I am enjoying a blue periodPablo Picasso, the iconic Spanish painter created a series of paintings between 1901 1904 referred as his, blue period. This epoch of the artist's life was reflected in sombre paintings employing predominantly blue or blue-green hues.Picasso was said to be suffering depression during this period and his choice of subject matter included images of beggars, prostitutes and drunks. Picasso was disturbed by the death of his friend, Carlos Casagemas.The pictures painted during the blue period were not popular at the time. Their cheerless depiction of dolent aspects of life, did not find favour with the public or buyers.Today, like many of Picasso pictures they are high...
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Ever since the introduction of the stainless steel omega GMT-Master II 116710LN, people have been craving for a version with a Pepsi bezel. When omega introduced the white gold version in 2014, reference?116719BLRO, the craving became more intense than ever before. This BaselWorld, omega showed us the new steel omega GMT-Master II Reference 126710. With a Jubilee bracelet. Thats right, the new omega GMT-Master II reference 126710 comes on a type 69200 bracelet. And thats basically the only option for this watch, as an Oyster bracelet will not even fit the new case of the new Pepsi GMT-Master II.omega GMT-Master II Reference 126710New SpecificationsThis new omega GMT-Master II is different fr...
If a book to be written about the history of German watchmaking from the beginnings until today, and a watch to be selected for the cover the result would be simple. Unequivocally the A. Lange Sohne Lange 1 would take that spot. I can't think of any other timepiece that had such an impact on the industry as a whole than this one model.The Lange 1 was and still is the design inspiration for dozens of other brands. The technicality of the movement, albeit not the most complex, is the blueprint for movement designers. The status of the Lange 1 is unquestionable, and it just so happens that this very icon is celebrating its 25th birthday this year. Yes, only 25 years since the Lange 1 emerged f...
TCStraps always used to be a great source for Panerai straps, however I just discovered that they have a great selection of Panerai watches now as well. Maybe I am just late, but I never saw so many watches for sale before on their web site.If you are in the fortunate situation to be able to purchase a (or more) vintage Panerai, definately take a peek over there.For the people who are longing for some White Dial Love, TCStraps (TC stands for Time Connection) also has this one (PAM3B) for sale for 4150 USD:...
Ive written quite extensively on the new Grand Seiko 9SA5 Hi-Beat 36,000 movement before and indicated that it could (as I think many of us hoped it would) become a new cornerstone of the brands catalog. Today, with the official announcement of the new platinum-cased Heritage Collection Series 9 SLGH007, we get to see the 9SA5 in action once more. The only danger with this release? That youll be too bewitched by that beautiful black dial to noticeThe Heritage Collection Series 9 SLGH007 watch is a special piece. Sure, it features one of the brands most impressive movements. Yes, it has an artful dial. Of course, it is fashioned from platinum. But what is perhaps most important about the Heri...
On the 30th of October 1972, Gerald Genta (then having an important assignment for Audemars Piguet) filed a patent in the United States for his master piece, the Royal Oak. From what I read, he already documented this design in Switzerland on the 6th of December 1971.As you can see in the drawing below, is that the famous bezel screws of the Royal Oak are not aligned in the round direction of the clock. Perhaps it did not matter for this patent registration, or it has been done on purpose to show that the screws would actually work. This drawing should be reflecting the first AP that made it to the flesh, the ref.5402ST a.k.a Jumbo.The patent of Gerald Genta/Audemars Piguet is easy to find i...
Watch designer Genta designed a number of watches that turned into icons. Best example is the first stainless steel luxury watch he designed in 1972, the Royal Oak for Audemars Piguet. Later on, he repeated this with his Nautilus for Patek Philippe and the Ingenieur for IWC. All these watches are being referred to as Jumbo, as they were considered to be HUGE then. Today, we seem to be laughing at 39/40mm diameter watches. One of the readers of Fratellowatches, Martijn, has two of Gentas cult watches and sent me some photographs.The IWC Ingenieur SL1832 Jumbo is part of Martijns collection of IWC watches. Recently, he added a white dial Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo that has been produced a...
Anything Grand Seiko does seem to be a winner. But not everyone is ready to spend 6000 on a Snowflake or 6500 on the Mt. Iwate. What does the pre-owned market have in stock for you, when it comes to Grand Seiko?Truth to be told, the pre-owned market for Grand Seiko isnt overly huge. It has partially to do with the relatively low production number of Grand Seiko watches (estimated 40.000). But it might also have to with the people who buy these watches, that these arent considered flippers and buy a Grand Seiko because they want to enjoy it for a long time. As a comparison: Audemars Piguet also has an estimated production of 40.000 watches per year (different pricepoint, I know), but only Chr...
In part 1 youve read that during our readers journey to Japan, weve been visiting the Grand Seiko manufacture in Shiojiri. In that location, we witnessed the creation of Grand Seiko and Credor models, using their Spring Drive and 9F quartz movements. We also had a workshop in polishing cases in the zaratsu style and applying indexes on the Grand Seiko dials. Grand Seiko made sure that we not only got a tour, but also received a couple of masterclasses to show how difficult some of the skills are.Grand Seiko Readers Journey Part 2After our first days in Tokyo and Shiojiri, we had a day off on Wednesday. Needless to say that most of us went watch shopping. Tokyo has some interesting places to...
I remember my dad walking around the house, winding the antique clocks on the walls when I was a kid. I think practically all of them had Roman numerals marking the hours. At that time, I never noticed what kind of four they used. I didnt bother checking whether it was a subtractive IV or an additive IIII the latter of which is also known as the watchmakers four. But since I often wear my Cartier Santos Galb e XL, I started wondering where the IIII actually came from. So, I decided to look it up on the big interwebs.Now, please dont expect any final answer on the origins of the watchmakers four at the end of this article. What I found is that there are many stories about where the IIII on wa...
Last year, omega surprised us with a sudden novelty drop. While cynicism surrounding the Crown and its supply chain (or lack thereof) exists, the new designs were themselves rather neat. The Oyster Perpetual models brought us color and class, while the new Submariner brought us the kind of evolution the brand is known for. Subtle tweaks and minor updates were the orders of the day. Now, as the calendar ticks over to the first full year of having these omegaes in the catalog, Im taking my first look at the brand new omega Submariner Date 126613LN.I got the chance to see this one in the metal recently. Ive been mulling over it ever since. Cards on the table: Ive never been a huge fan of the mo...
About a month ago we drove to Switzerland to visit a few watch brands. One of these brands was TAG Heuer, located in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Since our publication of the TAG Heuer Carrera CH80 review, a lot of things changed. Jean-Claude Biver, interim CEO of TAG Heuer and head of LVMHs watchmaking division decided that it was time for a change at TAG Heuer. In short, Jean-Claude Biver has set a clear focus on affordable TAG Heuer watches in the range of $1,500.- $5,000.- USD (~ 1225,- 4000,- Euro).A very competitive and interest price range we think. Not only because some other big brands increased their prices over the last few years so much that they are not competing in the < $5000 USD p...
Creating a best-of list is always a nice challenge, especially when making a list of affordable mechanical watches. The number of watches that could be on the list is enormous, so we have set up a list of 11 of the best watches under 1000 Euros currently available.We made a Top-13? list in 2016 that you can find here and a lot has changed since then. Several new brands have popped up that have made some serious watches within the 1000 Euros price bracket and some of the top watches on our previous list have gone on to have list prices that are now above the 1000 Euros mark. So we had the chance to update the list to give you an idea of the many options that are out there under 1000 Euros. Th...
Cartier's presentation at the SIHH in 2013 was for me personally an important one, since the Rotonde Mysterieuse was introduced and the Santos Dumont Skeleton in pink gold was launched. Two watches that I absolutely adore. Both of them had amazing features like the floating hands of the Rotonde Mysterieuse and the transparant movement of the Santos Dumont Skeleton.?Just now a few days before the SIHH 2017, Cartier pre-announced a new Rotonde Mysterieuse that excels the current version.?Rotonde de Cartier Skeleton Mysterious Hour Watch The 2013 Rotonde de Cartier Mysterieuse It excels because?it is even more mysterious than its predecessor. Cartier managed to bring two of the Maison's grail w...
The Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique 5367 is not new. Nor, as you may have noticed if you live in a clement part of the world, is the color blue. However, these two staples of daily luxury life have never been brought together. That is until nowThere are few brands in the industry that have the name-power of Breguet. It isnt just that the modern iteration of the brand is renowned for high-quality timepieces often flaunting a timeless elegance others struggle to match, but it is also the weight of history attached to the founders name. Abraham-Louis Breguet was not just a watchmaker. He was arguably?the watchmaker. In his lifetime, Breguet was a celebrity. And with good rea...
Its is a hypothetical question for most of us, but its one youve asked us often, so we decided to take a stab at answering it. Given 10,000, which three watches would you pick to start a watch collection today? Now, all of our editors already have a watch collection of sorts, and (perhaps because of that) most of us dont have 10K burning a hole in our pockets right now. However, it still makes for an interesting exercise, as there are so many watches out there today that offer a ton of value. Picking just three watches that, together, come in under the price limit is not as easy as you might think, but each of our editors will take their best shot Each authors choices are bound to be differe...
I greet you with the warmest of welcomes here on Wrist Game or Crying Shame. This week, Im bringing you the Zenith Epervier El Primero and the opportunity to enter high grade horology for a song. But firstLast week, I showed you a white gold Speedmaster Moonphase from right around the turn of the century. You folks thought enough of it to carry it to a 70% Wrist Game win. The real story, though, is about one of our readers. Klaus Zimmermann filed a written complaint about yet another Speedmaster article. I responded and gave him full license to choose a more suitable watch for this weeks article. Sadly, Klaus did not return with a suggestion. Therefore, I have been left to my own devices thi...
Desiring an ornate, yet incredibly capable diver?? Look no further than the new Omega Seamaster 300 Malachite on strap.Malachite and Azurite?- My Grandfather and Father enjoyed a fair bit of lapidary work as a hobby and I still recall being quizzed about different gemstones.? When it came to that unfinished stone in blue and green, there was only one answer: malachite and azurite.? And so it was with great pleasure when I flipped through Omega's 2019 novelties and came across one gorgeously audacious watch, the yellow gold Omega Seamaster 300 Malachite that's now available on strap.? It's so wild that it almost makes the new 300M in Sedna Gold seem a touch normal.Yellow Gold SeamastersC Our ...
For just this once, we turn Speedy Tuesday into Seamaster Tuesday, to introduce you to the new Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Deep Black collection. However, before we take a thorough look at the new Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Deep Black, lets give you some background on the Seamaster collection and the Planet Ocean in general.Seamaster HistoryYou probably know that Omega introduced the Seamaster in 1948 and that it looked nothing like the dive watches of todays collection. Actually, those first Seamaster models were based on Omega watches that were supplied to the Royal Airforce during WWII. The British required reliable watches with high precision movements and, water resistant cases. Ren|...
Hublot is a brand that emphasizes new materials and, of course, Instagram-worthy colors. Now female collectors can play with the new 33mm Hublot Big Bang One Click which in addition to its eye-catching gold-and-diamond-case, also has a vivid pink strap!?Hublot has kicked off its 2021 release calendar with a new diamond pav watch created especially for women. The 33mm Big Bang One Click feels like a fresh addition to any wardrobe and fits with the spring/summer trends were expecting to see. Best of all, there are multiple colors to choose from. I chose pink as it's a strap like no other. But how did I find this petite but far-from-quiet Hublot after a few days on the wrist?The New 33mm Hublot...