I had the chance today to check out three of the latest models from Breitling at an AD, and I was actually quite surprised.
The standout for me was (fairly obviously) the Navitimer 46 as it's just as fantastic in the metal as it is in pictures. The inner bezel isn't too thick (which looks like a problem on the Navi GMT), the spacing of the sub-dials doesn't look "off" in terms of being dwarfed by the case size, the matt dial with the applied markers and Breitling wings logo just add to the overall classy look.... all in all it's fantastic. However one thing I did notice was that the case isn't the same as the Navi World : visually at least it appears to be slightly thinner than the World, but the most noticeable difference is the lugs. The lugs on the Navi 46 are considerably thinner/finer than on the World - it's certainly not a showstopper, but I actually think I fractionally prefer the slightly more chunky lugs on the World. That said, it's still by far and away the best Navitimer I've ever handled, so I'm definitely going to pick one up.
Retail price was just under £6k on calf with a tang and buckle, just shy of £6.5k on croco with deployant, and dead on £7k on the bracelet. Not too bad considering what a great watch it is.The second watch I tried was the Chronomat Airborne.......and I have to say, I was very underwhelmed by it. The bezel with the simple tick-markers inlayed with rubber just doesn't work as well as I thought it would in the flesh. The vintage lume is very nice, but the prominent date window really lets the dial down IMO. The Frecce Tricolori is still the best Chronomat 01 I've yet seen, and sadly the Airborne isn't about to challenge for the title to my mind.
The last one I tried was the (curiously named) Avenger Blackbird, and I actually really liked it! It IS huge, but not too thick so it is actually very wearable. The vintage lume looks fantastic against the black of the dial and case, and the bezel markings work very well indeed. If I could bring myself to buy a DLC piece, then this is definitely the one I'd buy. One thing that stuck me though was the prices. Not far off £4k strikes me as quite a lot for a non-in-house 3 hander......
So all in all I was a little surprised by some aspect of all three new watches, which just goes to show there is no substitute for trying a watch on. The Navi 46 is absolutely stunning and trying one on today confirmed to me that Breitling really have smashed one out of the ground with this piece.
