Hi and hello watch fans, and welcome to Fratello on Air Episode 59, otherwise known as WASP 9.2. Balazs is in Hungary; Rob is in Dresden but soon to hit the road once more. As such, a whistle-stop episode of WASP was recorded in between many other things, so our dedicated listeners don't have to go without their weekly fix of Skilly Music's sweet theme tune... Today we talk about the Champions League finalists (and how we called it way back in Episode 9.0), the best watch to wear (or not) while ...
May 14, 2021•25 min•Season 2Ep. 59
Yo, yo, yo, we've gone decimal! I knew there was a reason we had those funny old episode numbers. Now we finally know why. The long-planned episode 10 has been delayed because for the first time this year both Balazs (Fridge) and Rob (Freezer) are in different countries (whaaat?). That's right, episode 9.1 (the second installment of our mailbag series) sees the Podcast come to you from Dresden (Germany) and Pécs (Hungary). Our intrepid international impresarios have watches from Omega, Artya, Ar...
May 07, 2021•42 min•Season 2Ep. 58
Today on Fratello on Air, I welcome my old friend Giles Ellis of Schofield Watch Company to the smooth booth to discuss some of his finest creations in exacting detail. Giles has been busy. Despite the world shutting down for many businesses, Schofield is busier than ever. The recent Strange Lights collection has been a great success thus far with very few units still remaining. Its release last year heralded a new and more consistent design language moving through the brand. We talk about pens,...
May 03, 2021•31 min•Season 2Ep. 57
Hi and hello watch fans, welcome to Episode 56 of Fratello On Air, otherwise known as WASP 9.0. This week on Watching Sports and Sporting Watches, Balazs and I will be stepping away from North America itself and focusing on our very own mailbag, which is bursting at the seams thanks to our valued listeners writing in with their questions. We have questions from both sides of the Atlantic to address, with fun answers to chew through. First, though, we touch on the latest developments in European ...
Apr 30, 2021•51 min•Season 2Ep. 56
Balazs and I are inquisitive folks. We acted on this trait with a very different type of show. Each of us came up with two questions for the other person. The rules? They were simple! The question had to relate to watches in some way and neither of us could prep the other person ahead of time. The hypothetical looms large and your hosts had to think on their feet. We think you'll enjoy this candid listen. Wrist check and the news Before hitting the main topic, we do a wrist check and then mentio...
Apr 30, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 55
Hi and hello watch fans and welcome back to Watching Sports and Sporting Watches. In episode 8.0 and we will begin with a short interview, as the Hungarian Horntail takes the reins and welcomes his most charming guest to the smooth booth yet... Spoiler alert: it's Rob. But that's all we're going to say about that. After Balazs has put our resident motormouth through his paces, we kick him into touch in favor of Dave "down the pub" Sergeant, who phones in (quite literally) to chat some hockey. An...
Apr 22, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 54
This year's introduction of the new Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch, Seamaster 300, De Ville Trésor, Constellation, and black ceramic 300M is a good reason to catch up with Omega's CEO and President, Raynald Aeschlimann. On the first (Speedy) Tuesday of this year, Omega introduced its new and improved version of the iconic Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch. A combination of the latest innovation when it comes to movements and heritage when it comes to design. Then, at the end of March,...
Apr 22, 2021•40 min•Season 2Ep. 53
After some jocular banter and a wrist check, the trio gets down to business. The team trades watches (and quips) in rotation with two favorites per person. We talk about the following: A. Lange & Söhne Triple Split in Pink Gold and Blue Vacheron Constantin Traditionelle Split Seconds Chronographe Ultra-Thin Platine Breitling Premier Chronograph 40 in Steel IWC Big Pilot's Watch Shock Absorber XPL Patek Philippe In-Line Perpetual Calendar 5236P-001 Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight 925 It's a diver...
Apr 19, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 52
Welcome to Episode 51 of Fratello on Air, otherwise known as WASP 7.0. Today we’re going to discuss our three favorite sporting icons and which watches we’d gift them if we had the chance. We've got disgraced and redeemed French cyclists, Swiss footballers and tennis stars, Hungarian and Irish soccer legends, a swaggering quarterback, and arguably the GOAT of all GOATs for your listening pleasure. The watches we've handed over to these sporting heavyweights range from the ludicrous to the luxury...
Apr 16, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 51
Rob and RJ select their three favorite watches from Watches & Wonders 2021. Some very unexpected choices appear in their lists. And, on top, they pick a bonus (4th) watch. Listen to Rob and RJ talking watches from Watches & Wonders.
Apr 09, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 50
We discuss the new Rolex Explorer, Explorer II, Daytonas, and new Datejust dials in detail in this podcast. The responses were all over the place yesterday, and so are ours. A bit different for Tudor, with some proper new releases in silver and gold. And its new Black Bay Chronograph, of course. We have these watches in the Fratello offices for a closer look and will be publishing a hands-on review soon. Last but not least, we talk about the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 in steel, with a green di...
Apr 08, 2021•40 min•Season 2Ep. 49
This week, Balazs and Rob tackle the subject of watch brand ambassadors in the four major professional sports leagues in North America. Amazingly, six episodes in, this is a topic that hasn't been fully addressed. In our pilot episode, we touched upon Tom Brady's ambassadorship for IWC but he is far from alone in the NFL, with Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings coming in atop Balazs' list of football-playing watch lovers and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers is Rob's pick. The MLB th...
Apr 04, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 48
Part of me was scared to over-hype this interview/podcast in case you'd feel let down by the end of it. Then I re-read the interview, listened to the Podcast (enduring an hour of my own voice), and revisited the Lapinist's Instagram account and realized that, if you class yourself as a fan of vintage Seiko or Grand Seiko, you won't possibly be disappointed. On the contrary, I'm willing to wager you will be totally amazed... About a week ago, I conducted an interview with Kamil, otherwise known a...
Mar 29, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 47
Welcome to WASP 5.0, the fifth edition of the Fratello On Air Pod-column, Watching Sports and Sporting Watches. This week, Rob and Balazs celebrate reaching their fifth episode by sharing some of their favorite players from around the four major North American sports leagues. R&B had planned to pick one player each and assign each superstar an on-field/court/rink watch and one off-field/court/rink ticker. Apparently, this was Rob's idea. Unsurprisingly, Rob got confused and just picked two p...
Mar 26, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Season 2Ep. 46
Omega introduced the new and upgraded Seamaster 300, a new Seamaster 300M Black Black in ceramic, and new De Ville Trésor watches with small seconds and power reserve indicator. Mike and RJ discuss the novelties and give you an insight into how brands work with media titles for new releases.
Mar 24, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 45
Rob and Balazs scoot through five major sports leagues (and touch on a sixth) as they seek out the very best on-field threads available right now. Pairing each jersey/team with a watch model or brand, is, of course, their secondary task. We've got lots of Rolex, wild creations like Hublot and HYT, fun stuff like Neff and Casio, and loads more watchmaking wonders to discuss. Jump in and enjoy, and let us know your favorite jerseys in the comments section on Fratellowatches.com.
Mar 20, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Season 2Ep. 44
The third time's a charm, or so they say. R&B take to the ice in an effort to help the NHL rename its four woefully-monikered divisions while attaching watch sponsors that reflect each lineup's unique character for good measure. We briefly touch on NFL free agency, with some big moves deserving a mention, which resulted in us slipping into a weird "would you rather" bit that pitted the career (thus far) of Carson Wentz against that of Dolphins legend Dan Marino. The recently renamed NHL divi...
Mar 13, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 2Ep. 43
Giles Ellis joins Rob on this latest edition of Fratello on Air, as the pair discuss the trials and tribulations of independent brand-ownership, the thrill and responsibility of opening a mono-brand store, and how Giles got into watchmaking in the first place. As always with the owner, founder, chief designer, logistics manager, and coffee maker extraordinaire of Schofield Watch Company, the chat is a fascinating meander that touches on many different subjects linked to starting up on your own i...
Mar 09, 2021•42 min•Season 2Ep. 42
Ranting Robbie enters the "smooth booth" and unloads about the recent controversy surrounding Bill Belichick's legacy. It's a brutal monolog, but the riposte is worth waiting for so hang tight. This week, we're talking about great coaches and great locations to play pro sports. Inspired by the recent outdoor NHL games at Lake Tahoe, we're choosing our dream locales for the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, and PLL, and discussing which watch brands should sponsor and outfit the the events and teams in questio...
Mar 06, 2021•55 min•Season 2Ep. 41
On an earlier episode, we discussed our most cherished chronographs. It's hard to say which watch genre is our favorite, but there's no doubt that vintage dive watches vie for top spot. There are just so many great models out there. Super Compressors, Submariners, Seamasters, oh my! You'll hear about which models we chose and why. Then, we touch on a couple modern stand-ins and even throw out some budget friendly vintage options. You won't want to miss this week's salty banter! Handgelenkskontro...
Mar 05, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 40
Welcome one and all to our new Sunday afternoon Pod-Column, Watching Sports (Or WASP, for short). To celebrate this new Fratello feature, host Rob Nudds welcomes fellow sports fanatic Balazs to the virtual booth. This week, the despicable duo look back on Super Bowl LV and the remarkable achievements of 43-year old Tom Brady, as he guided the Buccs to their second championship while picking up his seventh ( seventh ) in the process. We talk about team building, Brady's place in both NFL and gene...
Feb 27, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 39
Rob dials in Maurice Lacroix HQ to speak with Thiébaut Bentz, International Product and Marketing Director of the brand to discuss Friday's release of the Aikon Venturer GMT. A short and snappy episode, tune in to stay on top of this week's watch news.
Feb 27, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 38
We touch on a topic that's top of mind for many watch collectors and that's this idea of rare and exclusive watches. We have so many questions! Is it foolish when we call a watch such as the Submariner "rare"? Would we snap up a steel Rollie at retail? Do we think this current trend of finding scores of supposedly unobtainable watches on the grey market is a bit ridiculous? What do we think about burgeoning brands like MING or Unimatic that purposely limit production? And finally, how does early...
Feb 20, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 37
This (somewhat raucous) episode sees Arcanaut co-founder and chief designer Anders Brandt join Rob and a particularly feisty Black Badger (James Thompson) in the virtual studio. This trio of horophiles discusses the background of Arcanaut, why everybody loves Canada, and whether or not creating a watch that tells the time on Neptune is of any use to anybody at all...
Feb 12, 2021•50 min•Season 2Ep. 36
Rob invites James Thompson, AKA Black Badger, into his Dresden-based den for lockdown laughs. The pair chat about James's experiences in the industry, what he's got on his plate right now, their failed gridiron careers, and a whole host of other nonsense.
Feb 05, 2021•41 min•Season 2Ep. 35
That's right, vintage chronographs are in focus yet again, but this time we talk about the pieces on our wish list with some cool anecdotes thrown in for good measure. We don't own these, but would love to acquire them if funds allow. Before hitting the main topic on vintage chronographs, we roll through our customary "Handgelenk Kontrolle". Mike comes prepared in his vintage 38mm Excelsior Park " Tuxedo Dial ." Balazs turns back the clock with his fetching Eterna Caliber 852 and its unique case...
Jan 30, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Season 2Ep. 34
Balazs & Mike return with a new episode and we talk vintage Chronographs! First, it's a "Handgelenk Kontrolle" where Balazs is sporting a '70s Seiko 6139-7070. Mike is donning a 1960 Gruen Ocean Chief. News-wise, the gents discuss the new Omega Speedmaster Professionals , the recently announced 2021 European L.E. Seiko Alpinist SPB201J1 , and the MING 27.02 and Mike reveals a guilty confession.. Our main topic focuses on vintage Chronographs — the favorite style of watch to collect for both ...
Jan 17, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 33
Alon Ben Joseph has been a Bvlgari dealer for six years. He's been a Bvlgari owner, however, for three. He finally decided to pull the trigger on a model from the famous Italien brand when the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Automatic (in titanium and on a titanium bracelet) was released at Baselworld 2017. Now, three years on, Rob wants to know what he makes of it.
Jan 06, 2021•39 min•Season 2Ep. 32
Yesterday was the big day for Speedmaster fans all around the world! The introduction of the new Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Master Chronometer. Four new models basically, two steel variations and two in gold. You can read all about the new Moonwatch here . Rob and I decided to host a podcast on the new Moonwatch and answer some of the hottest questions we've read in the comments and on social media....
Jan 06, 2021•50 min•Season 2Ep. 31
In this podcast, Balazs and Mike sit down on the very last day of 2020 and hit upon a couple key topics. Collaboration watches and rerelease hope for 2021 are in store in this latest episode. The Handgelenk Kontrolle Mike kicks things off with this newly received MING 18.01 H41 Diver. Balazs goes vintage cool with his funky and unusual Omega Genève Dynamic . News Update We then hit the news and talk about the Speedmaster World Cup and our favorite Speedmaster models from the competition. Balazs ...
Jan 01, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 30
