The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Just curious if anyone cares to speculate when (not IF) Breitling comes out with the in house Blackbird?

Think that they will stick with the traditional stylings or muck it up with the Buck Rogers font?

I was thinking that a brushed BB with the big date moved to a new location (perhaps 6:00) would be cool and instantly known from a glance that its the in house version. It would be a really cool model if they came out with a new case material, just for the BB... but that might prove to be problematic for a matching bracelet.

just thinking out loud....

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Breitling Steelfish(black)
Breitling Steelfish(silver)
Panerai PAM 312
Bell & Ross BR03-92 Phantom
Steinhart BreitlingSource LE #5/15

The last BB came out roughly two years after the introduction of the Evo. If Breitling holds with that timeframe, I expect it will be a couple more years before we see an in-house version.

I'm almost afraid to see what they do to it. The discontinuation of the Evo is bad enough, but the BB is sacrosanct. Breitling has already shown us the horror that is the buckified compass bezel on the Galactic Chrono II - will they do the same to the BB? I certainly hope not. Call me a pessimist, but something tells me the next BB won't equal the old one. The last one was damn near perfect as it was. Now, Breitling is in a weird and unpleasant design phase, and charging a mint for their in-house lineups. Odds are, the next BB will be a lot more expensive, and won't as good as what it replaced, even if it does have an in-house movement.

I suppose they could surprise me and release something really killer, like they did with the Navi 01. But odds are it's still going to be in the $8k+ range, which really starts to make me question the value of the watch.

I 'm newcomer!

OK I won't speculate on the IF a new Blackbird with will be built, so let's assume it's just a case of WHEN.

The thing is, the BB, while having legions of fans, isn't actually an historic piece per se (unlike say the Navi) or even an historic name in Breitling terms (unlike the Chronomat) : the original BB only came out in 1995, and has in fact only been through two iterations in terms of design - and the first BB was quite different to the current model. The first one was basically just a brushed Chronomat with a faceted bracelet.

Basically, what I'm saying is that I don't believe that the BB is a sacred cow to Breitling, so I certainly won't be surprised if they completely change it. I'm not saying they definitely will, but even features like the big date have only been around since 2004 when the second and current model BB came out. I personally don't think they'll necessarily feel the need to stick with the big date. I think the only things that more than likely will stay are the faceted bracelet, and the brushed finish / black dial combo (although they even started to mess with that aspect lately with the polished models and the blackeye-blue dials )

I think it'll definitely have an in-house movement - possibly even just a standard B01, or if we're really lucky a new variant of it - and a variation of the Buck bezel as that's clearly Breitlings current design direction. I think it'll be the compass bezel type as seen on the *ahem* "new" Galactic Evo (OK, the Galactic Chrono II) seen at Basel this year, which I actually slightly prefer to the standard Buck bezel on the strength of pictures to date.

But as I say, all that is very dependent on the "IF it gets built" factor anyway!

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Driver8

Site Moderator

The current dial layout lends itself to a big date in house. We heard a lot about the fact that the B01 was designed to be tricompax or 6 / 9 / 12, but we haven't seen any evidence of that. The addition of a big date complication, while not simple, should be achievable within the B01 framework, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the next evolution of the B01.

However, I agree with Driver8 that a big date BB isn't going to be seen as a 'must have' for Breitling so a new model carrying that badge is not necessarily going to carry the same look and feel. My guess is that at the earliest it will be a Basel 2012 introduction.

No doubt you're right. But I'd lay odds the Blackbird fans feel as passionate about the Blackbird as Navi fans do about the Navi. If the Blackbird goes the way you're predicting, or if it doesn't get made at all, then the 2007-2010 model will probably become a cult favorite and collectable. Just a guess.


Isn't it sad? Except for that damn bezel, the Evo is still alive and with us. Only it's not the Evo. It's like some alien took its shape and is now trying to live among the Windriders.

Mr Stone, wadda you mean 'become'?....

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Al

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"

Touché.

A friend of mine used to have an in-house Budgie

Yes Alan, but your biased with that 2 of a kind UTC Blackbird! That combo is outstanding and would be a treasure for sure.

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Breitling Steelfish(black)
Breitling Steelfish(silver)
Panerai PAM 312
Bell & Ross BR03-92 Phantom
Steinhart BreitlingSource LE #5/15

I am as you say biased (and I am unanimous in that) I wonder who looks after the 2 of 2 WW nowerdays.

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Al

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"

It's a good bias to have. The Blackbird is (was) one of the greats.

Is however IMUHO ever better with the +

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Al

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"

I say keep the 2 digit date under the 12

I agree with that. But something I always wished was that they would have put the small seconds at six, opposite the date, then have the chrono totalizers at 3 and 9. It seems to me that would make the layout more symmetrical. That would have been the only thing I would have liked to see changed about it. Otherwise, it was perfect.