#TBT A Vintage Seiko Buyer’s Guide to Affordable Goodness

This week’s #TBT will be a bit different, as I’ll focus on something I think you, our readers, will enjoy: a Vintage Seiko Buyer’s Guide. The thought of pulling together a directional like this sounds audacious, but as you’ll see, Seiko makes, and made, a lot of things relatively easy for us. But…as with all […]

8 years ago

Q&A: Satoshi Higara, Grand Seiko Master Watchmaker

Grand Seiko master watchmaker Satoshi Higara was in Singapore for a watch assembly demonstration of the new Grand Seiko Hi Beat 36,000. Deployant’s Nick Gould was on site, witnessing the exquisite craft and with it, the opportunity to discuss various matters relating to Grand Seiko including the…

8 years ago

Three Amazing Seiko Divers for Under $500

There’s no doubt that we love Seiko here on Fratello Watches and judging by the numbers, you seem to feel the same. It’s the beginning of November and that means exactly nothing, but if we squint a bit, we can go ahead and call this article an early Holiday gift guide. Today, in a battle […]

8 years ago

The Elections… for the Watch of the Year and the GPHG that is!

While the race for presidency in the USA is going on until the last minute, we’ll of course focus… on watches! And in the world of watches, we also have elections. Just two weeks ago I attended the gala award ceremony for the election of the Watch of the Year, organised by our friends of Chronos24 in Poland. And this Thursday, when we finally know who’s going to be the new tenant of the White House, is the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève – a.k.a the 2016 Edition of the GPHG. While the first becomes a bit international due to several international jury members – including yours truly – the latter can best be compared to the Oscars in the world of movies.

8 years ago

Hands-On Review – Seiko Presage SPB041J1 – Vintage Flair and Great Elegance for an accessible price

If you follow the actuality about watches on a regular basis, you’ve certainly noticed that Seiko – no the smallest company around, to say the least – is moving quite fast these days. The brand has evolved considerably, introducing watches in all categories of price and expanding the higher-end collections, including Grand Seiko of course, but Presage too. We already showed you earlier this week, with the Presage SSA303J1, that value for money and horological content were the motto of the collection. And this is not about to change with this other novelty in the collection, a more luxurious, more refined and more vintage-oriented watch named Seiko Presage SPB041J1… and again, you’ll have a hell of a watch for your money.

8 years ago

Seiko Introduces Quartet of Japan-Only Prospex PADI Diver Limited Editions

Having introduced a pair of PADI special editions – including the hit PADI “Turtle” earlier this year – Seiko is continuing its partnership with  the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), the world’s largest diver training body. As PADI’s partner, Seiko has committed to support the Project AWARE Foundation, a non-profit established by PADI to promote marine conservation. The latest PADI […]

8 years ago

Hands-On – Seiko Presage SSA303J1, a Value-Prop that screams quality

At Seiko, the range of watches goes from extremely affordable options to ultra-high-end (really ultra) timepieces for the most meticulous collectors. Seiko Watches includes collections such as Seiko 5, Prospex, Grand Seiko or Credor. This year,  the brand expanded one of its sub-collection, Presage, entirely dedicated to mechanical marvel and heritage. And while previously only reserved to Japan, it will now be offered to all markets. After we had an in-depth look at that star of this new collection, the Presage 60th Anniversary Chronograph, it’s time to now to focus on the rest of the range, including this Seiko Presage SSA303J1 we’ll show you today, a value proposition, with mechanical movement, which screams quality.

8 years ago

GIVE AWAY – Win a Seiko Presage SSA303J1 Wrist Watch

Here’s the next give-away, and it’s the third time we’re giving away a wrist watch. The watch that you can win is the from the new Seiko Presage collection, and to be precise it’s the Seiko Presage SSA303J1. This week I’m in Japan, visiting several Seiko manufactures where I’m learning more about the Seiko brand, the different collections, their way of manufacturing and technical aspects of… well, of so much actually. Over the coming weeks I will tell you much more about what I’ve learned and seen, however let’s first focus on the watch that you can win!

8 years ago