Fratello On Air: New Releases From Blancpain, Bulova, and Benrus

Getting together during travel

September 26, 2023

comments 5

Fratello On Air returns with an admittedly noisy episode. Our apologies, but the show must go on! This week, it’s a lighter show as we discuss our recent whereabouts (watches included) and hit upon some new releases. Enjoy the show and the clattering of plates, glassware, and cutlery.

Yes, Balazs is on the move again and this time he’s competing with a cacophony within the Detroit Lufthansa lounge. Again, we apologize for the ruckus and the audio quality. Mike is within the cozy confines of his London abode. This week, we discuss some new releases and recent activities. We hope you take pleasure in this off-the-cuff episode!

Kettle Kite

Before we tackle our primary subject, we engage in some banter. Balazs has spent a week in the heart of rock ‘n’ roll, aka Cleveland, visiting some friends. We briefly discuss his travels. Mike mentions his trip to World Time UK, which was held on September 23rd at Heathrow Airport. It was a great event with over forty brands including Doxa, Aquastar, Farer, Formex, Studio Underdog, Ollech & Wajs, and Isotope. We take a moment to discuss the recent Doxa Sub 300β Sharkhunter now that Mike has seen it in person. As far as what we are wearing, Balazs is rocking his faithful GShock. Mike is wearing his Rolex Submariner 5513 Maxi Dial. Finally, Mike mentions a recent trip to the Swatch boutique in Covent Garden, London. No SwatchPains were in stock, but they did have nine of the MoonSwatch models available.

New Releases

As far as the main subject, we discuss some new releases. First, there’s the new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 3. It’s a nice enough-looking watch, but the pricing strikes us as incredibly high. Then, we mention the Bulova Oceanographer GMT, a piece that Balazs seems to love. Finally, there’s the Benrus Ultra Deep, a 36.5mm retro diver with a super compressor-style case.

As always, we appreciate you tuning in to the show. We’ll be back next week hopefully with less background noise!

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Doxa
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Isotope
Ollech & Wajs
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Studio Underdog
Fratello On Air: New Releases From Blancpain, Bulova, and Benrus

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Henrik says:

Sep 26, 2023 at 17:17

I do enjoy your talks, but on certain topics I wished you did some better homework first. Let’s get something straight on the Blancpain Act 3:

The price of the watch is indeed way above what one would rightfully expect.

The box however is not „some strange helmet“ but an exact replica of the first underwater photography camera case, the Rolleimarin by Hans Hass. You should have known that when there was too much coverage of the watch as you pointed out.

Do you also get tired when those brands you understand more of are flooding social media, e.g. your favorite Omega, Rolex or APs?

And finally: as watch journalists you should at least be able to pronounce the name of the brand correctly 😉

Reply
1. balazs says:
  
  Sep 27, 2023 at 09:16
  
  Personally, I do not have a favorite brand (preference maybe), and even if I did, it would not be AP 😉
  
  Reply
SM
RedwoodAggie says:

Sep 26, 2023 at 19:53

I enjoyed the show. I’d say for the background noise issues, let us know about the situation at the beginning, but don’t become overly apologetic, nor keep bringing it up throughout the show. If there is something huge making, pause and edit that little spot out.

The new BP Fifty Fathoms limited release is neat, but absolutely irrelevant to me. I’m sadly not a $30K watch guy, though I consider myself fortunate to have at least one very nice watch. I think this being limited is great for what it is, and maybe eventually they’ll sell all of them. If it had been a Rolex, they would have been snapped up in 2 seconds. I think the comparison to the gold Sub was fair. I’d take that any day too. I haven’t seen the helmet case, but isn’t all this just eerily similar to the Bulova limited edition Mil Ships at over 16 times the price? The only mistake Bulova made was sticking to the original lug width, making for an awkward look.

Great choice on the wearing of the Sub 5513 Maxi dial. I really love the maxi dial model look.

My favorite of the discussed releases is also the Bulova Oceanographer GMT. Although 2 variants have obvious influences, they’re still nicely executed. The lume dial/dive bezel model is special and stands on its own. I think that will end up being quite popular.

The Benrus is admirably vintage sized, but that takes it out of interest for me. I’m not a small guy and ~36mm isn’t in my wheel house. The compressor style does make it look bigger than a normal dive watch of that size though, so I think it will find its audience. It certainly looks quite classic and handsome.

As for the new Hamilton Khaki Field, I think it’s a nice release overall. Will I buy one? Probably not, but I think they’ll have their fans. I do agree that it has a 20 years ago feel. I termed it as a ’90s (late) look when it was first announced, so it’s funny that I’m not the only one thinking that. That Y2K era is popular with the kids now, so maybe it will be appealing for the younger watch fan due to that. It’s sort of an Alpinist competitor, though without the overbuilt 200m water resistance, nor the date. I do love both of those features on the Alpinist, and am a biased owner.

Reply
RW
Spartyfan6262 says:

Sep 27, 2023 at 15:37

Hi Guys –

Thanks for an entertaining discussion, and for cutting through the din of what seemed like an endless amount of cutlery and plates being thrown around in a very angry lounge.

I agree with Michael’s impressions of the SwatchPain. As the new owner of the Antarctic edition (white/gray), I can confirm that it’s actually impressive. The bezel, crown and handset all look great, the strap (which I expected to dislike) is actually comfortable, and the size and weight are excellent. I’m not on board with the idea of a disposable watch, but my watch buddies assure me that they’ve gotten 10+ years out of their System51 movements.

As for the price of Blancpain’s Act III – sheesh! I don’t know who Blancpain is making these watches for, but it’s not for me or anyone else I know. And I’m a guy with a (real) Fifty Fathoms who loves the brand. Someone told me that Marc Hayek seems to be designing watches all for a few of his friends, with no real care for what the wider market wants. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s true. For those who want a reasonably priced, reasonably sized vintage style Blancpain, there’s always Helson and Tornek-Rayville…

Cheers

Reply
JW
OldJohnBulova says:

Sep 27, 2023 at 21:13

Cool to hear it was a nice visit to good old Cleveland 👍👍
As longtime resident I do agree it’s a much cooler city than most seem to think.
Should’ve hit me up so I could show off my newest acquisition— A ca1950, champagne dial ‘jumbo’ golden dress watch by Cartier on goldfilled stretch band! 😁
Lol it’s really cool though bc is sort in the “Calatrava” style, has the old Cartier Paris script mark, and doesn’t really look all so much like most other Cartier watch. Fratello needs a forum so we can post pics of things like these!
Oh, Re: R+R HallofFame— The trick is to only go during a special exhibit (if of personal interest) as it Otherwise is kind of underwhelming. A few yrs ago example they did a big David Bowie exhibit and it was actually very cool.

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