The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Wow, a busy day for me at work and I miss 3 pages on this one! Been a while since we've seen such "spirited" discussion here, although it also looks like we got a little close to overstepping the mark a couple of times in this thread... but I'm glad to see people have cooled down a little over the course of the day.

As most of you know we don't moderate with an 'iron fist' here (unlike some other forums), and disagreement is absolutely fine, but let's ensure we always do it with respect please gents.

(That said, those of you who don't like the new Chronomat...., well you're just plain wrong! )

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Mickey - I am not knocking your point. I am just saying it has to be good that people finally have an opinion on Breitling. I happen to like their direction of travel and sales are up. You don’t. Not a problem.

Breitling has had 20 years of blaaaaahhhhhhhh. Not now

OK, I think we got some points:
1. Breitling is being talked about and activity on this forum livened
2. It's nice of them to give us something to look at while we are locked
3. Lockdown is taking it's toll on our patience
4. If I could find a good sponsor for myself, I'd buy that Frecce Tricolori limited in a blink of an eye

As for #3...

Full time money making/working here!

Stay safe!


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Mickey® 

Agreed. Thanks.

But disagree on your “blaaaaaaahhhhhh” I say history, classic and brand. Now not so much.

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Mickey® 

MickeyWatch, I see no reason why your days here are numbered. You have an opinion and have clearly stated it. Obviously some are taking exception with it but that is what make this thread interesting!

As far as anyone here actually "working" for Breitling, that is a good question. No one has ever come out and said that they are employed by Breitling but I know that there are some that have provided their expertise in various ways.

The rainbow dial on the SO is confusing to me. Did you Guys do this in response to the success Rolex has seen on the rainbow dial Daytona’s?


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Well, if you’ve missed that you must have been living under a stone - I’ve been consultant to the CEO since the took over the position at Breitling, am responsible for the Re-Edition line and part of the Product Development Team.

best, Fred

I’ll let Georges answer that - a long interview with Wei-Koh of Revolution.
May also be interesting to hear what Wei-Koh thinks about the general feedback to the recent launches

but who’s Wei-Koh compared to Serge and Mr. Mickeywatch?
so guess what I think about the #firekern initiative here...

https://youtu.be/HzmGtpmNlGI

Just a couple of points on this thread -

Firstly, as far as I'm concerned Fred has never been anything other than entirely upfront and open about his involvement with Breitling. From a personal perspective (and irrespective of whether you like the new designs or not), I think we're lucky to have him involved here as it brings us (as a community) far closer to the heart of the brand we all claim to love, than we've ever been before.

Secondly, just to reiterate, opinions are good, discussion is great, and disagreement is absolutely fine, as is critiquing the minutiae of new models (god knows I've done a fair bit of that myself with new releases in the past!) - all of those things are the very life-blood of forums, and something that has been missing here for some time compared to the "good old days" - but let's just make sure we keep it classy and respectful. As an aside I'm extremely pleased we haven't seen any comments akin to some of the highly distasteful and inappropriate ones that cropped up on FB and IG - of that we can be proud.

And I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone here this, but anything homophobic or racist will earn you an instant ban.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

No Fred, I haven't been living under a stone, and yes I was aware that you had been providing Breitling with your expertise with respect to the design of the the Re-Edition line. Most of Breitling enthusiasts are well aware of your wealth of knowledge in Breitling and their history. I respect that knowledge and the fact that you make it available to watch community so freely. However, I don't believe and I may have missed it here and in our conversations in New York, that you ever said that you were being compensated for your work. To be honest, I was under the impression that all of your consulting was being provided pro bono.

My displeasure is not with you and or your designs. I think they are excellent re-editions. I love the '59 Navitimer and AVI 765 re-editions, the Superocean release is not my favorite only because of my sentimental ties to Breitling's Superocean XL. My concern, as a collector of timepieces, quite of few of which are Breitling, is the lack of attention being paid to value retention and the proliferation of gray market sales of the Breitling brand. I have had conversations with Georges on other forums and quite frankly the answers he provided were lacking.

My fear is that Breitling S.A., currently owned by a private equity firm is seeking only to increase sales and reduce costs so that the bottom line looks attractive to a potential buyer. Georges is a minority owner of the company. He has a vested interest in the sale if and when it takes place. In my opinion, flooding the market with timepieces, many of which will reach the gray market, may improve Breitling S.A.'s bottom line but will have disastrous results for the image of Breitling. If Georges wants Breitling to be thought of a premier luxury brand, then he needs to address this issue in a serious manner.

he does

Breitling has reduced “doors” by 30% and is massively trying to curtail the grey market, offering buyback programs for out-of-catalog models and much more - not an easy undertaking, but none of the strategies were aimed at bolstering short term profits.

Quick question, as I wasn't able to catch the webcast, is there release dates for the Chronomat and SOH 57? I'm guessing most ADs are shut down at the moment so wondering when they will be available, or can you order from website now. Thanks.

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Chrono Jetstream
Montbrilliant 1903
Aerospace E79362

Thanks for posting that interview, Fred. Really interesting. And, since I'm someone who is trying to get a handle on Breitling's new marketing direction, I found the last ten minutes to be extremely helpful in that regard.

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Cheers,
Jim

here‘s the webcast, unsure if Georges mentioned delivery times:

https://youtu.be/D8dNdp_U_r0

New Chronomat May/June, Superocean 57 June, on mesh September