Watches Blog Wrist Watch Reviews

As devastating bush fires continue to rage in Australia, local online magazine Time+Tide Watches is mobilizing a group of concerned companies from around the industry for a very good cause.You love koalas, right? Sure you do. Everybody does. Well, the koalas and their fellow Australians are facing one of the worst bush fire crises in memory, and they need your help. Time+Tide Watches is launching the Watch Act World Watch Auction in support of the brave humans fighting the relentless fires that are sweeping the country.Unique PiecesThe name Watch Act is an official bush fire threat level that has no doubt worn out its welcome over the past months. Eleven days after putting the word out for [...]

Hublots ability to bring the primary colors into luxury watchmaking while retaining an air of sophistication is once again on display with the release of the Hublot Big Bang MP-11 Red Magic.It shouldnt work. Although red has enjoyed a long career as the go-to accent color in horology (especially when it comes to sports models), it isnt very easy to get right when deployed as the base color. There are very few brands that can apply such a bright and bold color to a case and pull it off.Going full, fire-engine red on a dial takes excellent execution to look anything other than cheapAt an entry-level price point, the most red youre likely to see is when brands opt for a red dial. Even that is r [...]

One of the most enjoyably divisive watch brands on Planet Earth has released a rush of new models during the LVMH watch week in Dubai. Hublot, known for its endless experimentation with unusual materials, strikes gold with the Classic Fusion Gold Crystal watch.Say what you like about Hublot, but this horological heavyweight knows how to cause a stir. The sheer proportions of many of Hublots models require their wearers to have bags of confidence. Throw in the often wild design of these laboratory-born showstoppers, and youre left with a product that will appeal to a small slither of the luxury watch audience. But that is exactly what this brand wants, and what it does so well. With often str [...]

Welcome to Wrist Game or Crying Shame, where you get to choose if a watch meets your individual high and mighty criteria.? This week, weve got a real humdinger in the Hublot MDM 1810.1 Chronograph, but firstFolks, youre too easy!? I put a somewhat controversial Rolex up there with the Datejust Tuxedo Dial and despite some seriously negative comments about how lazy this watch looks, it cruised to a 64% Wrist Game win!? It seems that Rolex can do no wrong with the masses.? But Rolex does make some highly polarizing pieces and Im talking about the bejeweled oddities that are often a plague to the Daytona model.? Well made?? Sure.? Ugly?? About 99% of the time and yet, we are treated to ongoing [...]

The Hublot Big Bang Rainbow King Gold is probably as bold of a watch as it gets.I mean let's be neutral as much as possible here and look at the facts. Hublot is a very divisive brand. On the one hand, their marketing strategy is something I'm pretty sure professors will teach at universities soon. They know how to make a product that their target audience literary lusts after. Not to mention that not every model line is loud and in-your-face, perhaps not as much as the Big Bang watches. On the other hand, this aforementioned target audience is something that many watch fans (not Hublot fans, there's a significant difference) do not necessarily mingle with. I mean I hardly can imagine someon [...]

Last week we joined Hublot for a canal cruise in the center of Amsterdam for the launch of a new watch. Officially called Hublot?Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Special Amsterdam Boutique Edition. We went to the recently opened Hublot Boutique in the P.C. Hooftstraat in Amsterdam, which is named after Pieter Cornelisz Hooft, who was?a Dutch historian, poet and playwright and lived from 1581C1647. This street is paradise in Amsterdam for those who are looking for an?exclusive shopping destination. Amsterdam Hublot BoutiqueMeeting up in the recently opened Hublot Boutique we are welcomed with champagne and typical Dutch snacks. Cheese cubes and (liver) sausage. Only the little Dutch flag [...]

Koen Simon is a 26-year old reader of Fratello, and he has been a fan of watches from an early age. When he was 12 years old, he noticed his uncle wearing a mechanical watch, an IWC from the 1960s. The smooth sweep of the second hand fascinated Koen and triggered him to learn more about watches.Just recently, Koen Simon came to the Fratello office to show some of his collection. One of these watches he brought is an IWC caliber 61 in a Hermet case. Truth to be told, I had never previously heard of this watch, but Koen explained to me in detail what it was all about. We decided that it would be fun to have him feature his story on the IWC Hermet case with caliber 61 on Fratello, so were here [...]

We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. Though most of what we write about is primarily focused on the most recent releases and developments, for many of us, a lot of the fun can be found in the sometimes weird and often wonderful world of vintage watches. Its a world full of history, remarkable watches, incredible stories, and quirky details. It inspired us to come up with a series of articles focusing on the best watches per decade from a select group of brands. Some of them are priceless, some of them still affordable. In this installment, we will take a look at the best IWC watches from the 1990s.This week we will continue our journey through watch history t [...]

With Top Gun 2: Maverick on the horizon, IWC is here to ensure that pilots and fans of pilot's watches alike can gear up appropriately for the long-awaited movie. To cater to different needs and tastes, there's a wide variety of Top Gun watches. Some in beige ceramic, some in blue, and black is also an option. But the color black means you're not looking at just any ordinary ceramic. No, black ceramic at IWC is called Ceratanium. Now, IWC strikes again with two new Pilot's Watches in black Ceratanium: The Pilots Watch Timezoner Top Gun Ceratanium and the Big Pilots Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun Ceratanium.IWC and ceramic go way back. All the way back to 1986, with the launch of the world' [...]

China Lake is a dry lake in the scorching hot Mojave Desert in California. It's also the place where Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake is situated. This immense 51,000 km2 base 240 kilometers north of Los Angeles is home to many pilots. Pilots that don't wear green flight suits, but beige ones. This color better blends in with the desert sand of the Mojave Desert. As does the sand-colored ceramic case of IWC's camouflaged BP. I tried my best blending in with the IWC Big Pilot's Watch Top Gun Edition Mojave Desert. Not in the desert but in my natural habitat, the city.You might be thinking China Lake in California? Yep, California in the US of A. The dry lake gets its name from 19th-centur [...]

We've all seen watches made from carbon fiber. But, this futuristic-looking material imparts more than just aesthetical benefits to watches. It's strong, and it's lightweight, and, depending on your tastes, it looks pretty darn cool too. That said, what actually is it? Let's find out!Thankfully, its is one of those materials that give a lot away from the name alone. Carbon fiber primarily comprises carbon atoms bonded together into long chains or fibers. As we've already established, these fibers are incredibly strong and lightweight; two characteristics most welcome in watchmaking. It is around five times stronger than steel and twice as stiff. Though carbon composites are more robust and s [...]

Not many words stir up emotions and a sense of adventure like being asked to get packing for a Safari. You might consider it a hashtag, travel goal, or lifestyle. It evokes adventure, warmth, and dusty dunes. Like me, you might even have memories of a mythical rally, where cars as unlikely as the Mercedes SL and Porsche 911 battled through the desert. The word Safari will conjure up images of consummate style with a dusting of sand. You might be an urbanite at heart but will feel the need to google flights to Tunisia or Dakar after reading this, while wearing gnarly-soled suede boots. So pack your finest duffel bag and read on.Seiko SNJ029 SafArnieA demure 38mm skin diver is all well and go [...]

Is it the best blue in the world? I'm talking about the shade of blue IWC uses for the dials on its Le Petit Prince watches. I think it could very well be the best shade of blue; not too metallic, too light, too bright, or too dark. Anyway, IWC's signature royal blue also graces the dial of the Big Pilots Watch Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Edition Le Petit Prince. Other than its color, there's quite some other good stuff going on too on the face of this watch as the name suggests. Before going into that, lets take a look at the history behind the watchs namesake novella.Antoine de Saint-Exup ry (1900-1944) was a pilot by trade and a writer by heart. He came from an impoverished French arist [...]

Im just gonna be real with you guys the Zenith Pilot is the most gorgeous pilot watch I have ever seen. Since the fateful moment I laid eyes on my friend Lawrences Type 20 Montre DAronef Annual Calendar back in 2015, I have been obsessed with the design. For six years now, I have desperately longed to add a Zenith Pilot to my collection. I have bugged boutique staff, and Ive tried on nearly every version Ive seen in stores. Ive taken albums worth of wristshots, and Ive sworn it would be my next watch more times than I can count. And yes, Ive even opened a new bank account labeled Zenith Pilot fund to save for it. And yet, six years later, I still dont have one. So what gives?Well, no matter [...]

The Portugieser debuted in 1939. IWC built it at the request of two Portuguese businessmen, who requested a wristwatch that was as accurate as a marine chronometer. Pragmatically as watchmakers are in Schaffhausen, IWC put a marginally altered hand-wound Calibre 74 pocket watch movement in a 41.5mm case, put a leather strap on it and the Portugieser was born. It wasn't until 1998 that the IWC Portugieser Chronograph was introduced. The current model still looks like the one from 23 years ago and has proven to be a modern-day brand icon. Does that strike you as laziness on IWCs part or sound boring? Why change a winning formula, you could riposte.The first Portugieser bears the reference 325. [...]

Constructing a watch case from ceramic is almost by-the-by these days. With Tudor entering the chat to join Panerai and Omega, forgetting who pioneered this concept is easy. The new Pilots Watch Chronograph by IWC serves as a reminder of the mack daddy of the ceramic game. The IWC Da Vinci reference 3755 in 1986 was the first production watch with a ceramic case. For 2021, IWC takes inspiration from its military program to give civilians a choice to cherish the elite squadrons. Namely, the U.S. Navy squadrons, Royal Maces, Tophatters, and Blue Angels?, with matching color accents to the logos. By delivering a one-two-three punch knockout, IWC cements its strong association with military avia [...]

Welcome back to A Brief History Of Time. Today, we present the second installment in our multi-part series on the history of Rolex. If you missed Part One, you can check it out here.When we left off in 1945, Rolex had just celebrated its 40th anniversary. It had marked the occasion with the introduction of the Datejust, the first automatic watch with a date window. The now-famous Jubilee bracelet had also made its debut on that very model, and Rolexs post-war recovery was off to a great start. Whether founder Hans Wilsdorf had any idea just how important the next 15 years would be for the company is up to speculation. Nevertheless, these years would mark not only a series of impressive techn [...]

Since 2006, IWC has released a watch to mark its support of Laureus Sport for Good, a foundation that helps bring the power of sports to underprivileged children and teens. This year, we get a very different type of release. Lets take a hands-on look at the new IWC Blue Ceramic Pilots Watch.IWC is a global partner of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. As a result, fans of the brand get to look forward to a new limited edition watch each and every year. I looked back on some of these releases and an interesting aspect is that the releases have touched most of the product line. One never knows which watch will be in focus. What is a constant is the color blue, which happens to be the found [...]

We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team. Though most of what we write about is largely focused on the most recent releases and developments, for many of us, a lot of the fun can be found in the sometimes weird and often wonderful world of vintage watches. It's a world full of history, remarkable watches, incredible stories, and quirky details. It inspired us to come up with a series of articles focusing on the best watches per decade from a select group of brands. Some of them are priceless, some of them still affordable. In this installment, we will take a look at the best IWC watches from the 1980s.While the 1970s were a decade filled with tremendous change in [...]

The two brands Porsche Design and Porsche are often assumed to be one and the same. But only recently, the Design Studio became part of the car manufacturer. Since then, the ties between Porsche Design watches and Porsche cars have become even stronger. Although there have always been links between the two companies, Porsche Design has created an impressive portfolio of non-car-related products including watches. Lets go back and explore the history of Porsche Designs watches.The history of Porsche Design starts in 1972. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, generally known as F. A. Porsche (but also as Butzi) founded the Porsche Design Studio in Stuttgart, Germany. F. A. Porsche had been responsible [...]