The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hi, I'm new to this forum as I was referred to your great forum by a member at the Rolex Forum(TRF). I currently wear a Rolex GMT Pepsi.....
I came across my Father's old Breitling Navitimer by accident today when I was looking for something else and when I asked on TRF it was suggested through a link to come here. I believe I have a Navitimer from 1952, according to pictures I have been looking at this afternoon, it has a black dial(face) with the sub-dials(the second hand is in the dial at 9 o'clock, the minute dial which goes to 30 minutes is at 3 o'clock and the hours dial missing its hand is at 6 o'clock) also being black and they are all the same color black. On the dial it has the Breitling logo above with AOPA in the middle and the word Navitimer below by the sub-dial at 6 o'clock. On the back it has stamped Stainless Steel above, Breitling with a 'B' above in the middle and the number 806 below. It is not without some problems.....the sub-dial at 6 o'clock is missing its hand, the lower pusher is missing its "pusher" and the strap is long gone. It does run and I'll keep track of it's accuracy but who should I send it to to authenticate it? Also who would be the best person to send it to to be overhauled and the necessary parts replaced with authentic original parts?

Your time and assistance would be greatly appreciated in giving me advice as to what I need to do to get it back to normal and up and running. I do know my Dad said the jewelers had the watch for repairs more than he ever had the watch to wear and appreciate it so he just put it away.......I will post pictures in the next couple of days.....Thanx...Leo

Hi and welcome and congrats on finding your dads watch, do post pics of the dial, caseback and if possible, of the movement for the experts here to give you their opinion. Btw there was no Navitimer in 1952, atleast no valid examples that have come to light. When did your dad buy it? It is believed that Breitling got it wrong with the year of the first Navitimer since they are not the same original company manufacturing Breitling watches today and lost most of their records on the old Breitlings. They sure draw from the old Breitlings heritage though and are the rightful new owners. According to collectors and those in the know, the first Navitimer was from 1954-55 with a Valjoux 72 movement(aka the Broendum Breitling) and has no 806 written on it. Then a slightly later one had a Valjoux 72 with 806 inscribed and even later 806's had Venus movements with 806 inscribed(All black face). Offcourse they are all very collectible and in that order. From what you describe with the 806 inscription, yours could be one of the slightly later ones described above, but let the experts chime in after you post pics! In the meanwhile read this article by Kurt Broendum
http://www.watchlife.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=144

For overhauling, there is Craig on here (Chronodeco) who's known for his prowess with repairing vintage Breitlings, he just did my vintage a while ago viewtopic.php?f=11&t=39694. There is also Mark and Theresa Heist of Horological services who get a mention often.

You can attach .jpg files up to 200k directly to your posts, for larger images the instructions are here - viewtopic.php?f=5&t=453

And welcome!

cruvon, thank you for your response to my inquiry...I know I need to post some pictures and will do that this week. From what you have told me I would guess(since I am no expert and am learning)my Dad's watch is from the middle to late 1950's and I will need to get the back off to see which movement it has inside. The watch is keeping good time but the stop watch portion does not work...which I remember my Dad was always frustrated with as he could not find a watch repair person who could get it to work properly. I can not tell you when my Dad bought his watch as he died in 1998(I asked my Mom if I could have his watch and she gave it to me). I do remember as a very young child that my Dad always wore this watch when it was not in being repaired. I was born in 1954 and as I stated, I remember it on his wrist all the time and I do remember from when I was about five or six years old. which would put it at around 1959 or 1960!!!
Also thanx for the heads up as to who to send it to to get an estimate on repair and overhauling.....do you have a web-site or phone number for them. I do want to keep it original so would you know if they have access to original parts??? As for the watch strap or band I do not know what originally came with the watch as he always had it on a metal band of some type(I assume...a stainless steel band which has long ago disappeared).......
Once the digital age came about he put this watch away and started wearing them exclusively.......

Please do post pictures of the watch here before you do anything else, if you end up wanting to have it overhauled, then I strongly suggest that you send it to Mark Heist of Horologicalservices.net, they are factory-certified vintage Breitling service center in Philadelphia USA, have access to more parts then anybody else, and nobody is better.
I / we can tell you what should be done to the watch when we see pictures. (good quality pictures)

/ Kurt B

Kurt B, thank you for your response...I do plan on posting pictures as soon as I open an account with Photobucket and then upload pictures through that site. I plan on doing this in the next couple of days!!! Leo

If you have problems doing so, then you are most welcome to contact me / send them directly to me on mail@kurt-b.dk

/ Kurt B

Cheers, can't wait to see the pictures, it's not very often a watch turns up that has a special meaning to it's owner by way of it's past. Sorry to hear that your old man has already passed away, he surely had great taste and the watch is surely a great reminder of him and your childhood! Yes, from what you've described, looks like is from the mid to late 50's range, what's the serial number? Match the serial with the serial number sticky here viewtopic.php?f=11&t=31437.
As for repairers, Criag's email is scbergsma@embarqmail.com and Theresa Heist can be contacted at horological@dejazzd.com. Regarding originality, as suggested by Kurt, first post pictures before you do anything with the watch so that you know what parts need replaced and then you can check who has the original parts in stock and do a overhaul accordingly.
About the bracelet, I think back then the watches came with either a steel band replacement (I think some from a Japanese company called Champion) or a leather one so if you have pictures of your dad wearing the watch on that band, you can always look for one of similar vintage after checking with the guys here. Looking forward to see the pics and welcome again!

Looking fwd to this!

Welcome to the forum, lion, great story & very much looking forward to see pictures of your 806 !

Thank you everyone for your thoughts... I am planning on taking pictures today and having the back removed tomorrow to see which movement is in the watch so I can post those pictures as well. My father did love his watch as he was a structural and construction engineer and loved to fly. I recall many times when he would take me up in a Cessna(sp.)and we'd go flying for hours. I would assist him with navigation, at his request after he taught me what to do, and he would let me fly the plane once we were off the ground. He loved to to do all kinds of stunts and sometimes when he would let the plane stall it would kind of freak me out until he would come out of the free fall and start the engine again.......I do not recall any pictures where I would be able to tell which type of metal band or leather strap he would be using on his watch so I would just probably go with a leather strap as a replacement once I get the watch overhauled and up and running. I did wind up the watch and it has been keeping perfect time now for two days!!!

Please don't do that.

The watch needs servicing and running it with no oils may cause some expensive damage to the movement.

So should I pull out the crown and stop the watch from running???

You can let it run right down now (you really don't want to keep a tight mainspring either), but then just leave it be until it's serviced.

Okay, I figured that I should let it run down and not put extra stress on the mainspring but I thought I should ask.....I'm more familiar with the Rolex brand of watches as I wear a GMT Pepsi for everyday use!!!
Thanx for your thoughts, time and considerations.....Leo