Now that Baselworld 2017 has come to a close, it’s a good time to reflect on what happened, what didn’t happen and to, once again, give you a peek behind the life, even if it’s only my temporary life, of a watch journalist. Here at Fratellowatches, we value the interaction we have with our readers, […]
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This year, I was happy to see a stainless steel Rolex Sky-Dweller during our appointment at BaselWorld. Introduced in 2012 already, but always in precious metals. Today’s steel Rolex Sea-Dweller is partly precious metal, as the fluted bezel is made of white gold. Let’s have a look. Steel Rolex Sky-Dweller reference 326934 Although some say the […]
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Visiting Seiko at Baselworld 2017 was, once again, an experience marked with numerous new releases and an exciting blend of technology mixed retro cues. We showed a preview of the Grand Seiko releases the minute the press conference had concluded (which coincided with the embargo lift) and we’ll show some more pictures of those here. […]
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Today’s #TBT will be Baselworld 2017 focused as we’re still basking in the afterglow of the show. And, even though we’ve covered it already, I’ll use this column as a platform to discuss why I, a vintage diehard, ordered the Omega Speedmaster 1957 reissue. Maybe my purchase of this watch surprises you and maybe it […]
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Chopard L.U.C. 2017 It’s always a treat to visit Chopard when we are visiting BaselWorld. Despite their success and status in the industry they managed to stay humble and friendly. This year Chopard showed us six new watches and all of them were amazing. Honestly, I could imagine myself wearing each and every one of them […]
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On January 16th of this year, Gene Cernan passed away. He was the Last Man on the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Before that, he flew on the Gemini 9A and Apollo 10 missions. This year, Omega introduced the 3rd Speedmaster Apollo XVII limited edition. In two flavors. In stainless steel (1972 […]
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Armin Strom made a bold move and did not bring any new watches to BaselWord 2017. Nothing. Armin Strom BaselWorld 2017 When we visited them the only watch they could shows us was something we already saw months ago during SalonQP in London. That was the Mirrored Force Resonance Fire, an out of this world […]
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Aquastar Regate – a regatta start timer What is a watch to wear after a week of Baselworld? Do you want to see watches at all after a week of Baselworld? The latter question is easier to answer than the first one; of course I want to see watches after a week of Baselworld, I’m […]
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As a follow-up to our recent article on the limited edition Eterna KonTiki Bronze Manufacturer, we’re back with a look at the steel serial production models, the new Eterna KonTiki Diver. While it does usher in some cost saving specifics versus the bronze model, there’s a lot of value for the money in this watch. […]
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This years marks the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Sea-Dweller. For that occasion, there’s the new Rolex Sea-Dweller reference 122600 with red writing on the dial. A larger case, a cyclops, red writing on the dial and a new movement. Let’s have a look. The New Rolex Sea-Dweller Ref. 126600 Almost 3 years ago, I […]
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Today, we had the chance to meet with Eterna at Baselworld 2017 and it was impressive. How impressive? Let’s just say that out of the four of us who attended the discussion (plus a fifth who didn’t attend), all of us ordered a watch – the same watch. The Eterna KonTiki Bronze Manufacture was so […]
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Admittedly, we at Fratellowatches have been a bit slow to pick up the story on Monta Watches. The founder of Everest Bands – universally beloved by Rolex wearers for their attention to detail – decided to go in the direction of releasing a line of high quality watches. In 2016, they debuted a 1000ft water […]
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Baselworld is a funny place. You have the big brands, the smaller brands and, then, you have the little surprises. Appointments are often back-to-back, but we sometimes find ourselves with small blocks of time that aren’t really long enough to make it back to the press center but not short enough to walk directly to […]
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Longines Heritage 1945 I can comfortably say that this year is about time-only watches. Not that we did not see any three-handed watches the previous years but the amount of coolness the brands present this year in this segment is remarkable. Omega (Railmaster), Montra (Triumph), Tissot (Ballade) or Nomos (basically any 2017 novelty) are just […]
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This year Nomos added some pretty funky additions to their collection. The Nomos Club Neomatik now comes in several colors: signalblau (blue) and signalrot (red). Let’s have a look. Nomos Club Neomatik Movement The watch is powered by the in-house 3001 DUW movement with the Nomos Swing System. It does have a power reserve of approximately 42 […]
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LIV Watches is at it again, beating all Kickstarter records for a Swiss watch, the second time in a row. With just over three weeks on Kickstarter, the company has already raised over 1.3 million dollars. Click here to view the live campaign. LIV prides itself on constructing touch watches, using bold, unique designs, making […]
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It must not go unnoticed, this change at the Seiko Watch Corporation. Grand Seiko is is now a separate entity and will no longer feature ‘Seiko’ on the dial of their watches. The Grand Seiko logo will proudly show at 12 o’clock on all their watches from now on. Grand Seiko SBGW252 A wise move I […]
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Every year at Baselworld, we take a look at Tissot. It’s a fun brand to visit and there are always a few gems mixed in with the mainstream volume pieces. The brand has a seriously rich heritage and while they tap into that to some degree, we’re usually left a touch wanting – especially in […]
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As we wrote before today, it is the retro-game in full effect here in Basel. Today, we saw the new Oris Chronoris Date. Before we will come back to you with a hands-on article of the actual watch, we will introduce you to this sporty timepiece from 1970. As you might know, Michael Stockton is […]
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Yesterday we introduced you to the Omega 60th anniversary trilogy. Today, we had our meeting with Omega and had a closer look at their new collections. We received many questions and comments about the Speedmaster. Let’s try to answer a couple. Speedmaster 60th Anniversary Reference 311.10.39.30.01.001 I can be super short about the new Omega Speedmaster […]
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And it’s that time of year again and we always look forward to the new releases from one of our favorite brands: Seiko. Today, though, we’ll give you a sneak peek at the 2017 Grand Seiko Baselworld novelties. Last year, this was a widely read story and we expect you’re interested again! While we normally […]
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Limited to 300 pieces only, Sinn introduces this 103 St Sa E watch based on one of their most classic (pilot) watches. The Sinn 103 is a classic that has been in their collection forever. Now, they introduce a version with a beautiful ivory-coloured coating on the indices, hands and numbers. It gives the Sinn […]
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BaselWorld kicked off with a product presentation by Tudor. Their event, always on the Tuesday before BaselWorld starts, revealed their new chronograph with in-house caliber MT5813. However, today they showed us some more new timepieces, including this Tudor Heritage Black Bay steel and gold. Let’s have a closer look. Tudor Heritage Black Bay Steel and […]
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In 1957, Omega introduced three watches for professional use: the Railmaster for scientists and engineers, the Seamaster 300 for divers and the Speedmaster for sports, race car drivers and engineers as well. Now, 60 years later, Omega felt the time was right to bring hommage to these watches. Let us introduce you to the 60th […]
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Last January, at the SIHH in Geneva, Cartier launched two new ‘Drive de Cartier’ models. Two models that, despite the name, not have that much in common besides the shape of the case and the large blued hands. Drive de Cartier Moon Phases One is the ‘Drive de Cartier Extra Flat‘, the watch that made […]
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Klynt Geneve A little while ago, we introduced Klynt Geneve on the pages of Fratello Watches. The brand launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for their Swiss made automatic watch. You can find many similar watch ideas on Kickstarter. However, Klynt managed to come up with a design that the watch world has not […]
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Don’t judge and stop shaking your head. Just because there’s a serious amount of yellow gold staring you in the face, you needn’t leave this page. Just hear me out for a bit. If you read automotive magazines, today’s feature is akin to that one article about an exotic that most of us will never […]
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Longines has leveraged its outstanding expertise in quartz technology to create the ultimate high-precision wristwatch: the all-new Conquest V.H.P. This collection constitutes another milestone in the history of quartz timepieces, successfully incorporating many features of today’s smart connected watches, such as ultra-precision, technical sophistication and a sporty feel, without any of the drawbacks, and all […]
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52Mondayz and Baselworld 2017 A big thank you to many of my Facebook friends who took the effort to help me choose. I’ll explain why I couldn’t choose just one watch to wear at Baselworld below. These are the watches I’ll wear during the most important watch-week of the year; mainly 😉 A watch for […]
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Rare Berries: Rolex GMT-Master Blueberry When you’re doing a deep dive into specific watches you often encounter iterations with small variations compared to their root model. Visually and with financial consequences. This episode is about a watch that stands out in terms of a specific alternative coloured element: the Rolex GMT-Master (ref. 1675) variant with a blue bezel, […]
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Last year, I reviewed the Grand Seiko SBGM021, a similar looking model of what we have here today. However, the Grand Seiko SBGJ017 GMT has a hi-beat movement and a less casual appearance. Let’s have a look. Grand Seiko SBGJ017 The ivory dial of the aforementioned SBGM021 is something I really love about that watch. It […]
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Today, on #TBT, we’re going to take a look at a popular vintage dive watch: the Aquastar 63. This diver is popular because it’s relatively plentiful and despite an upward surge in prices, examples can still be found at reasonable levels. Plus, this watch ushered in the use of a case design that we’ve seen […]
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From the 16th of March to the 26th of March there will be 6 watch auctions on eBay (starting at 9pm GMT+1) with all proceeds from the auctions going to the children’s charity Bravehearts. Bravehearts Mark Knopfler is the patron of the children’s charity which is based in the North East of England and was […]
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A couple of months ago I ran into Juliana Renoult, the co-founder and art director of Suissemecanica. I heard about these watches, I saw them on pictures, but I never saw one in the flesh. I was impressed and asked if I could have one for review. Not much later, a large box arrived with […]
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We recently revised the first part of the Speedmaster Professional 145.022 buyer’s guide (that can be found here), so it was about time we also would update the second part of the story. This second part goes into the details of the Speedmaster Professional 145.022, details you should pay attention to when you are in […]
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About two years ago, I received an e-mail from one of our German readers. He is a radiologist and told me he was ever so happy when Omega introduced their Aqua Terra >15,000 gauss in 2013. Even better, he wrote me that he tested it with one of the MRI equipment up to 30,000 gauss […]
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Universal Geneve Compax 1950, reference 884.475 Last week I mentioned a lot of Panda-love again. Our own Teun van Heerebeek showed the stickers which he will bring to Baselworld. Including in the designs of the stickers is the drawing of his Watches & Pencils #16 about Panda Dials. It immediately became my favorite sticker. This, […]
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Every once in a while we receive the question whether we could live with just one watch, and which watch that would be. You have probably also fantasized yourself of trading (all) the watch in your collection for just one watch. One Watch Only! In this article, we take a look at watches that we […]
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The Sinn EZM 1, my 52Mondayz week #10 watch Last week was a week full of Speedmasters. However one way or the other a lot of Sinn came on my way as well. As their agent for The Netherlands I’ve had a long working relationship with Sinn. Starting in 1994, when Helmut Sinn was still […]
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In a few weeks, BaselWorld 2017 will unveil a number of novelties we have all been waiting for. One of them is the re-edition of Seiko’s 62MAS diver. The rumors are piling up and we now ‘know’ that there will be a SBDX019 re-redition of the 62MAS with an 8L movement and a cheaper variant […]
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The time that has been and the time to come – to borrow from one and predict what the other might bring makes sense of the present. Our past begins in 1745 when Jurgen Jürgensen was born in Copenhagen and became the founder of a world renowned watchmaking Dynasty. In time, he was outdone by […]
The post THE PAST, THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE COEXIST IN THREE EXQUISITE NEW MODELS FROM URBAN JÜRGENSEN appeared first on Fratello Watches.
AMG cars, Lappi tires with 2mm spikes, IWC watches and ice. Very thick ice. The perfect ingredients for the AMG Winter Sporting Experience. Some weeks go we received an invite from IWC Schaffhausen to join them on an event in the Northern Part of Sweden. Last time we went to Sweden we’ve been sailing racing yachts. […]
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If you are a frequent reader of Fratello Watches, this recently revived 80 years old brand doesn’t need much introduction. Lebois & Co is now getting ready for their 3rd and last Re-launch edition. Basically your last opportunity to get with the program, before Lebois & Co will come up with a new collection. Lebois […]
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The Speedmaster Moon Room in Amsterdam – Event Report We mentioned the Speedmaster Moon Room pop-up in Amsterdam already beginning this week. On Speedy Tuesday night, February 28th, we attended the opening. It has to be said, the people of Ace Jewelers did a truly wonderful job. The Moon Room is a large lounge and […]
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Jaeger-LeCoultre had a strong game this year during the SIHH in my opinion. It is actually one of the Richemont brands that didn’t seem to be searching for its own identity, but did what it does best: design great watches using their heritage and impressive collection of in-house movements. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Chronograph is my favorite […]
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