The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Long story short, this watch was given to me after my grandfather died about 15 years ago. I was in the process of moving and I totally forgot that I had it. My grandmother cannot give me any information about it but some other family members believe it is authentic. The numbers printed on the back read: 705390 785. There is no tarnish on the gold also which is why I'm wondering if it is authentic. Sorry about the quality of pictures, hope they can help. Heres the link: http://s1127.photobucket.com/albums/l627/mikeymike855/

It may be real.

Would want to see the movement before committing as well as the inside of the caseback. Any competent watchmaker should be willing to pop the back and allow you to take some photos.

Thanks, I'm going to do that later this week. The only thing is that it doesn't work....would it need a battery? Do watches this old even take batteries? Sorry, when it comes to watches I am a total rook.

It's mechanical, no battery.

Let's figure out if it's real and then worry about servicing

I guess what I'm asking is if there are fake vintage Breitlings that resemble this model around? It is to my understanding that he owned it for a very very long time. If it makes a difference, the glass on the face is very thick.

Lol

There are a lot of people trying to fake this model. This looks better than most pieces that appear on eBay (almost all of which are fake), but I'm not prepared to commit until seeing the movement.

If it is real...what would it be worth?

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Again, i would be more concerned on whether or not its real before you start worrying about anything else.

Post shots of the movement so Roff can give you a definate answer on authenticity.

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Never sell a car without using our guaranteed price.
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If it worked I would do so gladly

It doesnt need to work to take a photo of it...

_________________
Never sell a car without using our guaranteed price.
You can get more. But never accept less.

and if its real a potential buyer wouldnt care whther or not it works either
they would have it services at their expense as this is a pretty rare piece (if its real)

inside caseback shots and movement shots would definitely shed some light on this

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"I spent most of my money on Booze, Breitling and Boats. The rest I wasted" - mostly Elmore Leonard

Gotcha....I'm going to have a jeweler take appraise it on Friday so I'll let you guys know how that goes. Thanks again though.

Okay so here's the lowdown:

Antiques roadshow was in my hometown (weird I know) so I brought the watch there because they advertised that they buy Breitlings and Rolex's. Anyhow, the lady who looked at the watch offered me $500. She didn't tell me much but said it was authentic without even cracking the back. I said I'll sit on the offer and let her know tomorrow. I then went to a local jeweler who has been in business for over 50 years. The guy said he had never seen a Breitling that old so he proceeded to check out the gold and whatnot. He checked the gold and told me that it was 18 karat gold. He then did some research and found that the watch was from 1947. He said he could fix the watch for about $300 which would make it more valuable but said if I didn't want to go that route then he would give me $700 just for it's weight in gold. He then informed me that somebody came into his store earlier and asked him if he ever gets any vintage Breitlings and Rolex's. (Very Ironic). Needless to say, he is going to put me in touch with the guy tomorrow. Long story short, the jeweler confirmed that the watch was authentic without even cracking it open. So, I have had two offers so far, both stating the watch is 100% real. I would really appreciate if you guys could help me out with this. What kind of offer should I entertain for the watch? Or should I just put it on E-Bay? Thanks in advance.

If the movement is correct then both offers are way too low. I still have absolutely no intention of giving a value until I know what is inside.


I'm not trying to be difficult here, but too often items end up on eBay with comments like 'renowned vintage Breitling experts have valued this watch at $x' and then link to the thread here. The bottom line is that no one can say with any confidence what this watch is worth without knowing what's inside it.