Let me introduce you to Mo Coppoletta and Luca Soprana, founders of the new watch brand Desder. Italian-born Coppoletta, who’s based in London, is best known as a tattoo artist, designer, and art director. He founded the influential London studio The Family Business in 2003, which became a...
Another Friday, another list. This week, we close out our series of lists focused on Rolex alternatives, but we have saved the best for last. The Rolex Day-Date has long been the brand’s flagship model. It’s one of those icons that carved out its unique space in the watch landscape and seems...
Independent watchmaking is rarely neat. From the outside, it can sometimes look that way. A launch lands, the renders look polished, the photography is sharp, and everything appears to have gone exactly as planned. In reality, it rarely works that neatly. That’s part of what makes it so...
Do you remember the ThinKing, the ultra-thin, in-house, one-of-a-kind watch with a mere 1.65mm profile that surprised everybody in 2024? Piaget and Bvlgari were locked in battle to come up with the world’s thinnest mechanical watch, Richard Mille joined the fight, and then, out of the blue,...
This month started with the exciting launch of Artemis II on April 1, 2026, at 22:35:12 (UTC time). I stayed up to watch the launch (00:35 here) and witness this next chapter in NASA’s Moon exploration. The space-qualified watches It’s the first human-crewed lunar voyage since 1972. During that...
We all have watches we absolutely love but would hesitate to recommend to someone else. That might sound contradictory at first, but spend enough time in this hobby, and it starts to make sense. Not every great watch is universally great. Some require a certain mindset, a specific wrist, or...
Chronoswiss has long been associated with traditional watch design. While the brand hasn’t lost that classic touch, it has drastically changed the overall appearance of its watches by using new materials and bold colors. On top of that, Chronoswiss has introduced designs that show how its...
Nivada Grenchen often blends heritage with irreverence, but its latest release surprises even more. Based on the Antarctic platform, the new Antarctic Erotic 38mm updates a familiar design with something completely different, hidden from plain sight. At first glance, it’s a classic, everyday...
Geniuses are often misunderstood. Vincent van Gogh is a good example. During his lifetime, the now-much-revered painter sold, most likely, just one painting. Will designer Magnus Swann follow in Van Gogh’s footsteps? He’s the guy responsible for creating Studio Underd0g’s unique strap solutions....
The first Credor watch I ever saw in real life was an Eichi II. We organized a trip for our readers to Grand Seiko in Japan several years ago, and one of the guests just pulled one out of his pocket (I kid you not). Credor is the cream of the crop, the crown jewel […] Visit Introducing: The New...
We already mentioned Baltic in a recent Fratello Talks episode, “The Microbrands To Watch In 2026.” Etienne Malec founded the brand 10 years ago and launched his first watch a year later. We suspect he’s planning something big for the anniversary, but it doesn’t look like Etienne needs any...
That’s heavy sh*t, man. Two years ago, we had the chance to go hands-on with the Fleming Series 1 Launch Edition Tantalum. In that alloy, which is roughly twice as heavy as steel, the watch made a lasting impression. It was “heavy” in hippie-speak because of its refined case shape, intricate...
