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It's time for another episode of Fratello On Air and, wow, do we have news! In fact, we have so much news that our New Watch Rundown will consist of two episodes. Enjoy the first one!

'Tis the season for all the debuts. Balazs and Mike are here with a new watch rundown! It's not just Watches & Wonders 2022 here, though, because plenty of brands have come to the table.

Handgelenks Kontrolle

As always, the duo kick things off with a bit of banter about Balazs's trip to Miami with Maurice Lacroix and then move on to the Handgelenks Kontrolle. Mike is wearing his fresh-off-the-delivery-truck Aquastar Deepstar Mid-Size chronograph. Stay tuned for a hands-on review! Balazs takes a trip to Saturn, not the german electronics store, with his new MoonSwatch! The two spend some time talking about the mania around these watches and some personal experiences near the Swatch boutiques.

New watch rundown, part 1

Next, we hit a number of new watch brands and discuss our thoughts on their newest pieces. In this episode, you'll find:

• Breitling and their new Navitimer
• Rolex with the new GMT-Master II, Air-King, and Yacht-Master Falcon's Eye
• Tudor brought the Black Bay Pro, GMT S&G, Black Bay Chronograph S&S, and Black Bay S&G
• TAG Heuer with its trio of Aquaracers
• Grand Seiko with its Evolution 9 models and 9S64 duo

As always, thank you for listening, and be sure to check us out every week!

Fratello On Air is here with Balazs and Mike. This week, Zenith is in focus as the duo roll through their favorite models out of Le Locle. You'll be surprised with this list because the El Primero doesn't factor so heavily.

Zenith dates way back to 1865 with its founding in Le Locle, Switzerland. While we won't go back that far at all, we will look backward at some of our favorite models. Of course, Zenith makes some fantastic new models (ooh, we love that Chonomaster Original!), but bring two vintage nerds together and vintage is what you get!

Handgelenks Kontrolle

As always, Balazs and Mike kick off with a Handgelenks Kontrolle. Balazs is sporting his Casio G-Shock GW-B5600 with Bluetooth. Mike is wearing his vintage Technos Sky Diver on a bracelet.

Zenith

As mentioned, there's more to Zenith than just the El Primero and there are some proper surprises here. In fact, there are watches that one of our hosts had seen for the very first time. We discuss:

• S.58 Diver made from 1958 to 1968
• A3736 Super Sub Sea Chronograph Diver from the early '70s
• A3635 Super Sub Sea Diver, a big 40mm piece that pairs with the chronograph above
• Time Command Futur, an incredible '70s quartz watch with an analog dial and LED display showing the seconds
• A386 El Primero because it's one of the most iconic chronographs of all time. We reference the site alphahands.com with its amazing research.
• Defy Surf Quartz, a '70s piece that's highly on point these days with its integrated bracelet

As always, thanks for tuning in and we look forward to "chatting" with you next week!

Fratello On Air is back with another brand-focused episode. We truly promise that we're not on a Swatch Group parade, but we will hit our third marque within the portfolio. Hamilton is our topic today with Balazs and Mike on the - erm - mic. Enjoy it because the guys really enjoy this brand.

Before we get to what was once America's most famous brand, we talk a little bit of news. Mike brings up the latest MING 22.01 GMT and asks Balazs what he thinks about "caller" GMT's. In the end, both think this is a subject that receives more scrutiny than necessary. It's not Hamilton time yet because next, it's time for a...

Handgelenks Kontrolle

Balazs is in point with his Hamilton Intramatic chronograph, a stunning modern reissue in blue. This watch will play a part later on in the episode. Mike is wearing his MING 17.09 in blue on the Universal bracelet. It's a watch that offers the perfect move from his recent blue-dial Datejust infatuation. 

Hamilton

We move on to Hamilton and talk a bit of history. This is a brand that truly appeals to Mike as he lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the ancestral home of this longstanding company. With the six watches that we'll discuss, watches from both Lancaster and Switzerland will make their appearances. We discuss:

• Piping Rock, is an art deco watch that was first made from 1928 to 1935 and has a baseball tie-in
• Super Compressor 600, a lovely 36mm diver
• Odyssee 2001, the late '60s watch with a connection to Stanely Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (Balazs mentions the book by Horolovox where this watch is featured)
• Military W-46374, the 33-34mm '70s and '80s military watch with a manual wind movement
• Military Chronograph, a watch issued to the RAF and Royal Navy from 1970-82 and largely produced by Breitling. Head to cwcaddict.com for loads of information.
• 7730 Chronograph, built by Heuer and known as a "poor man's Carrera"...check those prices now!

As always, we thank you for listening - stay tuned for more!

In the second episode of “Meet The…”, Balazs chats with Alex Gravelle, the man behind Velle Alexander, a strap company from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Alex tells us why he chose this path, what watches he’s into, and which timepiece is on top of his wish list.

If you are a fan of the Fratello On Air podcast, first of all, thank you. Your support means a lot to us all, who sit down week after week to research, record, edit, and put out new episodes for your listening pleasure. I consume a lot of podcasts myself, so I know how it feels when my phone notifies me about a new episode from one of my favorite channels.

Velle Alexander

We featured Velle Alexander for the first time on Fratello in 2019. Then, last year, we revisited the brand, and I was happy to see how well the company had taken off since our initial article. Aside from the fantastic craftsmanship Alex imbues in his straps, he is also a great guy to talk to. His passion, attention to detail, and meticulous process never cease to amaze me. So, when the opportunity came to interview him for the next episode of “Meet The…” I did not hesitate one bit. The first part of our interview revolves around straps. We chatted about leathers, designs, special orders, and more. Later on, Alex and I moved on to other topics like watches, a bit about cars, and some more watches. 

We finished the talk with a fun round of This or That, but not before he gave us his SOTC (as we often used on watch forums back in the day, State Of The Collection). If you are looking for a strap, need inspiration for what to get, or want to spend some time on IG browsing through watch eye candy, I suggest you check out Velle Alexander’s Instagram page. I kept on scrolling up and down during our interview, sometimes for questions, other times just admiring the level of watch (strap) photography he posts there. 

The idea for our new “Meet The…” series is simple. We’ll feature another job or position in and around the watch industry or community in every episode. We’ll chat with watchmakers, owners of strap ateliers, CEOs, collectors, and researchers. It’s going to be fun and, hopefully, highly informative.

As always, thanks for tuning in to Fratello On Air! Feel free to let us know if there’s anything you’d like us to cover in future episodes.

Well, well, well. After a hiatus of almost exactly four months, WASP returns for the (very) long-awaited LIVE Episode 10, which was so important to Balazs and me that we even went down the route of decimal show numbers to ensure we kept our promise.

And keep it we did (eventually)! Now, for the first time in ages, the Fridge & Freezer presenting duo have the chance to chat in person. The show was recorded in one take and is available in video format too.

Check out fratellowatches.com to see us in all our dubious glory, as we rattle through our favorite watches from Balazs's private collection, mock my "old-fashioned" diameter preferences when it comes to Rolex, and discuss what those extended lines on the minute counter sub-dial of many aviation chronographs are actually there for.

When WASP will return to the airwaves on a regular basis, we don't know. If you've enjoyed the show and would like to hear more from us in this vein, hit us up in the comments section below.

Follow us on Instagram @robnudds and @ferenczibazs

Fratello On Air is here with another vintage-focused episode. This time, we talk about our favorite models from Certina. If you enjoyed our previous episode on Tissot, this will be right up your alley.

Balazs and Mike return with an episode focused on Certina. Before getting to the heart of the matter, there is some news related to current events. Then, it's time to move on to what has become a tradition: the Handgelenks Kontrolle.

Handgelenks Kontrolle

Neither Mike nor Balazs chose a Certina for today's episode, but hopefully, you'll enjoy these choices just the same. For Balazs, he's wearing his Hi-Beat Grand Seiko 5640, a lovely example with both a day and date wheel. Mike is wearing his newly arrived Citizen Homer HO140501 from 1964.

Certina

It's time to move on to the main topic: Certina. After a bit of history, six great models receive mention.

• '70s Argonaut chronographs with their column-wheel Valjoux movements
• '50s and '60s DS 5601-013 and 113 with their incredible lume-laden dials
• Biorhythm — a funky watch that belongs in Tomas' collection
• '60s DS and DS PH200M 346.825 with their amazing dials
• EA split-seconds chronograph — a proper vintage gem
• 1968 DS-2 Super PH500M — a diver used in the Tektite studies

As always, thanks so much for tuning in, and feel free to send us topics!

Fratello On Air returns and this week, Mike talks to Martin Klocke from Sherpa Watches. If you're a watch lover and want to hear a tale about an incredible passion project, this episode is definitely for you!

Martin Klocke is someone I "met" well over a year ago via Instagram. He had aired his intentions to bring back highly faithful, yet modern, renditions of vintage Enicar models. Sherpa Watches was born and, now, production of the Sherpa OPS and Ultradive models is about to begin.

Handgelenks Kontrolle

Martin is from Germany, so you'll get to hear "Handgelenks Kontrolle" pronounced correctly! Martin is wearing one of his watches and I'm sporting my Enicar Sherpa Super Jet. After some pleasantries, we get into how Martin got into vintage and the story of Sherpa Watches.

Sherpa Watches

In our discussion, we walk through the painstaking research that Martin did on EPSA, the engineering behind the cases, crowns, and all the details. Next, we talk about how challenging this project was to ensure sourcing from Europe. Again, you won't want to miss this! Finally, it's an honest and open story that sheds a lot of new light on a subject all of us truly enjoy — watches! A huge thanks to Martin for his time and look out for an upcoming full review of the new Sherpa Watches.

Fratello On Air kicks off a new series where Balazs and Mike discuss their six favorite watches of all time from a given brand. First up on the docket is Tissot, a historic Swiss brand with loads of options. Settle in and hear about some watches that you know and some that just might surprise.

Before getting to Tissot, Balazs and Mike talk a bit about cycling, lead-lined film bags as a radium shield, and Balazs' informative article on the Tissot Antimagnetique. We also hit upon the recent Seiko 5 Brian May release and both declare it to be a bit of a head-scratcher!

Handgelenks Kontrolle

Regarding our Handgelenks Kontrolle, Mike is wearing his Gallet Decimal with its glorious EP4 movement. He chose it as a nod to Balazs' recent fascination with Excelsior Park, their watches, and movements. Balazs storms in with an on-point piece. He's sporting his Lemania 174 and it's relevant because it was a related brand to both Tissot and Omega.

Our favorite Tissot models

Once we enter the main topic, we go back and forth discussing our six favorite Tissot models. We hope this sheds some light on some previously unknown watches for you!

• T12 Seastar Chronograph "UFO" reference 40505
• PR 516 Series from the 1970's
• Navigator 817 "Military-styled" Chronograph
• 6216 Chronograph
• T12 Seastar Chronograph reference 40506
• Navigator Worldtime 4002-1

As always, thanks for tuning in, and feel free to let us know if you have any questions or suggestions on future topics.

Fratello On Air is here with your weekly installment. This time, Balazs and Mike handle a reader question about a few rather different chronographs.

We love a good reader question and this week, our faithful listener John sent us a great one! Firstly, thanks, John! John works at a hospital and we're thankful for the efforts he's putting in during these trying times. We're glad that our podcast helps just a little during those tough days.

Handgelenks Kontrolle

Before getting to our reader question, though, we talk a bit about bicycles and then get into our "Handgelenks Kontrolle." Mike is still in love with his '90s Rolex Datejust 16200 with few signs of it leaving his wrist. Balazs is wearing a truly uncommon Certina Chronolympic with Hungarian Air Force cred.

The Reader Question

John's question brought a number of subtopics. He brings up the legendary Sinn EZM1 with its Lemania 5100, the original Orfina Porsche Design chronograph, and the Breguet Type XX. John asked what we thought about these watches and why they haven't become as legendary as some other iconic pieces. It's a fun discussion on three watches that we wouldn't have considered discussing otherwise.

As always, we thank you for tuning in to Fratello On Air and welcome your questions!

Shortly after the turn of the New Year, I invited our resident Formula One fantastic, Ben Hodges, into the smooth booth to record a TAG Heuer special, focusing on the brand's most visible ambassador on Planet Earth right now: the flying Dutchman, Max Verstappen.

We discuss the controversial conclusion to the 2021 Formula One season that saw Sir Lewis Hamilton denied a record eighth driver's championship in almost unbelievable circumstances. Whether what came to pass should have happened in the first place is, by now, a moot point: the result is in the books and the Netherlands has its first World Champion in the sport.

In addition to recapping the wild final lap that decided one of the most talked-about titles in recent memory, Ben also shares with us his favorite TAG Heuer pieces from the current collection, surprisingly confirming along the way that ambassadorship really do work.

Follow me on Instagram @robnudds