The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Not in the slightest. It's a mechanical watch, if it doesn't run then it can be made to run. Trust me, in the unlikely event that your watchmaker opens it up and finds a 1952 serial number there will not be a single person who gives a flying fadoo whether it runs or not

Oh, and if it is a 1952, then I'll buy it.

lol ok .. but it starts ticking away every time I pick it up or move it around anyway

Trust me, in the unlikely event that your watchmaker opens it up and finds a 1952 serial number there will not be a single person who gives a flying fadoo whether it runs or not

Yeah I know Kurt, but a boy can dream

With my luck it'll turn out to be a 2012 Doomsday Special!

Ok guys ... here goes ...

Inside Back ...

Okay so it's a 178... but if anybody can enlighten me...

I've only seen 178s with WOG, not BOW... (or was it the other way around? )

by the way that movement is glistening~!~!~! beautiful!

EDIT: so after going back to my controversial 806 thread back awhile, so I read that the BOW stamp is more rare... so that's a good sign ain't it? Adding... imagine if that 871 was an 817... *whew*~!!!!!

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

Yeah, no joke! Why did they have to stamp it wrong!

BOW is a good thing, less common than WOG, and most of the BOW stamps are earlier pieces - doesn't do anything for the value, but it's nice to have. The movement looks perfect, a 178 as has been noted, and the condition does look good. Definitely will need some good servicing, the corrosion on the case means that it needs to be checked to make sure that there is nothing potentially damaging going on.

It's an early 1956, so at least some of the people who PM'd you stating that it was guaranteed to be from x year have some explaining to do , and obviously your parents were slightly out on the acquisition date (although let's stir up some controversy that it is an earlier piece that was mis-stamped ).

Very nice indeed.

Thank you!

Maybe they are like cars. I bought my 2005 car in June of 2004
I will say though that my parents are 88 and 90 years old, so they have much better memories than I do (or ever did have) to come that close I guess. I THINK my Mom said that she ordered the watch from an ad in a pilot's magazine. That's what I mean about MY memory. I'll have to ask her again. Maybe she ordered it in 1955, but it came in in 1956 hmm ... anyway I was so happy to see that it was in great shape inside. Much of what looks like corrosion around the edge of the case is sticky, so it's some kind of glue? I didn't attempt to clean it off at all because SOMEONE told me not to, so it is what it is ....

p.s. what does BOW and WOG stand for?

[/quote]p.s. what does BOW and WOG stand for?[/quote]

Bad-Ass Original Watch

p.s. what does BOW and WOG stand for?[/quote]

Bad-Ass Original Watch[/quote]

lol

What an enjoyable thread to read!! There was soo much drama building while waiting for the case to be opened.

The ad makes sense, they were heavily promoted through the AOPA and magazine adverts were commonly used.

The sticky stuff is probably what's left of a gasket / seal, and yes, best to leave it to a professional to clean off.

The WOG and BOW codes are export codes. The movement manufacturer (Venus) made movements for a lot of different watch companies and they stamped the balance cock to identify the manufacturer that the watch was made for. As a general rule WOG is for Wakmann - Breitling's US distributor (wholly owned by Breitling - it was a complicated model to circumvent some US protectionist legislation) and BOW was for Breitling. However that rule doesn't really hold true, so you can't rely on it. Bottom line is that if the movement is stamped BOW or WOG then it's a movement produced for Breitling.