The flyback function is arguably the epitome of technicality in sports watches, and it can be an expensive collection goal. Many of you will know the snap-quick function from Patek Philippe and über-horology from the likes of A. Lange & Söhne. However, as manufacturing techniques improve, so does the possibility of (comparatively) affordable flyback chronographs.…

Welcome to this latest episode of Fratello Talks. Does modern Rolex still have the magic? That’s the question that Nacho, RJ, and Thomas tackle today. There’s no question that modern Rolex watches are reliable, luxurious timekeepers. But for many enthusiasts and collectors, nothing quite comes close to the magic of the older four- and five-digit…

At the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York City there sits a Rolex frozen in time. Its melted case sits next to a crumpled business card of Todd Beamer, an account manager at Oracle. Its second hand hasn’t ticked forward in 23 years and its date window simply reads “11.”  On September 11,…

Do you want to hunt with the hounds and run with the hare? In that case, Seiko has got you covered. What? Is that too cryptic for you? If you want an ultra-precise quartz watch that connects to GPS satellites circling the globe and takes its energy from light but looks like a traditional, mechanical…

Tudor’s release of the Black Bay 54 in 2023 underlined the ongoing trend of smaller watches. In this feature, I consider what it’s like to live with Tudor’s Black Bay 54. This is less about specs and more about the vibe. Read on. While I appreciate a chunky tool watch as much as the next…

Not long ago, Swiss watchmaker Speake-Marin introduced the Ripples Skeleton. I personally got a chance to see the new Ripples Skeleton with Speake-Marin in Geneva and was quite impressed. I think the easiest fact to miss about this watch is that isn’t just a skeletonized-movement version of the standard Speake-Marin Ripples, but it’s also significantly…

Seiko’s Prospex range is rapidly growing and not just with dive watches. After last week’s introduction of the new Marinemasters, we are now treated to two Speedtimer chronographs. The new SRQ051 and SRQ053 might look familiar. That’s because, last November, we saw two Speedtimer models inspired by the same 1972 Seiko chronograph as these watches.…

If your ideal Sunday afternoon involves a casual scroll of Hodinkee.com or, worse, you are (un)lucky enough to work in the watch world, it is easy to become desensitized. Look at enough photos of a tourbillon cage on your favorite personal screen, and even the handiwork of Abraham-Louis Breguet can evoke a feeling of numbness…