Fratello On Air: Three Non-Swiss Watches For €20,000

Stepping away from the cantons for some great picks

March 04, 2025

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Welcome back to another episode of Fratello On Air! This week, we’re each choosing three non-Swiss watches with a budget of €20,000. The task is tricky, though, because €20,000 is enough to afford great pieces from the usual suspects, but it means being picky if choosing just one from a costly brand. Get ready for some surprises! For our listeners, the watch content begins after approximately 19 minutes.

Switzerland is the center of watchmaking, but there are numerous countries with credible watchmaking chops. Non-Swiss watches are extremely popular, with brands from Germany and Japan leading the way. In this episode, we look at watches from these countries and others as we spend an imaginary budget.

Handgelenkskontrolle

We open our episode with a discussion about TV shows and movies. Sadly, the sneaker marker has been quiet, but we hope it takes off with warmer weather around the corner. For the Handgelenkskontrolle, Balazs is wearing his vintage King Seiko 45-7001, a hand-winding Hi-Beat gem. Mike is off-theme with a Swiss watch. He’s sporting his Borgel-cased Movado 18241 with central seconds and a manual-winding movement. We then discuss the brand and these early waterproof cases.

Non-Swiss watches

Will we make some surprising picks with €20,000 to spend, or will we go mainstream and choose something from A. Lange & Söhne or Grand Seiko? How about both? During this episode, we discuss the following non-Swiss watches:

A. Lange & Söhne 1815 ref. 233.026
Garrick S7
Yema Navygraf Slim CMM.20
Weiss 38mm Standard Issue Field Watch
Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph SSC943
Grand Seiko SBGW038
Baltic Aquascaphe GMT – Grey

Our choices came from Japan, Germany, France, the UK, and the USA. It shows the wide variety of watches from outside of Switzerland, and the chances are that interesting options from most countries exist.

We hope you enjoy today’s episode, and thank you for listening. As always, if you have suggestions for future shows, please let us know.

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Yema
Fratello On Air: Three Non-Swiss Watches For €20,000

So they should cost 20K for the set, no more, no less (roughly…). For me it’s actually quite easy to make up a wishlist like this:

– Grand Seiko SBGY011;
– Kudoke 1;
– Fear Brunswick Salmon.

Hentschel H1 Chronometer 37 14ct white gold anthracite dial €17.980k
Muhle S.A.R Rescue timer Lumen on red rubber strap € 2.100

One dashing and one for bashing.

…just have to do without the 3rd. Might be just me, but the priority will almost always be to go for the most difficult to get, be it due to rarity or for financial reasons.