The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I did have a victorinox airboss for a VERY short while that I sold which I'm not counting so I'm calling this my first real mechanical watch! Anyways, I started off with smartwatches actually, during which time I'd always use mechanical looking watch faces - an excellent start to the world of horology IMO, as you get to try out different looks, complications and designs of REAL watches. While i've always been attracted to watches, especially mechanical ones, I never really cared for wearing a watch. OFC, this all changes when I got into smartwatches, and eventually I found myself craving a real mechanical watch - one that doesn't need to be charged every single day.

While thinking about it for a while, I didn't really know WHAT i wanted in a watch. I tried out many "watch faces" on my smartwatch (an EXCELLENT way to get to know your own likes/dislikes for complications and designs on real watches). I did learn i dislike complex dials and too many complications (one of my faves was actually MiesterSinger). While I can appreciate beauty for the sake of beauty, I tend toward well made utilitarian designs, large faces, lot of empty space (so no small face+large numbers like dive watches), no extraneous information, easy to read - all of which basically says aviation style watches for the most part. Other than that though I didn't really care for complications. I didn't really want "just 2 hands that tell time" either, cuz what's the fun in that? I thought about stuff like moon phase, just for the sake of the coolness of it, or a power reserve (which would be useful, I'll admit) but the thought that those would naturally be harder to fix if broken (being more complex), and naturally more expensive on average, made me reconsider.

I had seen Breitling's navitimers before, ofc, who hasn't and eventually I realized that this is the perfect combination of clean, not too complex, but it does something MORE than just tell time. I did consider the SINN which was very attractive, but ultimately the ease of servicing (Breitling AD is basically a stone's throw from my house) made me go toward Breitling. Thought about a used Breitling (joma has a lovely one with moonphase and power reserve), but honestly, Chronographs are twice as expensive to service and I have a pet peeve about the central/large seconds hand being used for chrono function rather than continuously running as the time of day. The Navitimer 41 seemed almost perfect! I do wish it was 43mm and had that winged logo, i have small wrists but I wouldn't mind a smidge larger of a watch. And man, that winged logo, can't help but feel a little bummed about that. But, you know -

Funnily enough, I do actually use the slide rule for small stuff like "oh which is cheaper per unit" or "how many kilos is that?". And I've already found that Breitlings slide rule is a WHOLE nother level, well made enough and accurate enough to be actually useful - compared to Casio, Seiko and the like. (Honestly, who thinks it's a good idea to put one scale beneath the glass and the other on top of it on a whole different level?). And ofc the dial...OMG, the first time I took it out of the box i spent 5 minutes just staring at it. It was at the mall, which was very well lit ofc...that blue on the dial and silver on the markers and the hands...just play tricks on your eyes, there's a sense of depth that I've never seen before. And after YEARS of owning smart watches, it's funny to see the seconds hand not just disappear like...it's all SO REAL, the hands have a shadow

also: <1spd...DAMN that's good!

Anywho, I'll leave ya'll with a question: What are your thoughts on the Navitimer 41? (i.e. the non chronograph version, but still has a sliderule, like below). There's not a lot of coverage on this watch, sadly and I'm curious what fans of Breitling here think! (what...no ofc i'm not looking for external validation to quell any naturally occurring doubts after such a large purchase ).

Welcome aboard.

As a watch in it's own right (as opposed to specifically being a Navi) then I really like the Navi 41. That said, I personally still tend to think that the "classic" Navi should have a chronograph - yeah I'm a bit of a traditionalist like that - but I've definitely warmed to the aesthetics of the Navi 41 over time. It's a really good looking watch, and as you say, it's a cost effective option both in terms of original purchase cost and servicing.

Judging from the picture, I'd say that's a great size for you, and it looks ideal. Many congrats on the acquisition.

(Just as an aside, you can run the central seconds constantly on the B01 without any additional wear or loss of power reserve on account of it having a vertical clutch, so don't let that put you off a B01 chronograph in future).

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Driver8

Site Moderator

It sounds like this watch is everything you like and nothing you don't. It really doesn't matter if most people like it, or frankly, if anyone else likes it, so long as you do.

I have a Transocean Chronograph Unitime that I really enjoy, and I love the complication it has. It apparently wasn't a popular model because it was only made for a few years, but that doesn't diminish my appreciation for the watch. My watches are for me, not anyone else.

You sound more than satisfied and watch is beautiful so enjoy it and wear it proudly