The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hello,
I'm new in this forum but I really love Breitling Watches and I am trying to identify some originals, can anyone help me and inform if any of these are originals? I'm just trying to understand a little more about how to identify Breitling counterfeit.

1 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220582100659&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT#ht_3839wt_939

2 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120553015411&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT#ht_5523wt_1165

3 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120553029952&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT#ht_3926wt_1165

4 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120553031698&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT#ht_4542wt_1165

5 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300414775583&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT#ht_1835wt_1165

6 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220585230392&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT#ht_4140wt_1165

7 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160421259423&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT#ht_746wt_1165

Thanks a lot

Welcome to BreitlingSource.

Don't have a lot of time at work to go throught these in detail, but without really looking at the first six I would avoid them all like the plague - they are all from South America or Turkey and that's a very bad sign when it comes to originality. I'll try to look at the watches themselves in more detail when I get home.

The last one might be OK, although I'd like better photos of the movement - it's suspiciously far away and I would want clear pictures before bidding. Stick around here and we'll set you straight. You had a lot of different styles in those links, anything specific that you are looking for?

Roffensian,
thanks a lot for your help. I asked the seller for a closer look on the last one's movement and he sent me this:



I was looking for a good Breitling chronograph, really like the Breitling design. I showed a lot of diferent styles just to try to learn about the counterfeits, I was hopping you guys could teach me how to identify an original Breitling.
Thanks again for your help.

That larger photo helps, and it looks Ok to me. If the first digit of the serial number is a 5 (which I think it is) then it's a 1951. One thing I don't like about this is the condition of the screws on the movement - at some point a watchmaker who didn't care about his work has been allowed at that watch - even I can do better than that. That alone would put me off.

I'll try and go through the details of the others as I get time, but you should also look through some of the other threads here - lots of good tips from the experts on what to look for and what some of the giveaways are.

OK, so started going through some. Sorry this is a bit brief - working off of dial up and there are rather a lot!

In addition to what I stated earlier I always want to see good shots of the dial, caseback (preferably in and out) showing serial and model numbers and movement shots. Buying without a movement shot is taking an absolute gamble - there could be anything in there.

In the first one there are a number of obvious problems - firstly the logo on the movement and caseback is script and on the dial it's block - that just wouldn't happen. With experience you will also learn to recognise that the script logo is just 'wrong'. It also doesn't help that there's another name on the caseback The look of the dial is just wrong as well, as are the hands. Oh yeah, and I don't like the case.

I guess that the second one is marginally better as at least the logos are consistent, but you can see that the logo on the dial looks to have aged differently to the rest of the dial - and don't you think that dial is in remarkably good condition for a 60 - 70 year old watch? The case style is not Breitling like and Breitling didn't use silver for their cases. Model and serial numbers are also wrong.

The third one has the potential to start some serious debate - there is still a lot of disagreement in the community about whether Breitling used Landeron movements - I've never seen a real one, although I have seen some fairly convincing documentation. This one is never going to cause that debate though, because it isn't a Breitling. The lack of logos on caseback and movement is concerning, but not an obvious problem on its own. However, look at the script logo on the dial and compare it to a real script logo - they aren't identical - the B is the most obvious. Gold plating is obviously also brand new.

Next one - clearly also brand new gold plating, and a Turkish language Breitling????? Model number is wrong and the font is not quite right for the block Breitling, the script B is also wrong.

Next one - well, you can probably tell by now that the script logo is wrong - it looks stretched from B to I and then scrunched up through t, l and i. We have no movement photos so that's a no-no, but the seller claims it's automatic. There were no automatic movements with this layout until the 1970s, and this isn't trying to be from that era.

The last one (other than the one that we did earlier) actually doesn't look too bad. I'm not an expert on these time only automatics but I can't actually find anything wrong with it. I wouldn't buy it because it's in South America, and unfortunately some of their fakes are getting good. I can't place the model number, and don't like the way that it's engraved, and I can't see a serial which worries me, but not as obviously wrong as the others.

Roffensian,
thanks a lot. I'm really learning. I will remain in the forum so I can learn even more.