The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Recently I bought in a garage sale a Breitling head in 18k gold.
The way it looks it seems to me that this watch is one of the first
automatic chronographs that came out from Breitling.
With hooded lugs, Roulette date wheel, metalic tachymetric scale etc.
I found a picture in a sales brochure with the reference 2118-N
What I see different from mine is the T SWISS MADE T in my watch
is in line ..where as in the brochure the T is on top of the SWISS and MADE
Thank you for looking at the pictures and your willingness to help
Anastasios (Tempoking)

Well they started making the automatic chronograph in 1968. This particular version is from the 1970's. I haven't seen an 18k one before but obviously, from the brochure, it was made. Looks like someone took a sliver off the back to test for 18k. Would like to see the inside of the caseback to see what identification marks are there.

Caseback also looks pretty worn - looks like the hallmark is almost gone.

I will post later today the information.. such as serial number, movement etc.
I agree
someone in the past wanted to see if it was 18k gold but I can rebuild this
it needs a good goldsmlth and I know a couple - the outside gold stamping is still
visible and I was able to see the gold content right away..by "feeling" it I guess it weighs
around 50 gr....maybe more.

Very rare Breitling this Ref: 2118-N in 18k gold (?) with a high retail then of 1.350 DM.-
Or $400 dollars in the early '70s.... Gold was only $40 dollars an oz. and $30 for 18k
which means today that $400 then - represents a gold value of ...close to $17,000

I can not find a serial number
But there is an encircled engraving (MI 67)...movement is Cal.12 which beats faster
21600 instead of 18900 of Cal.11
I also found out the approximate value plus that it is rather rare with the
crown on the left in 18k gold. A watch dealer in Switzerland has one similar
without hooded lugs and is asking $9,100 dollars.
Thank you all for your kind attention and the valuable help.

Calibre 11 was 18,000 not 18,900 - 2 1/2 Hz.

Case looks OK so I guess that the numbers have been lost with the case polishing / attacking. No idea what the MI67 is - I assume that it's a machine engraving rather than a watchmaker mark?

I'd call that value VERY approximate, an 18k ref. 2118 - in perfect condtion - sold for about € 2,100 this March. Anything above that would be a rather suprising - and you'd have to rework the case, reaching that level in the current condition would be tough.

I shall write something very bad for a Breitling enthusiast, but considering a +/- €2100 price, it would be a better deal to part it, selling gold in one hand, and the cal12 in the other hand For 70s sportwatches , the real market is on stainless steel pieces , no chance for massive gold pieces except the Rolex Daytona .

dear Tempoking, just saw your listing for this watch - and wish you all the best with your BIN.

BUT: the rest of your listing is quite, well .............

the claims:
"Extremely Rare 1967 Breitling
The first Automatic Chronograph..Yes Sir..the one and only Caliber 12 Reference 2118-N with a Grey/Blue Dial.

The mid-60's saw a race between two groups, the Heuer/Breitling group on corner 1 and the Movado/Zenith on corner 2
....And the Winner is....Heurer/Breitling...congratulations guys for unveiling the world's first automatic chronograph, .
..especially over a month before the 1969 Basel fair where the El Primero was introduced.

Big Day for Breitling was the 22nd of September 1967 - Heuer/ Breitling/ Hamilton/ Dubois Depraz ask for the patent of Cal: 11
My watch is the improved Cal: 12 of 1967, I see an engraved marking inside the back MI 67 hence I am dating the watch as 1967,

the difference between Cal: 11 and Cal: 12 is that the 11 is beating at 19.800bps and the 12 beats faster at 21.600bps.
By 1968 the winning group had carried out the first conclusive tests and developed experimental prototypes.

Signed, Breitling Geneve, Chrono-Matic, T SWISS MADE T, Ref: 2118-N in 18k gold, Movement Breitling Cal.12 Automatic,

Seventeen (17) Jewels Unadjusted, Swiss Masive Solid 18k gold case measuring approx. 36 mm x 38mm. This watch was bought
by the first owner in the 1969 Basel Fair - Possibly the importer of Breitling in Venezuela...? "

quite creative, but your claim your watch was "improved Cal: 12 of 1967", and the watch "dated as 1967" is quite unrealistic.

the Cal. 11 was officially launched in March 1969, prototypes late 1968,
mass shipments started almost 2 years later than you claim your watch was produced .....

GLWS, though.

What a load of baloney.

I lso need to correct something that I said earlier in this thread - Cal. 11 was 19,800, not 18,000.

. . . but to my eye, it appears that gold may have been milled off the caseback and lugs. That would explain why there are no markings (and a hallmark showing through) and why the holes for the spring bars look so close to the bottom of the lugs. How does it look to you?