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Thread: What Draws You To Breitling?

  1. #1

    What Draws You To Breitling?

    It's such a polarizing brand, misunderstood by many and loved tremendously by those who own them. It's lineup is so diverse that you hear stuff from folks on watch forums like-'I normally don't like Breitling but that one is nice.'
    I own watches from many brands but Breitling is probably the only one I unquestionably love, regardless of its excellent or sometimes horrid designs through the years. I have to force myself to not buy a Breitling when looking for a new watch so that I have other brands in the lineup.
    So what draws me? I think it's the just the unique styling that is undoubtedly Breitling when you spot one. It's just ingrained in the brands DNA from its cases, bezels with rider tabs, bracelet and strap design, to its iconic dials which are rarely copied by others.
    If you see a Navitimer, Avenger, Chronomat, well it's a Breitling, no doubt. You see a Submariner, GMT, DJ, well maybe it's a Rolex...The same can be said of other brands who make traditionally designed or copied-homage type watches. So my friends who understand what I'm talking about; what draws you?
    Last edited by Dienekes; Feb 10, 2015 at 03:27 AM.

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  3. #2
    Member Teeritz's Avatar
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    The Breitling Brand Rep told me years ago that the bezels were an element of their design that had been given a lot of thought. The reason behind the rider tabs was that they wanted their watches to be recognised from across the room by people who know watches.
    I got a lot of love for Breitling. I had a Shark chronograph back in the mid/late '90s and it was a great watch. I'll admit that I find their Chronomat range a tad too fancy for my liking, but I really like their other ranges. The Avenger Seawolf chrono from about seven years ago still has a certain hold on me and I may wind up with one someday. Great brand! And their Calibre 01 is a Daytona-killer, too.

    teeritz

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  5. #3
    When I got my first chrono, I was a kid (mid 70s) and it cost me, new - believe it or not - a bit over 10 USD. The movement was the basic Valjoux 7733, the same base movement Breitling was using at the time. The Breitling - at least the model I had the chance to see - would have cost me close to 25 USD; that was a huge difference, trust me. I got the cheaper watch, but the image of that Breitling never faded in my mind.

    Over the years, the brand that more often appealed to me, would be Omega and, to a certain extent, it still is, lately loosing a bit of momentum, though. When I had the chance, the brand I always saw as the ideal stereotype chronograph, Breitling, entered my collection, in a form of a Cosmonaute, because I wanted it all: the look of the Navitimer, the hand wind movement, no date and the 24h dial. I love the watch. I also like the new heritage inspired pieces: the navitimer, transocean, heritage. The movements seem to get better and better. So, until yesterday, I had only the Cosmonaute in my collection; today, I added a vintage Premier. Enough said

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  7. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by CFR View Post
    When I had the chance, the brand I always saw as the ideal stereotype chronograph, Breitling, entered my collection, in a form of a Cosmonaute, because I wanted it all: the look of the Navitimer, the hand wind movement, no date and the 24h dial. I love the watch. I also like the new heritage inspired pieces: the navitimer, transocean, heritage. The movements seem to get better and better. So, until yesterday, I had only the Cosmonaute in my collection; today, I added a vintage Premier. Enough said

    Agreed on the Navi 01's, TO's, and Superocean Heritage pieces. They knocked the ball out of the park. You've got one heck of an overall collection (I just saw the Premier) and your B's are pretty special.

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  9. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Dienekes View Post
    Agreed on the Navi 01's, TO's, and Superocean Heritage pieces. They knocked the ball out of the park. You've got one heck of an overall collection (I just saw the Premier) and your B's are pretty special.
    Thanks a lot, Dienekes!

  10. #6
    Man, I guess this place doesn't get much traffic.

  11. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Dienekes View Post
    It's such a polarizing brand, misunderstood by many and loved tremendously by those who own them. It's lineup is so diverse that you hear stuff from folks on watch forums like-'I normally don't like Breitling but that one is nice.'
    I own watches from many brands but Breitling is probably the only one I unquestionably love, regardless of its excellent or sometimes horrid designs through the years. I have to force myself to not buy a Breitling when looking for a new watch so that I have other brands in the lineup.
    So what draws me? I think it's the just the unique styling that is undoubtedly Breitling when you spot one. It's just ingrained in the brands DNA from its cases, bezels with rider tabs, bracelet and strap design, to its iconic dials which are rarely copied by others.
    If you see a Navitimer, Avenger, Chronomat, well it's a Breitling, no doubt. You see a Submariner, GMT, DJ, well maybe it's a Rolex...The same can be said of other brands who make traditionally designed or copied-homage type watches. So my friends who understand what I'm talking about; what draws you?
    I totally get it, Dienekes! I had to smile when I read your observation about having to consciously make the effort to consider other brands in lieu of defaulting to Breitling for the next watch!

    It's funny, but, not so long ago, I would have been one of those folks who categorically rejected Breitling. It wasn't even on my radar screen, due to the fact that I was turned off by some of the more aggressive (and large) styling.

    But all that changed...

    My love of Breitling has been built one piece at a time. I had long been on the lookout for a travel watch that combined both GMT and Chronograph functions, but had never really found anything that really appealed to me. When Breitling unveiled its Transocean GMT/Chrono, I knew I had found what I was looking for. Plus, to be honest, I loved all of the retro marketing that went along with it -- pitching the Transocean line as harkening back to the early days of transcontinental air travel, etc., etc. Once I had that watch on my wrist though, I was just blown away by the fact that it was so beautifully executed and solidly built. Suddenly, Breitling meant more to me than just oversized Chrono Avengers.

    I picked up "Breitling: The Book" and dove in voraciously. That experience really opened my eyes to Breitling's past, and the variety of models that have been produced over time. I discovered that today's Transocean Chronograph is actually a faithful re-incarnation of the Top Time (ref. 810) from the early 60's. Ditto for the Superocean Heritage line, which mirrors the styling from the late 50's/early 60's. In fact, my next Breitling was a SOH Chronograph -- another piece with that retro vibe. I was hooked.

    My Breitling "homework" also gave me an appreciation, for the first time, for the Navitimer, which evolved from its predecessor, the original Chronomat. Are the dials on these models busy? Well, sure they are -- but, then again, they were intended to be true tool watches, providing a circular slide rule that allowed for a variety of calculations in an era before pocket calculators and cell phones ruled the world. I think that's very cool, and it certainly changed the way I viewed the Navitimer.

    There are definitely some modern day Breitlings that don't float my boat -- but, overall, writ large, I find it a brand with a rich heritage and an interesting variety of pieces. The modern incarnation of Breitling -- in the post-Leon Breitling era -- has slowly but surely been finding its way over the years, but, I for one, like the way things have been evolving, particularly since Breitling seems to be re-discovering its past and producing some world-class models (like the TOC).

    I never would have predicted that Breitling would become the focus of my collection, but that is certainly how it has turned out, and it continues to be a fun and interesting journey.
    Last edited by Jazzmaster; Feb 12, 2015 at 03:05 PM.

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  13. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Jazzmaster View Post
    It's funny, but, not so long ago, I would have been one of those folks who categorically rejected Breitling. It wasn't even on my radar screen, due to the fact that I was turned off by some of the more aggressive (and large) styling.

    But all that changed...


    My Breitling "homework" also gave me an appreciation, for the first time, for the Navitimer, which evolved from its predecessor, the original Chronomat. Are the dials on these models busy? Well, sure they are -- but, then again, they were intended to be true tool watches, providing a circular slide rule that allowed for a variety of calculations in an era before pocket calculators and cell phones ruled the world. I think that's very cool, and it certainly changed the way I viewed the Navitimer.
    Breitling was the first brand I longed for when I began my luxury watch journey 15 years ago or so. I could never afford one back then but I always lusted after a Chrono Avenger, Chronomat, Navitimer, and Superocean. I briefly was turned off by the brand from drinking the watch forum Kool-Aid. "They are busy, blingy, too big, have terrible movements, whatever...." Basically input from people who have never even touched one. And yes, they are tool watches. Whenever someone posts a Navitimer and says BLING, I want to smack them. I hate that word now.
    I came back to my senses 5 or 6 years ago and actually bought a SOH. I was blown away! I liked it so much better than my Rolex, Tag, Omega. I even sold those off to fund my 2nd B.
    I bought an Omega AT last year to diversify a bit but I can't stop thinking about a Transocean Chronograph and you certainly don't help matters!

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  15. #9
    Mountebank MarkO's Avatar
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    Breitling seem to be on a bit of a roll at the moment, I keep seeing new models and for my taste they are doing a lot of things right but still with a very varied range,
    Just came across this on their web site...

    MB2, SOH, Aquascope, Tangente, MM300, Blackbay, North Flag, Officer, Visitor.

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  17. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Dienekes View Post
    I briefly was turned off by the brand from drinking the watch forum Kool-Aid. "They are busy, blingy, too big, have terrible movements, whatever...." Basically input from people who have never even touched one. And yes, they are tool watches. Whenever someone posts a Navitimer and says BLING, I want to smack them. I hate that word now.
    Couldn't agree more on all counts.

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