The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I just bought a vintage (1968) Breitling Cosmonaute ref. 0819. It is definitely the coolest watch I have ever owned, but I know very little about them so I was wondering if some of you experts could help me.

1. I bought it from a reputable (I think!) dealer online, but is there any way to 100% confirm the authenticity of the watch, visually?

2. After looking at pictures of the movements posted on this board, I'd really like to take the back off and check this one out and photograph it. Is that a bad idea? If its okay, how would I do it? Do I need a special tool - where do they sell them?

3. The watch came with an after-market strap. I wanted to get an authetic Breitling version. Can anyone recommend a good place to find one?

I have some other questions, but I'll save those for later.

Thanks for the help!

A real authentic strap of this time is hard to find, and you will not love it, because it was very thin leder, like plastic straps, not real comfortable. And a modern "Breitling called" strap is not the real thing.

here I show you a contemporary strap

Questions 1 and 2 are related.

Is it possible to confirm authenticity from pictures - well you can't be 100%, but we can give you a pretty good idea, but we are going to ask for movement pictures. So should you open the case yourself - I wouldn't recommend it. If you take the watch to a local watchmaker he or she will happily open it for you with the right tool, in his clean environment and let you take some photos before replacing the caseback (can you take photos of the inside of the caseback as well please) and making sure that the seal is good.

In terms of the strap - apart from the comfort level, there is the problem that 40 year old leather isn't going to have aged very well, your local Breitling AD can show you some calf and croc straps that will work with the original tang buckle. While not the same style as the original I find that the black is a very good look, and the straps are very comfortable. They aren't cheap, especially the croc, but you can see whether you like them. There are also a lot of strap suppliers online, from $10 to $500.

Most importantly - congratulations on the acquisition and welcome to BreitlingSource.

If you post some pictures, there are a lot of people that can help you out with that...

_________________
"I don't got the bright watch I got the right watch" -Jay Z

The Cosmonaute 0819 exist with 2 differnet movements. usual is the Venus 178 calibre, but a very small number of this modell exist also with Valjoux 7736 and maybe some with Valjoux 72-4

Thanks everyone!
You guys are fantastic.

I think that I phrased my strap question incorrectly. I meant to say that I wanted an "authentic" Bretling strap - it did not have to be original to this watch. In particular, I have seen alot of Cosmonaute's with bands leather bands with a deployment(?) clasp - those looked cool and I haven't ever seen them before. I have no idea who sells them

Also, I'm a bit hesitant to take this watch to my local watch repair guy to open it up. They seem to be a little rough sometimes and they don't cary many high-end type watches., but maybe I'm just being paranoid because I am still in the new-stage with this watch.

I have posted some pictures below to get some assessments. Damn - the watch looks kind of beat up in some of these photos. It never looked that bad in real life. One of the things that concerned me was that the back was buffed smooth. Do people do that to hide serial numbers? I was trying to tilt it "just so" in the light to get a faint hint of the "Breitling" stamp.

Finally - and forgive me if this is a bad question - how much would be a "reasonable" price for this watch. I'm not sure if it is even possible to estimate from the photos that I posted. I paid about $3,200 US/2,200 Euros. Did I overpay for it?

Oh - One last thing.....
I saw a 125th anniversary Cosmonaute on the web, but there was no price listed and no way of finding out who sells them. Based on the mesurements it seems alot smaller than this one (41mm vs. 48mm).
Any opinions or thoughts on that one from anyone?

Thanks again for all of the great information!
I am learning alot from you all.

Congratulations on a very cool watch indeed!

There are a few of us here who really dig the big case Navis...

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=14280

The case back on these models was thinly etched during manufacture - so very easy to rub off. She looks in good nick – with these models which have a look and size which is very much in vogue, it’s important to remember they are all 30 to 40 years old. I think USD 3,200 is a good price as long as it’s keeping time well.

I think that the price is fair.

The best place to get Breitling straps (and to get infor on the anniversary Cosmonaute) is a Breitling AD - check www.breitling.com - they have a list of retailers and so you'll be able to find ones local to you. Many ADs have a watchmaker on staff who can help you out as well.

The anniversary Cosmonaute is smaller as that's based on the original 809 model, not the larger 819.