The Breitling Watch Source Forums :: View topic - How rare is this watch really?

Technically it's not an AOPA logo because it's the Breitling B in the middle instead of AOPA. The line underneath the wings is supposed to be waves to show the air and sea element.

It's fairly uncommon. This was the first modern Chronomat from 1984 when Breitling was still reinventing itself under Schneider.

Technically it's not an AOPA logo because it's the Breitling B in the middle instead of AOPA. The line underneath the wings is supposed to be waves to show the air and sea element.

This is the non limited edition that was produced in 84 (the LE is the PAN Frecce Tricolori), but as you obviously know this one has the Frecce Tricolori plane on the caseback.

Breitling decided to change their logo to the now familiar Breitling wings and the Chronomat was updated to the wings at 3 o'clock just left of the date.

I'm not sure exactly when the change happened - late 84 / early 85 timeframe, so this dial was only available for a few months in the non LE version.

So would it be safe to say that this is one of the first commercially available 81950's?

Its real rare Breitling produced only the first 500 Chronomats with this dial, serial number 1-500, but in the first revision the Breitling general dealer changed the old dials to the new issue. So there survived only very few of this 500.

I have the number 0081 in my collection

txturbo wrote:

So would it be safe to say that this is one of the first commercially available 81950's?

Definitely the first commercially available Chronomat model.

Heavy wrote:

I have one of these as well. (see pic below).

Mine is number 0407.

I would like to ask breitlingmuseum for clarification on something you said.

Am I right to say that they produced these 500 and then they changed the dials on some of them to look like the one you posted of your number 0081?

So of the original 500 very few kept the original black dial?

Thanks!

That is what he's saying, although I don't agree. It happened, but I have seen way too many of these to believe that onlu a few survived.

Roffensian wrote:

Heavy wrote:

That is what he's saying, although I don't agree. It happened, but I have seen way too many of these to believe that onlu a few survived.

Roff... After spending allot of time looking into this I totally agree with you. The "myth" of the dials being changed and the cut off at 500 is purely made up for marketing reasons. I defy anyone to prove otherwise. Thees watches were very hot sellers , there was no need to re dial the watches to move them. I really think it's the change in the corporate logo that can be seen in the 1986 to 1987 catalog transition.

I doubt that watches were sent back for dial changes just to represent the new logo. I am sure that some dials were changed during service but how many is unknown.

This dial came in a variety of combinations. The collector that sold me the 89150 has several of thees watches. I have spent many hours discussing thees watches with him. The one in the center is actually a prototype as is the one shown in the 10th Anniversary book. So there is a black dial, black with silver subs and white that are known production dials.

The picture is bad but you can see the logo..

Author:	txturbo [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 9:05 am ]
Post subject:	How rare is this watch really?
Anyone else have one?

Author:	bnewbie [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 9:12 am ]
Post subject:	Re: How rare is this watch really?
It's AOPA Chronomat, second time I see it.

Author:	Roffensian [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 11:04 am ]
Post subject:	Re: How rare is this watch really?
It's fairly uncommon. This was the first modern Chronomat from 1984 when Breitling was still reinventing itself under Schneider. Technically it's not an AOPA logo because it's the Breitling B in the middle instead of AOPA. The line underneath the wings is supposed to be waves to show the air and sea element. This is the non limited edition that was produced in 84 (the LE is the PAN Frecce Tricolori), but as you obviously know this one has the Frecce Tricolori plane on the caseback. Breitling decided to change their logo to the now familiar Breitling wings and the Chronomat was updated to the wings at 3 o'clock just left of the date. I'm not sure exactly when the change happened - late 84 / early 85 timeframe, so this dial was only available for a few months in the non LE version.

Author:	bnewbie [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 11:13 am ]
Post subject:	Re: How rare is this watch really?
Roffensian wrote: Technically it's not an AOPA logo because it's the Breitling B in the middle instead of AOPA. The line underneath the wings is supposed to be waves to show the air and sea element. Didn't even notice. Thanks for the explanation.

Author:	txturbo [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 11:35 am ]
Post subject:	Re: How rare is this watch really?
Roffensian wrote: It's fairly uncommon. This was the first modern Chronomat from 1984 when Breitling was still reinventing itself under Schneider. Technically it's not an AOPA logo because it's the Breitling B in the middle instead of AOPA. The line underneath the wings is supposed to be waves to show the air and sea element. This is the non limited edition that was produced in 84 (the LE is the PAN Frecce Tricolori), but as you obviously know this one has the Frecce Tricolori plane on the caseback. Breitling decided to change their logo to the now familiar Breitling wings and the Chronomat was updated to the wings at 3 o'clock just left of the date. I'm not sure exactly when the change happened - late 84 / early 85 timeframe, so this dial was only available for a few months in the non LE version. Thanks Roff... So would it be safe to say that this is one of the first commercially available 81950's? I think the SN is in the 200's. I assume that the Frecce Tricolori's were given to the flight team and are all but non existent. I had never seen one available with this exact black dial. I showed it to my wife (god I love that woman) and she said that it's my x-mas present now...

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Author:	breitlingmuseum [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 11:36 am ]
Post subject:	Re: How rare is this watch really?
Its real rare Breitling produced only the first 500 Chronomats with this dial, serial number 1-500, but in the first revision the Breitling general dealer changed the old dials to the new issue. So there survived only very few of this 500. I have the number 0081 in my collection

Author:	Roffensian [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 11:44 am ]
Post subject:	Re: How rare is this watch really?
txturbo wrote: So would it be safe to say that this is one of the first commercially available 81950's? Definitely the first commercially available Chronomat model.

Author:	txturbo [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 11:49 am ]
Post subject:	Re: How rare is this watch really?
breitlingmuseum wrote: Its real rare Breitling produced only the first 500 Chronomats with this dial, serial number 1-500, but in the first revision the Breitling general dealer changed the old dials to the new issue. So there survived only very few of this 500. I have the number 0081 in my collection Thanks for the information... I just found this in one of my books... It looks like the watch you have but it's two tone.

Author:	breitlingmuseum [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 7:47 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How rare is this watch really?
Thanx txturbo for this first official photo of the first modern Chronomat.

Author:	Omega21 [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 8:18 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How rare is this watch really?
awesome! Congrats!

Author:	Heavy [ Mon Jan 18, 2010 5:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How rare is this watch really?
I have one of these as well. (see pic below). Mine is number 0407. I would like to ask breitlingmuseum for clarification on something you said. Am I right to say that they produced these 500 and then they changed the dials on some of them to look like the one you posted of your number 0081? So of the original 500 very few kept the original black dial? Thanks!

Author:	Roffensian [ Mon Jan 18, 2010 5:28 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How rare is this watch really?
[quote="Heavy"]I have one of these as well. (see pic below). Mine is number 0407. I would like to ask breitlingmuseum for clarification on something you said. Am I right to say that they produced these 500 and then they changed the dials on some of them to look like the one you posted of your number 0081? So of the original 500 very few kept the original black dial? Thanks! That is what he's saying, although I don't agree. It happened, but I have seen way too many of these to believe that onlu a few survived.

Author:	txturbo [ Mon Jan 18, 2010 9:00 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How rare is this watch really?
Roffensian wrote: Heavy wrote: I have one of these as well. (see pic below). Mine is number 0407. I would like to ask breitlingmuseum for clarification on something you said. Am I right to say that they produced these 500 and then they changed the dials on some of them to look like the one you posted of your number 0081? So of the original 500 very few kept the original black dial? Thanks! That is what he's saying, although I don't agree. It happened, but I have seen way too many of these to believe that onlu a few survived. Roff... After spending allot of time looking into this I totally agree with you. The "myth" of the dials being changed and the cut off at 500 is purely made up for marketing reasons. I defy anyone to prove otherwise. Thees watches were very hot sellers , there was no need to re dial the watches to move them. I really think it's the change in the corporate logo that can be seen in the 1986 to 1987 catalog transition. I doubt that watches were sent back for dial changes just to represent the new logo. I am sure that some dials were changed during service but how many is unknown. This dial came in a variety of combinations. The collector that sold me the 89150 has several of thees watches. I have spent many hours discussing thees watches with him. The one in the center is actually a prototype as is the one shown in the 10th Anniversary book. So there is a black dial, black with silver subs and white that are known production dials. The picture is bad but you can see the logo..

Author:	BP80 [ Mon Feb 29, 2016 5:26 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How rare is this watch really?
txturbo wrote: Roffensian wrote: Heavy wrote: I have one of these as well. (see pic below). Mine is number 0407. I would like to ask breitlingmuseum for clarification on something you said. Am I right to say that they produced these 500 and then they changed the dials on some of them to look like the one you posted of your number 0081? So of the original 500 very few kept the original black dial? Thanks! That is what he's saying, although I don't agree. It happened, but I have seen way too many of these to believe that onlu a few survived. Roff... After spending allot of time looking into this I totally agree with you. The "myth" of the dials being changed and the cut off at 500 is purely made up for marketing reasons. I defy anyone to prove otherwise. Thees watches were very hot sellers , there was no need to re dial the watches to move them. I really think it's the change in the corporate logo that can be seen in the 1986 to 1987 catalog transition. I doubt that watches were sent back for dial changes just to represent the new logo. I am sure that some dials were changed during service but how many is unknown. This dial came in a variety of combinations. The collector that sold me the 89150 has several of thees watches. I have spent many hours discussing thees watches with him. The one in the center is actually a prototype as is the one shown in the 10th Anniversary book. So there is a black dial, black with silver subs and white that are known production dials. The picture is bad but you can see the logo.. I bump this old thread. Whatever is true it's a really hard watch to find. I've been looking for years for one with the "Aopa"-dial and 0001-0500 serial number. Now I have one finally coming. Number 0425, sand case, all steel, black dial and Rouleaux bracelet. Will post pictures when I get it. But I already own earlier number 0395, see pictures. But this has the newer wings dial, probably one of these with replacements dials...

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