Just over a year ago, I wrote an article about the rise of microbrands. It was a musing on why small, independent watch brands seem to rapidly gain ground. Little did I know that today, a year later, I would be building a brand of my own. It was already a lucid dream then, but […]

Visit Can Microbrands Pull Off High-End Watchmaking? to read the full article.

I have gone on the record admitting that I am anything but a value hunter. Especially when it comes to unnecessary luxuries, I look to fulfill the desires of the heart, not the mind. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy when watches punch above their weight. I do! Some watches, like David facing Goliath, […]

Visit Looking For Value: Watches That Punch Above Their Weight to read the full article.

Much of my fascination with watches comes from the appreciation I have for the craftsmanship that goes into creating these little machines for the wrist. At many watch brands, that craftsmanship has already become highly automated. Well, not at anOrdain, where it literally takes years to get the perfect result on those beautiful and fragile […]

Visit Introducing: The AnOrdain Model 3 Method With A Carved-Wood Pattern On The Dial to read the full article.

Most watch brands nowadays are part of a conglomerate. Luxury groups such as LVMH, Swatch Group, and Richemont own many of the traditional watch brands. But what about microbrand groups? Chasing economies of scale is equally beneficial for small brands. Huddling together can provide much greater striking power. So will we see more microbrand groups […]

Visit Watch Industry Talk: Will We See More Microbrand Groups In The Future? to read the full article.

The Scottish brand anOrdain has garnered significant attention here on Fratello. The brand’s craftsmanship and striking enamel dials provide a unique and somewhat-bespoke approach to watchmaking in their price tier. I’ve been particularly interested in anOrdain throughout its development, mainly because of its beautiful enamel dials and relative transparency around the processes behind its watch […]

Visit AnOrdain Announces Its Acquisition Of Fellow Scottish Brand Paulin Watches to read the full article.

Auction house Lyon & Turnbull presents an exciting auction for British watchmakers. In partnership with the Scottish Watches podcast and website, the auction offers one-of-a-kind British wristwatches to go under the hammer from August 16–23, 2023. The EveryWatch winning bids go towards the Maggie’s Centres charity, which funds free support for cancer patients and their […]

Visit British Watch Companies Assemble For The EveryWatch Charity Auction to read the full article.

Windup Watch Fair — a multi-day, multi-vendor watch event — has come and gone from San Francisco. Organized by our colleagues at Worn & Wound, I attended all three days. In my opinion, it was a huge success. From Friday, April 28th to Sunday the 30th, hundreds of people came, handled watches they’d never seen […]

Visit Windup Watch Fair San Francisco — An Enthusiast’s Playground Of Independent Watch Brands to read the full article.

Is fumé the new green? It seems like only yesterday that every single brand released green-dial variants of its watches. By now, the color is about as ubiquitous in the watch world as blue has been for some time. So what’s next? Well, it seems the next big thing has already gathered pace. Now that […]

Visit Is Fumé The New Green For Watch Dials In 2023? to read the full article.

If you know anything about anOrdain, it’s probably that the Scottish brand makes some of the most spectacular enamel dials in the industry. In a collaborative effort with Hodinkee, anOrdain shows even more impressive dial-making skills than ever before. The new anOrdain Model 3 Limited Edition for Hodinkee introduces a handmade sunburst dial that is […]

Visit AnOrdain And Hodinkee Release A Limited-Edition Model 3 With A Unique Sunburst Dial to read the full article.

Independent brands, which we can also call microbrands, have been working hard to create some neat stuff. Yes, I decided to say “neat” instead of “outstanding” because what they recently released is quite refreshing. This article will look at three trends that define independent watchmaking in 2022. I did use the word “innovation” in the […]

Visit An Overview Of Recent Innovations From Independents And Microbrands to read the full article.