Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2010 4:45 pm
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Location: Leicestershire, UK
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NOW OHPF (via another Forum) - thanks to BS for hostingUp for grabs at a highly reasonable £1375, I have a very smart Breitling Airwolf, the A78363. It's the later 'Tuxedo' Dial version, in Blue, and is set on a matching Ocean Racer rubber strap with the excellent foldover deployant in a high-polish finish.
The watch case is steel, in a classic mirror-polish finish, which contrasts nicely with the bidirectional soft-turn bezel, which is in a Satin-Brushed finish. The 'Turbine' caseback is worth a mention too, certainly my favourite of all Breitlings.
The Airwolf was produced from 2006 to 2010. I don't have the original warranty for this example, but the pinstripe 'Tuxedo' dial was only introduced in 2009 (replacing the 'Sunburst' dial). A little more research on the Serial number indicates that this is probably from 2010, so one of the very last of the Airwolf production life.
For those unfamiliar with this model, the Airwolf was Breitling's replacement for the ever popular B1, and works in a very similar way. It is an 'Ana- Digi' watch, which means that it uses standard analogue hands for displaying the main time, but has two Digital windows which are used to display a variety of other features. All the functions are accessed and controlled by the single crown and the two side pushers - generally, turn the Crown to access the function, and press the pushers to activate. It's a little overwhelming at first, but after you've used it a few times, it is actually quite intuitive, with the digital displays clearly displaying the various features. Don't panic – the original Breitling User Manual is included (and if it helps, I've got the instructions on a PDF file too, which I'm happy to pass on).
As well as the User Manual, I've got the original COSC certificate, the Slide Rule and the Slide Rule Instructions booklet, all in the standard yellow wallet. The watch comes in a new style Breitling Travel Case with cushion and polishing cloth. I can provide a new Breitling Box set as well, see below.
There's some useful Technical Specifications and other Information here: http://www.breitlingsource.com/watch_de ... al_27.html
I got this back in February, and condition is very good indeed. The case is an all high-polish steel finish, and up close you'll see some inevitable fine hairlines and swirls, but only the sort that you'll pick up immediately in general wear - there are no nicks, dinks or obvious scratches.
The caseback is the 'Turbine' style as mentioned above - condition is excellent, light swirls and hairlines only, all engraving clear and legible.
The Sapphire crystal appears immaculate, and I can't see any marks on the Anti-Reflective coating, even under a loupe.
The Dial and hands are immaculate. The Digital Displays are pristine. The luminous treatment on the hands and markers is strong, and lasts for a good spell.
The soft-turn bidirectional bezel is in a satin-brushed finish, and very nice indeed, negligible marks if any, and all the black 'fill' appears complete.
The Crown and Pushers are all in very good shape, and work correctly. All functions are working as they should.
I'll run through the functions - in order: Main Time (12H/24H display option); Alarm; Perpetual Calendar - Day & Date (DD/MM/YY); 1/100th Second Chronograph; Countdown Timer; T2 (Second Time Zone); T2 Alarm; UTC (Coordinated Universal Time(GMT)); Tone (Pushers/Pushers and Hourly Chime/Off); Digital Off.
Both the Alarms can be independently set to on or off. The analogue hands are synchronised to the digital time (though can be set independently, creating yet another Time Zone). The watch also has a backlight feature which can initiated by a press on the Crown. Apparently the backlight is 'NVG compatible' - so that if you happen to be wearing Night Vision Goggles, you can still read the illuminated display - handy! The digital display can be set to 'Off', so the watch is purely an analogue display if required.
The Airwolf uses a Breitling 78 movement, a refined version of the ETA E20.341 Thermoline SuperQuartz movement. It's amazingly accurate - officially rated at within +/- 10 seconds per year! That does sound about right – the watch has gained just under a second a month in the 8 months I've had it. As you would expect, the watch is a Certified Chronometer, which means that is has successfully achieved the extremely stringent accuracy criteria set by the watch industry.
The watch is mounted on a Breitling Ocean Racer rubber strap, in Blue, Ref 211S.. It's excellent, minimal signs of use, with 9 of the original 12 sections in place, so good for a wrist of up to around 8.4" (@215mm). The clasp is the terrific Breitling foldover push-button type, in steel with the micro-adjust slider. It's in a high-polish finish to match the watch, with the 'raised' logo - condition is very good, some fine 'micro-scratches', nothing nasty.
To summarise, for a 6 year year old watch, condition is outstanding, and any marks that are apparent are the sort that you would pick up within a few weeks of normal wear.
As mentioned, I have the User Manual, the original COSC, Slide Rule, Slide Rule Instructions, Travel Case, Polishing Cloth and Cushion. I do have a correct-for-watch new Breitling Box set if you'd like to upgrade - please ask for details if interested.
Measurements: Width (without Crown): 43.55mm (48.6mm with Crown). Depth: 17.4mm. Lug-to-lug: 53.2mm. Lug Width: 22mm. Weight (including Ocean Racer/Clasp): 155 grams.
Wow, I'd forgotten how nice this is! It's super accurate as you'd expect from the SuperQuartz movement. It's a big beast, at 43.55mm across (without the crown or pushers), deep at 17.4mm, and heavy too - at 155 grams, even on the Ocean Racer rubber, it's got a serious and substantial wrist presence. Despite its size and weight, the elegant blue dial and the mirror-polished steel case add a dressy element, set off beautifully by the satin-brushed finish to the bezel. Of course, it's on the Ocean Racer rubber with the excellent deployant clasp, so still essentially a Divers/Sports watch.
This Breitling model is no longer in production, so to find one in such nice condition is rare. Last produced in 2010, it carried a hefty retail price of £3350. The last equivalent model (the Chronospace) was listed at £5110!
I'm asking an extremely reasonable £1375. The price includes Next Day Special Delivery for Forum members. If you're overseas, Tracked/Insured shipping will be at cost (drop me a PM if you want a specific quote for your region, but you're looking at @ £25 for W Europe, £35 for ROTW.).
I reckon that's an extremely good deal for someone out there (the cheapest I could find on eBay was £1600, and not as nice as this one), so the price is firm. I'd prefer a straight sale, as I'm trying to thin the herd a bit, but I'm happy to listen to trade offers - Breitling/Omega being my main weaknesses...
I've loads of Feedback on here, I'm a 'Top Rated' e-bay seller (4000+ deals, 100%, username 'goonermike'), and I've got plenty of Feedback on TZ-UK (username 'BigBird'), so there are no worries there.
I'd prefer a Bank Transfer for payment. PayPal if absolutely necessary, or for overseas, but I cannot accept PayPal Gifts (my account just won't accept them, and I get charged even on gifts). So if you want to use PayPal, it'll be via the 'official' route, and you'll need to add 3% to contribute to Fees.
If I've missed anything, you'd like more info or pics, please feel free to PM me.
Cheers!
Mike
Lots of photos to follow, spread over several subsequent posts...
First, some more head shots.... and please excuse all the reflections (damn high-polish finish..).    
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"Behind every great fortune there is a crime" - Balzac
Last edited by goonermike on Thu Oct 20, 2016 8:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
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