirk shared it with us and I am honored to share it with you as well.Your Speedmaster StoriesOn the one hand, Kirks story makes collecting Speedmaster watches look less impo...
Auction house Bonhams 1793 is hammering watches (pocket watches and wrist watches) on the 22nd of May. Their catalog has been published today for this auction in Knightsbridge (London) and has some nice pieces.Between the fair share of usual suspects (omega, Omega, IWC etc), this 1940s Hanhart chronograph with hand wound caliber 40 movement caught my attention. Not because of the condition, which seems to be quite poor, but because it resembles with Hanharts current Pioneer collection so well. Their MkI watch from the Pioneer collection with black dial and Arabic numerals is based on those very first mono pusher chronographs with caliber 40 movements (1938).Hanhart uses a movement (caliber H...
I?can't help myself. Anytime I?see an original vintage watch bezel I've never seen before, I?am intrigued and amused. A?witty, surprising, or unusual bezel gives any?watch a hard-to-beat attitude. The best news is that it doesnt necessarily have to be an expensive watch.No grails today. Just a?selection of random brands, some of which you might have never heard of. Just sheer originality and creative bezel freedom. Some designs might look crazy, but you can't argue that each of them is fascinating in its own way. Get ready.Image source: IG @chronyves79Orator Automatic DiverDespite no striking colors, this is anything but a typical bezel for an otherwise pretty standard skin diver watch. It l...
The design of the Submariner 114060, is unmistakably omega, despite the size and use of modern materials such as ceramics. Compare the modern 114060 to the 1953 omega Submariner 6204 and you will immediately notice that these watches share the same DNA.Owning and wearing a omega Submariner is one thing, but to dive into the history of this watch is quite a task. To make it somewhat easier for you, we hereby show you the history of the Submariner in a nutshell, including a table with most important references since 1953 till the current line-up of Submariner watches.Diving Into omega SubmarinerThe omega Submariner is a watch with an interesting story. Introduced over 60 years ago, the current...
During our Speedy Tuesday event in Frankfurt last year, Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke was our special guest for the day.Charlie Duke was selected for the Apollo program by NASA in 1966. In 1969, Duke served as an astronaut support crew member for the Apollo 10 mission and was the CAPCOM for Apollo 11. The CAPCOM was the single person at the Mission Control center who was directly in touch with the astronauts in space. Dukes first words to the Apollo 11 crew on the surface of the Moon were: Roger, TwankTranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. Were breathing again. Thanks a lot!.Charlie Duke as CAPCOM for Apollo 11 (on his right are James A. Lovell...
Is it possible to find five alternatives to the omega Daytona? Let me answer that by saying that you don't really have a choice. Not if you insist on buying at list price, you don't. For the cool and collected amongst us, the hype-free crowd, this means finding a chronograph that ticks the same boxes. Okay, maybe the five alternatives Ill present from Zenith, Omega, Breitling, TAG Heuer, and Seiko don't tick all the boxes. There is no sign of the illustrious crown on the dial the obvious one. Nevertheless, I feel these chronographs have a lot to offer.So here are my five alternatives to the omega Daytona. The current Daytona 116500LN, that is, a 13,800, stainless steel, mass-produced watch (...
Wrist Game or Crying Shame remains locked inside, but were thankful that modern technology still allows us all to vote. Today, well consider the omega Daytona 116523 and shed some light on a watch thats rarely discussed. But firstLast week, I tried to impress you with my knowledge of both art and hipster clich|s when I presented a vintage Movado Museum Watch for consideration. George R.R. Martin once said that, Art is not a democracy. People dont get to vote on how it ends. Well, you collectively thumbed your nose at George while voting this art to a lumbering 54% Crying Shame loss But we move forward with a very different kettle of fish in the omega Daytona 116523.The omega Daytona 16523 = ...
We break down the newest additions to the Panerai Luminor Due lineup.Its late August and we have news of five new Panerai Luminor Due models.? That strikes me as somewhat of a curious time of year to release a fairly large number of new models, but with summer over and people now turning their attention to the back end of the year (i.e. the winter and possibly bonus season for some) perhaps the timing makes sense.? Furthermore, its probably best to discuss the Due collection, with its oft-maligned 30 meters of water resistance, outside of prime beach and pool season or it may simply serve to feed those rabid keyboard warriors.? And discuss we shall as we break down the five new models and ad...
Breitling has been delivering hit after hit over the last twelve months. The Breitling Navitimer 1959 re-edition is a favorite of many including some of the Fratello team members. But does everything the brand touches turn to gold? Lets take a look at another recent release, the Navitimer B03 Chronograph Rattrapante 45 in 18k red gold.Lets just dive in straight away and compliment Breitling with making waves in the industry. With Georges Kern at the helm, the brand has found relevance amongst watch enthusiasts with a great number of releases. Some of them are re-issues of well-known classics like the Navitimer 1959 re-edition and the AVI Ref. 765 1953. Another release that stood out is the A...
Hundredth-anniversary wristwatches do not come around that often. Especially watches that are recreations of designs of the time, yet still appealing to todays consumer. In 2017, Oris kept the faith in one of its original Big Crown pilots watches from 1917. This is my story about how and why the Oris Big Crown 1917 became my wedding watch.The story began in March 2017. I, along with some friends, found myself in the Oris Baselworld booth enjoying the hospitality. Soon after, a dapper-dressed fellow by the name of Matt Miller, aka @sunflowerman on social media, arrived. Miller is accustomed to sketching inside showrooms, on trade-show floors, and at famous landmarks. Even whilst surrounded by...
If I ever would get myself another IWC (I had a caliber 89 IWC for a short time) I will buy an Ingenieur Larry Seiden, Marco Sch??nenberger and David Ter Molen wrote a very nice article on this great timepiece by IWC. You can find it here.I have a weakness for luxery sportswatches like the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo, so I would definately get myself the IWC Ingenieur SL Jumbo like the one below, ref.1831. If I only had the money.....
After coming down from the interview with World Number One Primo? Rogli? last week, Fridge and Freezer are back in the Smooth Booth, foraging around in a bulging mailbag. This week, the boys select two very watch-centric questions for one another.This week, the terrible twosome tackle questions about dress watches (the best ones and the very definition of the genre), which watches one should buy to commemorate achieving the PADI diving certification, why they collect watches and sports memorabilia, and Rob fields the easiest watchmaking hes ever been asked: which watches would you recommend buying as a his and hers wedding gift?Next week, well be back on the boards and the ice to round up th...
Watches Under 1000 EuroA mechanical watch doesnt need to cost you an arm and a leg. Although one could say anything above 50 Euro for a watch is luxury anyway. According to some studies and reports on (Swiss) watches, everything above 500 Swiss Francs is considered to be a luxury watch. I dont like the term luxury very much, I just like to see or own a good watch. Preferably a mechanical watch.13 Mechanical WatchesAlthough I have watches in my personal collection that are way above 1000 Euro, I dont mind wearing a cheaper watch. If it is a fun and good watch, why not? It is about the love for watches, not the love for money. Hence, 13 watches under 1000 Euro.Our German colleagues over at W...
We break down the event that unveiled the Omega Seamaster Ultra Deep and think about the future.Its been days since the reveal of the Omega Seamaster Ultra Deep at the British Museum in London, but the event left a lasting impression with me.? For certain, the creation of a watch able to withstand 15,000 meters of depth was extremely impressive, but there were other things at work that made this day significant.? Like every other site, we were Johnny on the spot with an article once the embargo dropped, but lets now take a deeper look at what happened that day, the reaction to the watch, and what we think might develop as a result.London Never a Bad ChoiceI love London and to those who know...
Some articles take more effort to write than others. But this will be an easy one. Why? Because I love the Seamaster PloProf. It took me way too long to purchase one, and when I was ready for it, Omega discontinued it.But I was lucky, Omega was able to help out. Since May 2019, I am the very happy owner of a Seamaster PloProf. I love that watch. It looks completely out of this world. From across the room, it looks uncomfortable, clunky, and heavy. Heavy it is for sure, but due to the shape and dimensions, it actually wears quite nicely and compact on the wrist. Dont believe me? Try one.Omega still produces the titanium models, with a newer movement and without a date. However, I prefer the S...