… over time your highly modified ETA movement becomes a standard ETA movement …...

Breitling does not modify movements. They modify and add to ebauches.

An ebauche is simply a movement in kit form, but importantly it does not include mainspring, mainspring barrel or any of the escapement. If you add the missing pieces to an ebauche then you have a chablon, still in kit form.

Breitling does not reveal the specifics, but it is widely known they are starting with an ebauche and then add a new glycodur balance and the new hairspring is a nivarox 1 (1 being the highest grade, lowest is 5) or even anachron. The mainspring in the new barrel is also a nivarox (nivaflex) or anachron assumedly. Some screws in the ebauche are replaced by blued versions. The oscillating weight is decorated with "Côtes de Genève" and signed in 18K gold. Even the raw ebauches Breitling begins with are top grade ( 3 ) also which is obviously a better base for the modifications.

Also, well before the cessation of supply of ebauches from Swatch, Breitling began producing a number of additional pieces of components of these movements in house (through the subsidiary company Kelek).

Breitling does not modify movements. They modify and add to ebauches.

An ebauche is simply a movement in kit form, but importantly it does not include mainspring, mainspring barrel or any of the escapement. If you add the missing pieces to an ebauche then you have a chablon, still in kit form.

Breitling does not reveal the specifics, but it is widely known they are starting with an ebauche and then add a new glycodur balance and the new hairspring is a nivarox 1 (1 being the highest grade, lowest is 5) or even anachron. The mainspring in the new barrel is also a nivarox (nivaflex) or anachron assumedly. Some screws in the ebauche are replaced by blued versions. The oscillating weight is decorated with "Côtes de Genève" and signed in 18K gold. Even the raw ebauches Breitling begins with are top grade ( 3 ) also which is obviously a better base for the modifications.

Also, well before the cessation of supply of ebauches from Swatch, Breitling began producing a number of additional pieces of components of these movements in house (through the subsidiary company Kelek).

Actually.it's from 3 sources. But if I decide to have Random House publish it someday, I will definitely use a footnote.

An ebauche is simply a movement in kit form, but importantly it does not include mainspring, mainspring barrel or any of the escapement.

If you add the missing pieces to an ebauche then you have a chablon, still in kit form.

An ebauche is simply a movement in kit form, but importantly it does not include mainspring, mainspring barrel or any of the escapement. If you add the missing pieces to an ebauche then you have a chablon, still in kit form.

Sounds like someone has an inferiority complex. Or just a huge ego. We all know that you know EVERYTHING about watches so relax.

Roff, you didn't seem to cite any sources in your post, so I assume you gathered that information first hand at the Breitling factory?

I'm a frequently published author on a topic that very, very few people on here know about (so I guess the ego isn't that large), and any author will tell you that a basic tenet is quoting your sources.