The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I've seen real and fake Breitlings and they all look the same to me!

How does one tell apart a real from a fake? are there set things in all watches, or are there only certain things in certain models?

you have to know the watch and have a tendency to detail. When I look at a watch I try not to look for whats good but try to look for whats misplaced and why I wouldn't buy it.

ok, well what are some of the details that you would look for? I have seen fakes that are absolutely flawless, like the writing is perfectly aligned, the size of the writing seems the same, the lens has the blue glare on it, the dials glow, the chronos work, the slides work, everything works! so how are you supposed to know the dealers from the wheelers?

open up the back and check the movement?

assuming I can only touch it and look at it - how can one see from the eye? Those screw backs are a pain in the arse...

Iv'e just introduced myself in the intro section but a couple of tips on fakes for you.

The Chrono Avenger is easy to spot with a quick glance - the number 45 on the bezel of the fake has a closed 4 whereas the genuine CA has an open 4 (unlike the Evo which does have a closed 4). Also most of the fakes don't have a double AR coat unless someone has had that done (and believe me there are a lot of people that modify the fakes to improve them - I used to be one of them).

The Chronmat Evo fake is very good and now seems to have a double AR coat. The only way to tell this one is from the date font and the bracelet screws. Sometimes the engraved numbers on the bezel markers are not perfectly aligned. The other give-away is that the fakers never use SuperLuminova (it costs too much) so the markers will glow but not very brightly and not for long either.

As Mark says the reps are getting good now.

If you're watch comes with sub dials with a layout at 12,9,6, the easiest tell is the date font. Breitling uses a very unique datefont. Have a look at pictures of the chrono avenher, super avenger etc... and familiarise yourself with this.

Breitling AR coating is incredibly good. A purple tint from the crystal (or it appearing like there is no crystal at all) is a good sign of a genuine.

Apart from that it varies between models, you just need to spend some time looking through them, and getting used to their attributes. If you are after a particular watch and you're not sure, ask here and you'll get a yes/no on whether to purchase or not.

Actually the earlier version of the CA did have the correct open 4 of the 45 on the bezel. The date font is definitely the only sure fire way to tell. Some Evo models are now available with a genuine ETA 7750 but they come with the standard ETA datewheel (the Chinese do not re-print them). The font on the ETA wheels is characterized by the use of a simple 1 with no serifs but with the exception of the number 1 and the number 11 which have small serifs at the top of the number. Also the number 4 has a squared off flat top to it.

It seems to be that details like the font are things to look out for.

I've noticed on a fake Bentley that the numbers on the bezel aren't aligned properly. On the real they are perfectly spaced and have about a half mm gap between the bottom of the black marker for each number and the rim of the bezel, whereas the fakes sometimes are more to one side and are never perfectly aligned. Though not something you can notice unless they are studied meticulously.

Anything else to look out for? I don't have one in mind, but I'd like to be able to take the initiative and decide for myself.

Thanks for all the replies so far.

It's really difficult to say exactly and often the only way is to study them side by side. What is happening more and more is that the Chinese fakers buy a genuine watch then take it apart to produce CAD/CAM drawings that then their milling machines cna churn out cloned cases etc by the dozen. Remember that the factories that make these watches are legitimate watch factories as well as making the fakes which is why they have all the same sort of tooling that the Swiss have and is why making a Breitling is no different to a domestic Asian watch brand to them.

Another tell is very often the luminous material. The dials/hands will glow but only for a few minutes then very quickly fade out. They do not use Super Luminova as it's too expensive - they want to keep production costs to a minimum to maximise profits. However there are some Panerai fakes that do use SL.

One idea would be to have a sticky that lists the known fake serial numbers so that members could cross reference any potential purchase. Usually the serial numbers will all be the same although again there are some Panerai's that have sequential serial numbers.

A word of caution - the new Avenger Skyland I know is being released soon onto the fake market and you can be sure it will be very good indeed.

So they can be made the same as a Breitling... they can look the same as a breitling... they can be waterproofed like a breitling.

So why do breitlings/rolex's etc cost so much? I know about the crystal glazed lens's etc and the special crystals in the mechanism. But a pure crystal bowl might only be a few hundred quid, so why is something that requires tweezers to hold and the same material, priced at such high prices?

Alot of the good fakes out there have unique serial numbers now! So that kind of list may not be all that useful.

If you study the cases really well with a genuine one you can spot the differences. The Breitling for Bentley Font is also always Burgundy, not Black i think.. I may be wrong though!

Prestige.

Breitling actually make their own movements in house, they don't simply buy in ETA movements to place in their watches. Granted they are ETA parts, but if you go to the Breitling website there is a video of the manufacturing process. You can see the amount of time spent on the movement, and also it comes COSC certified.

QC is very good on watches like these, and you always have somewhere to take them should you have any problems.

It's like anything in life. A Prada T shirt is going to cost the same to manufacture as a basic t shirt, but the brand name and demand keeps prices high.

IF Breitling were cheaper watches, they wouldn't have the quality movements that they do, the build quality wouldn't be so good, and their customer base would be alot different to what it is now.

That's my opinion

James

You've hit the nail on the head - Prestige - it's really quite simple.

In terms of actual manufacturing costs (once the prototypes, advertising etc. have all been paid for etc.) making a watch isn't expensive at all - look at the profits for ROLEX for example.

What makes the difference is the 'desire' factor, and the fact that if the watch was sold for even twice the amount it cost to make, it wouldn't seem worth it to the consumer. What we want is to think that we're paying for exclusivity, which is nonsense given the huge numbers produced.

I was once involved in the marketting of an item which, had we sold it for the price that covered all our costs and made a very reasonable (key word!) profit, would have sold for about £30 - however, at this price it was only a little bit more expensive than the competition. To make it really desirable, it sold at £150 and the manufacturer had a really hard job keeping up with the demand!

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Navitimer World, Evo, Blacksteel, Avenger
Loads of Panerai
Submariner Date, GMT Master llc

I remember reading somewhere a long time ago when I first started getting into quality watches, that the first thing you should realise when buying a quality watch is that in terms of the parts alone, you will NEVER ever be getting value for money. And as soon I understood that I was happier for it! Essentially what you are buying is the name and what that name stands for. (In the case of Breitling that also means you are buying quality, precision, etc, etc... but we all know that with economies of scale, these watches cost a fraction of the RRP to produce). As others have said, you are buying prestige.

That's what makes watches like these pure luxury items.

I've said this before on other posts, but for me I couldn't care less if a fake is made from the same type of steel, have the same font, the same crystal, etc, etc as the real thing. The important thing to me is that a fake is not made by the manufacturer, so it is just that - A FAKE. And buying one is to entirely miss the point of what it's about. You simply buy "fake prestige" which seems slightly daft to me.

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Driver8

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