The Breitling Watch Source Forums

So, I have been agonizing over my options as I'm about to purchase my first high end watch, but simply go back and forth between the Flying Fish or the Chronomat 44 GMT with the Black Eye Gray Dial. The Regular GMT is just too big, so that's out.

My dilemna is that I like the all black look of the flying fish better than the Gray Dial of the GMT 44, but I like the GMT complication and am fascinated with the mechanics of the watch. So it's the age old question (with women, or watches in this case), go for the looks, or go for what's on the inside, haha. Any opinions/suggestions???

Personally, I'd go with the Flying Fish as it's probably my favourite Chronomat 01 variant yet produced. I'm a bit of a sucker for an in-house movement with complications as well, but the FF obviously the 01 inside anyway, and the looks would outweigh the GMT version for me.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

I really like the GMT complication and think that gray dial is stunning. So many people with one watch have a black face...kind of boring. However the FF is a very nice watch. Tough decision, good luck with it.

Haha making this decision is a good problem to have. I'd definitely go with the FF in terms of looks, which I think is ultimately the deciding factor. You will look at the face of the watch every time you wear it, so liking its aesthetics is most important.

FF for me. Besides the color choice which I think looks more classic and timeless, actually the watch looks cleaner and just right without the extra hour hand IMO. Else it makes the dial a little too busy. Erm.... U might wanna consider Chronomat 01 Limited Edition if it's still available in yr country. I was actually aiming for FF too when buying my first until I came across the Chronomat 01 LE. Basically it looks almost the same except that the hands on the sub-dials are red and the second hand sweep is polished with only red at the top part. I always feel that it will be a pity to spend that kind of money on an automatic watch but not able to admire the aesthetic beauty of the movement, moreover the in-house movement is damn beautiful IMO. Chronomat 01 LE offers a transparent sapphire caseback, although it reduces the WR from 500m to 200m, I feel that 200m is good enough and in return, the ability for u to visually admire the movement is worth the "exchange". Despite the fact that a limited edition of 2000 pieces is not really considered limited, but it is still more special in a sense that you know at most there will only be 2000 people in this world having the same watch as you, or rather, you are the only person in this world having the watch with the specific number on it. Anyway this is a limited edition of the very first model to house Breitling's very first in-house movement, to me it is very rare to come across such pieces that mark such important milestones to the brand. Assuming if all Breitling watches use in-house movements a few decades or even a century later, this will be the "ancestor" of Breitling IMO.

Before you decide on yr purchase, I must add that there are many people who despise the new Chronomats and even Breitling's in-house movements. Of course you buy a watch for yourself and not for others, so you shouldn't really bother about it. However I encourage you to search the threads in this forum relating to the in-house movements and yr targetted watches and read through the reviews and comments first, especially the negative ones before you make a final decision. I am sure that this is a watch that will be of sentimental value to you that you would want to keep forever and even pass on to your descendants. So it will be good for you to also read the negative reviews to see if you would change yr mind. Many of the negative reviews are posted by users who have owned the watches themselves so their sharing would serve as good reference for you. If after reading them you still feel that it's the perfect watch for you then the chances of you regretting later on will be lower. I am a minority fan of the new Chronomats(although not all) and in-house movement. But still my suggestion is that it will be good for you to think through carefully on the options first to prevent an impulse decision. Whichever you get above, my personal opinion is that you would have made the right choice do post photos of your baby after you have made yr purchase...

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Breitling Chronomat 01 Limited Edition
Breitling Navitimer 01 46mm

That's some great advice, from everyone, thank you. I wish I could fInd a chronomat 01 LE, but have had no luck. Oh well, like osubuck said, this is quite a good problem to have

If that was my first choice, I would wait a bit to come up on the market.

So I have come across what appears to be a legitimate Chronomat B01 Limited Edition in excellent condition. I have checked the numbers and calle BUSA to verify it's not stolen. It includes all paperwork, and the warranty is good until 12/31/2013. It also includes a rubber and leather strap in addition to the braclet.

So my question, what is an appropriate price to pay for what appears to be a nearly brand new piece?

Thanks again

I think the answer can only ever be, check out forum ads, specialist sites such as Chrono 24, and eBay (including past listings and sale prices) for a sense of this. The obvious variables are how many are out there and how badly you want it - the less of the former, and the more of the latter, the more one is prepared to pay!

I should clarify, I called BUSA, and they were unwilling to even take the serial number to verify if it was a stolen watch or not. Any other ways of going about that?