Fratello On Air: Balazs & Mike Talk About Retro Watches

Fratello On Air has returned and we cover several subjects this week. However, we spend the most time on a topic initiated by one of our readers about retro watches. Namely, are they at the end of their rope?

We're back a day later than usual this week with our episode, but we've made it! In this episode, we discuss a number of topics including some of the TV shows and movies we've seen lately. It's not overly watch-related, but it's cold and gray outside, so perhaps this will help pass the time. We also dive into a topic related to retro watches, a movement that has been with us for quite a long time. Will brands move on and go in a different direction?

Handgelenks Kontrolle

Before hitting on retro watches, we have some yesteryear pieces of our own for Handgelenks Kontrolle. Mike kicks things off with his newly acquired Seiko SUS 4S15 "military." It's a neat, but small JDM-only piece from 1996 that was meant to lure younger buyers into the world of mechanical watches. That crafty Seiko tore down Switzerland with quartz tickers only to say, "just kidding," a couple of decades later with the promise of automatics. Cheeky Balazs, on the other hand, stays on the electronic side with an even newer addition. The two-tone Rolex Datejust 17013 Oysterquartz is in play and Mike is jealous! What a score!

Retro Watches

One of our faithful listeners, Saku, from Finland sent us a note and asked about retro watches. In particular, he mentioned the 2010's and all of the releases that take inspiration from the past. He was curious if we see things continuing on this path. Neither of us is sure we want reissues to keep coming in the same volume, but we do like them from certain brands. We love retro brands, but we're not sure we dig modern brands relying so heavily on their back catalogs. MING, Rolex, Omega, and more make their way into the conversation!

Thanks to Saku for writing to us. If you have thoughts on a future topic, please let us know! As always, thank you for listening!