Watches Blog Wrist Watch Reviews

We are often asked which Speedmaster models have been worn on the Moon. Somehow, people think the caliber 861 Speedmaster Professional (145.022) was one of them, but this isnt correct.In 1962, NASA astronaut Walter Wally Schirra wore his Omega Speedmaster CK2998 in space. As a result, the 2012 introduction of the First Omega in Space watch(es) was based on the case of the original CK2998. However, Schirras watch was privately owned and had nothing to do with the chronographs officially selected?by NASA. It wasnt until 1964 that NASA requested brands to provide a quote for a wristwatch with a chronograph function. Only four brands responded to that request: Omega, Rolex, Longines-Wittnauer, a [...]

On this very first Speedy Tuesday of 2020, we have some exciting news to share with you. It took Omega exactly one year from the introduction of the new caliber 321 to the introduction of the first steel Speedmaster with this movement. On this very day, one year ago, Speedy Tuesday fans were invited to Biel to witness the re-introduction of this column-wheel chronograph movement, and the guessing began.Only a few out there guessed it right, and in hindsight, it is easy to tell you that the big give-away was the watch that was used as the subject for their tomography process to get the exact version of the caliber 321 that was used in Gene Cernans watch, a Speedmaster 105.003.It was the topic [...]

2019 was an amazing Speedmaster year, not only because of the 50th anniversary of Apollo XI and the Speedmasters celebrating this, or the re-introduction of the famous caliber 321 but also because of the many Speedy Tuesday events we were able to organize.Together with Omega, we hosted 8 events from January 2019 till December 2019. We visited Japan, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong to meet with you and celebrate our passion for the Speedmaster. It was amazing to meet many of you during these events, and it felt heartwarming every single time, even in places where weve never been before. Thank you for that. I also would like to thank all people that bro [...]

Last week saw the last of our Speedy Tuesday events of 2019 returning to Biel, Switzerland. With the return to Omega Headquarters, a year full of Speedy Tuesday events ended where it started almost twelve months ago. Twelve months full of Speedy Tuesday events that saw great novelties and the last one was no exception.With the Back To Base event held last Tuesday at the brand new Omega Museum in Biel, the Speedy Tuesday events have come full circle. The first of the eight Speedy Tuesday events in 2019 events took place at Omega HQ back in January of 2019 and saw the introduction of the new caliber 321 movement. At last weeks event guests had a chance to experience the Omega Speedmaster Profe [...]

One of the items of the 2019 Neiman Marcus Fantasy Gift is an Aston Martin DBS Superleggera designed by Daniel Craig. A car that comes with a free Omega Seamaster 300M 007 in platinum, only 7 pieces.I had never heard of Neiman Marcus before, let alone their annual Fantasy Gifts. A closer look shows a $70.000 luxury doghouse from Rockstar Puppy (by Denise Richards), which includes a video chat with Denise. Or what to think of a one-of-a-kind pair of Christian Louboutin for $125.000. Or what about a date with Jeff Staple (sneaker designer), and on top of a romantic dinner with him, you will receive eight pairs of his collaboration sneakers. Price tag? $110.000, and thats without the option of [...]

Just before Christmas, we selected two Omega watches and three Rolex watches for our weekly Pre-Owned Picks feature. Buying pre-owned is a wonderful solution to purchase the watch of your dreams with a friendlier price tag.Last week I was at the Zurich airport, and you might have seen it on my Instagram stories perhaps, but I walked by the Rolex boutique and from a distance, I noticed their windows were packed with their sports models. When I came closer, I noticed these signs indicating that these watches were For exhibition only. What a bummer. All watches in the display were dummies with fixed hands, so there was no point to go inside and ask about these watches. And it was not only the s [...]

Lets see if the new Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Worldtimer in Sedna Gold is something I can cosign.I'm not particularly a fan of gold watches. Unless they are white gold, that is. I have nothing against the alloy or anyone who wears a timepiece made of gold. I like the tone of rose gold, even yellow gold, and I also have some gold (plated) vintage watches. Mind you, I bought them for the importance of their movements or the model (like this Omega Moonphase Jumbo), not for their case color. Now white gold or platinum is a different story. Granted, they look like steel, and I guess this is why I like them. I think that gold does not go well with my skin tone. Or so I thought. Until I was offered [...]

The Moonwatch is undoubtedly the most popular Speedmaster model and always has been. But there are variations that we consider to be very interesting as well, and worth collecting. The Speedmaster Mark II 145.014 is such a reference, for example.For a long time, I neglected the Speedmaster Mark II, officially a Speedmaster Professional Mark II, as well. Mainly because of the case shape, which didnt appeal to me. Not in the last place because I thought it would be uncomfortable on the wrist. I regret to this day that I didnt buy one in the early days of being a Speedmaster collector, as these watches could be picked up dead cheap. A few hundred Euro would get you a nice looking Speedmaster Ma [...]

We joined the official launch of the new Omega Seamaster 300M James Bond watch in NYC. We thought it would be interesting to share some impressions of that event, as Omega also took the opportunity to talk about their connection with military watches.In the past years, I've had many experiences which I would have never had if I would still be working in real estate. Visiting NYC twice for two cool Omega events (one being our own Speedy Tuesday event in collaboration with Omega and the other this James Bond launch) is a privilege. Enjoy my report.The Launch Of The James Bond WatchThe official launch begins with a word of welcome by Omega CEO Raynald Aeschlimann, followed by sharing the first [...]

A few months ago, I pre-ordered a Forstner Komfit JB mesh bracelet. The Forstner brand was resurrected and started to produce those weird-looking mesh bracelets again that could be seen on the wrists of NASAs astronauts.These bracelets are often better known as JB Champion bracelets. JB stands for Jacoby Bender, and they acquired the Forstner brand (in 1963) before astronauts started to use their Komfit bracelets. Both companies were long gone already, but Forstner has recently been brought back to life again. Speedmaster enthusiasts have been responding very positively to the new Forstner company, and I have to say that I shared that excitement as well. Somewhere in October, I decided to ma [...]

Remember the first Omega Seamaster Professional 300M Bond? The 2541.80 (quartz) and 2531.80 (automatic) to be precise. Those watches werent limited editions, but part of the regular Omega collection and worn by Bond in 1995 and onwards. Today, we introduce to you the Seamaster 300M that Bond will wear in No Time To Die, and it will be in the regular collection as well.I love the Seamaster 300M 2531.80. I had many, sold many, and repurchased one two years ago, realizing I shouldnt have sold the first one that I bought in 2000. The Seamaster 300M was, and is, the bread and butter piece for Omega. It always offered a lot of bang for the buck and still does. Especially the recently introduced mo [...]

When you find yourself searching for a vintage Omega Speedmaster, we are pretty sure you are open to all the help you can use. The world of vintage (Speedmaster) watches can be a snakepit, and wed like you to survive and find yourself buying a good watch in the end.Enjoying your vintage Speedmaster is partly based on being convinced you find yourself a proper one. When you have doubts about the hands, the dial, the case, or perhaps even the movement, it takes away part of the fun.?When you know something is not correct about a watch, it is up to up to decide if you still want to pursue it or leave it alone. It is therefore important to know what to look for, which details matter, and how to [...]

Here are our Top 5 coolest watches for the 2019 beach season.If you are one of those guys who has designated watches for different occasions and places, chances are you probably have a beach/holiday watch. For some, a holiday watch is the same as a beater. A timepiece you can wear carelessly whether you are doing some work around the house, messing with your car in the garage or playing in the pool with the kids. Others wear one watch all day, every day. A Rolex Submariner, an Omega Seamaste perhaps a Seiko Turtle or whatever else. Again others and I'm also one of these guys, have watches for different occasions; dress watch for the suit and tie, bigger sports watches for the jeans and t-shi [...]

In what can only be described as an off-cycle surprise, we're excited to report on the announcement of the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional.It was only a couple weeks ago that we received an invite to a mysterious press release to be held on June 20th in London. Little information was given aside from the fact that the event would feature Victor Vescovo, who, among other interests, is an adventurer and undersea explorer (he's even completed the Explorer's Grand Slam). The invitation made mention of Vescovo's Five Deeps Expedition, a journey to the deepest spots within each of the five oceans and the fact that he actually set the record for deepest dive at 10,928 meters (3 [...]

Our last special Watch Strap Review; Legendary Vintage Bracelets article was well received by you guys.Thanks for that. We thought it would be cool if we continued the series with yet another iconic accessory. This time we took a closer look at a brand most of us at Fratello has a thing for. No, it's not Rolex neither Seiko. It's the other brand. I'm talking about Omega of course. When it comes to George Clooney's favourite brand, we can choose from a bunch of different bracelets. One of the all-time classics were the 1171s that Omega used on both Speedmaster and Seamaster models. I'm sure we'll talk about that reference number soon. However, something more unusual, so to speak, is an earlie [...]

The watch that started its life as a car racer's companion but quickly went on a very different route.There are some similarities between a spaceship and a race car. Both have crazy fuel consumption. Both go C very C fast. Often they are both built using state-of-the-art materials and designed by the best engineers out here. All jokes aside, despite the similarities the Speedmaster was never intended to be an astronaut's watch. It was a trick of fate that turned a racing chronograph to a space watch. Omega had a different purpose in mind during the mid-50s when the idea of the Speedmaster was born. We all know the story of how the Omega Speedmaster became a timepiece for NASA astronauts (i [...]

Frequent readers know that, here at Fratello, we love things related to space travel. Probably ignited by the Omega Speedmaster Professional, a.k.a. the Moonwatch, however meanwhile extended to general astronautics. Of interest are space crafts like rockets, space shuttles, manned satellites, and more.The entrance of the exhibition at the Champs Elysees side of the Grand PalaisLa Lune Exhibition in ParisOur interest goes to flown objects, watches at best, but even pieces of protective foil will do. Then there are?space-related?items, like astronaut-used pens, cameras, and even space-related toys and comics. As examples, I want to mention LEGO models of the Saturn V rocket and lunar lander, a [...]

Already during the Apollo mission, Omega came up with new and interesting Speedmasters for future use by NASA.All these watches were using the Alaska codename, in order not to wake up the competition during. The Swiss watchmaking industry is a small world and when some of the competition resides in the same (small) Swiss city, even a late night bar or restaurant visit can be tricky. Thats why brands like Omega like to use codenames for special projects. For everything concerning NASA, Omega used the codename Alaska. Already during the days of Apollo, Omega created Speedmaster variations using this codename (heres the white dial Alaska, and heres the white dial Alaska II, for example).Now, if [...]

In 2021, Omega updated the iconic Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch with the caliber 3861 movement. A very good reason to update our Speedmaster Buyers Guide as well!This guide dates all the way back to 2014, and since then, a lot happened. Not only did we have our own way with Omega and the two Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday watches (in 2017 and 2018), Omega also introduced a number of interesting Speedmaster watches to the collection. What about the Speedmaster Calibre 321 from 2020, or the new Moonwatch Master Chronometer models in gold? Time for us to update this Speedmaster Buyers Guide.In this Speedmaster Buyers Guide, we give you an overview of the most important references of the Speedm [...]

This coming Wednesday, June 5th, the Fortuna Exchange auction will take place again. A monthly live auction where you can bid on watches. In this month, Fortuna offers no less than 153 watches of which we selected 4 to show you: Rolex Explorer 1016, Rolex GMT-Master 165, Omega Seamaster 300 165.024 and a Zenith A. Cairelli CP-2.Lets start with the last one, the Zenith chronograph for the Italian Airforce.Zenith A. Cairelli CP-2 ChronographIf youre not into vintage watches, you might recognize this model anyway as Zenith did a re-edition of the CP-2 not that long ago (we reviewed it here). This particular watch, however, was sold in the 1960s by the Italian defence contractor, A. Cairelli. Th [...]