The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I'm considering a couple of 4 year old Navitimer Worlds, one with black dial, one with silver.
Mechanically, what should I be aware of going into the deal? Both are being purchased from dealers, but I have no idea if they've been repaired/overhauled (I'm guessing not)
Also, I'm hearing that the black dial is more likely to show any blemishes on the crystal than the silver dial. Any thoughts on this?

Servicing period is 5 - 7 years so I wouldn't expect them to have been serviced if sold 4 years ago, but that doesn't mean that they are 4 years old - they could have been produced earlier and sat in a store show case. Manufacture date is between the 6 o'clock lugs, details here - http://www.breitlingsource.com/articles_dating.shtml

In terms of what to check, make sure that the date wheel advances smoothly and that every date is centred, make sure that the winding is smooth, make sure that the chronograph starts, stops and resets properly, and test the reset with the seconds both before and after 30 seconds. Make sure that the hands and GMT hand move smoothly around the dial.

Never heard about a black dial showing up blemishes in the crystal (which realistically means blemishes in the AR coating), but I guess that makes sense as there is more contrast. I personally wouldn't consider it to be a deal breaker though.