The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Fratello editor Robert-Jan Broer’s December 31, 2024 year-end review looks back at the publication’s output, his view of a slower watch market, the watches that caught his attention, and the pieces he wore most. It is a personal editorial account—not a market report or a definitive ranking.
Fratello’s 2024 output
Broer reported that Fratello produced 1,413 articles on its website in 2024 and published 98 podcasts, 52 of them with video. These are figures he gave in his year-end article; the page does not provide an independent audit of them. Read Broer’s review at Fratello.
Broer’s view of the watch market
Broer described watch sales as slower in 2024 than in 2023, with the downturn following unusually strong years from 2020 to 2022. In his assessment, uncertainty about future finances was the main reason buyers hesitated, while speculators appeared to have left the market.
He also argued that price increases had made watches less accessible to people considering a first major purchase or returning to the market. These are Broer’s contemporaneous explanations, not conclusions backed in the article by sales figures, a defined geography, or a market-wide data series.
#1 Best Overall
Watches that stood out to him
Broer’s personal favorites ranged across dress watches, sports models, and chronographs. Among those he highlighted were:
- Daniel Roth Tourbillon in rose gold
- Piaget Polo ’79
- Singer Divetrack
- Several Omega Speedmasters
- Chopard L.U.C XPS Forest Green
- The 30th-anniversary Lange 1
This is Broer’s own selection, not a reader poll or a comprehensive ranking of 2024 releases. His review does not compare the watches by price, specifications, condition, or availability, so the list is best read as a record of what appealed to him rather than as a buying guide.
The watches Broer wore most
Broer said his most-worn watch was probably his Moonshine Gold Speedmaster Apollo 11. He also often wore a Rolex Sea-Dweller, a Breguet Tradition, and a Speedmaster Calibre 321. The “probably” matters: he presents the Apollo 11 as his likeliest answer, not a precisely tracked count of wrist time.
His collecting reflection: wear what you own
Broer’s closing advice is to make room in a collection for watches its owner actually wears. As he put it, “time is too short to have watches you never wear.” He also encourages collectors to consider pre-owned watches, writing: “There are so many interesting vintage and modern watches on the pre-owned market that it’s almost unthinkable you can’t strike gold there.” Both are personal reflections, not guarantees about any particular watch or purchase.
Rank #3
- Book - a man and his watch: iconic watches and stories from the men who wore them
- Language: english
- Binding: hardcover
How this review fits Fratello’s other year-end coverage
Fratello’s separate December 30 roundup focused on its most-read and most-commented stories, while a December 26 Fratello Talks page presented an editorial discussion and reader vote among selected 2024 watches. Those pieces offer different perspectives and should not be treated as verification of Broer’s output figures or as part of his personal favorite list. Fratello’s most-read and most-commented stories of 2024 · Fratello Talks: best watches of 2024.
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