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My first month with a B50
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Author:  Z06_Pilot [ Mon Dec 07, 2015 5:48 am ]
Post subject:  My first month with a B50
Hi folks,

I have had my B50 (blue face, blue DIII strap) for about a month (also my first Breitling). Not many user impressions of the B50 on the board, so I thought I would post mine:

*I wish the watch was bigger than 46mm. I am used to wearing 48mm Luminox mechanical complication and quartz watches. I also wish the blue face was darker as it appears on the Breitling site. It's a beautiful watch face just wish it was more of a navy blue color.

*the Diver III blue strap is very comfortable (I am NOT a bracelet wearing guy at all). i like the fact that I can adjust the length several millimeters by moving a locking mechanism inside of the clasp. Makes small adjustments easy as the temperature changes.

*Thus far, I have not experienced any of the software issues that plagued some of the initial examples. Perfect operation so far.

*The "tilt" light function. I tried using this option when I first got the watch. thought it would be good to have the backlight come on whenever I turned my wrist 35 degrees to check the time. Problem is, with just your normal arm movements of walking and talking (I do talk with my hands quite a bit), the light comes on. I noticed this was draining the battery very quickly, so I turned the tilt off, and now I only get the light when I push the crown.

*with the tilt-light function disabled, I am seeing battery draining inline with what Breitling estimates. after 30 days I am at 79% battery availability. Breitling mentions in their documentation that they discovered a new battery formulation for use with this watch, and it seems very effective thus far.

*battery charging. similar to Mac book power connections, the magnetic charging connector works very well. since there is no "slot" to hold the charging arm in place when attached to the watch, you do have to fiddle with the charging cable a little bit to ensure there is not any downward pressure from the cable which will pull the charging arm off the watch. Not a big deal, just something you notice on the first charging attempt of the watch.

*so far, extremely accurate. I have unscientifically determined that I have lost right at 1 second in a month, which is on-par with Breitling's claim of 10-15 seconds per year.

*scratches on the clasp suck! I guess this is inevitable collateral damage when wearing a watch with a clasp, but it is getting scratched constantly. I assume that over time, it will create a nice "brushed aluminum" appearance :D

*watch operation. There is definitely a learning curve for accessing the functions of the watch. I have read reviews where they say it's very intuitive, but for me, I would not go that far...It's not something you pick up and figure out how to use in a very short time. There are so many combinations (3 different crown positions and two push buttons), it took a little time for me to figure it out without having the owner's manual nearby.

*backlighting. it's simply fantastic. I have the light intensity set on 2 of 4 which is more than adequate for seeing the displays indoors or out.

*hand illumination. This is a peeve I have with virtually ALL of the high end Swiss watches. I have worn Luminox watches for years and they use tritium light cells on the hands and markers, which glow at all times for an estimated 25 years......very brightly......Why high end brands simply use paint material that is charged by light for illumination that lasts maybe 2 or 3 hours in total darkness has baffled me for years....

I couldn't be more pleased with my first Breitling at this point.
Author:  JacksonStone [ Mon Dec 07, 2015 5:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My first month with a B50
Very helpful review, thanks. That's a bit of a bummer about the over-sensitivity of the tilt-light function, but at least Breitling allows manual backlight activation by pressing the crown. That's the number one change I'd make to the Aerospace, which allows for activation only by turning the crown "slowly," which I usually end up doing incorrectly. Activation through a press on the crown would be much easier and foolproof.

SuperQuartz accuracy is awesome. I know accuracy isn't the be-all end-all for mechanical watch enthusiasts, but I have to admit, I get a little thrill every time I check my Aerospace against NIST time and see it's dead on to the second. Mine gets is about +/- 1 second per month, as well.

Yes, clasps are the most subject to scratches and dings, especially if you wear your watches under heavy-use conditions. It's inevitable. That's especially true on grade 2 titanium. Luckily, Breitling will completely polish (or brush) the bracelet, clasp and case when you have the watch overhauled - although you won't be needing to do that for years.

Regarding Super-LumiNova versus tritium, I addressed that in your other thread.

Finally, any chance of getting a wrist shot?
Author:  TomP [ Tue Dec 08, 2015 4:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My first month with a B50
JacksonStone wrote:
That's the number one change I'd make to the Aerospace, which allows for activation only by turning the crown "slowly," which I usually end up doing incorrectly. Activation through a press on the crown would be much easier and foolproof.


Absolutely agree. Or even reverse the operation, so that it's slow-rotate for function change and quick-rotate for backlight. It's very hard, as you say, to scroll through the functions without activating the (battery-draining) light.
Author:  Jon K [ Tue Dec 08, 2015 6:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My first month with a B50
I cut down an adhesive mobile phone screen protector to protect my clasp. Works a treat


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Author:  JacksonStone [ Tue Dec 08, 2015 10:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My first month with a B50
TomP wrote:
Absolutely agree. Or even reverse the operation, so that it's slow-rotate for function change and quick-rotate for backlight. It's very hard, as you say, to scroll through the functions without activating the (battery-draining) light.

I know I'm going a bit off topic here, but I'm curious: does anybody actually find the minute repeater function on the Aerospace useful? (For those unfamiliar with the model, that's activated by pressing the crown, which is presumably why the backlight activation is relegated to turning the crown.) I find it interesting, but I never use it. I would happily give it up to be able to have the backlight activated by a press of the crown.
Author:  TomP [ Wed Dec 09, 2015 1:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My first month with a B50
JacksonStone wrote:
TomP wrote:
Absolutely agree. Or even reverse the operation, so that it's slow-rotate for function change and quick-rotate for backlight. It's very hard, as you say, to scroll through the functions without activating the (battery-draining) light.


I know I'm going a bit off topic here, but I'm curious: does anybody actually find the minute repeater function on the Aerospace useful? (For those unfamiliar with the model, that's activated by pressing the crown, which is presumably why the backlight activation is relegated to turning the crown.) I find it interesting, but I never use it. I would happily give it up to be able to have the backlight activated by a press of the crown.


Me too, in a heartbeat. I guess a lot of us have watch functions which we think are cool but in practise rarely if ever use. In my case I have quite a few GMT-hand watches because I love the look, though I travel less than anyone I know. And I pull the cuff over my SuperOcean if it starts to drizzle. But yes, the minute repeater is an extreme example of that, for me anyway.
Author:  Jon K [ Wed Dec 09, 2015 9:47 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My first month with a B50
With regard to timekeeping accuracy. I've just checked and mines lost a second in 2 and half months. Quite pleased with that


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