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Since they began their association with Phillips auction house to reboot the watch department, the power couple, Aurel Bacs Livia Russo, have been rocking the watch auction scene. They have done that with exciting auctions and impressive results. Their two upcoming Geneva auctions in May, including their thematic stainless steel chronograph sale (entitled Start-Stop-Reset), are again impressive. The catalogs are simple and elegant yet bold and exciting. The adrenaline filled action in the room during their auctions is something that watch aficionados fly in to see live or watch via streaming video.There are a few smart moves to note for this team that has put them on top. It begins with the [...]
What we're having today at the Fratello Head Quarters, is a real mens dress watch. A type of watch that is not often discussed here, but since this watch ?is such a prime example of what a dress watch should be, an exception has been made.Nowadays any watch, that's not a 47mm diver, is often called a dress watch. Even well known watch blogs, dare to?call a Rolex Datejust or Panerai Radiomir a dress watch and while many guys wear those watches with cuffed shirts and to wedding parties, it's a fact that many occasions require a different and more discreet type of watch, or no watch at all.Van Cleef Arpels, well-known for their exclusive collection of jewelry and ladies watches, also has a gre [...]
Today, the 27th of April is Kings Day in the Netherlands. King Willem-Alexander van Oranje celebrates his birthday and therefore I will show some watches that have a bit of orange (oranje) in them.King Willem-Alexander is also a big fan of watches, and you might even see him wearing an Omega Speedmaster once in a while. I personally think it is cool that he wears a Speedmaster while he can (and probably does) wear any high-end brand on any day of the week. His wife, Queen?M exima Zorreguieta, often wears a Rolex.FOTO: ? GTRESONLINEAfter seeing an image of Willem-Alexander in a Dutch newspaper, I thought I recognized a Speedmaster on his wrist. After going through dozens of images of our King [...]
Another Rolex this week, but this time a vintage and extremely rare model, the Rolex Commando ref.6429. We actually didnt hear about it before until our friends from Hodinkee blogged about it in 2009. A fellow watch enthusiast and collector from Singapore reminded me about it last week and that hed seen one for sale on eBay (which got pulled off rather quickly again).Although Christies who auctioned a few claims them to be produced in 1967, but Hodinkee is pretty certain it was produced in 1972 and only in 1972. The last one Christies sold for $25.000,- USD in December 2010 (click here). They must have indeed been very limited in production, since every model weve encountered has very clos [...]
When we first saw the new Rolex Datejust II presented at BaselWorld 2009, we werent very enthusiastic about it. We were not ready for a leap from a 36mm to a 41mm diameter. In all honesty, we feel we might be a bit too Rain Man-ish when it comes to sudden changes in product design. Especially when it comes to products that we love so much. For example, it takes us ages to like a new BMW car when it is being introduced, because we love the current or former models so much. The same goes for new Rolex watches. Perhaps you recognize this?behavior? (please do)Last summer, we were visiting a Rolex boutique in Orlando?(who also had a lot of pre-owned watches for sale) and tried the Datejust II for [...]
Yesterday (January 30), tennis player Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open against Rafael Nadal (Richard Mille ambassador). It has been a battle that lasted five sets and almost 6 hours. When he finally lifted the trophy, watch spotters immediately recognized the timepiece on the wrist of this Audemars Piguet ambassador. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver, ref.15703ST. A perfect fit for a sportsman.Weve written a review about this exact same Diver a while ago (click here for our share of fun with the Diver 15703ST and a VW Phaeton) and we think it is the best looking Offshore that AP has to offer. Clean design, perfect size (42mm in diameter) and very versatile, especially when w [...]
Every collector likes bargains. Or at the very least, like the feeling that fair value for money has been had. Although the definition of value is relative and will vary from collector to collector we all have a different sense of aesthetics after all there are some things that hold across the board.This article will try to identify those watches, both new and on the secondary markets. Pricing, where given, is a rough guide only.Let's first define what's important:1. Some sense of differentiation from other similar pieces, be it pricing, movement, aesthetics or other technology;2. An in-house movement would be nice, but not a necessity;3. Sound aesthetics and design; something with atten [...]
De Bethune DB26,?there are few modern manufactures as diverse as De Bethune: in addition to some extremely classical looking timepieces, there are also extremely avant-garde models on offer such as the DB26.Even the balance shape is unconventional teardrop shaped rotating eccentric masses on the end of blued arms, and no sign of a circle to be seen anywhere There is also a tension spring holding the balance bridge in place; presumably for a combination of both increased shock resistance and controlled endshake.This particular watch has a beautiful blue guilloche dial, with a neat touch at the 12 oclock position: a power reserve gauge. Unusually, the manufacturers name and all markings are p [...]
Another rare bird passed by my studio the other day: the?Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph?City of Sails (ref.25860IS.0.1110IS.01).I must admit that APs are not my speciality (we have RJ for that), so I dont have a lot to say about this one other than some observations on the aesthetics and design of the piece: For a watch this large, its surprisingly light since it is a combination of stainless steel and titanium. Even more impressively, there does not appear to be any degree of compromise made in the finish, which is amazing as titanium is an incredibly difficult material to work with especially polishing. The dial isunique. It brings to mind several things swimming pool, Chinese ce [...]
All images in this post may be clicked on for larger versions.You would be forgiven for thinking that the big number in its own box is the date, and the two hands on the dial are for the minutes and hours; and perhaps that strange little stubby hand in its own round window off to the top is in fact for power reserve, or perhaps continuous seconds.Youd be wrong.For starters, the watch is actually a jump hour (only adjustable in one direction: forward) with the big number being the hour; minutes and seconds are on the large dial, and the little stubby hand is in fact the moon phase display. Of course, not having a date, you cant set this accurately. Winding the crown forwards in the traditiona [...]
We thought it would be time to compare the new Rolex Explorer II Ref. 216570 to the much sought-after vintage Explorer II Freccione' or Steve McQueen'. The Explorer II has always been a watch that sat in the shadow of the GMT-Master and Submariner models. Undeserved in our humble opinion.Is there much to compare? Is the new Explorer II a tribute to the Freccione' (orange hand) or is it a new watch that has been influenced by the very first Explorer II that was introduced in 1971, 40 years ago?Let's start with some history on the Explorer II. Introduced in 1971 as ref.1655, the watch was equipped with an orange hand to be used as a day/night indicator for those who professionally didn't see d [...]
To be honest, until recently Ocean7 wasnt brand that had watch models that I could mention from the top of my head, except for the LM-7. The Ocean7 LM-7 has probably been the watch model that people will know this brand for, it is a homage to dive watch watches of the 1970s according to the official Ocean7 website. People will immediately recognize the LM-7 being a homage to the famous OMEGA Seamaster Plo-Prof of course. To be honest, Ocean7 did a pretty good job in creating an alternative for the vintage OMEGA Seamaster Plo-prof. This was in the period before OMEGA re-introduced their own homage to this watch a few years ago with their new in-house caliber 8500 movement.Anyway, Ocean7 is a [...]
All images can be clicked on for larger versionsAn imposing 44mm across and nearly 20mm thick, the U1000 is built like a submarine literally. Sinn uses submarine steel a special alloy also used by the German Navy for its subs for the case, bezel, crown and pushers. You know that slightly hollow feeling you get when you tap most watches with your fingernail? Not a sign of it with the U1000 its as though youre tapping an anvil. Even if you tap the crystal.That is the U1000 in a nutshell, really. Built to be a reliable, indestructible tool. The submarine steel case is water resistant to you guessed it, 1000 meters and is so strong and well sealed that it doesnt require a helium release va [...]
The year 2020 has been tough on James Bond fans. It was a tough pill to swallow when No Time To Die was postponed for a second time. Like so many, I was more than ready to see Daniel Craig in action one last time as 007. And just when you thought things could not get any worse, the news came in on the 1st of November that Sean Connery passed away at age 90. The Scottish actor was the first and, to many, the best James Bond. In the light of Connerys passing, we decided to create a list of our 7 favorite Bond watches.Discussing a list of Bond watches is as much fun as it is incomplete. Sure, you could cough up all the watches we have seen in 25 official Bond films, but that would not start a d [...]
I recently enjoyed some lens time with this rather unique piece by Peter Speake-Marin. Out of the box, the aesthetic was a littleunusual, but I admit that towards the end of the session, the design grew on me.Enjoy All images can be clicked on for larger versions. Dont forget to check us out on Facebook?and gives us a Like!MTYes, it glows in the dark, too!MoonphaseDay of the week hand and instantaneous change mechanism24 hour handMaster control wheel for perpetual calendar mechanism. Note the incredibly thin jumper spring attached to the pawl center-right, and the square cut gear controlling the date advance at the end of each month.One final view. [...]
During the Space Shuttle STS-128 mission, Swedish ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang was not only wearing his trusty old Omega Speedmaster Professional X-33 watch but on his other wrist, he was wearing an at that time ?unfamiliar?watch, the Halda Space Discovery watch. Developed with the help of astronauts aboard of the STS-128, Swedish watch manufacturer Halda was able to fine-tune their Halda Space Discovery watch and finish the production of this timepiece. They are limiting the number of timepieces to 128,?referring?to the flight number of the NASA Space Shuttle mission in 2009.Whether the Halda Space Watch will eventually replace the Speedmaster Professional (X-33) remains uncertain, but [...]
The Watch Photographer, friend of the show and famous because of his Rolex calendar is now offering his beautiful Rolex GMT-Master ref.1675 (ca.1971) for sale. We can easily say that this is the most popular GMT-Master of this moment and still considered to be affordable when it comes to collecting vintage Rolex watches.What once started as being the watch for (PanAM) pilots, grew out to be the most popular watch for?travelers?of all sorts. The current GMT-Master II ref.116710LN is the result of decades of small and well thought-of tweaks and adjustments to the original GMT-Master, such as the ref.1675. GMT-Masters prior to the ref.1675, carry the 6542 reference number (1954) and have no cro [...]
Instead of discussing another Omega, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe or whatever, we have picked a Guy David watch to review. A watch of the price that some of us normally would spend on a leather strap for one of the watches just mentioned. Guy David is one of Gassans own label watches and we have briefly mentioned it before here on Fratellowatches.At first sight, this diver holds somewhere in between fashion and real horology. The first thing noticed is the finish of the impressive 47mm watch case. The sides are nicely satin-brushed and the top of the lugs have this Omega Seamaster 300M polish on them. I am not sure whether the designers were inspired by watches like the Seamaster o [...]
Introduced during BaselWorld 2011 and often discussed already, the Rolex 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 Rolex did a neat job on their homage. Rolex 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 Rolex Id buy if I was in the runnin [...]
One of Benzingers specialities are their skeletonized and fully engraved watches; they obviously have no dial (nor do they need one) to best show off all of the details. The owner of this piece related an anecdote he passed it on to a fellow collector, quite well known in horological circles, for his opinion on the finishing. He asked for a loupe and examined the watch then seconds later, replied I cant tell at all, the entire damn thing is engraved!Mechanically, its a fairly standard Unitas movement (aside from the elaborate decoration, of course). Not a lot else to say about this one, other than enjoy the photos. Click images for larger.MT [...]
