The Top 25 Articles On Fratello In 2020 — Omega, Seiko, Grand Seiko, Casio, Rolex, And…
We can’t wait to step into the new year, for obvious reasons, but we do reflect on 2020 as well, of course. It was the weirdest year ever, with no real events taking place, no get-togethers with our readers, not able to travel to Switzerland and talk to brands, to see what’s new. And yet, despite that, we’ve had a lot of fun writing for the Fratelli. Below, you’ll find our Top 25 articles of 2020 in reverse order.
It is interesting to see which articles performed best in 2020. It doesn’t necessarily reflect one’s personal interest in certain watches or brands, but it does indicate what the majority is most keyed-in to. So here it is, our Top 25 most popular watch articles in 2020. You will notice lots of Omega, Seiko, Grand Seiko, and Rolex, as those seem to be most popular in general, but let us know what you think of the other brands and topics that sneaked onto this list.
25. Hands-On Omega Speedmaster Caliber 321 Review (Including Video)
After RJ received his Speedmaster Calibre 321, we thought it would be cool to do a hands-on video review of his watch. An amazing piece by Omega that can be seen as the cherry on the cake when it comes to the Speedmaster “Moonwatch”. These watches are now (slowly) being delivered to Omega boutiques and authorized dealers.
Click here for the article & video.
24. Fratello × Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date With Oxblood Dial
Fratello teamed up with Oris to design a watch based on its famous Big Crown. An oxblood red dial combined with bronze. The dial has some neat little tweaks as well from the Fratello team, with gilt printing and specific wording. Only 300 of these watches have been produced and you can find a few left in our webshop. We’re proud of the result of this collaboration. A beautiful bronze Oris watch with a daring red dial.
23. Hands-On: Timex MK1 Mechanical Watch
A very recent but popular article from Michael Stockon on this Timex. “We take a look at a fun and highly affordable release in the guise of the Timex MK1 Mechanical. Spoiler alert: for this price, this is about as good as it gets.”
Click here to read Mike’s article.
22. Top 5 Watches I Bought This Year, Omega, Seiko, And Aquadive
Our Managing Editor Rob Nudds shares his favorite 2020 purchases, and the resulting article is good for spot 22 on our Top 25 list. Fun fact: nothing exceeds €3,000 in his list. He loves them all, but his favorite? “The Speedy I bought back in January to celebrate joining team Fratello. It isn’t a mandatory purchase, but it is certainly advised.”. A Speedmaster ’57 re-edition reference 3594.50.
Click here to read Rob’s article.
21. Hands-On: Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 50th Review
One of our favorite releases in 2020 is — of course — the Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 50th anniversary. It didn’t win the Speedmaster World Cup, but it surely received a lot of traction here on Fratello. The best is perhaps on the case back of the watch, a real “automaton” of Snoopy in space.
See the hands-on Snoopy article here.
20. Omega Seamaster 300M “James Bond” — Real Vs. Fake
Beware of fakes! Not the cheap ones offered to you on the beaches of exotic holiday destinations, but the ones that are priced like a real one with just enough discount to make you pull the trigger. Replica watches are getting better and better, and these expensive ones are just here to rip you off. In this video, we will give you a few pointers on how to recognize one.
19. Casio G-Shock Square For Starters
Our own Gerard is a real G-Shock fan, and the rest of the team is convinced he thinks that the G in G-Shock stands for Gerard. Anyway, this is a perfect starter guide on the classic square G-Shock model. A great reference for those who love the original G-Shock.
The article can be found here.
18. Rolex Submariner LV — Dive Watches From Kermit To Starbucks
Rolex achieved a little earthquake on social media when it introduced its new Submariner collection in this awkward year. A millimeter added here, a millimeter deducted there — it is all in the details, but Rolex fans are pretty sure the new one is the best. As a result, the asking prices for these unobtainable watches went through the roof once more. In this article, RJ dives into the green Submariner watches.
17. Two For Tuesday: New Tudor Royal versus Rolex Datejust
Tudor introduced its Royal and Mike was an instant fan. He thought it would be a nice idea to hold it against a classic Rolex Datejust. As a reader, you could actually cast your vote on his statement, “Is the new Tudor Royal a suitable budget substitute for a Rolex Datejust?” The majority agreed.
16. SMS: Rolex Submariner Vs. Omega Seamaster 300M
Ben Hodges and Jorg Weppelink are known meanwhile for their epic Sunday Morning Showdown battles. In this article, it is two watches from the biggest watch manufacturers fighting each other. While Ben favors the Seamaster 300M, Jorg has been eyeballing a Submariner for ages now. Our readers seem to be divided almost equally between the two. Interesting!
15. Seiko Alpinist SPB199J1 European Limited Edition Release
Seiko introduced an Alpinist for the European market only, limited to 2020 pieces. Not only did we write about this watch, but we were also granted by Seiko to sell a number of these watches in our online shop. We sold out very quickly, and understandably so, it is a wonderful and affordable tool watch.
14. Our Seven Best James Bond Watches — Rolex, Omega, Seiko, And…
2020 is not James Bond’s best year, you could say. But nevertheless, the popularity of the new Omega Seamaster 300M “NTTD” watch is amazing. In this article, Jorg picked that watch plus six others that are considered by him to be the best Bond watches. Looks like our Top 25 list made it out just in time for Bond 25 too…
13. 5 Seiko Watches That Make Me Happy
RJ is a happy guy by nature (he really is). For this article, he selected five Seiko watches of the 2020 collection he likes best. “I have the Marinemaster 300 SBDX001 in my collection, and I don’t need the upgrade, but this Seiko Prospex SLA021J1 is my top pick. If you have never tried on one, do it. Now.”
12. No Rolex, No Cry: Tomas’s Top 5 Pepsi Bezel Watches
Tomas bought himself a Rolex GMT-Master reference 1675, but not without paying the price for being late to the game. He also thought of five nice alternative GMT watches with a Pepsi colored bezel. Not everyone agreed with his selection, but you can read that in the comments of that article.
Tomas’s article can be found here.
11. Hands-On Review Seiko Prospex SPB143, 145, 147, And 149 Diver’s Watches
We’re big Seiko fans here, and so are you, so it seems. Gerard went hands-on with the new Prospex Diver’s watches. There are lots of those but the watches Gerard selected are part of the “1965 Diver’s Modern Re-Interpretation” collection. Depending on the specific reference, prices are between €1,050 and €1,350 and for that, you get a lot of watch.
The article can be found here.
10. The New Speedmaster With Caliber 321 “Ed White”
This Speedmaster is so nice, it is on this list twice. At #10, there’s the introduction article RJ wrote on the new Speedmaster Calibre 321 “Ed White”. A beautiful tribute to the original third generation Speedmaster (105.003) that was tested and qualified by NASA, and used on the Moon. Not a limited, or numbered edition, but not easy to come by as the production process is different from the other Speedmaster watches. It makes it even more special.
Read it here.
9. Top Japanese Watches 2020 — Seiko, Grand Seiko, Casio, And…Omega?
Rob thought it would be nice to give a rundown of his favorite 2020 releases from Japan! For fun, he included a Swiss watch that is made for the Japanese market, to commemorate the Olympic Games of 2020 that never happened. Anyway, besides that, the rest of his picks are from Seiko, Grand Seiko, and Casio. But ninth place is as good as it gets for our intrepid Managing Editor on our list of the Top 25 articles this year…
8. 5 Watches To Hold On To For The Next Generation
“You won’t find any Patek Philippe on this list…”, Ben writes. Instead, he picks watches from Moser & Cie, A. Lange & Söhne, Laurent Ferrier, Mortiz Grossmann, and a LUC from Chopard. By the number of reads this article received, it seems that buying watches for the next generation is a big topic.
7. Opinion On The New Submariner From A Sub Owner
The new Submariner was announced in September and Mike gave you his perspective on the Rolex diver. A well-read and appreciated article by many of you. “Rolex fixed the case design and that’s the biggest news for me. And so why wouldn’t I trade up? The answer is that my 2011-era model still feels like a very modern watch and actually looks an awful lot like watches within the new Submariner line. Plus, the technical updates aren’t enough of a jump.” Will Rolex get any higher than seventh on our Top 25? Read on to find out…
Click here to read the article.
6. Grand Seiko SBGJ237 — Better Than A Pepsi?
Grand Seiko introduced two new GMT watches with its Hi-Beat movement and rotating bezels. Having owned a number of Rolex GMT-Master “Pepsi” watches himself, RJ elaborates on the new Grand Seiko SBGJ237 watch and what makes it such an incredibly good watch.
5. Would You Buy a Steel Sports Rolex at Retail Even If You Don’t Want It?
“By the end of this article, you will get to answer whether you’d put down your hard-earned money to buy a steel sports Rolex even if you don’t want it. It seems like an easy one, but let’s see…” 22% of the voters indicated “I don’t need a watch, but I’d buy it because it’s a great investment — sell for a profit!” 41% voted for “Always wanted a steel sports Rolex — my day has come!” See the article for the other three options (and results).
4. Top 5 Watches I Actually Went Diving With
Dive watches are for diving, but Gerard also understands that “most of them are never used for the task for which they’re designed”. So, he made a list of the five watches he actually took into the water. An Oris Aquis, a Doxa SUB 1000T TUSA, a Seiko 5 Sports (that’s not a diver’s watch, we know), a Rolex Submariner, and a Citizen Promaster Professional Diver’s. Given how many reads this one got, it’s almost surprising it didn’t make it to the top three of our Top 25 list.
Click here to read Gerard’s article.
3. Balazs’ Top 10 Badass Watches Under €1,000 — Seiko, Casio, Omega, And More
Very recent is this article by Balazs about his 10 most badass watches under €1,000. There’s new, there’s vintage, there’s G-Shock, and there’s Omega. Balazs’ interest in watches is not limited to one brand or one style. He hasn’t been silent about one of his favorites, the Certina DS PH200M. “I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I love this watch.”
You can stick that sentence on repeat…
Click here to see all 10 of Balazs’ badass watches.
2. Hands-On: A Trio Of New Seiko Alpinist Models
Mike went hands-on with three — at the time — new Alpinist models. Officially, we can’t call them that anymore, but we do so anyway. He wrote, ” where else are you going to look for a brand new watch that’s been produced fully in-house and with this level of specification at this price point?”. Duly noted. No wonder, then, it lands in the second spot on our Top 25 run-down for 2020.
His Alpinist article can be found here.
1. 6 Discontinued Seiko Watches Collectors Love
People love a good bargain, and a discontinued Seiko doesn’t have to be expensive. Mike elaborated on that in this article that was published at the beginning of 2020 when everything was still fine. As such, it might not be a huge surprise to see this one top of our Top 25 list. It includes well-known references like the SKX007, SARB033 and 035, Alpinist SARB017, and the SBDC001 Sumo. About that last one, Mike wrote: “We’ve always felt that the Sumo is one of Seiko’s best-looking divers and could easily be worn every day as long as your wrist can pull off the added millimeters.”
