My AD had a small invitation only event today. It was a very nice setting with beautiful sunny weather, some catering and drinks. They had representatives from couple of jewellery brands, Raymond Weil and most importantly the Scandinavian rep of the mighty Breitling. He´d been working with B for couple decades and really knew his stuff. This was the first time they showed the B01 in the metal anywhere in Scandinavia.
They had three models of the Chronomat B01 with bracelets with them. I got to try them on.
I was speechless. They look so much better live then on photos or how I expected them to look. That really took me by complete surprise. First was a TT with a bronze dial and golden roman numbers. Everything was wrong for me. I don´t like two tone, Roman numbers or bronze. I would never ever considor those features on my watch. BUT it was absolutely stunning. Very very dressy and had a very high end quality feel. I couldn´t believe it. My wife felt the same way too. Next year I was supposed to buy a Navitimer as a dress watch, but now sudenly it has a heavyweight contender.
Next I tried the TT with silver dial and batons. Still dressy and eye cathing but a bit more subtle. The last one was SS with black dial. Not as eye cathing but just a very handsome, stylish and solid timepiece with exceptional fit and finish.
Here´s my personal views of the controversional stuff surrounding the CB01. I´ll start with the hottest issue.
THE bezel:
Loved it!
Somehow on the photos the ufo numbers steal all the atention, but this didn´t happen in the real world at all. The numbers some how looked smaller then I expected? They give the bezel a more flowing, fashionable and unique look. I still felt it was very Breitling.Rider tabs:
I like the "real"/old ones a lot, but with the the new design I really didn´t miss them. The lower style makes the B01 looks less bulky and it sits lower then the EVO. It´s one of the style cues that makes it dressier.
Romans:
I´ve never liked any roman numbers on a watch before. How ever the slated romans gives it caractere. There is a lot going on in the dial and maybe some will find it too busy, but somehow for me it wasn´t. I do like somewhat busy dials because I find them more interesting, but they still have to be coherent and not TOO busy.
The square:
It gives the dial depth and visual punch. With the other detailing it blends well and the complete look of the dial just works.
Size:
It sits lower then most Lings and has a very streamlined look as some of the lines have been softened. Still it didn´t look that much smaller then an EVO. Even though I wear an AS and think it`s a perfect size, I didn´t feel The CB01 was too small at all.
Movement:
There´s been a lot of talk here about it beeing too basic and it´s lack of innovation. The genious of the movement is with it´s modular design that makes it flexible. The rep said It´s just the first step in development. It will slowly start to spread around the range in different versions. In the future it´s possible to change almost anything with it. The power reserve can be extended, The subdials location can be changed, there will be versions without the chrono feature etc. So we can expect some exciting things in the coming years.
As you probably already noticed, I really love everything about the CB01 and actually so did the AD too. He was skeptical of the photos and thought it was ok, but nothing special. He wears an EVO and after seeing the CB01 he just had to have it. So he ordered one for himself already. My consernes were all washed away. It is a true display of great craftmanship, top quality and style with indredible detailing.
I also saw a picture of an up coming white/silver dialed Avenger (Skyland). It wont be as creamy shade as the Steelfish and not quite as white as the SA. That´s music to my ears and I really want one of those. They didn´t have the release date yet though.
Sorry for the long talk, but I just got a little carried away!
