The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Ok - after lots of rumours and (Im guessing) false starts - in a recent interview on Scotish Watches George Kern just flat out said (and Im paraphrasing a little):

1. Its an open secret we are working on an in-house three hander movement and
2. It will be introduced in 2024.

This lines up pretty much exactly with things Fred has hinted at here.

So some questions:

Do we take this to the bank? Is this as good as official confirmation?

Assuming its real what would people want from an in-house Breitling three hander?

Here's my list:

a. Ideally fit into an SW300/2894 envelope, failing that an SW200/2824 package. I want it able to go in watches from 32mm and up. I want it thin.

b. Id like it to have the same and/or near as dammit external interfaces to ETA workhorses so that external modules can bolt straight on or fit with minimal re-engineering (ever notice how few mods there are for unique in-house mvmts like the tudors/omegas? while watches using sw/eta movements as a base get all the fun stuff like chimes, jumping hours, big dates, rotating globes etc)

c. Id like it to be really robust for shock, thermal, anti magnetism - love to see it meet metas certification (I think it fits the whole 'instruments for professionals' thing and being really robust makes it more carefree fitting the casual, easy to live with vibe also - could be marked used both taglines depending on the model/market)

d. accuracy - stick with current chronometer std - if people really need more that's what super quartz is for

e. power reserve - unfussed really - most overrated movement spec - say 70-100 hrs just to shut people up and keep the noise at bay.

You'll note I'm only giving functional specs - I don't care how its achieved, so carbon/silicon/free sprung/etc really don't care - if it performs and fits the Breitling use case that's all I worry about.

What about others? What do you want?

I think an in-house 3 hander is LONG overdue for Breitling, so this should be good news. That said, with the frankly insane price level of the Sellita-powered 40mm GMTs, I'm bracing for some truly stratospheric prices for anything with an in-house 3 hander inside.

In terms of specs, then it just has to better the equivalent ETA/Sellita offerings, be that PR, accuracy, anti-magnetic properties, etc.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

it is.
and more calibers to come in 2024

no, can’t tell which

Well, well. Let’s hope we see some great movements in 2025! My guess, though, is that the 3-hander is going to be used for Universal Genève watches.

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Breitling Transocean Day Date, Breitling Transocean Chronograph, Breitling Colt Chronograph II, Breitling Chronomat B01 Chronograph 44, Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute

Well the Breitling inhouse/manufacture three hander has arrived (finally) and Im super happy:

First it matches (I think) just about all my requests - small, simple, robust etc

Second, as I kind of expected it hasnt really impacted the prices very much - I think most people vastly over estimate the impact of the movement on overall price.

Third, Im a massive fan of the Brieitling transparency on movements - ie under "manufacture" they tell you precisely who the partner is - in this case AMT, in other Concepto, Kenissi etc. Exactly how it should be done.

The new movement looks promising. Personally, I find the new watches too small for me at 38 mm, but they are slim. The Breitling Top Time B31 is only 10.3 mm thick (!) — that's 2 mm thinner than the Omega Aqua Terra at 38 mm. And it has a power reserve of 78 hours, compared to the Omega 8800’s 55 hours.

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Breitling Transocean Day Date, Breitling Transocean Chronograph, Breitling Colt Chronograph II, Breitling Chronomat B01 Chronograph 44, Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute

Tried one at at AD yesterday.

Yes, I wish it was a 40mm but I found it definately wearable and didnt look silly small (Im 193cm, 110kg and 19 cm wrist for reference).

I dont like the cyclops (and it will most likely prevent me buying the watch) but it is relatively small and maybe I can learn to tolerate it (but why should I tolerate a feature?)