The general concensus on Breitling

[andy97]

Well I know its one of the bottom of the range ones, and an automatic, but my Colt Ocean is a simple design & not over big at all. It has been stunningly accurate. I bought it, new, for half the price some second hand ones are being advertised for now and I'm very pleased with it.

A mate with Rolex Submariner reckoned his was losing several minutes a week! He now has it as an "ornament" whilst wearing an Omega.

[tertius]

andy97 said:

Well I know its one of the bottom of the range ones, and an automatic, but my Colt Ocean is a simple design & not over big at all. It has been stunningly accurate. I bought it, new, for half the price some second hand ones are being advertised for now and I'm very pleased with it.

A mate with Rolex Submariner reckoned his was losing several minutes a week! He now has it as an "ornament" whilst wearing an Omega.

Why doesn't he get it fixed? It's a trivial job to put right.

[Podie]

tertius said:

Why doesn't he get it fixed? It's a trivial job to put right.

Agreed. These things are made to be worn!

[andy97]

He had it many years, it never worked well. Had it "repaired" several times & no better. Got fed up & bought the Omega instead.

[bobbymonks]

el stovey said:

Robbo66 said:

The Breitling however, fails on 2 counts. 1: It aspires to be a 'Hublot' or some other fussy design, but looks a cheap imitation.

Hublot founded 1980
Breitling founded 1884

I'm not sure they're in the business of simply trying to copy Hublot?

I always thought that Hublot were an AP wanna=be.
The AP Royal Oak, none off shore models, are certainly not TOWIE watches. In fact they were the first company to make a high-end luxury SS model.

Used to have an original BBB (Breitling Black Bird) and with its matt finish on the case & bracelet (the only Breitling to sport this at the time)is was anything but bling

[tertius]

andy97 said:

He had it many years, it never worked well. Had it "repaired" several times & no better. Got fed up & bought the Omega instead.

That seems quite bizarre.

Both Breitling and Omega use ETA movements. You could change the whole movement for not very much.

Moreover IIRC Breitling COSC certify all their watches so if it didn't run within COSC specs I'd expect my money back or a replacement. (Were I to buy one that is).

[Stefan DS3R]

tertius said:

andy97 said:

He had it many years, it never worked well. Had it "repaired" several times & no better. Got fed up & bought the Omega instead.

That seems quite bizarre.

Both Breitling and Omega use ETA movements. You could change the whole movement for not very much.

Moreover IIRC Breitling COSC certify all their watches so if it didn't run within COSC specs I'd expect my money back or a replacement. (Were I to buy one that is).

Indeed, and in fact they are the only Swiss manufacturer to have every model COSC rated.

They are not a flawless company though. I bought a brand new Navitimer Caliber 01 in December last year, it was fitted with their in house B01 movement but arrived with a defective chrono and a chip in the red coating on the second hand, it went back and they fixed it and sent it back complete with two new gouges on the side, right on the side above the limited edition numbers! They then replaced it with a brand new one but by then it didn't gel so I sold it.

They are still my favourite brand though, but mostly pre 2010 models, they've kind of lost the plot with some of the recent crap!

Stef

[andy97]

Folks, to clarify, it was my mate's Rolex that was always losing time no matter how many times it was repaired, NOT a Breitling.

[tertius]

andy97 said:

Folks, to clarify, it was my mate's Rolex that was always losing time no matter how many times it was repaired, NOT a Breitling.

Ah, OK, understood - and to be fair your original post was quite clear.

Was it a Rolex that claimed "Superlative Chronometer" on the dial? I'd be pointing at that and saying what about it ...

[tertius]

Stefan DS3R said:

tertius said:

Moreover IIRC Breitling COSC certify all their watches so if it didn't run within COSC specs I'd expect my money back or a replacement. (Were I to buy one that is).

Indeed, and in fact they are the only Swiss manufacturer to have every model COSC rated.

Just to follow up on this point. I don't personally place a great store by this, as:

a) COSC specs aren't all that stringent;

b) there are plenty of Swiss manufactures who don't submit any of their watches to COSC testing as they apply their own more challenging criteria - e.g. JLC, IWC, PP, AP, VC

Edited by tertius on Saturday 22 October 11:51

[bobbybee]

Stefan DS3R said:

Indeed, and in fact they are the only Swiss manufacturer to have every model COSC rated.

Not true, I had a 1998 Blackbird which was not a COSC chronometer.
And it is not the only maker with an all cosc line up, there's Rolex to, and they have the most COSC certifications of any Swiss maker

[tertius]

bobbybee said:

there's Rolex to, and they have the most COSC certifications of any Swiss maker

Not surprising since they make far more watches than any other (prestige) maker. Something like 700,000 a year, I think Breitling or Omega are second somewhere around 150,000/yr.

[zip929]

I have had a blue Super Ocean for about 10 years. I cannot fault it. Worn every day and still as good as when I bought it.

[Riff Raff]

bobbybee said:

Stefan DS3R said:

Indeed, and in fact they are the only Swiss manufacturer to have every model COSC rated.

Not true, I had a 1998 Blackbird which was not a COSC chronometer.
And it is not the only maker with an all cosc line up, there's Rolex to, and they have the most COSC certifications of any Swiss maker

I think all of the current mechanical Breitlings are COSC. Like you I have a couple of non COSC Breitlings, but the change (i.e. having them all COSC'd) happened in about 2000. I think if the 3rd digit in the model number is a 3, it's COSC.

Re the Rolex point, I'm not sure about current production, but up until recently (a few years ago) you could buy a non COSC non date Sub for example. I'm sure there will be other models that weren't COSC either.

[Stefan DS3R]

bobbybee said:

Stefan DS3R said:

Indeed, and in fact they are the only Swiss manufacturer to have every model COSC rated.

Not true, I had a 1998 Blackbird which was not a COSC chronometer.
And it is not the only maker with an all cosc line up, there's Rolex to, and they have the most COSC certifications of any Swiss maker

Excluding older models!

All current models and I believe from circa 2000 have been COSC rated...................................

Interesting your statement about Rolex, because Breitling claim they are the only ones to COSC certify every model including quartz in the current line up.

Wiki states not all Rolex model are........................

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COSC

"Rolex submit by far the largest number of movements to COSC followed by Omega SA, Breitling, TAG Heuer and Panerai. Breitling submit all movements for certification but other manufacturers only submit certain models."

Stef

Edited by Stefan DS3R on Saturday 22 October 15:26

[Don1]

The only watch I have ever flipped, but I'm really wanting a proper one again. 1976 Navitimer please!

[Spoof]

I have a B1 and its never off my wrist. Love it, keeps time superbly, has all the features i need for flying and is built like a brick toilet.

Must admit, not a fan of any of the post 2010 models, even the aerospace now has a 'design' to the face which over complicates it.

[toasty]

Still love/hate my Aerospace after 15 years.

Love the spinning hand when changing the timezone.
Love the way the blue face changes shade in different light.
Love the fact it's so light.

Hate the stupid 12,3,6,9 tabs that catch on everything.
Hate the little imperfections in the lume that have been there since day one.
Hate the minute repeater that goes off whenever I hit a golf ball (I know, I know, I can turn it off).


Breitling Aerospace by jcross70, on Flickr

[Murcielago_Boy]

FYI, gents, I picked up my Superocean Chrono from Watches of Switzerland on Bond St, this morning after a 2 month absence when it went off for service.
It's cost me £745 but it looks NEW - and I mean BRAND NEW the day I got it. They've gotten rid of EVERY SINGLE mark and scratch everywhere - on the watch, the case, bracelet and the clasp.

Very impressed.

[bobbymonks]

Stefan DS3R said:

Excluding older models!

All current models and I believe from circa 2000 have been COSC rated...................................

Interesting your statement about Rolex, because Breitling claim they are the only ones to COSC certify every model including quartz in the current line up.

Wiki states not all Rolex model are........................

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COSC

"Rolex submit by far the largest number of movements to COSC followed by Omega SA, Breitling, TAG Heuer and Panerai. Breitling submit all movements for certification but other manufacturers only submit certain models."

Stef

Edited by Stefan DS3R on Saturday 22 October 15:26

Well Just checked on Rolex, All their current models are COSC. Oh and no quartz COSC (as I see using electronics to get a COSC rating is cheating really, no real skill involved compared to a mechanical movement)
Some don't submit at all, as their own in-house ratings are more stringent and to a higher spec than COSC.
The likes of AP, PP & VC for example

And one more thing, "wiki states" as Wikipedia is written by anyone, can be edited by anyone, it's a good starting point for information, but should never be used a complete fact. There entries are subject to no control and are informed opinion at best most of the time.

Edited by bobbymonks on Tuesday 25th October 12:47