The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Well, my research continues for a nice watch to invest in. I'm currently in Qatar for several months, and yesterday drove in to Doha to do some watch shopping research. Drove around to many nice jewelers and even walked through the ultra high-end mall area with the Cartier and Tiffany stores and such that cater to the uber-rich oil sheikh clientele. To be honest, I'm seeing lots of watches that I like, and would probably pick up if I were a millionaire to wear for various occasions, but I'm not really finding hardly any outside of Breitling that meet my current needs and tastes.

I'm a pilot, and need something with aviator functions and styles, in addition to wanting something very sturdy and quality made that will last me for years and years.

The Breitling dealer in Doha is a "salon" that sells many watch brands, jewelry, and nice clothing to the upper-class. The lady that assisted was nice, and fairly knowledgeable, but I found even with just the research I've done so far, not being a watch expert by ANY means, I even exceeded her Breitling knowledge on a couple things.

My research had made me most interested in the Airwolf, so I went straight for that, looking at the 5-6 that they had in stock. They had a white/silver-faced dial and a grey-dial for 2009 models, and for 2008 models had a white/silver, blue, and one that to me also looked to be grey. I'm most interested in the black dial, and asked her if she had one, but she just pointed at the 2008 dark grey model and told me that was black, pointing out that it was a darker grey than the 2009 model grey-dial. For those that know the Airwolf, is that true, that the black is really a dark grey, or is there a difference in the grey color from the 2008 to 2009?

(side note, but I do NOT like the "starburst" face pattern on the 2008... I would have to have the 2009 model with the subtle vertical lines--that's very classy looking)

Now, I have little to no experience with Breitlings, so this was my first time seeing many of the models. I was surprised that the stainless steel on the casing and bands was really what I'd call a bright "chrome" finish, where I expected it to be a flat, "semi-gloss" finish, not quite what I would consider a "brushed" finish. I can definitely see how the chrome finish would scratch easily.

I was a bit surprised that the bezel rotated freely on the Airwolf. I would have expected it to kind of ratchet-click like the Aerospace does, but in both directions. Airwolf owners, does this make your bezel get bumped and out of alignment from the vertical position during wearing? Like many of you I've seen on here, I'm also mild-grade "OCD", and that could bug me over time, if it constantly gets rotated out-of-whack and I have to repeatedly adjust it back.

From the discussions here, I was anticipating the size, thickness, and weight issues that people indicate with the Airwolf. It's roughly comparable in size and thickness to my current watch, so that's not a problem. Tried it on my wrist, and it looked pretty good. I'm a somewhat big guy, so I don't mind big watches, and even prefer those that have a bit of "heft" to them. But the weight did concern me just a bit. It's not a lightweight watch, that's for sure. But for other models like the Chronomat to be bigger, thicker, and heavier, I don't know how those get worn constantly! The Airwolf didn't feel TOO bad to me--I do wish I could have sized the bracelet to my wrist, though, so I could feel how it would really be real-life, and feel the weight when I swing my arms or something. I'd just be worried about spending all the money for the watch, and then a couple months down the road getting aggravated because of the weight, wearing it constantly. I wear my watch pretty much all the time, other than showering, really heavy/dirty work, and usually (but not always) take it off for bed.

I also like the Aerospace, but seeing it in person confirmed to me that I just don't like it as much as the Airwolf. It's not bad, but to me looks just a little plain without the extra slide rule ring. Maybe that's the pilot in me, liking juuuuust a bit more info on the display, whether I would actually use it or not. I tell you what, though, the weight of that Aerospace, with all the titanium, was amazing! Holding the Aerospace in one hand, and the Airwolf in the other, was quite enlightening.

I asked the lady about a Co-Pilot module, but she said they only receive about one of those each year, and the last one was on a Chronomat and sold several months ago. (go figure) So I still have not seen one of those in person, although I'd really, really like to. Would really like to see how that looks, actually wrapping around the wrist, and if that adds to the weight.

(so I guess that begs a good question--is a Co-pilot bracelet heavier than the standard Airwolf Professional bracelet?)

So my research and dealer visit confirmed that the model I'm most interested in would be a 2009 black-dial Airwolf, probably with Co-Pilot module: (oh, and I did pick up a 2009 Breitling Chronolog while I was there)



Now, on another note, I was surprisingly taken by the Chrono Cockpit at the dealer. I really liked the look of many of the Breitlings, but that just seemed to have a nice combination of style and size, to me. It's not something I'm going to buy for the current purchase, but if I become wealthy and pick up a bunch of watches to wear for different occasions, that's definitely one I would go for.

Maybe I'm leading myself down a bad path, but I wondered if I'm going to spend the money to buy myself a really nice watch, if I should also buy one for my wife as a nice surprise present. It's really tough with women, though, because if I did it, I would want to do it as a surprise, but I would also want it to be exactly what she wanted. (you know, if you spend all that money, you wouldn't want to hear that she likes it, but if she had picked it out for herself would have gone with the black dial or something) Unfortunately, those two things are pretty much exclusive--being a surprise, and ensuring she gets exactly what she wants. Even the compromise of something like giving her a card saying "this is good for one watch purchase of your choice" seems to be a cop-out, because the cool thing about the surprise is showing her you really put a lot of thought into it, to get something you think she'd really like. I really, really like the look of the Lady Cockpits, and it looks like they would be highly configurable for different looks depending on what band you put on it.

So here's one that I would consider getting for the wife, a two-tone Lady Cockpit with Mother-of-Pearl dial. That one would look great with several bands, like below. If I were to do it, I'd probably start with the less expensive "gold" leather band, and then give her the option to buy other bands and bracelets over the year to configure it for different occasions and outfits.

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Chris
Club Member #0070
2009 TT Chrono Evo w/Rose gold, blue face
2009 Airwolf w/black face, Co-Pilot module
2009 TT Lady Cockpit w/Mother-of-Pearl, Diamond face for the wife

Hi WildBlue,
Good luck with the shopping.
I wanted a watch for use in aviation aswell so I was drawn to the super accurate super quartz watches.

The Aerospace although favoured by many of my colleagues is just too plain for me and more importantly it dosnt have a back light nor a perpetual calender , so I opted for the airwolf .

My wrists are small but I like the weight , the fan blades at the back are not uncomfortable but you will see an imprint on your hand when you take it off at the end of the day.

The compass bezel will rotate slightly but most of the time it stays put.
It would have been better had it some resistence , which seems to be a recurring theme in the airwolf and brings me on to my only gripe. ( which is running in the help forum )

The winder which scrolls through all the electronic functions changes way way way too easily.
From rubbing the back of your hand to putting your hand in your pocket , it will have moved on several functionson the screens.
Mine is currently in for inspection of this complaint but I dont know what they can do about it.
I opted against a blackbird because I wanted to never have to reset the time or date, but I feel i may regret that now .

Its still a beautiful watch and if they could sort that issue , it would be fantastic.

Wildblue,

I can't comment on the Airwolf (never even tried one on), other than to agree with you about the '09 model vs. the '08.

As for your ladies watch dilemma, I was in the exact same position as you. I wanted to get my wife a watch, but also wanted it to be a surprise. In the end, I decided it was too much money to risk on something she would feel "so-so" about. Bear in mind, my AD would allow me to return it, but my wife is not the kind of person who would ask me (justifiably so) to return it to the store if it wasn't her thing. She would more than likely reluctantly wear it. So with all that in mind, I decided the thrill of the surprise wasn't worth the risk with the Cockpit. Now the next time in the store, I had her try one on "just for fun" and boy am I glad I did. My wife has freakishly small wrists, and the Lady Cockpit would have needed almost half the bracelet removed just to fit. Now, armed with that point of reference, I was actually able to find another brand about a year later, which I was able to surprise her with and she *absolutely* loves -- and this is after her saying "I don't want a watch". I'm guessing if you're overseas you may be there without your wife, so you probably can't take her with you to try things on "just for fun", but good luck with it.

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Coral Dial SuperOcean
Black Dial Avenger Skyland
Arctica Dial Bentley G/T Racing

Coral Club Founding Father

Good to see you're thoroughly investigating your purchase!

I'm a B-1 owner myself, which is pretty much the same as the Airwolf bar some cosmetic differences and a countdown bezel instead of the compass one.

You might want to check out the Airwolf "Raven" - a new model announced @ this years baselworld.



The high gloss finish does tend to scratch easily, but it can be polished out just as easily (with a cape cod cloth), so I wouldn't worry too much about that at all.

The bezel can be tightened if it moves too much. The bezel on my B-1 had a habit of moving off centre, but I had it sent back to Breitling and it's much stiffer now. That's not all it went back for. There was also dust on the dial, which is fixed now, thankfully! Came back looking better than ever!

I'd be interested in hearing what you think about the Co-pilot module if you decide to go for it.

I've seen a few in person, but haven't tried on - they were on an Emergency and Skyracer. The extra chronograph and take-off/landing/flight time function would be handy, but it's such an expensive package! (remember, it comes with a Pro II bracelet) It looks really good though. They were in Selfridges dept. store in London a month or so back.

Cant say mine does, its quite stiff to turn and always stays where I leave it. I looked at a white dialled one before I chose mine and the bezel did seem a bit slacker, so as others have said it is adjustable by the maker to have more 'drag' if it was an issue.


I actually find my 41.5 x 16mm mm Omega feels heavier (dont know if it actually is) than my Airwolf presumably due to smaller size and mechanical v quartz, but you are right its not a lightweight watch. Chronomats and others do feel a bit heavier. I find it a really comfy watch to wear and it sits well on my wrist. Its also the ideal size and weight for me but we are all different of course. I think the weight thing is also relative to what you are used to, so coming from a Super Avenger to an Airwolf its going to feel a lot lighter, and conversely moving up from a 38mm dress watch to an Airwolf, its going to feel heavier

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Black Airwolf on Pro II
White SA on Pro II - gone
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Omega Seamaster Chrono
Tissot PRS 200
Seiko Orange Monster
CW Peregrine

Thanks, I appreciate the input, guys. I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but am 95% of the way there.

- Donk, you're probably right, that the Airwolf weight would take a bit to get used to, and I probably wouldn't notice it after a bit. Like I said, I do prefer a watch with a bit of bulk to it.

- I considered the new Airwolf Raven, but from this picture here on B-Source, it seems that the black bezel detracts from the overall "classy" look of the watch. Could look good with a black rubber band, but with the steel bracelet, I think the standard 2009 model would look best.



- Looking in the 2009 Chronolog, I'm pretty sure that the 2008 model the dealer claimed was black really was graphite grey after all. That would mean that I still have not seen a black-dial Airwolf in person, but in the Chronolog and all these online pictures, it does appear no-kidding black. Would still like to hear if anyone thinks the Airwolf black-dial is really black, or just charcoal grey.

- Still thinking heavily about getting the above Lady Cockpit for the wife at the same time. I hate to keep adding costs on, but am debating whether I should just suck it up and add the face dial diamonds. (but not the bezel diamonds, that's too much) The thing that amazes me, though, is the cost of that Pro bracelet for the Lady Cockpit--$2,500 by itself, not including the watch! Think I would buy with a leather strap at first, and hold off buying the bracelet as an accessory later. When you compare apples to apples, even without any diamonds that Lady Cockpit on two-tone bracelet would cost even more than the Airwolf WITH co-pilot module for myself! That just doesn't seem right.

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Chris
Club Member #0070
2009 TT Chrono Evo w/Rose gold, blue face
2009 Airwolf w/black face, Co-Pilot module
2009 TT Lady Cockpit w/Mother-of-Pearl, Diamond face for the wife

Its black - the grey face is appreciably lighter and there is no mistaking the two side by side. However, a combination of a matt black dial, the AR coating and the raised lines on the dial (I'm sure there is a technical term for this!) can I guess under certain lights make it appear a very dark charcoal if I wanted to be hyper critical. If you want any pics of mine in certain lighting to scrutinise just let me know and I'll try to oblige.

To all intents and purposes though its black

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Black Airwolf on Pro II
White SA on Pro II - gone
____________________
Omega Seamaster Chrono
Tissot PRS 200
Seiko Orange Monster
CW Peregrine