Why I Bought It: Vintage JDM Seiko 7002 Diver (Plus A Same-Vintage Honda Beat)

As I have covered the world of watches, another of my dormant passions has been reignited. That passion is automobiles. Watches and cars go together, so it is no surprise that I have a strong interest in fast things with powerful motors. This is the story of how I ended up with both a 1991 Honda Beat and a 1991 Seiko 7002 Diver. And I’m still smiling!

8 years ago

Top 10 Seiko Watches – Overview of Models Favored By Our Readers

Seiko Watches Needless to say that we are a fan of Seiko watches here on Fratello. Not only did Michael Stockton convert me to the Japanese side of watchmaking when he joined Fratello Watches and started to write about those vintage Seiko beauties and Grand Seiko watches, the trip to Japan last year to see […]

8 years ago

Introducing – 3 new Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 GMT, including one limited edition (Ref. SBGJ021, SBGJ017, SBGJ019)

The Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 GMT is already known from collectors, and praised for its superior quality, its design mixing elegant and casual attitude and its highly technical movement. It is a watch that was already available in both standard editions and in one colorful edition (the SBGJ005, with its green dial and highly decorated rotor). Already at that time, we had two regular watches and one limited. Well, the same scenario is about to happen, with 3 new versions of the Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 GMT: 2 elegant regular pieces (SBGJ017 and SBGJ019) and one limited edition with deep red dial and a rotor depicting the sunrise on Mount Iwate (SBGJ021). Overview.

8 years ago

Introducing Three New Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36,000 GMTs, Including a Limited Edition

Three new models have joined the twin time zone Grand Seiko GMT line-up, including an unusually coloured limited edition. All three additions are powered by the top of the line calibre 9S86, an automatic that runs at 36,000 beats per hour. Morning light The limited edition Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 GMT (SBGJ021) draws on the “colours of sunrise on Mount Iwate”, […]

8 years ago

How Japan’s Thomas Edison Built the Nation’s Most Complicated Clock

Tanaka Hisashige was a genius of epic proportions, perhaps Japan’s greater inventor ever. He built the country’s first steam locomotive, steamship, and telegraph, but is best known as the founder of electronics giant Toshiba Corporation. Often cited as the Thomas Edison of Japan, Tanaka was a remarkable figure whose career spanned a crucial era in Japanese history – […]

8 years ago

Throwback Sundays: Six Recommendations for a World Time Watch, from Our Archives

Travelling is becoming an essential part of our lives, be it either for pleasure or business. This is especially so with globalisation and advancement in transportation technologies, which makes travelling much cheaper and convenient these days. Either way, it paves the path for a new genre of timepieces for the horological enthusiasts: a…

8 years ago

Review: Meditations on the Credor Fugaku Tourbillon

Baselworld 2016. The halls were abuzz…with news from Seiko. The first ever Seiko Credor Tourbillon wristwatch from this much loved, ultra conservative watchmaker from Japan. We made the beeline to see it. First through the showcase. The first impressions was one of moderate surprise. No, we lie. We were shocked! Then we had our…

8 years ago