Fratello On Air: Collection Spotlight — MING, Gallet, Zenith, Angelus, And More!

Together with some of our watches

January 17, 2023

comments 11

Fratello On Air returns with Balazs and Mike in the same room! In this episode, Balazs travels to Frankfurt, and among some surprise topics, the duo decides to engage in a collection spotlight. Hear about four attractive watches from each. Enjoy it!

Yes, Balazs has made his way north from Karlsruhe to Mainhattan. Both decided to check out the local Seiko boutique and dine on the Fratello favorite, schnitzel. Then, it was time to record an episode with a collection spotlight.

Handgelenks Kontrolle

This week’s Handgelenks Kontrolle features some exciting new arrivals. Mike is wearing his new 1965 Grand Seiko 5722-9970 Chronometer, which Balazs hand-delivered! It’s a neat piece that was made for Toshiba employees who were celebrating 25 years with the company. Balazs surprises us all with the new Vulcain Skindiver Nautique, a lovely retro diver in either dark blue or black. We can’t wait for the review when this launches on the 18th!

Mike was recently on the Spirit of Time podcast, and there was a decent amount of pocket-watch talk. So Balazs has elected to surprise us all with a real collection spotlight as he has brought three amazing Angelus pocket watches. The large piece is a porcelain-dialed chronograph, the upper piece is an alarm complete with a fold-out stand, and the piece with the long stem was made to time rotary telephone calls. Amazing!

Collection Spotlight

Among some other banter, we get to our main topic, the collection spotlight. For this section, we each decided to choose two of each other’s watches for discussion. Next, we cover:

MING 17.09, a watch that Balazs has been considering for quite some time
Zenith Yugoslavian Air Force chronograph with an EP4 caliber, a truly stunning piece with a dial that has been “eaten” by radium
Gallet Decimal, a lovely chronograph with an EP4 caliber that has a fun backstory
Angelus Dato 12, a stunning watch with a minty gold-plated case

Finally, we thank you for listening. As always, if you have any suggestions for future episodes, please let us know!

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Fratello On Air: Collection Spotlight — MING, Gallet, Zenith, Angelus, And More!

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11 Comments

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DG
GoldenYears says:

Jan 17, 2023 at 10:21

Nice watch, Mike. I like the look of your new Seiko/Grand Seiko. Except for the date complication, it reminds me of the SBGW291, which is on my list if I ever make that long awaited trip to Japan.

Reply
J. Quincy Magoo says:

Jan 17, 2023 at 12:45

Here’s a suggestion; to have a discussion about the brands who don’t offer replacement parts for their watches, thereby making those watches possibly obsolete or at least very expensive to service if one can even find a watchmaker to make a replacement part. Some brands will tell you to just send the watch to them for repair or service but shipping internationally these days can be fraught with theft and/or loss, and in the case of the Ming 17.09, which is no longer made, is irreplaceable. In the case of Vaer watches, they refuse to make any replacement parts available, whether you send the watch to them or not. So, the point being that it’s a risk when buying from some of these microbrands, and it would be a good idea if reviews contained information on after sales servicing. The old maxim applies here, “buyer beware”!

Reply
1. Robert-Jan says:
  
  Jan 17, 2023 at 13:10
  
  Thanks for your suggestion. We’ve been pointing this out a number of times in several articles, but we can definitely underline it once more in upcoming articles or podcasts.
  
  Reply
  1. J. Quincy Magoo says:
    
    Jan 17, 2023 at 17:02
    
    Thank you. I know how difficult it can be to get this information from some brands, especially those who don’t offer replacement parts, such as a branded crown. When I tried to find out from Vaer about their policy, they were less than forthcoming.
    
    Reply
2. Billy G-String says:
  
  Jan 17, 2023 at 21:05
  
  Biggest concern I have with micro brands to be honest. For instance, I like the new Monta GMT, but it is already a second iteration with bold changes. Could be out of luck when they introduce V3. Especially hard when my next watch will be a gift from the fiancée and is intended as a forever watch. Will likely go with a BB58 instead of the Monta.
  
  Reply
funkright says:

Jan 17, 2023 at 23:50

With these rambling podcasts you need to insert or note chapter or discussion breaks. Moreoften than not, lately, I have been skipping over stuff I am not interested in and trying to go to the topic that keyed me in. It’s a bit of a PITA and has caused me, several times, to just skip over the entire podcast entirely. See the Superlative podcast page for what I am trying to describe https://www.ablogtowatch.com/rolex-writes-a-ransom-note-assessing-steel-alternatives-seiko-opens-a-shoe-store-and-the-bop-it-watch/

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Paulo says:

Jan 18, 2023 at 04:04

Loved this episode about your personal watches, I hope we get further updates at some point.

It was both interesting & refreshing to get across some of the joy & love in collecting that each of you obviously has. This really came across in this podcast & can sometimes be overlooked by us the readers and our cynical minds.

Just a note about the very good looking Vulcain Skin Diver you spoke about, it is listed as 38mm on their website.

Reply
1. balazs says:
  
  Jan 18, 2023 at 16:14
  
  Yeah we were looking for the size of the vintage Vulcain, the new one was on my wrist 🙂 Thank you for the kind words!
  
  Reply
  1. Paulo says:
    
    Jan 19, 2023 at 01:44
    
    Hi Balazs
    Robert-Jan mentioned the new one at 42mm which I was referring to sorry for the confusion.
    Cheers
    
    Reply
jkimsc says:

Jan 18, 2023 at 06:16

So appreciate these podcasts. Really appreciate your perspectives, gentlemen. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, these podcasts really open my eyes to pieces that I would not normally consider. Having said that, Balazs… you’re killing me with the constant Gallet and Angelus talk. Because of you, I’m now on the hunt for a Chronodato! Lol. Cheers, gents.

Reply
1. balazs says:
  
  Jan 18, 2023 at 16:17
  
  Please stop the hunt, leave some Chronodatos for us too lol All jokes aside, as our friend Bill Sohne says, Good Hunting. I’m sure you’ll find one soon 🙂
  
  Reply