Last Saturday during the Chrono24 GTG in Karlsruhe (youll find our event report here) my attention was drawn to a omega GMT-Master in steel and gold. One way or the other, Robert-Jan and myself spoke about this watch on our way to the GTG (a 5-hour drive). And you know what happens next. Youll mention that some attendants to the GTG actually have this watch with them.omega GMT-Master 16753In the early seventies, the steel and gold 16753 version was an addition to the stainless-steel and full-gold models of the omega GMT-Master. The steel and gold version became available with a black dial and rotating GMT-bezel, as well with a brown dial and gold-brown colored bezel. Its the latter this 52Mo...
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The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are fully underway And what better opportunity to have a look at this extraordinary set of watches? Omega already introduced (and released) them during the Summer of 2018 in anticipation of the 2020 Games. Little did we know back then that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad would be postponed. However, thanks to Omegas precocity, we have been lucky enough to enjoy these watches three years in advance.Before we start, I just want to remind you that Omega introduced all five of these Speedmaster Tokyo 2020 limited editions separately, but also as a set. Each individual watch was limited to 2020 pieces, and only 55 sets were produced. They were all intended for sale in...
As soon as you enter the world of mechanical watches, it seems like you enter an alternate reality at times. Especially when you have the privilege to write about luxury timepieces, watches that cost thousands and often tens of thousands of Euros are not uncommon to end up in your hands. While experiencing expensive timepieces from up close is absolutely amazing, there is always the reality that most of them will never be a permanent part of my life. But its time to dream a little and come up with a list of vintage watches I would buy if they were affordable.When it comes to the question of what is affordable, its obviously very personal. It has as much to do with your spending power as much...
Dia dhuit, watch peeps!? Its time for This Week in Watches for October 5, 2019!For this episode of This Week in Watches, we have?a lot to cover.? It seems that the entry of October has brands already thinking of the holiday season and where theyd like you to spend your money.? Lets see if this weeks new treats provide that level of temptation.? Here we go!Breitling and OuterknownOne of Breitlings squads happens to focus on surfing.? And when it comes to surfers, there are few who are better known than Kelly Slater, an American surfer with 11(!!) world championships under his belt errrr, board shorts.? Slater also founded a company by the name of Outerknown, a sustainable apparel brand.? Wel...
Wish lists are common among the watch hopeful. No matter the popular brand, you can find discussions about what people think is coming down the pipe. Today, as it relates to Seiko and Grand Seiko, Id like to turn our attention away from what will probably come towards what Id actually like to see.Its been over five years since I joined the Fratello team. During that time, Ive woken up to almost daily emails from brands showing their new wares and its something that still excites me. No matter the brand, I enjoy looking at the newest of the new. Its important to note, though, that for the longest time, we received almost nothing from Seiko and Grand Seiko. Yes, these brands were present at Ba...
About a year ago, I wrote about a book called Vintage Panerai by Ralf Ehlers and Volker Wiegmann, both Paneristi from Germany. These guys have written the successor of their first book and it is currently available for pre-order. Their second book is being called Vintage Panerai The References and can be ordered at vintage-panerai.de for 169 Euro. Their first book, Vintage Panerai Watches with History, is also still for sale for 79 Euro.The Vintage Panerai The Legends book is documenting 34 different vintage / historic Panerai watches. The peculiarities and differences between the References 3646, 6152, 6154, 6152/1 and the GPF 2/56 are explained in detail and with rich reference to varia...
Introduced during BaselWorld 2011 and often discussed already, the omega Explorer II ref. 216570 has been out for delivery to dealers. In The Netherlands, Precision Watches (sponsor of Fratellowatches) is the first to have one in stock already.The large orange 24-hour hand refers to the first model Explorer II in 1971 (a.k.a Freccione or Steve McQueen Explorer) with reference 1655 and I think omega did a neat job on their homage. omega aficionados all over the world have been discussing the broad hour and minute hands and whether this was either good or bad. There is no verdict yet, let the sales numbers do the talking. Personally, this would be the modern omega Id buy if I was in the runnin...
If you're already a fan of the Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic Bronzo PAM00671, but 47mm is just too big for you. Dont fret, I might just have the perfect solution. You could consider the new Panerai Submersible Bronzo Blu Abisso PAM01074 a bronze, 42mm people-pleaser with an annual production of 1,000 pieces per year. Is this Piccolo Bronzo a Paneristi-worthy watch, or is this simply a creation to try and lure in a new crowd? Get ready for a wild ride that will start with a visit to Panerai's website.To get an impression of Panerai's bronze offerings, I first went to the official website. During my visit, I spotted four different bronze Submersible models. Three of them come in a ...
If the name sounds familiar to you, it is no coincidence. There already was a Longines Heritage Military before but in the current collection, theres only this one today and we review it today for you.RAFThe Longines Heritage Military takes inspiration from the pilots watches used by the British Royal Air Force during World War II. You might have seen very similar models from Omega, most recently in the movie DunkirkC as Tom Hardy's character, an RAF pilot, is wearing one. Though that watch had a large steel bezel it is essentially the same design. Longines produced the same watches with and without the steel 60-second bezel just like Omega. They were special orders from the British Ministry...
It doesnt feel like much time has passed since my previous Why I bought- article. My subject last time was the new caliber 3861 Moonwatch with sapphire crystal. I find myself reaching into my admittedly shallower pockets again for another brand new 2021 Omega watch under five months later. This time it was the turn of the heritage diving watch, the Seamaster 300. Another new watch isnt doing my vintage watch street cred, nor bank account, any good. And I already have the Tudor Black Bay to fulfill my dreams of diving with Jacques Cousteau. So, where did the urge to own the new Seamaster 300 come from? Lets find out.Firstly, what is the Seamaster 300? The Seamaster is one of Omegas most proli...
Its Speedy Tuesday We have another vintage model for you in store today, literally. This OMEGA Speedmaster Professional 145.012 dates back to 1967 and has the famous column wheel chronograph caliber 321 movement. Actually, it is the very same watch that NASA astronaut Michael Collins was wearing during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. You can read more about that here.In the meanwhile, weve covered so many of these 145.012 and 105.012 reference numbers that we actually lost track. It seems to be one of the most wanted and most affordable vintage Speedmaster models out there. However big however -, they are becoming more difficult to find in a nice and original condition.This particular Speedm...
That green dial really means business And its about time. This rash of TAG Heuer Carrera Sport Chronographs is exactly what I think the family needed a return to form. Sensibility might not create headlines but it does underline classics. And that, as far as Im concerned, amounts to a low-key triumph for a very divisive mainstream brand.TAG Heuer is one of those brands that splits opinion. There are some who believe that the brand lost its way after TAG acquired Heuer in 1985. Others just as ardently extol it as the beginning and the end of the conversation when it comes to luxury sports watches (you know who you are). You may find yourself in either camp, or you may have yet to decide where...
WatchUseek, considered to be the No.1 interactive watch portal, is having a Grande Finale 2009 event This means that WatchUseek, in combination with its sponsors, will celebrate the end of 2009 and the start of 2010 by giving away a number of watches to registered members of WatchUseek that enroll for the contest!The instructions are quite simple Ernie Romers, director of WatchUSeek, wrote a small FAQ for all attendees.How can I participate?Simple, enter the competition as soon as it is published in here.What else should I know about this Grande Finale?The Grande Finale 2009 is for WatchUseeks members, moderators and sponsors only. Not yet a member? Register here!What does WatchUseek need fr...
Drive de Cartier- Mens Only CartierLast January when Cartier presented the Drive de Cartier watches at the 2016 SIHH in Geneva, there was a lot of traffic at the Cartier booth. Almost every journalist talked amongst each other about this new watch, in the corridors. Cartier is always presenting quite a few watches at the annual show in Geneva, but it's not every year that La Maison launches a steel mens only model, in the main stream category.?Well a?mens watch the Drive certainly is, not because of its robust dimension of 40 x 40mm, since ladies wear any size these days, but because of its masculine styling?and details. The Drive on my 18cm wrist Hands-On With The Small Complications Drive ...
If you like controversy, you came to the right place. Trying to answer a question like the one in the title of this article is always going to result in a deluge of criticism. To those who find themselves disagreeing with what I'm about to say, I say this: let it rain. Fratellowatches.com is an online watch-loving community like no other. We want to have those difficult conversations and pose complicated questions that garner more than one answer. And so don't take my assessment of what makes for the best watch brand in the world as the gospel truth or the final word on the matter: this is a starting point for a fun discussion. So let's have fun discussing it together.It probably won't surpr...
Hi and hello watch fans, welcome to Episode 56 of Fratello On Air, otherwise known as WASP 9.0. This week on Watching Sports and Sporting Watches, Balazs and I will be stepping away from North America itself and focusing on our very own mailbag, which is bursting at the seams thanks to our valued listeners writing in with their questions.We have questions from both sides of the Atlantic to address, with fun answers to chew through. First, though, we touch on the latest developments in European Soccer following the semi-finals of both of Europes major cup competitions, the Champions League and the Europa League.In the mailbag we find questions about the NBA, our watch experiences, how we woul...
Today is, of course, SpeedyTuesday. So what better time to talk about the Omega Speedmaster 38 in Sedna Gold? Don't be fooled into thinking that this is just another downsized version of a mens watch. It really isnt. The Speedmaster 38, which is clearly has a fondness for the now-defunct Speedmaster Reduce, has been designed specifically for its female customer base. As such, its no-holds-barred approach to feminine design results in something quite distinct from its more male counterpart.In 2017, Omega introduced the Speedmaster 38 designed especially for women. Last year, the Swiss brand released the same model in full yellow gold and full Sedna Gold. Prior to those stellar releases, the ...
In this new Sunday morning column, 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 don't forget to let us know which watches you'd like to see torn to shreds/effusively exalted next week. We'll try and feature as many of our readers' choices as we can. This week its the turn of the Patek Philippe Nautilus. Let battle commence.Rob NuddsI was a slow convert to the Patek Philippe Nautilus. For years, I just didn't get it. The furor surrounding this weird anomaly in the brand's catalog? Why? If I wanted a steel sports watch, I'd go to a brand known f...
The SIHH 2010 will be held from the 18th of January till the 22nd of January 2010. During this show, Vacheron Constantin will be presenting their new Historique Ultra-Fine 1955 and 1968 time pieces. In todays world of horology, it seems that watches cant be bulky enough while a few decades ago, it showed true craftsmanship when a time piece was as flat as possible. Since a year or so, I noticed that there is quite a number of fellow watch collectors and aficionados that is akin to reduce diameter sizes and heights. Vacheron Constantin is the brand theyll need to take to look at in 2010, with their Historique Ultra-Fine timepieces.In the 1950s and 1960s, Vacheron Constantin introduced the wor...
Omega made a lot of weird and funny looking watches during the 1970s, I guess the Seamaster ref.145.023 is one of them. It has been introduced in a black ceramic version and a high polish tungsten-chrome finished version, both from the early 1970s and identical in terms of dimensions, used movement and rarity. Chronograph legend Chuck Maddox nicknamed the tungsten-chrome Seamaster ref.145.023 as being the Anakin Skywalker Seamaster and the black finish model as the Darth Vader Seamaster. On his website, he described the two watches in detail (click here).Today, I noticed that a German watch dealer has a Anakin Skywalker Seamaster for sale, in very nice condition and complete with Omegas Warr...