Watchlords

by Richard Cantley "Welcome to the latest edition in our Cost of Entry series where we explore the entry point to some of the world's most well-known luxury watch brands. Throughout this series we have covered Rolex, Omega, Hublot, Panerai, and Cartier, and now we're going to see what Breitling has to offer. As often is the case, there are varying entry points when it comes to quartz offerings and mechanical offerings so we will just go ahead and look at both here."

Article at A Blog To Watch

Not a lot of Breitlike in the comments.

foghorn wrote:Not a lot of Breitlike in the comments.

Yup. I owned a SuperOcean for a short time, then flipped it. It wasn't a bad watch, but just not my thing. I never really understood the hatred for the Colt line, though.

Cheap watches cheapens the branding (same with other products). Wouldn't take much to differentiate their upper line from the lower end stuff simply by giving them a new/separate name to the line. Never could convince me otherwise.

I don't own a Breitling though I'm a big fan of certain models (I really like the Superocean Heritage, Transocean chronos, and a couple others). My favorite AD has a whole mess of Breitling and they sell a lot of them.

So I can't speak from ownership, but there's one thing I know about Breitling: I wouldn't buy one new. Of all the brands in their price strata, there is an absolutely flood of Breitlng on the second-hand market (not to mention gray).

I own/love 4 models.

They served as my Invicta detox brand. A legitimate and infectious fashion brand offering similar variety, presence, and case architecture/features (SANIII rider tabs), in addition to reasons stated by the article "An association with military and aggressive, macho, and not least of all, large watches with busy, technical-looking dials..." I've never cared for the hyper-shined finish and instead opted for muted titanium (Chrono Avenger), or brushed steel with the exception of one the Monbriallant Legende (my first). All purchased pre-loved and within the article's entry level range. I'm pretty much done with Breitling cause, well...four is plenty. Still, I wouldn't mind an in-house specimen and/or the B50 for high-tech fun.

Monbriallant Legende




Blackbird




Chrono Avenger




Superocean Steelfish

Wow Jaw, beautiful in titanium, i'd never considered this as I love the dials and shapes. My sig other loves her Colt but I need sunglasses to look at it.

jaw wrote:I own/love 4 models.

Jaw- those are awesome- I like Breitling but the only one I really have a severe hankering for is the Navitimer with the moonphase at 3 o'clock, I forgot the ref #. I lagged and lost out on picking up a nice one that Barzini was selling here. After that, I looked for a long time but couldn't find one in good shape for a decent price.

TemerityB wrote:...I wouldn't buy one new. Of all the brands in their price strata, there is an absolutely flood of Breitlng on the second-hand market (not to mention gray).

^^That.

Good prices are still hard to come by even with the glut. When I was looking, there was either garbage, or people were trying to get out everything they'd spent on factory service / rebuilds. I gave up and the Nav has fallen off of my radar. Maybe someday I be shopping one of the stores I dig browsing and stumble on to one.

tiktok wrote:Wow Jaw.

Yep. Blackbird singin' in the dead of night, baby. Great collection by any standard.

Thank you gentlemen.

tiktok wrote:Wow Jaw

That ^.

I had a really nice super ocean on the asymmetric bracelet and also had a Super Ocean eye eye in red.

Nice watches. Bought the red while obsessing over the original Black Bay. Have the black bay now but wore the super ocean II more. It was a nice watch.

I sold both Breitling to partially fu s my first Daytona. I was scared that they did not have threaded crown fittings to the case.

A Jaw-dropping collection for sure. I said it. I have no regrets.




OK. I regret it now. But still a badass collection with really cool photos, especially that Superocean.

I really like the looks of vintage Breitlings. Contemporary, not my cup of tea.

That Montbrillant is quite lovely,the Chrono Avenger looks really good as well. One looks like it takes a lot from the design of the 1940s Chronomat (predecessor of the Navitimer), the other, while quite bold, is not all blingy and shiny.

jaw wrote:Thank you gentlemen.

Your watch collection is superb.

MKTheVintageBloke wrote:I really like the looks of vintage Breitlings. Contemporary, not my cup of tea.

That Montbrillant is quite lovely,the Chrono Avenger looks really good as well. One looks like it takes a lot from the design of the 1940s Chronomat (predecessor of the Navitimer), the other, while quite bold, is not all blingy and shiny.

Yes, the Blackbird is essentially a big-date Chronomat.

foghorn wrote:Not a lot of Breitlike in the comments.

Not much Breit to like in the lineup (entry or otherwise) anymore. Eight years ago I could go up and down the choices in all 4 ranges, and like almost every model. Now, 2, maybe 3 watches in the lineup I'd even consider.

FWIW, I don't believe the Colts cheapen the brand at all. The older Colt 41 Auto was one of the nicest watches I've had. And let's define entry versus cheap - $3k ain't exactly cheap for an entry model especially when the lineup has so many offerings like Breitling does. We ain't talking JLC or Breguet here.

Don Barzini wrote:

foghorn wrote:Not a lot of Breitlike in the comments.

Not much Breit to like in the lineup (entry or otherwise) anymore. Eight years ago I could go up and down the choices in all 4 ranges, and like almost every model. Now, 2, maybe 3 watches in the lineup I'd even consider.

FWIW, I don't believe the Colts cheapen the brand at all. The older Colt 41 Auto was one of the nicest watches I've had. And let's define entry versus cheap - $3k ain't exactly cheap for an entry model especially when the lineup has so many offerings like Breitling does. We ain't talking JLC or Breguet here.

Nice to see you again. I also agree with the comment you made. The Colt introduced many to Breitling over the years and became a stepping stone for some into the higher end models. A few owners I knew were satisfied enough with the Colt to keep it and purchase other brands. IMHO it was the emergency which gave me heartburn both for price point and just for being an overpriced panic button.

Do these wear as big as their size? I have a really hard time wearing most watches over 42 mm.

tiktok wrote:Do these wear as big as their size? I have a really hard time wearing most watches over 42 mm.

I would say yes, plus perhaps a touch more due to the thickness, bracelets, and case architecture (Breitling-Presence).
Chrono Avenger wears the smallest even though it's the same 42mm as the Steelfish.
Forget the Monbriallant at 47mm.
As always, I defer to the Don for all things Breitling.

jaw wrote:

MKTheVintageBloke wrote:I really like the looks of vintage Breitlings. Contemporary, not my cup of tea.

That Montbrillant is quite lovely,the Chrono Avenger looks really good as well. One looks like it takes a lot from the design of the 1940s Chronomat (predecessor of the Navitimer), the other, while quite bold, is not all blingy and shiny.

Yes, the Blackbird is essentially a big-date Chronomat.

I meant the resemblance of the Montbrillant to the Chronomat, the 1940s (patented in 1940, launched in 1941) original, the very first pilot chrono from Breitling to feature a slide rule bezel.

As to the Blackbird, with the big date resembling some cockpit instruments with a digital display, it's kinda cool.

As to the 47mm size of the Montbrillant... I did try on a 47mm Breitling once, and it felt extremely top-heavy. The lugs didn't stick out beyond my wrist, but they were, like, only a millimetre from overhang.

Never really got the Breitling mystique - but that Blackbird could make me a believer. Very nice.

I really love the looks of a few of the Breitling models and would own one if I had that kind of budget. I will have to say that I got to try one of the new entry level 2000.00 Colt Skyracers a couple of weeks ago on an anniversary trip. (Who knew there was a Breitling AD in Fargo ND??) I'm sure after sizing me up the sales person went for the cheapest thing he had in the line....which of course the new Skyracer thing. This is just my fairly uneducated humble opinion but, eeww...what a cheap looking and feeling watch this thing is. I understand that it's made of some exotic material and all that but really? 2000.00 seems to be a bit much to pay for a plastic, rubber strapped, battery operated watch. I think I will stick with my 300.00 LumiNox...at least that glows in the dark real nice.

It looks nice but isn't it just a fibreglass polymer? Unless it's world beating in its scratch resistance or shatterproofness it's just as pointless as those plastic APs and Richard Milles.